12:45 - I watched my friend stream this on Twitch (he's a dad). And I remember the second he saw the bath tub, he knew. He said "No no no... Don't make me do this." And when the mom stepped out of the room, he had to pause the game for a moment to orient himself, and to remind us viewers that it only takes a couple inches of bath water for a baby to drown. It was a really difficult portion of the game.
A lot of people talk about Gregory, for good reason, but not many people talk about the romanticizing. Like, it's almost psychopathic how hard Sam tries to turn a baby drowning into a beautiful thing. Gregory didn't die happy, surrounded by toys. He died scared as his lungs filled with water and he didn't know how to stop it.
@@genericname2747 yes and no, from what i remember, Sam doesn't glorify/romanticizes his death, he wants his wife to remember him as an imaginative and happy baby, wanting her to not blame herself too hard. Obviously from a gameplay perspective where we watch everyone's last moments they made him "imagine" all those toys come to life and what not, but Sam's note is him being at peace with his son's death, and wanting his expartner to be at peace too
Not really. Grief can be traumatizing and disturbing on its own so going through that AND guilt changes things. This might be a way of protecting himself and his wife from unraveling.
At the same time though Edith Jr. Was also showing really reckless behaviour while pregnant, climbing trees etc with an obvious baby bump. I don't think she fully broke the "curse" as it were.
@@CharcoalNeko No, she's VISIBLY pregnant when she goes to visit the island, and she only goes back once she finds out she's pregnant. You can look all the way down and see a clear baby bump
One of lines she writes is "if I knew there'd be so much climbing, I never would have come when I was (however many) weeks pregnant" She knew she was pregnant, she just didnt realize all the journey would entail. That being said, she still chose to continue climbing and risking herself even after seeing how much coimbing was necessary, and although in the full context we know she likely died from child birth and wouldnt have had the chance to come back, for he unborn child it would have been a more responsible decision to leave the climbing parts for later@@CharcoalNeko
Same! I was so excited and surprised when this appeared on my recommended. What a beautifully haunting game. I still hear Louis’ theme in my head from time to time.
I haven’t seen anyone else mention this in the comments yet but, I believe Calvin’s death could be at least partially contributed to parental neglect as well. Considering the fact that the swing, that was most likely put up by his parents, was overlooking the cliff in the first place
@@oeurydice I didn’t even think about that, but yes! And the father was a builder right? So he built all these tunnels and elaborate rooms, but couldn’t fix an old and rotting fence overlooking a cliff, where young children regularly play?
One detail that I've never heard anyone talk about is that whenever Edith Jr. finishes reading one of the recordings about her dead family members, she always has something to say about it... except for Gregory's death. She is completely silent after reading Sam's letter to Kay... and taking into context that Edith herself is pregnant...
The death most terrifying to me personally is Lewis. Maladaptive daydreaming is real, and I used it for escapism for a few years, given that I despised my life so much at that point that I had to get lost in a fantastical daydream most of my day just to survive. Everyone has their own inner fantasy world, but I spent more time in mine than in real life. It does get better, but please, if you recognize yourself in Lewis, go to therapy, talk with your friends, and maybe don't listen when your therapist tells you it's all good to daydream so much. People care about you, and maybe it's more fun to make stories together than to be alone.
I think about it a lot too. Whenever my life gets overwhelming I can always tell I’m doing bad when I’d rather be in my head than in the real world. I’ve spent hours in there before, choosing to “nap” instead of doing any of my normal hobbies that would bring me joy. His death is a scary reminder to not let that get out of control.
I still think of Edith Jr's last words in her journal. "This is where your story begins. I'm sorry I won't be there to see it. It's a lot to ask, but I don't want you to be sad that I'm gone. I want you to be amazed that any of us ever had a chance to be here at all." I cried so much.
It’s more likely she just walked away while the tub was full of water & he fell forward, it happens sometimes & is seen in the game itself. Only Sam, trying to say it wasn’t either of their fault & being the one telling the story, says that she must have pulled the plug & something caused it to fill again. Essentially saying “no, no, I didn’t distract you that badly, you still did what you were supposed to” when the evidence heavily shows it was a neglectful mistake from tired, frustrated, & distracted parents.
@@bellajones2563regardless, considering what's depicted in game is probably based of off her testimony- its highly unlikely that a baby was able to plug up the drain and start the faucet all on his own. The mother was 100% to blame for his death.
I thought Gregory turned the faucet back; she turned it off and then the words highlighted the handle. Granted, that wouldn't realistically happen for most bathtub handles as babies tend to be quite weak so maybe it's just really loose and turns easily idk
Something that I think is a really cool detail is in the first scene of the game we see a bouquet of calla lilies, which symbolize life, resurrection and fertility. Interestingly enough, the flowers have also been used as a symbol for death. With the amazing detail the game creators put into Edith Finch, I doubt this is unintentional.
20:07 for Milton getting stuck in the walls, depending on how the sealed them sometimes the smell may not be noticeable until they crack it open. Some people who get stuck in chimneys take a really long time to be found (though I do believe most of those cases happen in abandoned houses) Amazing video by the way!
I also enjoyed listening to another video on this game, and actually discuss what’s going on (as opposed to constantly questioning small things or those who don’t pay attention). Could be an artistic choice on the developers’ part, but even if Milton was trapped in the passages, Edith Jr. would’ve found more than his pictures, if you know what I mean. In addition, to add onto Barbra’s vignette, Sven’s injury was the catalyst for Edit leaving. While yes, it was set around Halloween (I find it amusing they gave out green apples to trick or treaters), 1960 was a different time (where they didn’t think about home invasions).
@@cambri3l I was referring to the passages Edith went through, although you have a valid point. Edith (I refer to the senior as Edie) only go to the third floor via roof and never got into the hall. Edith did go into Edie’s room, out the window from Molly’s, and found the passage by going through the attached bathroom.
@@Ozzygirl17 I always figured that what he fell into wasn't a secret passage, but what he thought was a secret passage, but was actually a place he shouldn't have been. When there's so many secret passages he could have figured that he found one no one else in the house had found yet, but it turned out it was a place he couldn't turn back from, potentially a part of the house people don't go to, as they don't know it's there.
