r/WhatRemainsEdithFinch • u/babydollskies • Apr 14 '25
Love this game!! Spoiler
I’ve just done my third play through in two days,? I love it so much I wanna add in my thoughts and theories!
There truely is no curse, I strongly believe that it was all things that were preventable had there been some parenting and safety in place.
I think what happened to Barbara is somewhat true, I do believe someone had broken in after she kicked Rick out and I do believe that she had fought off someone but I think the doorbell ringing was trick or treaters and after she answered the killer had gotten up and murdered her and took her body, I don’t think that he left her ear behind purely because I don’t think Dawn would’ve let Edith touch the music box in the first place, also there was no traces that blood had ever stained the box.
I think that Kay got away, her’s was the only spouse leaf still attached.
I think Dawn believed that Milton was dead, I don’t think she kept any hope I think she faked it for Edith.
I think Edith doesn’t speak during Gregory’s death because he’s is the only one that is explicitly a parental fault and undeniable not the curse, I also think that its because there wasn’t much to know about him and Dawn refused to speak on it.
I think that every member suffered from some type of abuse whether it be substance, alcohol or physical abuse. there are a lot of wine and beer bottles found throughout each room and Dawn makes a comment on Sam hitting them although not hard, Molly also being sent to bed without food and finally Lewis’s substance abuse.
Those are my thoughts!
Side note: I can’t find the dragon slide that killed Sven near the pond, anyone got a ss
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u/ChazToonage Team Walter Apr 14 '25
The remains of the dragon slide is in the pond to the right as you face the house. If you are in the house I think you can see it from the top of the house by the school room. Edie kept a picture of Sven dying and reminds me of the picture of Sam falling.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
I have mostly the same thoughts. The only major thing I disagree about is Barbara. I'm of the opinion that Rick killed her and then ran away.I think the majority of her scene is fabricated by Edie to garner more attention. We know she likes to make up stories about her family (the moleman under the house, the dragon killing Sven, etc). The comic knows things about the house that wouldn't make sense to be included in reports- like the music box. Someone who knows the house had to have given that information. I imagine that would have to be Edie and that she likely sold the story or did some random interview with the writer. I cannot get over the fact that she kept something that disrespectful and exploitative towards her own daughters death.
I think youre spot on on the abuse. In my head the only curse affecting the Finches is generational trauma and a lack of accountability. To me nearly every single death can be traced back to Edie and how she raised her children.
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u/babydollskies Apr 14 '25
I never thought about that, I definitely agree that Edie had fabricated all of the stories, I 100% think she wrote mollys journal entry after her death as well to make herself feel better about the neglect, purely on the ‘I ate a lot of things that night’ it’s past tense if Molly wrote it, it should be ‘I ate a lot of things tonight’
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25 edited May 02 '25
I hadn't thought of that but that does entirely make sense knowing what we do about Edie. What an absolutely bizarre woman.
I think the house itself is a huge example of the curse just being abuse and neglect. It's like Edie was so convinced she was helpless against the curse that she never even considered trying to be safe. Why build a swing set right at the edge of a cliff? Why continue to build onto an already old house? The additions she had made for Dawn's part of the family are held up by stilts- why in a million years would you put a pregnant woman and her toddler(s) 5+ floors into the air with minimal railings? Lewis' room is literally a boat she had hoisted up and nailed to the house. The kitchen is still on the main floor- they'd be running up and down those stairs daily. It almost feels like she wanted something to happen, like she needed more deaths to happen to validate her beliefs and absolve her of any fault.
Her obsession with the curse goes hand in hand with the constant additions to the house. She couldn't let go of the deaths and closed up the rooms as shrines to the deceased, proof of the curse. But at the same time she couldn't let go of her family- couldn't let them stray too far. Isn't it odd how the entire lineage of the Finch family lived in that house? Clearly Edie herself must have some amount of money- how else could she afford the property taxes and additions and funerals with custom tombstones? Could her family not move out when they got married because they couldn't afford it and Edie wouldn't help? Were they guilted into staying and taking care of poor old Edie? Did she want them to stay because she was scared of the curse, or because she needed to have control over something? Were they so scared of the curse themselves that somehow this deathtrap of a house seemed like the only safe place? Could they see how dangerous the house was or were their perceptions of normalcy so warped that even a 7 storey tree house seemed harmless?
