damn, poppy's death drove elliot to insanity by experimenting on ollie, it's crazy to think this the same man that said he wanted children to have better lives and make them smile
SEE,, see see see, I’ve been thinking and I now have more theories. Another long Elliot post incoming pfffhfhshsh:
Judging by the vague time period given as to when Elliot was born, it is possible that he was just old enough to get conscripted into WW1. Technically you had to be 18 to sign up, but based on historical documentation, we know that boys as young as 14 were being accepted.
He strikes me as quite the patriotic guy, so I can definitely see him signing up as a ~16 y/o, especially if his home life wasn’t great. Propaganda was heavy in that era, so it would make sense that an optimistic mind like young Elliot’s would believe every word.
The other reason I’m so convinced that Elliot served, is because of the poppy flower. It is absolutely centric to the entire plot of the game. Poppy flowers are heavily associated with WW1, because they were the one of the only flowers (and the most striking) to grow on the ex-battlefields. So they have a strong symbolism of rebirth, resurrection, etc.
Hell, the man even named his daughter after the flower.
And who was the one who discovered the Poppy Gel, and its regenerative properties? Elliot! Surely that’s too strong of a tie to just be coincidence.
So.
My theory is that Elliot’s idea of making better lives for children, spreading smile and cheer, isn’t just an ideal, it’s an obsession. A coping mechanism. Hence his workaholic nature. I am convinced he has PTSD (as well as depression, which I think pre-dated Poppy’s death— i.e, he was already dealing with untreated mental illness, this tragic event just made it worse).
Do I think his desire to spread joy and give children a better future was genuine? Yes, absolutely. You can see a lot of that similar optimism in society right after WW1. It was described as “the war to end all wars” (propaganda, obviously), so once it was over there was a massive cultural shift toward looking to build a better future in the wake of the horrors. I think Elliot was a part of that movement.
But as he spiralled into a darker and darker mental state… he dragged that ideal down with him. In particular, I think after Poppy’s passing, he developed an intense fear of death. Not necessarily for himself, but for his loved ones.
I could argue that this is supported by canon, as well. In fact what’s really interesting is that you can see it in Harley and Elliot’s conversation in the labs— the one that ultimately lead Elliot to kick Harley out. They’re parallels. Elliot’s experimentation is just as selfish as Harley’s, (as proven by the lengths he was willing to go to) but he’s doing it for his daughter. Harley, on the other hand appears to be experimenting, be pushing for progress, for himself and his own satisfaction/personal gain.
Hence why Elliot tells him “progress should always be for the benefit of humanity”. I think he would have been more accepting of Harley’s desire to immediately jump to human test subjects, if the boy had showed more, what Elliot describes as, “humility”. In fact, since some people are theorising that Harley was originally meant to be the Prototype himself… it could be that Elliot was already considering experimenting on humans before Harley even brought it up. More specifically, on Harley himself. He just didn’t end up being the right “fit”, for his plan.
What’s even more funky is that it’s entirely possible that Harley was also traumatised by a war— WW2. Although in his case it would be from the aftermath of the war, rather than being directly involved in it (WW2 ended in 1945, and Harley studied under Elliot in the early/mid 1960’s, and I doubt he would have been older than 20 during that time). So that gives even more parallels between them.
I saw a theory once that ended with “Poppy Playtime is a story of generational trauma”, and. YEAH. That tracks.
In conclusion, Elliot’s downward spiral began long before he even adopted Poppy in the first place.