{"id":2412,"date":"2020-04-27T22:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=2412"},"modified":"2020-04-27T11:33:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T02:33:29","slug":"the-ending-of-final-fantasy-vii-remake-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/27\/the-ending-of-final-fantasy-vii-remake-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ending of Final Fantasy VII: Remake<\/i> Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ending of <\/span>Final Fantasy VII: Remake<\/span><\/i> is obtuse–purposely so. So let\u2019s break it down.<\/span><\/p>\n

To understand the ending, it\u2019s important to first step back and look at the overall state of the world. The planet, Gaia, is a living organism. The stone is its body, the plants its flesh, and the lifestream–i.e., the mako energy that flows beneath its surface–is its blood. While it’s not exactly conscious the same way we are, the Cetra were able to communicate with it to some degree and live in harmony with it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Gaia doesn\u2019t perceive time like the humans or Cetra. Gaia can see its future and knows that, with the imminent return of Sephiroth, it is in danger of destruction. Thus it produces the Whispers, similarly non-linear beings that act as antibodies that make sure that everything unfolds in such a way that the planet is saved. Or to put it another way, they attempt to force events to unfold in the same way as the original <\/span>Final Fantasy VII<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n

Every time the Whispers appear, it is because the plot is in danger of going off the rails. This is why they hurt Jessie\u2019s leg (to insure Cloud has to go on the sector 5 reactor mission), why they stop Cloud from killing Reno in the church, why they save Aerith from falling to her death, and why they stop the party from preventing the fall of the Sector 7 Plate–amongst many other instances. The characters are only allowed to know and do certain things at certain times.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, two people are able to see the path–the destiny–the Whispers are creating to protect Gaia: Aerith and Sephiroth.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Aerith\u2019s side, she seems to know things she shouldn\u2019t: the identity of her future friends, when important moments are coming, and even that her death is coming all too soon. Of course, this means she also knows that it is Sephiroth, not Shin-Ra that is the real threat to the world. Yet, should she try to directly share any of this information, the Whispers come for her–and each touch of theirs robs her of her future knowledge. Thus, she is walking a fine line–knowing much of what is to come but unable to change it at will lest she loses that knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE<\/a> on Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n

Sephiroth, on the other hand, has enough power to fight the whispers directly but they\u2019re still able to mitigate any damage he causes. Moreover, he has another limitation: His true body is far from Midgard and he can only control his clones for a limited time. His defeat is still a certainty–as long as the whispers are there, anyway. His only option for victory is to destroy \u201cfate\u201d with his own hands–or get the party to do it for him. He just has to wait for a crossroads of destiny to get his shot–i.e., the events at the end of <\/span>Final Fantasy VII: Remake<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the final set of battles, our heroes decide to fight for free will rather than accept the fate they catch only the briefest glimpses of–not knowing they are trading a surefire (though costly) win for something that could easily end much worse. But just when they defeat the main Whisper, the Whisper Harbinger, Sephiroth appears and takes control of the weakened forces of fate to force his own ideal future into being. The party manages to stop him from keeping his control of the remaining whispers but at this point, he has already achieved his goal: he is free from his preordained failure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And Sephiroth\u2019s not the only one.<\/span><\/p>\n