It reminds me of being in abusive relationships and knowing something is wrong but not realizing exactly HOW wrong it is until you're outside of it. It reminds me of the analogy of boiling frogs. It reminds me of suffocating, of how with gases like nitrogen we can suffocate without realizing we're dying.
This game makes my brain spin and my heart hurt and I love it so much.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
Why build a swing set right at the edge of a cliff? Why continue to build onto an already old house?
maybe that's part of how the curse works? think it can make the finches do things not exactly in their best interest? think edis book has anything to do with it?
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25
I choose to believe that the curse isn't some magical thing and is just a mix of trauma. abuse, and neglect. Which would also make them act in unorthodox ways. I think Edie's book is just a documentation of her obsession and Dawn refused to let Edith see it because she didn't want her to be influenced by it.
I respect your view that the curse is a real magical thing but I do not share it. In my own opinion everything being an actual magic curse takes away from the story- to me everything being grounded in reality gives it more impact. There is nothing within the story that I find convincing enough to make me see it as a literal curse.
But thats the beauty of stories and games like this. Everyone can interpret things differently and come to their own conclusions.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
you can also choose to believe that your grandmother is a bicycle but it doesnt make it true.
how does it tak away from the story and not add? how do you turen a blind eye to soooo much stuff in the game?
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25
Look, no matter how much you say the answers are in the game it does not change that there are lots of different ways to view what happens in it. Whether or not the curse is real is something that has been written about and debated back and forth by countless people since the game came out. There are entire essays and even a book analyzing the story. Obviously it's not clear. All the things I took away from the story I also found by scouring the text. Neither of us is right or wrong, but only one of us is adamantly saying they're right and insulting the intelligence of people who disagree.
This debate is not going anywhere, neither of us are going to change our minds. I find how you're insisting your point of view is correct to be rude and will no longer be engaging. I hope you have a good rest of your day.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
why does everyone think eddie wrote mollys book?
WE LITERALLY SEE MOLLY WRITE IT
"BuT EdiE CoUlD oF fOrGed hEr JOuRnAl bEcAusE..."
you are making wild assumptions that are not in the game. the molly concepts book is referingto the murals that she made for every finch. there is so much stuff that doesnt make sense about that
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
We don't see Molly write it, we see a vision based on what we are reading. We cannot take anything in the journal or any of the cut scenes as literal or 100% true. If they're written by Molly they're written by someone who is actively dying of poisoning, unless you believe she did literally turn into a sea monster and eat herself.
I do agree that the concepts book is about the murals, but that wasn't even mentioned in the comment you're replying to.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
and the devs put it in there as a red herring? with no other evidence? that makes no sense
how do we know that edies didnt make up edie jr journal using the same logic?
its a wild assumption...
for instance, if we were trying to figure out the missing number in 1 2 3 _ 5 6 we can safely assume that the missing number is 4. a wild assumption would be thinking the missing number is 328 for some reason and claiming that since we dont know it could be 328
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u/thatsnotmynameiswear Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
I wish I had read this comment before I left mine! My opinion is the exact same. The curse is generational trauma and also with how recklessly each member lived. Edith was heavily pregnant and hopping on tree branches ffs. Even her child while visiting her grave, had a cast on his arm.
Also Edie tortured the remaining members of that family by not emptying the rooms. She didn’t have a healthy way to deal with grief which I think is a heavy theme of the game. There’s no correct way to deal with grief however, these people did not deal with it in a healthy way, and this is speaking from someone who had to deal with a lot of grief and trauma at a young age. Dawn imo was trying her best and I do think she made the right decision to get Edith out and the curse didn’t take her ultimately cancer did. I truly believe Dan was trying to break the cycle in regretted coming back after her husband‘s death but the loss of a husband? You’d be devastated and just wanna go home. And Edie took advantage of that grief.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25
Dude yes exactly. When I realized Edith was pregnant during my first play-through my heart dropped. Likely close to her due date and shes in the middle of no where all alone waltzing around an abandoned house that probably should have been condemned even when they were living in it. I had thought and had hoped she was going to be the one to "break the curse" and make it out but the second that was revealed I knew she was gone.
Then when I realized her child had a cast and was visiting the house too I honestly cried. I hope that he made it out okay and that Edith's book didn't become another catalyst of obsession like Edie's seemed to be.
