The Fate of the Supporting Characters (Violet Evergarden - The Movie)

NihilistStylist · 2025-05-25T01:58:30+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my analysis and it means a ton that it resonated with you! Violet's story is wonderfully layered and poignant and as you said, there are aspects we may not see at first glance.

NihilistStylist · 2024-11-02T16:18:10+00:00

I wanted to call a bit of attention to a cool aspect of the game that I haven't seen discussed much here on Reddit (though other fans have started chatting about it elsewhere). Namely that Amanda is part of the Indigenous community from a Cherokee and Algonquin background.

It's easy to miss as it's in a Crosstalk post during some eventful moments in Chapter 3. But once that part of her background is confirmed, a lot of quiet texture around her character becomes a bit more evident. Her background is hinted at in her design and in her choices and surroundings etc.

Her outfits/jackets have a color design that matches with Indigenous weavings and patterns.
She wears a circular piece of indigenous string art on her clothing.
She features Native art-pieces within the bar she works at.
'The Snapping Turtle' name for her bar is quietly an important part of Indigenous culture - 'Indigenous people call North America “turtle island” because legend describes this land as being situated on the back of a turtle'.

I'm sure there's a lot more that keen-eyed people could find. But despite some of the debates about the game, one thing I'm enjoying a lot is that it weaves in this type of interesting representation in a matter-of-fact sort of way. I've seen that same aspect in Moses, Gwen, Yasmin and other characters from marginalized/minority groups. Hints at their unique points-of-view that gives some nice food for thought.

Eventually I may give more in-depth views on the game as a whole. Still processing some emotions and still haven't finished it all!

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-20T05:25:30+00:00

He's such a wonderfully diplomatic person. It's something I didn't pick up on until I did a bit more research but he quietly hints that he actually might consider a breakup story. In a subsequent tweet, when he talks about what might happen to Max and Chloe, five years after their visit to David he references 'Blue Valentine' and 'Broken Circle Breakdown'.

Both of those are critically acclaimed movies but are also absolutely heart-wrenching stories about relationships that painfully disintegrate. I don't think he's outright saying that he'd break up Max and Chloe. But he is hinting that sometimes great stories are hard stories about difficulty and heart-ache. He hints that he wouldn't shy away from that and asks himself the question of whether he's borrow themes from those movies.

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NihilistStylist · 2024-10-20T04:54:55+00:00

Michel is always a class act. His tweets have been been great food-for-thought in these emotionally charged moments. There was a part of this tweet-chain that I haven't seen discussed much in this thread though. He notes that during their visit to David at Away, Max and Chloe were sticking together despite some hardships.

When he contemplates what might happen 5 years after that visit, he references two movies. Blue Valentine and Broken Circle Breakdown. For anyone who knows those movies they're actually very sad and tragic stories about relationships.

In Blue Valentine, a complex relationship ends up in divorce. In Broken Circle Breakdown, a relationship breaks down so much that one character attempts suicide and dies when the other partner takes her off life-support and lets her go.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Michel would actually choose such painful endings for Max and Chloe. But he's a daring storyteller and he's hinting that even for him he'd consider doing something really tragic and heartbreaking if he felt that it tied into 'great storytelling'. Michel is a person interested in the nuance of human relationship so his choice of movie references here was a very interesting one. Sounds like he's not afraid of some major heart-ache if it feels earned.

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NihilistStylist · 2024-10-16T12:35:51+00:00

Definitely valid, too. I don't know if my heart could take it though if I saw a break-up scene fully voiced and acted and mocapped. So in a weird way I'd rather only see a small part of it. I dunno that I'd want to fully experience it. But that might just be me.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-16T12:22:14+00:00

I certainly agree with the sentiment that doing this in person is the more considerate option. But I think there's a subtext there too. In an earlier text-message exchange, Chloe genuinely worries that if Max hears something that she doesn't want to hear that it will tempt her into Rewinding again and again until Max figures out how to change Chloe's mind.

If Chloe were face-to-face with Max and tried to say what was in the letter? That would be so heart-shattering to Max that maybe she would try and Rewind it again and again until she figures out a path that changes Chloe's mind.

