so it's really obvious that temperance ending is a rebirth for johnny. i mean, kind of literally, because he's reborn into a new body. but i think what strikes me the most is the very opening of the ending: johnny staring at the ceiling fan. he tells v that after he deserted he spent months at the pistis sophia, just staring at the ceiling fan, paralyzed, unsure of what to do. so we know from that, and from the bits of dialogue at the end of the ending, that that's exactly what johnny's doing again. he can't move on, he's stuck, replaying what happened over and over again in his head (which, surprise surprise, is one of the theories for why his memories are inaccurate), wondering how things would've been if they'd done something else, where v is, mourning them (and mourning rogue too depending on which ending you went for), before he finally takes the plunge just as he did when he deserted, and reinvents himself. back then he became johnny silverhand, teenage rockerboy and bane of mega corporations. but who will he be now? stuck in the body of his closest friend, who sacrificed their own life, body, and even implied humanity to give him a second chance. he, who said he would do them no wrong. he should've known better when their answer to "would you take a bullet for me?" was yes. but he's older and wiser now, and he won't waste this chance he's been given.
i think the beauty of this ending is that we don't know how johnny reinvents himself this time. does he take this chance to live the quiet life neither of them ever got to? arasaka is in shambles, the corporation that stole both of their lives in ruins, reputation destroyed, losing customers and eddies by the day. adam smasher is dead. mikoshi is destroyed. there will be no more engrams made of anyone. v is not truly dead - out there, somewhere beyond the blackwall.
so he says goodbye a final time. because he can't keep talking to himself. he can't keep staring at the ceiling fan. but he can't forget either. he never will. he does what little good he can in the world now, something he learned from v. maybe one day he'll be the one buying that kid's albums, going to his shows. who knows?