@Senfree I can definitely see this as a case, especially with many of the old rooms never becoming accessible again, I can imagine over time parts of the house became decayed leaving Milton trapped.
i have this theory that lewis's fantasy world was technically created by milton, in the sense that milton, being an imaginative child, created an imaginary kingdom to play in, imagining himself as the king, and likely roped his siblings into playing characters in his game, and lewis found comfort in mentally returning to that game.
Tbh my theory with Molly is that she daydreamed before she fell asleep and due to the substances she experienced sleep disturbances that caused a form of sleep walking. You often dream of what you were thinking about prior to sleeping, such as her stuffed animals in a daydream. I then believe she either during the disturbance covered her face with the stuffed sea monster and suffocated or vomited and asphyxiated (with or without the stuffed monster on her face)
@@bellajones2563 I personally don’t think she climbed out of the window due to how we see her on the bed right before she dies, I only guess possibly the plushie since she has a specific monster plushy and the fabric would make it way easier to suffocate especially how it is with young children. My biggest theory is that she asphyxiated from vomiting because though what she ate wasn’t toxic enough to kill her it is toxic enough to induce vomiting and other stomach issues. Especially if she was dehydrated as well. I think the water scene might be hinting at it tbh
(About the Barbra section) As someone who lives and grew up in the woods in the middle of nowhere, a good track from any town, It was super common to never lock our doors, we where so far out that there was no point, because the odds of somebody going all the way out there was slim to none. No one I knew growing up locked their doors. Ever, It would be very likely for a home intruder to easily get in,
I remember reading a theory about the crutch being Barbara's crutch instead of Rick's crutch. While its mostly rooted in speculation, the evidence people often pointed toward was a poster in Barbara's room behind her chair, partially hidden by her dresser, for "LAME - the musical". Its a parody of FAME but the specific choice to use the word "Lame" is what inspired this theory. Barbara not being able to walk without the help of crutches could explain the downward spiral of her career. This also explains why Barabara and the crutch are often associated together. The crutch being in her family tree potrait, her shrine picture, totem pole carving, etc. This theory also supports Edith Sr's tendency to stretch and manipulate the truth to artificially create this "happy" or at the very least "fantastical" version of her family's deaths. Edith didn't want Barbara to remembered as weak and helpless so she changed the narrative for the crutch to be a source of strength; her weapon to combat the dangerous killers and monsters out there. I know this theory is a stretch but I really wanted some justification as to why the Finches or atleast Edie consistently had Barbara with a crutch. If it was Rick's, whats the importance of it? Why would her boyfriend's crutch be within the memorialized iterations of her?
It is also worth noting that there are many disability aides in the home! The chair along the stairs and the ramp to get in could be related to Barbara, and as the house gets added onto after her death those aids aren’t a part of the design anymore
Quick note, Molly was Edie's oldest child not Barbara. If you look at the years each of Edie's children are born and also the story about Odin's death you will see that she was born first. It goes Molly (eldest), Barbara, Calvin and Sam, and the youngest Walter.
I will always believe the theory that the Finch family were always creatives, artists, writers, and sculptors. Edith Sr. Was always making these insane stories to either keep attention on her family or herself, or to learn to accept the deaths by blaming it on a curse, or maybe even both. When Edith Jr.'s mom and Edie wer arguing, young Edith hears "These children deserve to hear these stories!" And "My children are DEAD because of YOUR stories!"
I think calling Barbara's death the result of "direct neglect" is a bit much. Sven had badly injured his hand and DID need to go to the ER, and we don't know for certain how much of an actual home invasion threat there was at the time. Given that Barbara was nearly an adult, who could and should know to keep the doors locked, I think at most you could call it "poor choices made in an emergency" more than anything else. Also worth noting that given that the "roaming pack of home invaders" is *also* a horror movie/story staple, there's not really a reason to assume that wasn't a fabrication for the comic as much as the monsters. I think a domestic violence situation with the boyfriend, maybe one where *BARBARA* was actually the one who went over the banister and broke her neck, taking one of his crutches over the edge with her either from having defended herself or from grabbing it in an attempt not to fall, is a much more likely scenario.
In the end, everything happens because nobody can make good, rational choices. No one has been taught to think critically about the things they do and the consequences they can have. A series of unfortunate decisions, if you will.
I was annoyed by the foxgloves being in the forest though. Those flowers love the sun and never bloom inside forests. They are only on the edge of forests or in meadows
26:55 It's not done once and for all. He's got a cast on his arm, meaning that his family's inherent recklessness lives on within him. The cycle continues.
For me Gregory and Lewis’ stories are the hardest. A family friend we lost a long time ago lost her baby like Gregory I was probably 5 at the time and at the funeral I wanted to hold the baby cause I thought he was a doll. Lewis is me in a different universe in the sense that there was a time when I spent years living in the stories I created in my head waiting to die after missing out on my teen years I had to come back to reality.
Lewis' segment always hit me particularly hard as someone who has experienced severe periods of dissociation and often struggles with maladaptive daydreaming. It's the kind of thing that isn't immediately obvious to others, like Lewis you can often continue to function in what appears to be relative normalcy. You might be performing daily tasks like going to school or work, but your mentally completely disconnected and running on autopilot. I remember the first time I explained to my therapist that I would step out of my home then 'wake back up' after being at the grocery store but I would have no recollection of being at the store and not even entirely remember what food I purchased. It's very easy to fall into daydreaming escapism that will consume your life and Lewis' segment has always stuck with me.
Milton and the other creative finches hit hard for me. I’ve been deeply traumatized and my parents either responded with neglect or verbal violence. The use of art for them was escape. I use to do that too yet my pain always followed me, manifesting in something that drowned me. So I learned to use that powerful force in my work. Instead of escaping world after world tainted in my trauma. I weave worlds and stories of hope and healing. A broken piece of myself becoming a person that heals from trauma/mental illness and learns to live with it.
I don’t think I can ever forget the feeling of the Tub level or the Fish Factory level. This game manages to craft such a brutally devastating story in a creative, unique way. I’m still in love with the use of text in the stories and the letters themselves helping to craft each narrative.