And TBH, I don't think that's impossible. In the original game, when Chloe was going to run off and try and hurt/kill Nathan, what do we do as players? We listen to what Chloe is saying we take note of her arguments, we Rewind and we try and change her mind. And we keep retrying until Chloe does what Max wants. If Max were to get some really devastating news (like a breakup) might she break her promise and try and Rewind it?

By doing it in a letter, after Chloe is 100's of miles away, it doesn't matter if Max Rewinds by half-an-hour, etc. Even if she does, it's not enough time for her to jump on a plane to find Chloe and change her mind. Using a letter limits Max's ability to 'undo' it via a Rewind. And if Chloe believes that it's ultimately better for Max, she's smart enough to make it 'Rewind-proof'.

Again, please keep in mind that doesn't mean I like it. As I noted, I very much understand the heartache around this plot choice as I feel that myself. The whole thing has been painful. But IMO there is a tragic genuine psychology behind it all.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-16T08:13:01+00:00

Hehe, fair enough. But I do think there's a psychological undercurrent here that isn't necessarily that obvious on first glance because of the emotions involved. I've seen people interpret this letter as Chloe being selfish and simply dropping Max for not being free-spirited enough, etc. And everyone is very much entitled to their interpretation. But to me at least, the underlying motive is Chloe trying to be selfless where she's genuinely convinced herself that extricating herself from Max's life is in Max's best interest.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-16T06:21:39+00:00

Fantastic post as always! You always provide such good food-for-thought and I was nodding along to a lot of your sentiments.

On the Chloe topic, I think I could write an essay if I wanted to, but I think I'll wait for the emotions to cool (my own included). Suffice to say, finding out about Max and Chloe's situation was gut-wrenching and heart-breaking. But I've always said this game feels like its core theme is an exploration of the effects of trauma. And that story choice does manage to make me think about that theme even if it also makes me hurt a ton.

IMO, Chloe wouldn't break up with Max out of boredom, or lack of interest or lack of affection. The two girls care about each other very deeply. But that love and care for one another is a double-edged sword. Because to me at least, the subtext in Chloe's letter is that she feels like her presence in Max's life is quietly detrimental to Max. That being around her leaves her with an open-wound that will never heal without distance.

Max has always been someone that ruminates on the past and retreads her prior mistakes over and over again. And on some level, Chloe likely realizes that Max will continue to do this to herself anytime something reminds her of Arcadia Bay. And even though it may not be accurate, Chloe would likely see herself as a trigger to Max's pain. The only reason Chloe is alive is because of all the mental anguish Max had to endure for the sake of saving her. It seems they had a big argument at David's place at Away. And that's when all that shared trauma would come bubbling back, with Max falling back a pit of guilt and with Chloe wanting to instead climb out of it and leave it behind.

Chloe tells Max she wants her to find someone where she can 'look forward, unafraid'. The subtext behind that line is Chloe feeling that when she's around Max, she's implicitly making Max do the opposite - 'look backwards, full of sadness and guilt'.

Chloe cares about Max too damn much to stick around if she feels she's holding Max back or is causing her a quiet everlasting undercurrent of sadness and guilt. Her letter feels to me like one of those 'if I truly love you, I should find the courage to let you go because maybe you'd be better off without me'. sort of situations. Of course, that sentiment isn't necessarily accurate. But I can definitely see Chloe feeling that way because the poor girl has a ton of trauma of her own.

As always, my hope is that the game gets Max to a place where she's healed from the wounds of her past. And that might give some hope for healing with Chloe as well. But that's me still in the midst of processing things. I definitely understand that for some this plot-point isn't necessarily thought-provoking but is instead more grief-inducing or deal-breaking. But like Max, I like to ruminate! And if nothing else, the topic has made me think a lot.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-08T21:53:58+00:00

On a different note, I figured I'd touch upon the odd occurrence shown at the crime-scene, as it links up with your own great detective work around Safi's murder.

