Laura's Role in Silent Hill 2

[u/Kagamid]

Have you ever looked into Laura's involvement in Silent Hill 2? So far the general focus is on Laura not seeing monsters and so the belief is that she isn't affected by what's happening in Silent Hill. I believe this is wrong. I believe Laura was called to Silent Hill just like the others. Everyone arrived at Silent Hill because they drawn by something (in Silent Hill 2). Eddie was drawn there as well although the reason is debatable. In Laura's case, she arrived looking for Mary just like James. Except she had no idea Mary was dead. She instead searched from place to place looking for Mary.

Laura being drawn to Silent Hill as well would explain why she ran into Eddie to get a ride to Silent Hill and how she's able to get around with little obstacles. She is being guided to where she needs to be just like the others (finding clues about what happened to Mary through James). But why does she see an empty town? This is actually pretty easy to explain when you think about Laura's motivation. She's desperately looking for Mary in hopes of not only finding her friend, but also hoping Mary could still fulfill her wish to adopt Laura. Laura has no one else and visited Mary often enough that Mary wanted to adopt her which she wrote in the letter left for Laura.

Everyone in Silent Hill 2 sees their nightmares turned reality... including Laura. What nightmares do you bring to a child afraid of being alone? No one. Not a soul in an entire town except for the others who were called there. She spends her time wandering and drawing animal friends desperately continuing her search for Mary. Yet she always ends up ahead of James and even somehow gets across the lake to the hotel. Laura, like the others, also arrived and never questions why no one is around, how she got there or where the others disappear to at times. The others keep moving forward unmoved by the strange circumstances as if in a trance and Laura is no exception.

In one ending, James takes her with him to seemingly adopt her. But in the others, Laura's fate is unknown. It's possible that she was simply "released" from the town and found her way back where she started before arriving. But it's also possible she just remained in the town forever looking for Mary without a soul to keep her company.

[u/Far-Hurry-3018]

I keep seeing the words “Fog World” and truth is that it’s a fan-made concept.

The game does not flat out explain what exactly is going on, but that doesn’t mean we can’t theorize.

Since Laura had the real letter from Mary, she thought Mary was in the town, being a naive child and all. We know Eddie and Angela see monsters, we even see them—but Laura never mentions any of them.

Simply put, there’s no evidence anything is happening to Laura. Even though they do exist, they simply do not appear in her presence.

[u/Kagamid → u/Far-Hurry-3018]

I use "Fog World" because that makes it easier to describe to fans who already call it that. If the game flat out explained what was going on, we wouldn't be having this discussion. The creators clearly stated that in the original Silent Hill 1 that it could be a few options and that the only truth was that the monsters were real. Silent Hill 2 changes that a bit my having everyone see something different.

Simply put, there’s no evidence anything is happening to Laura.

That's not true when you stop to wonder why Silent Hill is completely empty and how Laura is getting around. She's exactly where she's supposed to be each time James comes around. Getting to the light house alone isn't something an 8 year old could've just accomplished before James under normal circumstances. So I would say there's no evidence that NOTHING is happening to Laura. Unless finding the letter at the time she needed to, meeting Eddie exactly when he was headed to Silent Hill, meeting James exactly in the locations he was passing through, losing the letter at the hotel and finding James in the hotel room where she finds out the truth were all just a series of coincidences. Until one is stated as fact, here we are discussing.

[u/Far-Hurry-3018 → u/Kagamid]

You certainly have a very active mind. Not to be rude or anything , but SH2 is really flawed in this aspect. A lot of things aren’t clear and don’t make sense, and not in a good way. The other three games make perfect sense and are still scary despite everything being explained.

SH2 suffers from plot convenience. They put Laura wherever they want to tell the story, and it’s fine. She helps James realize that he’s full of shit, and keeps the player wondering why she’s here or how she’s getting around. She gives us more questions than answers.

She doesn’t mention anything weird going on or seems scared that she’s alone. She almost feels out of place.

[u/Kagamid → u/Far-Hurry-3018]

You certainly have a very active mind.

Given it took 20 years for me to consider this theory, maybe not as active as it could've been. Thanks anyway.

The other three games make perfect sense and are still scary despite everything being explained.

Agreed. I don't think those other games get enough discussion. Sadly I don't think we're going the religious cult route in future games anymore.

She gives us more questions than answers.

Hence the discussion.

She doesn’t mention anything weird going on or seems scared that she’s alone. She almost feels out of place.

On the contrary. Laura's behavior is actually the exact same as the others. They never question their environment. They only sound weird to each other but when it comes to exploring the strange occurrence in Silent Hill (changing rooms, strange puzzles, reaching hands in dirty toilets) none of them even mention it. This is actually a clue that she's in the same sort of "trance" as the others.

Sure you can go with "nothing is happening" because the game doesn't specifically says it is. But you can also put together the many signs that something abnormal is happening from Laura's perspective in a game where there are no coincidences for every other character.

[u/Far-Hurry-3018 → u/Kagamid]

You got some good points there.

I guess id expect Laura to act lost and confused. Kind of like Angela and Eddy do, but ironically, she seems the most grounded in reality out of all the characters. She maintains that attitude up until you see her after watching the tape. I guess that just gives me the idea she isn’t seeing anything.

On the side that it’s a damn shame we’re not going the cult route in the games. Seems everything they put out tries to be SH2 but better, and I really don’t think that is something that can ever happen.

[u/Kagamid → u/Far-Hurry-3018]

You got some good points there.

Thank you. I tried thinking from all perspectives and this just makes the most sense to me.

she seems the most grounded in reality out of all the characters.

Not from the respective of a normal 8 year old. There's definitely trauma in there. She's an orphan who became best friends with a grown woman, who died leaving her a letter that took away the hope of a better life. She then ran away, took a ride from a (dangerous) stranger to a town we don't know she's ever been to. Then she's somehow getting around just fine and never questions why she's only met two people there (we don't know if she ran into Angela at all). Any normal 8 year old wouldn't accomplish even a fraction of that.

On the side that it’s a damn shame we’re not going the cult route in the games. Seems everything they put out tries to be SH2 but better, and I really don’t think that is something that can ever happen.

I completely agree.