There was a part that really stuck out to me about Lewis's death, and that's the way you as a player experience it. Having to essentially do two things at once, unable to give full attention to either, until more and more of the cannery disappears. But I always interpreted his death as having been due to him being so engrossed in his fantasy, he had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. I guess I must have misinterpreted it.
That’s what I believed happened too. He was preoccupied this fantasy world that he lost track of the real world. When it gets to the point that we see him outside his body he had let his fantasy take over completely and im assuming he offed himself because he didn’t want to be stuck with that boring life anymore
I'm so glad you talked about this game! One of my faves ever. You also touched on a lot of stuff I haven't seen others go over, like Gus' feelings or that Edie might've been the one to write Molly's story to cope
god i love this game so much!! I watched a playthrough of it back when it came out and then a few years later played it for myself. the theme and series of unfortunate events (heh) reminds me kinda of how unlucky my own family is. It's no where near as unfortunate as the family in the game but we have some similar ones. Molly's death makes me so sad because it being so nonsensical that much more pushes the fact she was an imaginary child, too. I've always been curious about Barbara's death because I love the style of story telling but was very curious about how she passed. Calvin's death hit me the same way because it was so heartsinking. Gus reminded me a lot of myself when I was a bit younger and I wish he was actually seen and heard so badly. Its truly a game of breaking the chain of generational trauma and its so beautiful
I like to think Molly actually died not from choking but starving to death. Yes the cocktail of holly berries, toothpaste, and a moldy contaminated carrot might be dangerous but to instantly die is a for sure no. She contemplates eating her GOLDFISH and eating your pet is going to be a last resort. She might have been locked up for several days because of that type of hunger. It seems to be a response to her eating all of her candy way to early unable to leave and eventually starving.
Lewis is also an avid gamer, as we see a console in his room too. I suspect he perhaps wanted to memorialize his brother with a game based on his ideas. An idea twisted by the illness he was plagued with and Edie's toxic coping mechanisms. Something he wanted to remember his brother by, consumed all of him. He, Gregory, Barbara, and Walter are the Finches I feel the worst for.
You've got me crying and I need to play this again with this perspective in mind. I like this interpretation much better than great grandma being a serial killer. But god, this just makes the story even sadder and I feel like that shouldn't have been possible.
My question is Edie had a mural and her room was sealed off but we know she died the night they left so who sealed off her room and made her shrine maybe she made her own shrine but that doesn’t explain who sealed off her room
hands off the steering wheel headphones in ready to be blown away again by the ability this woman has to put things into words that only existed as vague notions in my mind so beautifully i'm convinced she's a telepath
I think blaming any of the events on the generations we see ignores 500 years of history, and the theory that the house that sank also had shrines to unusual deaths.
I don’t think it ignores it exactly, just puts it in a more realistic light per se? I fully believe they have a “family curse” traveling back so long but like the video said it’s more of a self fulfilling prophecy. The family curse is a mix of taught reckless, taught helplessness, taught romanticization of brutal & sudden deaths all of which can be seen before Edie. (If believing the schizophrenia theory then that’d also be part of the “family curse” being genetically passed down.) Most of the deaths are to blame by negligence in one way or another & then romanticized by those who had neglected them. Most of the deaths were acts of recklessness that caused the tragic death.
edit: oh immediately after I wrote this they mention the Swan 19:24 I think there are 3 options the 2 that were mentioned and a third that he ran away. Water wave talked about how Milton could’ve ran away, and how he possibly might be the prince in “The Unfinished Swan” . He goes more in depth into a lot more things and I just don’t wanna write it all.
A detail that really stood out to me is how in the beginning of the game as you go through Eddith Sr's room you see that just before she died she was already creating a memorial portrait for Eddie Jr. She was so convinced that her great-grand daughters death was unavoidable that she was already preparing for it.
Honestly I came to understand this game only now… I’ve always been shy and secluded from family which made me outright hostile when I was a teenager. Only in 25 years of age I began to listen to things that happen in the family. Right at the age when everybody older than my mom is dead. I realised that many many many horrible things were glossed over and romantically tossed away and explained wrong and seriously disfigured just to keep this image of the family, not for others, but for ours little fragile minds. The curse is the neglect, tragedy and misinformation that can trickle down the generations… this game teaches not to bare the burden of the past but to learn form the mistakes.
I like the fact that the game developers made it so that you can just walk past a story if it feels too hard to experience It’s not a well known fact for first time players but it’s incredibly thoughtful
I've never played this game but by watching your video I can feel the sheer emotional rollercoaster of it all. You delivered this so beautifully I am left emotion. Thank you for make this video ;w;
Technically Barbara could have accidentally killed her boyfriend. She could have simply gone into hiding after dumping his body in the sea and put her ear in the music box to fake her death. The cutting of her left ear is also a reference to Vincent Van Gogh, artist of "The Scream" (Because she's known for her screaming) and who also cut off his left ear. Barbara could have suffered from the same mental illness as Vincent as well.
Another theory I've seen about Barbara's death is that Walter accidentally caused it. In the comic, Barbara is trying to recreate her famous scream from a movie she did when she was younger, but it wasn't convincing enough. The theory is that Walter hid and jumped out at her to get her to scream for real, and she stumbled back, breaking the railing and falling, probably breaking her neck in the process.
There's also a possibility that dawn's illness presented long before she and Edith finally left the house. However the only caretaker she had left after her father's death was edie, who was constantly eager to paint any tragedy as the Finch Family Curse™️ and would likely have dismissed any medical symptoms in favor of the supernatural.
