Couple of thoughts on Life is Strange: Double Exposure, though this post is mostly just my interpretation of the “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” ending. I’ve finished the first episode of LiS: DE (going to play more soon), so any spoilers here are only about the first part of the game. I actually already have so much (bad things) to say, but this one is about Chloe and Max
Although I love Chloe (she’s literally my highest kin of all time, lmao) and always chose the ending where she lives, I get the other one. It’s logical, it’s rational, Chloe even wants it herself (after all, it was her idea that Max goes back in time and lets her die). The Bay ending seems just normal. But that’s also what makes me love the Bae ending even more.
Chloe always seemed like an egocentric, irrational, and selfish character, while Max is the opposite. Max is altruistic and calm, the whole game is about how different people are and how Max tries to help them all. The only thing Chloe and Max have in common is their past. They are united by shared memories, that’s why they get along. But the thing is, that in the Bae ending they switch sides. Now Chloe is thinking about other people and Max is thinking about herself. Chloe wants Max to save the city, Max wants to be with her best friend/love interest (whatever you choose).
I also believe Max choosing Chloe over the city has something to do with a feeling of guilt after ghosting Chloe through her worst period of life. I feel like this ending is paradoxically about redemption. “Paradoxically” because Max sacrifices the whole city just to save one girl, which is not really morally correct, but she does show that now she will never leave Chloe. The ending is about a promise. The promise to stay together and never part.
But there’re also a couple of things that make this ending more bitter (not considering sacrificing the whole city, lol). Even though Chloe is alive, her feeling of not being worthy just triples.
We can already see that Chloe often thinks that she doesn’t deserve things, it’s a constant feeling in “Before the Storm”, it’s an expected emotion after William’s death, hell, she has the same damn problem in alternative universe, where she’s disabled and dying. Her parents pray for even a minute of her life and are ready to do anything for it, but she can’t feel grateful, the only thing she feels is guilt and shame, like she’s a dead weight and only brings more pain. It was Max telling her otherwise.
And with this kept in mind, just imagine how she would feel when Max decides that she is, in fact, more worthy. Imagine how painful and terrifying this would be for Chloe. Feeling that for someone you’re worth more than every single life in this city, while your own self-value is at the lowest.
I’m sure that after the Bae ending Chloe thinks about this every day. The worst part is that it wasn’t even her choice. Chloe was absolutely ready to die (again, the Bay ending is her idea) at that point, it was Max making the call. It’s both painful and beautiful. In the Bae ending Max is showing Chloe that she can be loved, valued, and cared for.
So, what happens to this philosophy in the new game? They part ways. Great. Thank you, Deck Nine. You absolutely ruined the whole idea of the first game.
I thought they just made the Bay ending canon, but oh man, now I wish they did. I was unfortunate enough to read Max and Chloe’s text messages, this is just painful for me. You’ll wanna sit down: now Max is blaming Chloe for not thinking about the dead people enough.
Yeah. You read that right.
Max sacrificed the whole city, a lot of people died, and now she’s blaming Chloe for wanting to move on and start a new life together. But what are you supposed to do in this situation? You can’t fix it, you can’t go back (well, you can, but the ending is literally about just not wanting to), you can’t resurrect the dead. Chloe has already gone through a similar trauma: death of a loved one is the situation you are unable to influence. All you can do now is try to build a better future, try to appreciate what’s left. And now Max and Chloe need each other most of all. It’s a new shared memory, a depressing one, too. As I said, the Bae ending is about never parting again.
The most irritating part of it is how Chloe has absolutely nothing to do in this situation. New Max pulled so much weight on Chloe’s shoulders and now is rubbing salt on the wound. Chloe definitely still feels like she doesn’t deserve all of this, and Max is literally telling her that. It’s so not Max. Max wouldn’t be like that at all. This is a contradiction to the first part of the series.
So, final thought — I will pretend like this game doesn’t exist. Or it’s about some different Max and some different Chloe that have nothing to do with Life is Strange franchise
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