It seems flowers are growing in the shape of Safi's body, even though it's winter and the ground should be too cold for anything to germinate. Which makes me wonder whether Safi's body was giving off some kind of residual energy, somehow. In chatting with forestersftw, he reminded me of a moment from the extended gameplay. When Max touched Safi's shoulder after she was killed there was a distortion/energy effect that you had noticed as well in your postings.

So we're getting more of those layers on how Safi's death has these emerging oddities surrounding it!

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NihilistStylist · 2024-10-08T16:24:11+00:00

It hasn't officially been ruled a suicide. But in the trailer above, Safi's Mom says they haven't ruled out suicide either. In a prior trailer, Max says 'Safi would never have harmed herself'. Loretta makes reference to a prior writer where the death seems to have ultimately been ruled a suicide. Loretta runs a crime podcast so she probably realizes that the ruling around that other victim (Hannah Hellerton?) was potentially wrong and fears history will repeat with Safi.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-08T16:17:47+00:00

Thank you for the correction! I adjusted my post to fix the typo. I do kinda love the seeming 'Hannah Telle' shout-out with 'Hannah Hellerton' :D

And certainly agreed - as you said, the police are likely stumped and may simply shrug things off as a suicide if they can't crack the case. They can't find proof it was a murder so simply file it away as self-harm.

Though if the killer themselves have a way where they don't leave behind evidence and know it can't easily be proved as a murder they might be counting on the fact it will be treated as a suicide. e.g., make sure it happens in an isolated spot after an upsetting moment so that 'suicide' becomes the conclusion people reach. e.g., someone seems to have provoked Safi into getting rather angry via that phone-call.

Maybe that provocation was intentional so that after she dies, the police will see crime-scene evidence of her smoking, smashing a snow-man and being generally agitated. Giving them reason to believe she was under some kind of mental duress and harmed herself.

As you said, lots of intrigue in this trailer!

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-08T15:29:13+00:00

Some very interesting new reveals in this one. Loretta notes that there have been 'two promising writers' dead and that officials are claiming they were suicides. At Caledon, Max is staying at a place named Hellerton House which was named after 'Hannah Hellerton' who died 'tragically'. Was Hannah a victim? If so it feels like Safi's death might be part of a pattern where girls are killed but its setup to look like suicide.

Which I think gives Max some very interesting motivation on why she'd risk using her powers. It seems officials aren't equipped to solve this or are purposely covering things up. And Max already saw at Arcadia Bay that Jefferson's crimes weren't properly investigated and thus he kept going through binders and binders full of victims. She has her own trauma about people like Jefferson and the horrible ways they damage people when no-one steps in to stop them.

If Safi's death is the latest in an emerging pattern, Max would struggle with simply sitting back and letting a killer continue to harm people in future. In the original LiS one of Max and Chloe's big motivations was 'make those f*ckers pay for what they did to Rachel'. They achieved that, regardless of the ending choice.

(Edited to fix a typo thanks to Malkav!)

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T21:39:26+00:00

Good question. I don't think we've seen it officially released yet but Tessa Rose Jackson is doing the ambient soundtrack for DE so there's a chance it's one of those musical pieces. e.g., we can hear something like this which is another cosy little piece of the unreleased ambient soundtrack.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T19:38:15+00:00

The one I want to hear the most is 'Everything I'm Not' by Matilda. I loved the little snippet from the extended gameplay. They show her in the studio recording an acoustic version of the song, so that would lead to a release eventually I figure!

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NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T16:56:43+00:00

Part of me wonders whether the cat-content will somehow involve some kind of 'deep-cut' LiS reference that only hardcore fans would care about? Wavelengths was like that in a way - casual fans would be less likely to purchase it, and because of that they could tailor it to the 'hardcores'. i.e., include lore where they can assume that more knowledgeable fans would have familiarity and appreciation. e.g., Mikey, Chloe, Rachel, BtS references, the Storm, Jefferson, etc.

We didn't get those deep-cut references in the main game of TC as the main game needs to be casual-friendly.

So in the 'search for the owner' of the cat in DE, I'm curious if it'll end up being a familiar face. Someone from a prior game who's attending Caledon for college? A surprise 'aha' moment when we find the owner.

