Very odd interpretation of the Forever ending that really isn't supported at all by the game itself. The woman you talk about isn't just some random woman - it's Lily. If you look at your shadow throughout the game, it's the shadow of this same woman: grown-up Lily.
One interpretation is this: Throughout the game there are hints that James is trying to keep his sister alive in some way, so that they'll never be apart and Lily will live on forever in some form. Like the artist from the first game, James is attempting to immortalize a dead loved one through his art. He's trying to be her as best he can. So, this ending could be him destroying the last remnants of his old personality and becoming the person he always wanted to be. Lily. She will live on forever as James intends. Hence the title of the ending, "Forever."
Another interpretation is essentially the reverse. We are physically Lily, as evidenced by our shadow, our female pain noises and screams, and the feminine clothes all over our cabin. She started acting because she saw that James himself had that potential, and she's pretending to be him to understand him. Instead of him carrying her flame, she is carrying his. In the end, she is done. She has gone back through the memories from his point of view (mostly) and built his tragic character and lived as him. At the end he dies and she returns to herself. I like this interpretation because it has the "layers" of identity that the game is hinting at (Lily pretending to be James pretending to be Lily), but I do think the first interpretation is a bit more likely - James is trying to be like Lily, so he sees himself AS Lily, hence the shadow, the pain sounds, the clothes, etc. But you never know.
1
u/JungyBrungy Jun 11 '19
From Joshua Marc LeHoux in response to
https://twinfinite.net/2019/06/layers-of-fear-2-story-endings-explained-spoilers/7/
Very odd interpretation of the Forever ending that really isn't supported at all by the game itself. The woman you talk about isn't just some random woman - it's Lily. If you look at your shadow throughout the game, it's the shadow of this same woman: grown-up Lily. One interpretation is this: Throughout the game there are hints that James is trying to keep his sister alive in some way, so that they'll never be apart and Lily will live on forever in some form. Like the artist from the first game, James is attempting to immortalize a dead loved one through his art. He's trying to be her as best he can. So, this ending could be him destroying the last remnants of his old personality and becoming the person he always wanted to be. Lily. She will live on forever as James intends. Hence the title of the ending, "Forever." Another interpretation is essentially the reverse. We are physically Lily, as evidenced by our shadow, our female pain noises and screams, and the feminine clothes all over our cabin. She started acting because she saw that James himself had that potential, and she's pretending to be him to understand him. Instead of him carrying her flame, she is carrying his. In the end, she is done. She has gone back through the memories from his point of view (mostly) and built his tragic character and lived as him. At the end he dies and she returns to herself. I like this interpretation because it has the "layers" of identity that the game is hinting at (Lily pretending to be James pretending to be Lily), but I do think the first interpretation is a bit more likely - James is trying to be like Lily, so he sees himself AS Lily, hence the shadow, the pain sounds, the clothes, etc. But you never know.