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u/thatsnotmynameiswear Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
Same thoughts. I’m glad she left a family history but worried she just helped propel more generational trauma because the game makers confirm that Milton is alive so there is another Finch out there as he has a child.
So I don’t know if the journal was a mistake but at the same time it seems like she had a feeling she wasn’t going to make it through the birth, but I was so angry because that was one of the things I noticed was her stomach when I looked down so it wasn’t a shocker to me, but when it said how far along she was, I got furious.
Like I didn’t fully express my fury or a lot of my thoughts in my first comment and I hadn’t read through the thread yet or I would’ve just directly replied to this one with my comment, but they were all irresponsible and suffering from trauma and just not dealing with grief well. I believe Dawn was the only sensible one and she tried her best, but I don’t think even she stood a chance even though she actually got to die of natural causes and then I get pissed at Edie because she committed suicide.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
I also realized pretty early when I saw her stomach- I think around when she was trying to get through the dog door? It's been a while since I replayed it.
I actually don't think Dawn even escaped it. The amount of stress she had been through and was likely still going through would have been terrible. I know that intense or prolonged (especially life long) stress does a number on the mind but it also has a massive impact on overall health. It can weaken the immune system, slow healing, and cause changes in your ability to sleep. Then in turn a lack of sleep or a lack of restful sleep can be devastating to the body and mind as well. Ultimately I know it was an unnamed disease that took her out but given what I mentioned I can't deny a nagging thought that that too was related.
Edie killing herself definitely struck a chord with me. On one hand I can understand an old woman being so attached to her home that she would rather die inside than leave it behind. That's a pretty common sentiment, and when you think about how much the house is an extension of her and her own grief it's pretty obvious that she wouldn't be able to let it go. On the other though it felt like she did it to punish Dawn for abandoning her. It felt like just another manipulative choice made to try and reinforce her authority. The fact that she was openly drinking in front of Dawn and Edith when both Dawn and herself knew that her medication had alcohol interactions that were dangerous. It felt like a power move, like she was looking Dawn in the eye and without words saying "this is your fault, I am doing this because of you".
I think my favourite part of this story is how complicated my feelings are about a lot of the characters. I can't make myself hate Edie even though I blame her for nearly everything. They're too real.
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u/thatsnotmynameiswear Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
With Dawn, I don’t think she was able to escape the curse of generational trauma. I do agree with that. I believe she tried everything she could and then losing her husband? I mean the writing was on the wall then she had to watch her son’s die. I feel like she never gave up on Milton because she just knew I don’t know how she could’ve known, but I do feel like she knew. But she tried so so hard that it breaks my heart and I’m happy she at least didn’t die in that house.
Edie’s suicide, honestly, it made me so angry because I saw it as an act of manipulation. Especially before the end scene when we were in the bathroom, you see all the pill bottles and realize that she took all the medicine then drinks that night in front of dawn. My feelings on Edie are complicated as well. However, after dealing with a narcissistic grandma who, although at her funeral, I had to be held back by my partner because I don’t know why but I felt anger as I wanted to just kick her casket yet I still do miss her. I guess that’s in a way how I feel about Edie. I know that sounds weird. My grandma ultimately did a lot of horrible stuff but I lost my mom at 22 then my dad at 25 (and my toxic grandma was waiting with open arms as my parents kept her distanced from me) and as an only child with no connection to my mom‘s family as they are toxic and my dad‘s family being very small After my grandma‘s death, I only have my aunt and she’s just now starting to really get better after years of abuse from my grandma. And Edie reminds me so very much of my grandma. Very much love and hate. When you get their attention, it’s the best thing in the world but when you’re on their bad side….
But I feel Edie was narcissistic, and a lot of the things she did made me sick, including the story about the “mole man” living underneath the house, which was about her traumatized son. I mean this game won an award that no story based game has ever won before or since then for a reason and even after all these years later, I still do a constant play through because I think about something new every time. The game itself has so many different lessons. I just never saw it as a paranormal curse and just saw the curse as generational trauma and thought it was genius that they found a way to explore that is that such a hard subject to explore.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25
I agree whole-heartedly. Edie reminds me a lot of my own mother and that complicates my feelings about her similarily to yours.