When i played the game, it also never felt to me like there was an actual curse because i saw the child neglect as just that but then i saw a theory that perfectly fit on top of that in my opinion. The theory is that the family has a history of schizophrenia and to some degree that is a very real curse. For example Molly hallucinations could then be caused by her having inherited the disorder and hallucinating as she looses consciousness from the poison. Walter literally is delusional. Also a point that i saw brought up is that there is no way a train was actually driving there due to the tracks being absolutely destroyed and also a train being there making no sense logistically. I don’t know for certain about that one since i haven’t played the game in a while. Both of Eddie juniors brothers died of accidents or complications of delusions and or hallucinations. I forgot the name if the child with the kite but to me it always seemed odd that he wouldn’t have saved himself once he noticed the danger and while that could still just be an angry teenagers misjudgment he is also in the prime age for all those stress factors to lead to psychosis in someone with schizophrenia wich could explain why he didn’t realize he was in danger or maybe only noticed way to late to save himself. I think there are many deaths that could be partially attributed to schizophrenia but it is late and i don’t wanna look up all the names to figure out who was who. Another big factor apart from helping string together some of the more mystical factors of the deaths is that one, Eddie, when Dawn and Eddie junior were still living there, was talking meds that some theorized to be for previous untreated schizophrenia wich would explain why she (at least in my memory) seems a lot more lucid in those scenes but also a lot more depressed having her biggest coping mechanism taken from her and two that Eddie junior seems to experience these stories very vividly possibly hallucinating them to some degree meaning she had inherited the disorder. Her dying in childbirth is another point people tend to use for this theory as schizophrenia makes it more likely for childbirth to be fatal. So yeah in my opinion the only “curse” to exist was inherited schizophrenia wich in connection with repeated negligence on several fronts caused many accidental and most of the time preventable deaths
Oh, I wonder if you have played and/or would make a video on _The Vanishing of Ethan Carter._ It has a similar mystique to it that _What Remains of Edith Finch_ has.
I think that it was both the boyfriend & the burglers; out of rage he joins the killers in the grusome act & then hides the ear out of anger & vengeance.
i think i disagree with the blaming of edie sam and dawn for the deaths of their children, i think all of them run from the truth of death in their own ways. edie turns death into stories to cope with an arguably unfounded guilt, sam falsely believes that death can be beat by preparation and dawn searches for someone to blame for the deaths. in truth i think there is no curse or self fullfiling prophecy, the deaths just happened. no one is liable, there arent forces at play. just a deeply unlucky family trying to cope with tragedy. but anyway, thanks for your perspective :)
I mostly agree with the points you made here, and you gave me some food for thought, but I think you've overfixated on Edie's unhealthy romanticization being some... driving force of evil in the Finch family. If you don't believe that, then you needed to reevaluate your script; it goes REALLY hard on Edie. There is NOT firm evidence she wrote Molly's letter, I don't think she intentionally withheld the information about the train from Walter, etc. She wasn't malicious or even delusional, in my opinion. Edie deals with tragedy by turning it into beauty. The mole man story is the same as the "dragon killed my husband" story: a whimsical massaging of the truth that is easier to bear than the stark reality of death. It is a sad and even endearing trait, not horrible and irredeemable as you've presented it. She IS presented as the main person perpetuating this self-fulfilling prophecy of the Finch family, but one of the beautiful, wonderful things about the game is that Everyone in the family shares this inclination. Everyone perpetuates the prophecy. Dawn writes a poem about Gus's death, Sam creates worlds for Calvin and Gregory, Walter waxes philosophic as he walks to his death. It is ALL highly romanticized, and I don't think any of these people are bad for doing so. And I don't think What Remains of Edith Finch wants you to think of them as bad for doing it either. Not purely, anyway. It's flawed in its intensity but achingly human in its tenderness. There is so much love here in this family and so much hope, despite the darkness. I think that's one of the really interesting conflict the game presents, the imagined joy vs. the terrible grief, how they coincide and can reinforce each other. But it isn't cruel. At any rate, despite that bone I had to pick, thank you for talking about this game. It definitely deserves the air time.
What i find interesting is the rooms edith might be trying to cope in a bad way but we do figure out what the families lives were like thanks to her keeping all their stuff together it was also definitely sams fault it seems like him and kay were having relationship issues and him calling her distracted her as i am pretty sure they got into an augment
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12:45 - I watched my friend stream this on Twitch (he's a dad). And I remember the second he saw the bath tub, he knew. He said "No no no... Don't make me do this." And when the mom stepped out of the room, he had to pause the game for a moment to orient himself, and to remind us viewers that it only takes a couple inches of bath water for a baby to drown. It was a really difficult portion of the game.
Whenever I watch people play through the game, I always skip Gregory's story. As a mom, it's just too hard to witness.
Can you link us the video? Or,if your friend posted that video on RUclips too,can you give it to us,please?
@@fanfight Unfortunately it was so long ago, he didn't record the video. :( Thank you for your interest though.
@@Elliechi What a pity :(
Thank you anyway :)
What a loser
A lot of people talk about Gregory, for good reason, but not many people talk about the romanticizing. Like, it's almost psychopathic how hard Sam tries to turn a baby drowning into a beautiful thing.
Gregory didn't die happy, surrounded by toys. He died scared as his lungs filled with water and he didn't know how to stop it.
The way the family excuses/romanticizes death is really horrific when you look back on it.
@@ConfusedLemons I get why Sam's wife left. I'd leave too if somebody tried to romanticize me killing a baby by mistake
@@genericname2747 Especialy since she wasn't raised with this morbid glorification of death.
@@genericname2747 yes and no, from what i remember, Sam doesn't glorify/romanticizes his death, he wants his wife to remember him as an imaginative and happy baby, wanting her to not blame herself too hard. Obviously from a gameplay perspective where we watch everyone's last moments they made him "imagine" all those toys come to life and what not, but Sam's note is him being at peace with his son's death, and wanting his expartner to be at peace too
Not really. Grief can be traumatizing and disturbing on its own so going through that AND guilt changes things. This might be a way of protecting himself and his wife from unraveling.
At the same time though Edith Jr. Was also showing really reckless behaviour while pregnant, climbing trees etc with an obvious baby bump. I don't think she fully broke the "curse" as it were.
Also her son has his arm in a cast, meaning he’s a little reckless. I don’t know if he would learn from this or lean into it?
I think it was shown that Edith didn’t know she was pregnant at the time and only knew later.
