One last post before part 3 is upon us:
I think, that despite everything. Despite all the horrors, all the death, the gore, the fates worse than death— GSGW is ultimately a very hopeful story. It’s a story where, no matter how bad things seem to be right now (they can always get worse) but! You can always try to make it better. Keep going, don’t give up! Think harder about a solution, use whatever’s available to you. Hitting rock bottom isn’t the end. As long as you’re alive there’s a chance. Even if you’re dead, there’s still hope for things to get batter.
There’s a light in every darkness, there’s a path through every shadow. Something about the way the story’s written just makes it feel so full of hope and determination and perseverance. And I think part of that reason is because Soleum is a very hopeful person. And we’re seeing this world through his eyes.
Every civilian can be saved, every teammate can be rescued. Even against a calamity they can find a way to beat it, to solve the riddle, fix the problem. Nothing is beyond hope. No one is beyond saving.
He’s the kind of person who won’t let go, refuses to give up no matter how bad things get. He wants to hold onto everything, find that happy ending in every ghost story. The person that’ll find a solution where there isn’t one, or force it if need be. Not every solution is perfect, and sometimes the sacrifices make it feel like it wasn’t worth it. But he’ll keep trying. Even if, no, especially at the cost of himself.
And maybe the story could’ve ended with just that, but the thing is. Soleum’s kindness? His determination? Him refusing to give up when everyone else already had? It’s returned. It’s given back to him in little ways, in things he never asked for, could never ask for. In a world where death is common and making sacrifices is accepted, Kim Soleum’s refusal to conform changed the people around him too. And at the end of it all, they were able to come together and give back to him what he gave to them.
It’s why, the lowest moments were always when Soleum had given up, and why it’s so heart lifting to see the people around him carry on that torch in his stead. When Soleum could no longer go on, his friends and family were there to push him through, to support him, to help him.
Which is why I think, even if Soleum’s back facing the HorrorsTM, I don’t think it’ll be a bad ending. I don’t think things are or will be terrible forever for Soleum. Even if the ending isn’t perfect, if it’s sad, or bittersweet, or we end with the knowledge that there are things that can’t be fixed, I want to believe that the ending will be hopeful.