Which Silent Hill 2 Ending Is Canon, Explained

Silent Hill 2 is one of the most important horror games ever made, and one of its defining elements is its multiple different endings. But with multiple endings comes the question of which ending is the real one. Here’s which ending is considered canon in Silent Hill 2.

Which Silent Hill 2 Ending Is the Real One?

In the original 2001 release, Silent Hill 2 came with six different endings, and of those six, only three could be accessed on a second playthrough. The remake by Bloober Team retains those six endings, but also adds two new endings, giving the remake a total of eight different endings for players to see, with most of them feeling like relatively conclusive endings to the story of James Sunderland.

However, Konami has never confirmed which of the game’s many endings is actually the canon ending, leaving a lot of it up to personal interpretation. Even among the Silent Hill community, there is no clear-cut answer as to which is the accepted canon ending, but there are arguments to be made about which one makes the most sense given the game’s themes.

First, the “Dog” and “UFO” endings are joke endings, so there’s no question that they’re not canon. The two new endings in the remake, the “Stillness” and “Bliss” endings, are also not considered canon, though they do build upon elements that arguably are. Finally, the last ending that we can eliminate as being non-canon is the last ending that requires a second playthrough, the “Rebirth” ending, where James tries to revive Mary using the dark gods of Silent Hill.

That leaves us with the three endings that are only available on your first playthrough – the “In Water” ending, the “Leave” ending, and the “Maria” ending. In the “In Water” ending, James commits suicide by drowning in Toluca Lake. As for the “Leave” ending, James comes to terms with Mary’s death and reveals to her how he wants to end their suffering, resulting in him leaving the town with Laura. Finally, the “Maria” ending sees James leave town with Maria, the manifestation of his ideal and sexualized version of Mary, only for her to cough as they leave, symbolizing how Maria will become sick with the same illness that killed Mary.

Related: All Silent Hill 2 Difficulty Levels, Explained

Of the three, few fans will argue that the “Mary” ending is canon given how it undermines James’ character arc. James is constantly searching for Mary and always seems to be put off by Maria, so seeing an ending where the two of them ride off into the sunset doesn’t really make sense given how they interact with one another

Of the remaining two, most interpretations will say that the “In Water” ending is considered the canon ending. Throughout the game, we witness James’ desire for punishment and atonement, symbolized by the appearance of Pyramid Head and how it constantly murders Maria. James admits to murdering Mary and displays remorse for killing Eddie. Plus, multiple different puzzles and locations specifically make mention of how criminals need to be punished for their actions, driving home James’ need for damnation. Sure, Mary can forgive James and he can leave Silent Hill with Laura, but you could argue that James would have received no atonement for his actions. He gets a happy ending and manages to live another day.

The “In Water” ending is that atonement. James can’t get over what he did to Mary and decides to kill himself as an act of retribution. It’s dark, sure, but it’s fitting given how every other character with the exception of Laura dies. Every character is judged by the town, and given the gravity of James’ sins, it only makes sense that he dies alongside everyone else. Again, Konami has never officially confirmed this, but given how they used the “In Water” ending as the ending of the official Silent Hill 2 novelization, there are more arguments in favor of “In Water” being the canon ending than any other one.

And that’s which Silent Hill 2 ending is canon.

The Silent Hill 2 remake is available now on PC and PlayStation.