Is Mary's Body in the back of James car?(Spoilers)

[NarooN]

Did he just summon the body into the boat then? You can clearly see there's nothing in the backseat worth mentioning, especially with camhacks/model viewers, so the trunk is the only logical place the body could be.

[all_in_the_mind]

James could'a bin a contender!....Cement shoes at the ready.

[what]

Like the backseat? I'm still not sure why people immediately thought "trunk!" at the suggestion that Mary's body may be inside the car. James is not Mafia...

Because James probably thought being Mafia was preferable to being arrested because someone noticed that he was driving around with a body in the backseat of his car.

I can accept why people think "TRUNK". What I don't understand is why (some) people believe James brought Mary down to room temperature and then waited entire days to do something about it, as evidenced by:

Then, after two days of seclusion in his home

It would seem to me most prudent that the time between death and travel would be measured in a few hours, at most, because bodies don't stay fresh for long if they're unpreserved.

[all_in_the_mind]

Hide the Formaldehyde!

[firecrest]

You can clearly see there's nothing in the backseat worth mentioning, especially with camhacks/model viewers, so the trunk is the only logical place the body could be.

We never get a clear picture of the backseat, actually. From the outside, the inside of the car is obscured, and you only get a good view when getting that map, which is just the front seat.

I'm not aware of camhacks that let you view the backseat, clearly.

Because James probably thought being Mafia was preferable to being arrested because someone noticed that he was driving around with a body in the backseat of his car.

It's hard to believe James thinking in a very rational manner at the time...

[Purramid_Head]

It would seem to me most prudent that the time between death and travel would be measured in a few hours, at most, because bodies don't stay fresh for long if they're unpreserved.

It would have to be. Perhaps the ending, after his realization, is him going back to the body and talking to it. I mean he hallucinated an entire person no one else could see, its not unreasonable.

[Bronze Fox]

<_ < He could have brought the body of Mary/a's final boss body with him.

[Purramid_Head]

Was that real though? It was a monster too.

[what]

It's hard to believe James thinking in a very rational manner at the time...

I'm quite certain that he had enough awareness to know that he did not want to end up in prison, to say nothing of the smell (decay would set in faster due to the ravaged condition of her skin, and of course, she'll be leaking bodily fluids).

Of course, there's also a practical reason she isn't in the backseat: the delusion he creates would fall apart in an instant if she were in plain sight (he is, after all, forced to examine his car before he can go on).

I have a theory about what really happens in Rebirth, however.

In all three of the other endings, James encounters a manifestation of Mary, in which he either converses with her one last time, or is accused and attacked by her. I submit that even though he may have brought her real body along, the one upon which he actually performs the ritual is not the real item, but rather, an image from his consciousness taken form just like in the other endings. Since the body is a not bound by rules which apply to real people, this is how he is able to successfully 'reincarnate' her. He is, in essence, willfully recreating Mary in the same manner (though more ceremoniously) as he unwittingly manifested Maria. Perhaps, deep down, he even knows this is what's really going on--and doesn't care.

Obviously, this explanation is more satisfying to me because it does not involve a purely supernatural explanation.

[NarooN]

In my version, I don't think that's what went down. The fact that James awakens and realizes everything, but is still collecting all these items suggests that he isn't just gonna bring her back in the same method that he did Maria. It'd be pointless, because he could just axe Maria for good and bring her back on the spot. The ritual and the work he put in to acquire the items seems to imply that either this is a legit ritual, and that maybe she'll come back (with what catch(es), I dunno), or maybe it's just a lost cause.

It's similar to the ritual that Mr. Baldwin did before the events of James' story. Who knows if it worked for him?

[what]

You misunderstand. I don't suggest that James is purposefully attempting to manifest a false person, but rather that it is the same effect and, since he is actively bringing it about himself as opposed to it happening without his input (as with Maria), he doesn't know that what he gets is a Mary who is no more real than Maria is. As far as he knows, the ritual went off just as he hoped. And, he probably wouldn't care if he did know the truth.

Clearly, the ritual had some apparently positive result, given the contented way he says her name at the very end.