@@CharcoalNeko No, she's VISIBLY pregnant when she goes to visit the island, and she only goes back once she finds out she's pregnant. You can look all the way down and see a clear baby bump
One of lines she writes is "if I knew there'd be so much climbing, I never would have come when I was (however many) weeks pregnant" She knew she was pregnant, she just didnt realize all the journey would entail. That being said, she still chose to continue climbing and risking herself even after seeing how much coimbing was necessary, and although in the full context we know she likely died from child birth and wouldnt have had the chance to come back, for he unborn child it would have been a more responsible decision to leave the climbing parts for later@@CharcoalNeko
@@kaileychambers6969
Oh I must have misremembered that sentence as “if I knew I was pregnant” instead. Thanks for telling me.
I think about this game/story CONSTANTLY.
Same! I was so excited and surprised when this appeared on my recommended. What a beautifully haunting game. I still hear Louis’ theme in my head from time to time.
real
real
Enough to call this your Roman Empire?
Sad
I haven’t seen anyone else mention this in the comments yet but, I believe Calvin’s death could be at least partially contributed to parental neglect as well. Considering the fact that the swing, that was most likely put up by his parents, was overlooking the cliff in the first place
and the fact that edith couldve just came outside and got him if he really wasn’t listening
And even if he didn’t go all the way over the cliff, he easily could’ve gotten impaled on that old fence
@@oeurydice I didn’t even think about that, but yes! And the father was a builder right? So he built all these tunnels and elaborate rooms, but couldn’t fix an old and rotting fence overlooking a cliff, where young children regularly play?
Putting a swing at the top of a cliff is CRAZY
One detail that I've never heard anyone talk about is that whenever Edith Jr. finishes reading one of the recordings about her dead family members, she always has something to say about it... except for Gregory's death. She is completely silent after reading Sam's letter to Kay... and taking into context that Edith herself is pregnant...
She definitely felt for him.
The death most terrifying to me personally is Lewis. Maladaptive daydreaming is real, and I used it for escapism for a few years, given that I despised my life so much at that point that I had to get lost in a fantastical daydream most of my day just to survive. Everyone has their own inner fantasy world, but I spent more time in mine than in real life. It does get better, but please, if you recognize yourself in Lewis, go to therapy, talk with your friends, and maybe don't listen when your therapist tells you it's all good to daydream so much. People care about you, and maybe it's more fun to make stories together than to be alone.
I think about it a lot too. Whenever my life gets overwhelming I can always tell I’m doing bad when I’d rather be in my head than in the real world. I’ve spent hours in there before, choosing to “nap” instead of doing any of my normal hobbies that would bring me joy. His death is a scary reminder to not let that get out of control.
But real life is boring and unfun
I want to be able to dream more than live in reality, reality fucking sucks
I still think of Edith Jr's last words in her journal.
"This is where your story begins. I'm sorry I won't be there to see it. It's a lot to ask, but I don't want you to be sad that I'm gone.
I want you to be amazed that any of us ever had a chance to be here at all."
I cried so much.
“Unspecified substance” I think from the posters in his room the substance was pretty specified
I like how the title can refer to both Edie and Edith Jr, this is the remains of Edie’s legacy
I don't think Gregory turned the tap back on, his mother never turned it off and didn’t want to admit her neglect killed him.
It’s more likely she just walked away while the tub was full of water & he fell forward, it happens sometimes & is seen in the game itself.
Only Sam, trying to say it wasn’t either of their fault & being the one telling the story, says that she must have pulled the plug & something caused it to fill again. Essentially saying “no, no, I didn’t distract you that badly, you still did what you were supposed to” when the evidence heavily shows it was a neglectful mistake from tired, frustrated, & distracted parents.
@@bellajones2563regardless, considering what's depicted in game is probably based of off her testimony- its highly unlikely that a baby was able to plug up the drain and start the faucet all on his own.
The mother was 100% to blame for his death.
I thought Gregory turned the faucet back; she turned it off and then the words highlighted the handle. Granted, that wouldn't realistically happen for most bathtub handles as babies tend to be quite weak so maybe it's just really loose and turns easily idk
Something that I think is a really cool detail is in the first scene of the game we see a bouquet of calla lilies, which symbolize life, resurrection and fertility. Interestingly enough, the flowers have also been used as a symbol for death. With the amazing detail the game creators put into Edith Finch, I doubt this is unintentional.
20:07 for Milton getting stuck in the walls, depending on how the sealed them sometimes the smell may not be noticeable until they crack it open. Some people who get stuck in chimneys take a really long time to be found (though I do believe most of those cases happen in abandoned houses)
Amazing video by the way!
I also enjoyed listening to another video on this game, and actually discuss what’s going on (as opposed to constantly questioning small things or those who don’t pay attention).
Could be an artistic choice on the developers’ part, but even if Milton was trapped in the passages, Edith Jr. would’ve found more than his pictures, if you know what I mean.
In addition, to add onto Barbra’s vignette, Sven’s injury was the catalyst for Edit leaving. While yes, it was set around Halloween (I find it amusing they gave out green apples to trick or treaters), 1960 was a different time (where they didn’t think about home invasions).
@@Ozzygirl17 I don't think she discovered all the rooms. Edith's (the old one) room one was never opened as far as I recall.
@@cambri3l I was referring to the passages Edith went through, although you have a valid point. Edith (I refer to the senior as Edie) only go to the third floor via roof and never got into the hall. Edith did go into Edie’s room, out the window from Molly’s, and found the passage by going through the attached bathroom.
@@Ozzygirl17 I always figured that what he fell into wasn't a secret passage, but what he thought was a secret passage, but was actually a place he shouldn't have been.
When there's so many secret passages he could have figured that he found one no one else in the house had found yet, but it turned out it was a place he couldn't turn back from, potentially a part of the house people don't go to, as they don't know it's there.
@Senfree
I can definitely see this as a case, especially with many of the old rooms never becoming accessible again, I can imagine over time parts of the house became decayed leaving Milton trapped.
i have this theory that lewis's fantasy world was technically created by milton, in the sense that milton, being an imaginative child, created an imaginary kingdom to play in, imagining himself as the king, and likely roped his siblings into playing characters in his game, and lewis found comfort in mentally returning to that game.