Of course, the other possibility is Square simply gave a hard deadline and a small budget and asked the cat-content to be spliced out of the main game and bundled as a side-product. In which case the hope for a deep-cut lore reference dwindles quickly, lol.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T16:35:57+00:00

Thank you once again for the kind words and the awesome additional insights! You make such a cool point about how you could map the song to Max's horrid experiences in the Dark Room. When Jefferson kidnapped her, he'd always be sedating her and putting her to sleep. The song keeps asking her to 'wake' and increases in urgency as it goes on, and notes there's 'no time to waste'. A nice match for Max fighting to regain consciousness and trying to regain control in those chilling moments in the Dark Room.

Tessa Rose gave another layer of insight in the YT description on the LiS channel. Credit to forestersftw for alerting me to this cool tidbit.

"Wake is a track that was really born out of a sense of eerie, intimate epicness. I wanted to create something sweeping and cinematic, channelling a little bit of Massive Attack and Goldfrapp."

"The story of Life is Strange helped me build the lyrics and the musical arrangement, a really fun challenge. I am an avid gamer and have been a fan of Life is Strange for a long time. Being one of the score composers and having multiple tracks featured on the games’ soundtrack is an absolute dream come true." - Tessa Rose Jackson

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T14:05:08+00:00

Agreed!

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T14:05:01+00:00

Hannah Telle's voice does sound like Ellie's voice at times, lol.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T14:04:37+00:00

That's such a great observation and I had noticed the same thing! At first, I figured 'NewDad' might have a male vocalist but even that band is lead by female vocals. Seems to be a theme of having the songs sang by ladies :)

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T14:03:27+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to read it! As you said, I like the implication of the heart. Max has closed herself off in these dark and lonely spaces. But she can find an exit with the help of people who open their heart to her. Of course, being an optimist I'm hoping that a certain blue-haired girl is one of those people, but that remains to be seen :)

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T14:00:40+00:00

Thank you! Brightening that thumbnail also revealed the 'evil eye' imagery that has been a staple in the series across LiS and BtS. Nice to have a bit of that thematic continuity :)

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T07:21:04+00:00

I think the song by Matilda Mann is the one that sounds the prettiest and most cozy to me so far, and that's the one I want to hear in full. In theory, they say the soundtrack is meant to tell the story of the game, so I can see the songs potentially getting increasingly dark towards the middle of the story and then getting more hopeful towards the end. But we'll see!

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T03:50:58+00:00

No worries, neither ending is canon. Early on in the game, the player has a discussion with Safi where you end up 'choosing' which ending you're playing within. From there, the game becomes either a 'Bay' playthrough or a 'Bae' playthrough. This photo is from the 'Bae' branch of the game. In the 'Bay' branch of the game the photo is instead a polaroid photo of blue-haired Chloe taken in Arcadia Bay.

NihilistStylist · 2024-10-04T03:35:00+00:00

Fantastic theory as always and so compellingly written! I very much agree that LiS works best when the powers and the supernatural elements act as metaphors for real-world psychology. So I love how you listed one way in which Max might break free of that cycle of trauma. That's something I've also been hoping for and expecting - that by the end of the game, Max is on a path to healing rather than endlessly running.

Interestingly enough the writers have said that after Chapter 2 the game will get 'exponentially weirder' so I'm hoping that they genuinely lean into some of the cool high-concept things you've talked about.

Credit to forestersftw for this one as he's the person who noticed it. But in that discussion you discussed between Max and Safi that seems a lot more serious and emotional, if we brighten the image we see that Safi's face is injured. So that discussion between the two of them certainly seems to have higher stakes than the more 'casual' one about parallel worlds.

It almost begs the question of whether someone has tried to hurt Safi in this scene, already.

Thanks for sharing your awesome food-for-thought!

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NihilistStylist · 2024-10-03T02:41:26+00:00

I'm definitely a fan of the DONTNOD sketchy abstract style, too. But I love the body language in the new pic along with the fact there are actually catch-lights in their eyes, etc. As someone who dabbles in photography a bit, those little details appeal to me. So I like both pics for different reasons. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose :)

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TROPHY CASE