[NarooN]

Wasn't he rowing *to* the island to do the ritual though? They don't show the island or the building that's on it too clearly, but it's there. I think the way he says her name is just to coincide with his mindstate. He probably doesn't care what is really wrong with her if the ritual does work, even if it's just a fraud like Maria. The way he says her name, it just sounds like he went off the deep end.

[Purramid_Head]

Obviously, this explanation is more satisfying to me because it does not involve a purely supernatural explanation.

But if the body is in the trunk and he obtained it that way its also not supernatural. I am going with this scenario more because its a much simpler one.

As for the smell, when one is around a bad smell for along period of time they become used to it. Serial killer's homes reported the decaying smells but the killer's themselves didn't smell it. Visitors did. So its plausible this is the same for James.

[firecrest]

In all three of the other endings, James encounters a manifestation of Mary, in which he either converses with her one last time, or is accused and attacked by her.

This, of course, happens in Rebirth ending, too.

[what]

Wasn't he rowing *to* the island to do the ritual though? They don't show the island or the building that's on it too clearly, but it's there. I think the way he says her name is just to coincide with his mindstate. He probably doesn't care what is really wrong with her if the ritual does work, even if it's just a fraud like Maria. The way he says her name, it just sounds like he went off the deep end.

That's basically what I'm saying. Whatever the result really is, he's happy with it.

But if the body is in the trunk and he obtained it that way its also not supernatural. I am going with this scenario more because its a much simpler one.

If the real body is brought back to life, then we're only left with a supernatural explanation.

As for the smell, when one is around a bad smell for along period of time they become used to it. Serial killer's homes reported the decaying smells but the killer's themselves didn't smell it. Visitors did. So its plausible this is the same for James.

I guess, if you have enough time to get used to it, that works. I just don't think James takes so long that he would have the chance.

This, of course, happens in Rebirth ending, too.

Mary's only role in Rebirth is as the corpse. Maybe. She doesn't manifest and have a chat with him as in the other endings.

[NarooN]

But how do we know that he's happy with the result when he didn't even begin the ritual yet? I mean yeah, you can say that if there was positive result, then he was happy then, but I don't see how he'd be happy with the result when there was no result yet, lol.

[firecrest]

Mary's only role in Rebirth is as the corpse. Maybe. She doesn't manifest and have a chat with him as in the other endings.

Ah. So, something like In Water ending then, where James carries Mary out the door. But in case of Rebirth, he is actually taking her all the way to the island to perform the ritual?

[what]

But how do we know that he's happy with the result when he didn't even begin the ritual yet? I mean yeah, you can say that if there was positive result, then he was happy then, but I don't see how he'd be happy with the result when there was no result yet, lol.

I have never believed that the speech he was making in the ending is synchronized with what we actually see going on in the ending. It's common enough in movies and games to present a visual flashback of an event you hear taking place in the present, and vice versa.

Ah. So, something like In Water ending then, where James carries Mary out the door. But in case of Rebirth, he is actually taking her all the way to the island to perform the ritual?

I don't know. He may have gone all the way back and then dragged her body all the way up to the boat launch, but at the same time, there are reasons why this doesn't seem likely to be true. My preferred interpretation is that after finishing Maria off, he fades to black, and the next thing he knows, he's in the boat (and, perhaps with a body which isn't real?). It's not that hard to believe, either, because in Leave and In Water, he somehow goes from Final Boss Room to a room in a completely brand-new place which certainly has no physical continuity with the Lakeview Hotel, and there's no explanation for how he got from one to the other.

[NarooN]

Welp I guess that's where our endings are different then. That's the beauty of it.

[Purramid_Head]

But if the body is in the trunk and he obtained it that way its also not supernatural. I am going with this scenario more because its a much simpler one.

If the real body is brought back to life, then we're only left with a supernatural explanation.

Which was not suggested as me since the Rebirth ending doesn't state whether she was ressurected or not. That isn't the issue nor is my opinion of it the issue. The issue was whether or not the body was in the trunk, in which case I think it was.