Extremely dumb theory that makes light of mental illness and suicide
Tbh my theory with Molly is that she daydreamed before she fell asleep and due to the substances she experienced sleep disturbances that caused a form of sleep walking. You often dream of what you were thinking about prior to sleeping, such as her stuffed animals in a daydream. I then believe she either during the disturbance covered her face with the stuffed sea monster and suffocated or vomited and asphyxiated (with or without the stuffed monster on her face)
Interesting! I’ve never heard the idea of a plushie being involved in her death, or really heard anyone suggest she actually climbed out the window!
@@bellajones2563 I personally don’t think she climbed out of the window due to how we see her on the bed right before she dies, I only guess possibly the plushie since she has a specific monster plushy and the fabric would make it way easier to suffocate especially how it is with young children. My biggest theory is that she asphyxiated from vomiting because though what she ate wasn’t toxic enough to kill her it is toxic enough to induce vomiting and other stomach issues. Especially if she was dehydrated as well. I think the water scene might be hinting at it tbh
(About the Barbra section)
As someone who lives and grew up in the woods in the middle of nowhere, a good track from any town,
It was super common to never lock our doors, we where so far out that there was no point, because the odds of somebody going all the way out there was slim to none. No one I knew growing up locked their doors. Ever,
It would be very likely for a home intruder to easily get in,
The radio was talking about a gang of masked home intruders attacking homes, so clearly it was a known threat.
No matter how much analysis of this game I read or watch, I never get sick of hearing other peoples thoughts on it
I remember reading a theory about the crutch being Barbara's crutch instead of Rick's crutch. While its mostly rooted in speculation, the evidence people often pointed toward was a poster in Barbara's room behind her chair, partially hidden by her dresser, for "LAME - the musical". Its a parody of FAME but the specific choice to use the word "Lame" is what inspired this theory. Barbara not being able to walk without the help of crutches could explain the downward spiral of her career. This also explains why Barabara and the crutch are often associated together. The crutch being in her family tree potrait, her shrine picture, totem pole carving, etc. This theory also supports Edith Sr's tendency to stretch and manipulate the truth to artificially create this "happy" or at the very least "fantastical" version of her family's deaths. Edith didn't want Barbara to remembered as weak and helpless so she changed the narrative for the crutch to be a source of strength; her weapon to combat the dangerous killers and monsters out there. I know this theory is a stretch but I really wanted some justification as to why the Finches or atleast Edie consistently had Barbara with a crutch. If it was Rick's, whats the importance of it? Why would her boyfriend's crutch be within the memorialized iterations of her?
It is also worth noting that there are many disability aides in the home! The chair along the stairs and the ramp to get in could be related to Barbara, and as the house gets added onto after her death those aids aren’t a part of the design anymore
@@femboyratt4800 great point!
Quick note, Molly was Edie's oldest child not Barbara. If you look at the years each of Edie's children are born and also the story about Odin's death you will see that she was born first. It goes Molly (eldest), Barbara, Calvin and Sam, and the youngest Walter.
I will always believe the theory that the Finch family were always creatives, artists, writers, and sculptors. Edith Sr. Was always making these insane stories to either keep attention on her family or herself, or to learn to accept the deaths by blaming it on a curse, or maybe even both. When Edith Jr.'s mom and Edie wer arguing, young Edith hears "These children deserve to hear these stories!" And "My children are DEAD because of YOUR stories!"
I think calling Barbara's death the result of "direct neglect" is a bit much. Sven had badly injured his hand and DID need to go to the ER, and we don't know for certain how much of an actual home invasion threat there was at the time. Given that Barbara was nearly an adult, who could and should know to keep the doors locked, I think at most you could call it "poor choices made in an emergency" more than anything else.
Also worth noting that given that the "roaming pack of home invaders" is *also* a horror movie/story staple, there's not really a reason to assume that wasn't a fabrication for the comic as much as the monsters. I think a domestic violence situation with the boyfriend, maybe one where *BARBARA* was actually the one who went over the banister and broke her neck, taking one of his crutches over the edge with her either from having defended herself or from grabbing it in an attempt not to fall, is a much more likely scenario.
In the end, everything happens because nobody can make good, rational choices. No one has been taught to think critically about the things they do and the consequences they can have. A series of unfortunate decisions, if you will.
This game shows the power of indie video game storytelling also this game takes place in my home state of Washington :D the big ass trees are accurate
same here🫡
I was annoyed by the foxgloves being in the forest though. Those flowers love the sun and never bloom inside forests. They are only on the edge of forests or in meadows
26:55 It's not done once and for all. He's got a cast on his arm, meaning that his family's inherent recklessness lives on within him. The cycle continues.
For me Gregory and Lewis’ stories are the hardest. A family friend we lost a long time ago lost her baby like Gregory I was probably 5 at the time and at the funeral I wanted to hold the baby cause I thought he was a doll. Lewis is me in a different universe in the sense that there was a time when I spent years living in the stories I created in my head waiting to die after missing out on my teen years I had to come back to reality.
Lewis' segment always hit me particularly hard as someone who has experienced severe periods of dissociation and often struggles with maladaptive daydreaming. It's the kind of thing that isn't immediately obvious to others, like Lewis you can often continue to function in what appears to be relative normalcy. You might be performing daily tasks like going to school or work, but your mentally completely disconnected and running on autopilot. I remember the first time I explained to my therapist that I would step out of my home then 'wake back up' after being at the grocery store but I would have no recollection of being at the store and not even entirely remember what food I purchased. It's very easy to fall into daydreaming escapism that will consume your life and Lewis' segment has always stuck with me.
Milton and the other creative finches hit hard for me. I’ve been deeply traumatized and my parents either responded with neglect or verbal violence. The use of art for them was escape. I use to do that too yet my pain always followed me, manifesting in something that drowned me. So I learned to use that powerful force in my work. Instead of escaping world after world tainted in my trauma. I weave worlds and stories of hope and healing. A broken piece of myself becoming a person that heals from trauma/mental illness and learns to live with it.
I don’t think I can ever forget the feeling of the Tub level or the Fish Factory level. This game manages to craft such a brutally devastating story in a creative, unique way. I’m still in love with the use of text in the stories and the letters themselves helping to craft each narrative.
Sven is also guilty and a villain, neglectful and absent, he never did anything to help his children nor change Edi's doing.