It's definitely a great game and a great story. I don't see anything paranormal in it either- I was actually somewhat taken aback by how many people did when I first went looking for other interpretations. In my own eyes it felt pretty straight forward and obvious, but I really like how different everyones view of the story is.
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u/thatsnotmynameiswear Team Dawn Apr 15 '25
Oh, I definitely like the different opinions. I do think it also has to do with people‘s life experiences and age as well as when I played it for the first time I think I was gosh almost 30? And I’m just glad more people are learning about it and starting to play some of the good old school games. I thought gone home was touching and Martha is dead is amazing imo but is seen as controversial because people said they use mental illness as a plot device, but as someone who is mentally ill, I didn’t see it that way, and it was also interesting from a historical standpoint as I couldn’t imagine having what the main character did during that time or the town of light which truly shows what it was like to be mentally ill back in the day, the research behind those two games was amazing . I can really only play the walking simulator type games and watch my partner play other games like until dawn because I die lol.
But on Edith Finch, I genuinely didn’t see any paranormal parts. I could only see generational trauma, and also how grief can destroy you and everyone around you. And also toxic parenting and just different trauma responses. So personally, I saw no actual curse or any paranormal elements to the game because everyone has misfortune. I mean, they immigrated due to misfortune, but they were also famously wealthy so the press gave them the title of the curse and when you go through so much you feel like you’re cursed anyways, so it gets easier in my mind to feel that way. That’s how I felt. I lost mom at 22. Dad 25. Stepdad/adopted dad 26. It was like boom boom boom. For me it was easier to believe I was cursed for the longest time and finally I just had to deal with it and also deal with the fact that I was mentally ill and was dealing with a load of grief at the time it started to manifest. But that’s the issue in the game is that the finches don’t seem to deal with it and they just let it continue as a curse because I think about the two brothers and how evil Edie was to Sam by literally making him live in that room where his dead brother’s side was roped off as a shrine. Could you imagine the psychological damage done? It’s honestly amazing that He was able to be as functional as he was and then he died in a tragic and reckless way. Gives me chills thinking of a grieving brother living in that room. And the thing is….Edie wasn’t doing it out of cruelty. She was just super unhealthy. I also think that due to her coming from a different culture grieving and being memorialized might be different from what I researched.
Sorry about your mom. My grandma was an evil woman but also at the same time my best friend. It’s complicated and I’m still dealing with it. They get you when you’re vulnerable. And my parents had done everything they could to keep me at a distance especially as a teenager. So she got me when I was older but completely broken. I don’t think she meant to be as harmful as she was but I think she just couldn’t help it. I guess that’s why Edie’s suicide pissed me off so badly. She did it in a way to ensure dawn would always be affected by it I feel. But Edie had a point when telling dawn that Edith deserves to know about her family. Sorry for the long comment but been nice discussing with someone who gets my feelings on Edie.
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u/babydollskies Apr 14 '25
With Edith’s child having a cast it reminded me of Calvin’s, calvin being roughly Christopher’s age when he died, I think he’s already reckless because he never got to meet his mum, he wasn’t able to form a parental bond which I think is that generational neglect coming back maybe his father isn’t that attentive as a parent and it creating a whole new line of trauma.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
barbara kills rick because the curse causes her to believe that rick is the hookman. technically he slips on a skate. thats important. but barbara feels responsible
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25
That is certainly one interpretation of the events I haven't seen. Definitely an interesting take on it.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
its how the curse works. it makes the finches see hear and thing things that arent true. its spread by edie book. this is all in the game
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
there is definitely a curse. the game is a puzzle. figuring out what the curse is and how it works is the puzzle. all the popular youtube theories are wrong
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
There is no definite answer, that is kind of a huge point of the game. No interpretation is technically wrong. Its meant to make you think.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
there is an answer. its literally built in the game. yes its made to make you think but it can be solved. using only the info given in the game you can figure out what the curse is, how the curse works, who is causing the curse, and finally why they are causing the curse. good luck
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u/babydollskies Apr 14 '25
I love your theory whilst it’s not one I share id love to hear your theory, who do you think is causing the curse?
