The End of Death Stranding: Sam and the Cuff Links
The lovely @dana-willowfeather and I were talking over chat, and she asked,
What's your thoughts about Sam getting rid of the "handcuff" and possibly hiding somewhere with Lou? First of all, do you analyse the ending as Sam making sure nobody can track him?
The end of Death Stranding is interesting, albeit somewhat antithetical to the game's central message of relationship and connectedness. At least at first glance. In it, we see Sam free Louise from her BB pod, opting to break the law and be banished from Bridges' society so he might raise her. She dies. Sam panics and grieves. Then, she starts crying a moment later. In the next shot, we see Lou holding Amelie's quipu, indicating that Amelie returned her to the land of the living as one last gift for Sam—a symbol of their connection.
This plays into Kojima's theme. But then Sam tosses his Bridges cuff links into the incinerator, therefore breaking his bond with Bridges and all the characters to whom he has grown close. While it makes sense that he would choose Lou over the rest of the cast, it also feels oddly contradictory. We get multiple speeches about "reconnecting America" throughout the game. It has been iterated and reiterated. But in the end, Sam breaks his ties to go solo with Lou.
It confused me initially. But then, I kept going back to what Mama said in her storyline,
You have to break some ties to forge others. You can't be connected to everything.
The game is about connection, yes, but it's also about being discerning and wise with those bonds. Mama moved on because it was unfair to Lockne and their deceased daughter to stay tethered. Heartman moved on because it was unfair to himself to remain tethered to his lost family. Fragile moved on from revenge because she realized killing Higgs would keep her tethered to her anger (and therefore to Higgs as well).
While it's disappointing to see Sam leave Bridges, he does it for the right reasons. Throughout the narrative, he chooses to make the right bonds. Sam chooses Amelie at the end of the world and saves everyone. He chooses Lou over Bridges and creates a way for their future.