There was a part that really stuck out to me about Lewis's death, and that's the way you as a player experience it. Having to essentially do two things at once, unable to give full attention to either, until more and more of the cannery disappears. But I always interpreted his death as having been due to him being so engrossed in his fantasy, he had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. I guess I must have misinterpreted it.
That’s what I believed happened too. He was preoccupied this fantasy world that he lost track of the real world. When it gets to the point that we see him outside his body he had let his fantasy take over completely and im assuming he offed himself because he didn’t want to be stuck with that boring life anymore
I'm so glad you talked about this game! One of my faves ever. You also touched on a lot of stuff I haven't seen others go over, like Gus' feelings or that Edie might've been the one to write Molly's story to cope
god i love this game so much!! I watched a playthrough of it back when it came out and then a few years later played it for myself.
the theme and series of unfortunate events (heh) reminds me kinda of how unlucky my own family is. It's no where near as unfortunate as the family in the game but we have some similar ones.
Molly's death makes me so sad because it being so nonsensical that much more pushes the fact she was an imaginary child, too.
I've always been curious about Barbara's death because I love the style of story telling but was very curious about how she passed.
Calvin's death hit me the same way because it was so heartsinking.
Gus reminded me a lot of myself when I was a bit younger and I wish he was actually seen and heard so badly.
Its truly a game of breaking the chain of generational trauma and its so beautiful
a lot of the deaths are caused by uncareful parenting
I like to think Molly actually died not from choking but starving to death. Yes the cocktail of holly berries, toothpaste, and a moldy contaminated carrot might be dangerous but to instantly die is a for sure no. She contemplates eating her GOLDFISH and eating your pet is going to be a last resort. She might have been locked up for several days because of that type of hunger. It seems to be a response to her eating all of her candy way to early unable to leave and eventually starving.
Lewis is also an avid gamer, as we see a console in his room too. I suspect he perhaps wanted to memorialize his brother with a game based on his ideas. An idea twisted by the illness he was plagued with and Edie's toxic coping mechanisms. Something he wanted to remember his brother by, consumed all of him. He, Gregory, Barbara, and Walter are the Finches I feel the worst for.
your narration is therapeutic
You've got me crying and I need to play this again with this perspective in mind.
I like this interpretation much better than great grandma being a serial killer.
But god, this just makes the story even sadder and I feel like that shouldn't have been possible.
My question is Edie had a mural and her room was sealed off but we know she died the night they left so who sealed off her room and made her shrine maybe she made her own shrine but that doesn’t explain who sealed off her room
i was literally thinking abt this game like an hour ago omg i'm seated
I love that people are still talking about this game. Good essay!
hands off the steering wheel headphones in ready to be blown away again by the ability this woman has to put things into words that only existed as vague notions in my mind so beautifully i'm convinced she's a telepath
Oh man I'm so glad you covered this game, it's one of my faves
I think blaming any of the events on the generations we see ignores 500 years of history, and the theory that the house that sank also had shrines to unusual deaths.
I don’t think it ignores it exactly, just puts it in a more realistic light per se?
I fully believe they have a “family curse” traveling back so long but like the video said it’s more of a self fulfilling prophecy.
The family curse is a mix of taught reckless, taught helplessness, taught romanticization of brutal & sudden deaths all of which can be seen before Edie.
(If believing the schizophrenia theory then that’d also be part of the “family curse” being genetically passed down.)
Most of the deaths are to blame by negligence in one way or another & then romanticized by those who had neglected them. Most of the deaths were acts of recklessness that caused the tragic death.
edit: oh immediately after I wrote this they mention the Swan
19:24 I think there are 3 options the 2 that were mentioned and a third that he ran away. Water wave talked about how Milton could’ve ran away, and how he possibly might be the prince in “The Unfinished Swan” . He goes more in depth into a lot more things and I just don’t wanna write it all.
A detail that really stood out to me is how in the beginning of the game as you go through Eddith Sr's room you see that just before she died she was already creating a memorial portrait for Eddie Jr. She was so convinced that her great-grand daughters death was unavoidable that she was already preparing for it.
Honestly I came to understand this game only now… I’ve always been shy and secluded from family which made me outright hostile when I was a teenager. Only in 25 years of age I began to listen to things that happen in the family. Right at the age when everybody older than my mom is dead. I realised that many many many horrible things were glossed over and romantically tossed away and explained wrong and seriously disfigured just to keep this image of the family, not for others, but for ours little fragile minds. The curse is the neglect, tragedy and misinformation that can trickle down the generations… this game teaches not to bare the burden of the past but to learn form the mistakes.
To say im grateful to have longform content from you is an understatement ❤
oh my gosh i’ve loved this video and then i learn months later that it’s by lucky! love all your content
😮 wow this video was amazing thank you so much for the amazing work you do 😊
She's so lucky. She's a star.
I like the fact that the game developers made it so that you can just walk past a story if it feels too hard to experience
It’s not a well known fact for first time players but it’s incredibly thoughtful
I've never played this game but by watching your video I can feel the sheer emotional rollercoaster of it all. You delivered this so beautifully I am left emotion. Thank you for make this video ;w;
I been waiting for this one! TURN IT UP!
Wow. This is a great analysis.
I was really down today and this made me feel better. Thanks lucky
Oh my god I love your content and this is one of my fav games this is perfect
Here we go so excited for this one!
I never understand why people with family curses in media continue have children when they know they're cursed
Would love to see
You talk about Life is Strange.
I love this, i love that you're exploring those darker video games you should definitely check out 'Martha is dead' I think you'd have a lot to say!
You covering this game is my roman empire.
finally, a game I've played
Technically Barbara could have accidentally killed her boyfriend. She could have simply gone into hiding after dumping his body in the sea and put her ear in the music box to fake her death. The cutting of her left ear is also a reference to Vincent Van Gogh, artist of "The Scream" (Because she's known for her screaming) and who also cut off his left ear. Barbara could have suffered from the same mental illness as Vincent as well.
You're thinking of Edvard Munch for "The Scream"! But I like the theory of Barbara faking her death, it's slightly less depressing.