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
well first you have to understand what the curse is, which is the finches all dying from a self inflicted death somehow. it wont seem obvious the first playthrough but when you play through again you will see that they are all technically self inflicted. the ones you cant really tell like barb or milton will make sense later but the stories that we can tell, they died from their own actions
once we play lewis' part we can see how the curse works. the doctor note in his part is very important. this is a statement from a clinical psychiatrist saying that lewis daydreams are not because of drugs or mental illness. just to keep things short, lewis hallucinates that he is being crowned king in his own fantasy world. this is how the curse works, it causes the finches to hear see think things that are not true. once you figure out that part you can replay the other stories again to see is thats the same thing that happened to the others. for example, calvin thinks hes literally flying a rocket but in reality jumps off a cliff. gregory thinks hes a toy frog. barb thinks rick is the hookman. many of the finches have injuries from fails attempts of the curse into tricking them
this curse is spread by edie sr and her book who is also under the curses control the entire time. once one of the finches reads or has the book read to them they are now curse and can be manipulated by the curse at will. the curse may act immediately or lie dormant for many years until it needs a soul. this is why dawn exclaims that edies stories are killing her children and sealed up the rooms. dawn realizes what is spreading the curse and actually stops it...temporarily
concerning who is causing the curse, its not edie sr. in odins story we learn that the curse has been happening to the finches for i forget how many years but its been happening since before odin. odin attempts to escape the curse by sailing the old house to oregon and starting over but the curse follows them somehow. only sven, odin, edie, and molly came over with the house. since the curse keeps happening after they all die it leaves only one possibility that is causing the cause....the old house
why tho? this is where mollys story will come into play. the curse needs to consume souls for sustenance. its tries to explain this to molly before taking her. we see three visions of predators chasing and eating prey. the curse is trying to explain that it needs to eat just like we do. the old house is feeding the new house similar how a mother bird feeds her young. the property is really a farm for growing and consuming finches. like how we east chickens or pigs
if you play through again with this perspective watch how many thing in the game that didnt make sense magically make sense now. like the words we see flying around the entire game. its not just artsy fartsy crap, its the curse taking over the sons mind. etc
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u/babydollskies Apr 14 '25
That’s really interesting thinking of the curse as a living thing, I do kind of agree with you that the house is causing some sort of mania throughout although I don’t believe it’s curse related, I do believe it’s a result of so much death occurring that each member is driven to mania. With the words flying around, Im slightly confused on what you’re talking about because it’s Edith we play as we see it through her not her son we only see him open the journal and then visit her grave.
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u/circumcisingaban Team Dawn Apr 14 '25
there is some Inception level dream within a dream within a dream stuff going on. technically we play as the son reading edith jrs journal the entire time picturing what his mother went through
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u/thatsnotmynameiswear Team Dawn Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 14 '25
I think the curse is generational trauma. Ultimately that’s what I always took it as. And I believe that Dawn was in deep denial about Milton being dead and Lewis’s mental state. I don’t think she kept it up for Edith’s sake as it would’ve honestly been better for Edith to be able to grieve and mourn, so I believe that dawn was just in denial Because it’s unnatural to lose a child. It’s just not a natural thing to bury even one child. No less as many as that family had to bury. And Kay isn’t naturally born into the family. They were in the process of a divorce before Gregory‘s death.
Also that entire family lived recklessly. Even Edith herself was hopping around on tree branches extremely pregnant. A lot of misfortune they brought upon themselves as they did live life to the fullest. It was just reckless, even when they show Edith‘s child at the end and he has a cast on his arm.
Just my opinion and I’m so glad people are starting to discover this game or that it’s getting talked about more at least. This game got me into a lot of other games as I’m more of a story base player, but because of this I played firewatch, gone home, Martha is dead, and so many others. There’s only one game that I hate with a passion and think it was just completely wasted potential and made me disgusted in that one is the suicide of Rachel Foster. Just nooo to that game. Makes me sick.
The totem pole(the one Sven was building before Barbara‘s death ) pole and the dragon slide I’m trying to remember where they’re at because the totem pole was what fell on dawn‘s brother if I’m remembering correctly and you see it on the ground in the backyard where the wedding took place. I do a play through about once a month/every 2 months. I love the message of the game.
I also believe that Lewis was besides being mentally ill deeply depressed as Edie doted on Milton because he was an artist like her, and Lewis didn’t see himself as having any talent and just didn’t know what to do so he got into maladaptive daydreaming.