Another theory I've seen about Barbara's death is that Walter accidentally caused it. In the comic, Barbara is trying to recreate her famous scream from a movie she did when she was younger, but it wasn't convincing enough. The theory is that Walter hid and jumped out at her to get her to scream for real, and she stumbled back, breaking the railing and falling, probably breaking her neck in the process.
I could listen to you talk for ever
There's also a possibility that dawn's illness presented long before she and Edith finally left the house. However the only caretaker she had left after her father's death was edie, who was constantly eager to paint any tragedy as the Finch Family Curse™️ and would likely have dismissed any medical symptoms in favor of the supernatural.
i haven't watched this video yet but i love this game and i cannot wait to see this. more people need to talk about this game
For the engagement.
Random but you have the perfect voice for a video essayist
When i played the game, it also never felt to me like there was an actual curse because i saw the child neglect as just that but then i saw a theory that perfectly fit on top of that in my opinion. The theory is that the family has a history of schizophrenia and to some degree that is a very real curse. For example Molly hallucinations could then be caused by her having inherited the disorder and hallucinating as she looses consciousness from the poison. Walter literally is delusional. Also a point that i saw brought up is that there is no way a train was actually driving there due to the tracks being absolutely destroyed and also a train being there making no sense logistically. I don’t know for certain about that one since i haven’t played the game in a while. Both of Eddie juniors brothers died of accidents or complications of delusions and or hallucinations. I forgot the name if the child with the kite but to me it always seemed odd that he wouldn’t have saved himself once he noticed the danger and while that could still just be an angry teenagers misjudgment he is also in the prime age for all those stress factors to lead to psychosis in someone with schizophrenia wich could explain why he didn’t realize he was in danger or maybe only noticed way to late to save himself. I think there are many deaths that could be partially attributed to schizophrenia but it is late and i don’t wanna look up all the names to figure out who was who. Another big factor apart from helping string together some of the more mystical factors of the deaths is that one, Eddie, when Dawn and Eddie junior were still living there, was talking meds that some theorized to be for previous untreated schizophrenia wich would explain why she (at least in my memory) seems a lot more lucid in those scenes but also a lot more depressed having her biggest coping mechanism taken from her and two that Eddie junior seems to experience these stories very vividly possibly hallucinating them to some degree meaning she had inherited the disorder. Her dying in childbirth is another point people tend to use for this theory as schizophrenia makes it more likely for childbirth to be fatal.
So yeah in my opinion the only “curse” to exist was inherited schizophrenia wich in connection with repeated negligence on several fronts caused many accidental and most of the time preventable deaths
OMG LUCKY?!?! I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD A RUclips CHANNEL
one of my favorite games ever.
God, I love it when lucky posts
With Barbara, what if it was both? What if the boyfriend was part of the group that was commiting home invasions
Can you do a video on Fran Bow?
If you have the time, consider doing a fears to fathom video!Seems right up ur alley!
Oh, I wonder if you have played and/or would make a video on _The Vanishing of Ethan Carter._ It has a similar mystique to it that _What Remains of Edith Finch_ has.
OMG I RECOGNISED UR VOICE IMMEDIATELY FROM TIKTOK I DIDNT KNOW U HAD RUclips!!!!
Wonderful analysis!!!
I think that it was both the boyfriend & the burglers; out of rage he joins the killers in the grusome act & then hides the ear out of anger & vengeance.
still looking forward to district 11 and 12 videos for the hunger games
Love your videos
YYEAHH Another video 🗣️
great video, glad i subbed
i llve stories about family cycles
Omg I was just thinking about Edith Finch today
This is my Roman Empire tbh
This game SH*Ts on all those crappy “Its up to your interpretation” games
i love this game so much
LUCKY ON YT!!!!!!!
I can yap about this for days
Anyone feeling bad about the Finches?
pleaseee check out Season: a letter to the future, its such an underrated cozy game😩
I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD A RUclips CHANNEL ❤
i think i disagree with the blaming of edie sam and dawn for the deaths of their children, i think all of them run from the truth of death in their own ways. edie turns death into stories to cope with an arguably unfounded guilt, sam falsely believes that death can be beat by preparation and dawn searches for someone to blame for the deaths. in truth i think there is no curse or self fullfiling prophecy, the deaths just happened. no one is liable, there arent forces at play. just a deeply unlucky family trying to cope with tragedy. but anyway, thanks for your perspective :)
Having to set to 0.75x for the first time in my life
I mostly agree with the points you made here, and you gave me some food for thought, but I think you've overfixated on Edie's unhealthy romanticization being some... driving force of evil in the Finch family. If you don't believe that, then you needed to reevaluate your script; it goes REALLY hard on Edie. There is NOT firm evidence she wrote Molly's letter, I don't think she intentionally withheld the information about the train from Walter, etc. She wasn't malicious or even delusional, in my opinion. Edie deals with tragedy by turning it into beauty. The mole man story is the same as the "dragon killed my husband" story: a whimsical massaging of the truth that is easier to bear than the stark reality of death. It is a sad and even endearing trait, not horrible and irredeemable as you've presented it.
She IS presented as the main person perpetuating this self-fulfilling prophecy of the Finch family, but one of the beautiful, wonderful things about the game is that Everyone in the family shares this inclination. Everyone perpetuates the prophecy. Dawn writes a poem about Gus's death, Sam creates worlds for Calvin and Gregory, Walter waxes philosophic as he walks to his death. It is ALL highly romanticized, and I don't think any of these people are bad for doing so. And I don't think What Remains of Edith Finch wants you to think of them as bad for doing it either. Not purely, anyway. It's flawed in its intensity but achingly human in its tenderness. There is so much love here in this family and so much hope, despite the darkness. I think that's one of the really interesting conflict the game presents, the imagined joy vs. the terrible grief, how they coincide and can reinforce each other. But it isn't cruel.
At any rate, despite that bone I had to pick, thank you for talking about this game. It definitely deserves the air time.
Can't really hear the mic audio
Weird, I heard it really well.
What i find interesting is the rooms edith might be trying to cope in a bad way but we do figure out what the families lives were like thanks to her keeping all their stuff together it was also definitely sams fault it seems like him and kay were having relationship issues and him calling her distracted her as i am pretty sure they got into an augment
12:19