Demonic Weasel
06-21-2007, 11:59 AM
Why am I randomly posting this topic? Well, pretty much because after a friend and I recently replayed Dark Savior, we spent a while coming up with a theory to explain the game and all, and I was crazy enough to type it up and now I'm randomly putting it here for you all to read. Yeah. So, hmm.
My lords and ladies, my associate and I have prepared, for your reading enjoyment, a theory to explain the time loop of Dark Savior logically. This theory explains everything that there is to be explained. There are two people who must be fully credited for this theory. My co- author, His Grace Morgan the Frenchman, Legendary Greater Devil, Lord of Oddeye, the First of His Name, is responsible for coming up with the original, base theory. I, of no long list of titles, helped refine this theory and explain some of the extra pieces that were left over.
Before the explanation begins there are a few points that one must consider before anything can be constructed, first; that there are 5 Garian’s that we know of, Garian of Parallel 1, Garian of Parallel 2, Garian of Parallel 3, Evil, sometimes known as Carbon, Garian, and Garian before the time-loop began. Second, that at no time do any of the Garian’s encounter each other face to face with one notable exception after parallel universes have collided and last, that as Garian is in a time-loop every factor must add up into that loop and so must every character.
In order to understand the game one must work backwards, starting with Garian 3 who is the first to leave the ship. However, one must start with the ship as a point of reference, for that is surely what it is. Garian 3 isn’t just the first to leave the ship; he’s also the first to return to the ship. He gets to Jailer’s Island before either of his counter-parts and reaches the island. His parallel, even with parallel 4 added to it is slightly short and he therefore returns to the ship first. Garian 2 must, therefore, return to the ship when Garian 3 is about halfway through it. And Garian 1 reaches the ship at about the same point that Garian 3 is leaving it whilst Garian 2 is almost half-way through himself.
From here, there is no simple path or timeline to follow. The point of interest that is the starting place for understanding is Dead Man’s Castle where Garian 2, Garian 3, and Evil Garian all come together in the same place. The event, on the surface of it, depicts Evil Garian activating a trap in the wall which is an attempt to kill Garian 2 whilst Garian 3 watches. This much is quite straight-forward. But, it offers an explanation for quite a puzzling little event in Parallel 1. Recall, in the first parallel Garian 1 whilst exploring Dead Man’s Castle at the behest of the JLO, comes across Kay who is desperately hanging on to the side of the rock to avoid falling into the tank of bilanium. The question is; how is it that a trained Latvian ninja would have fallen in the first place? The only possible answer is that Evil Garian’s attempt to kill Garian 2 also affected her in Parallel 1.
This explains one thing, but gives us another question. On the one hand, it’s clear that Evil Garian can see all of the alternate universes and can affect all of them. Yet, if that’s so, why is it that, aside from Kay, he never tries to affect Garian 1?
In order to understand the answer to this we have to examine all of the actions that Evil Garian takes. And, it’s important to note, every single thing that he does affects other people. His attack on the child, his attack on Garian 2 and Kay, his gathering of a following etc. The other thing that is important to note, is that Parallel 2 is the direct result of Evil Garian’s interference. Had he not tried to kill Garian 2, then Drizzit becoming a bilanium monster wouldn’t have happened. And this reinforces the earlier question; why does Evil Garian never try to affect Garian 1? Why does he affect Garian 2? What is the difference between these two parallel universes?
The answer is Bilan. Bilan is the difference. Bilan dies on the ship in Parallel 2 and can no longer affect event in that Parallel. The ship which is, incidentally, the point of reference for the time-loop, is where his influence ends. In Parallel 1, however, Bilan kills everybody on Jailer’s Island with the important exception of the Doc. Realizing this, the question shifts. Why is Bilan not a viable link for Evil Garian? Evil Garian can only affect other people and Bilan is technically not a person. In order for Evil Garian to do things in other parallels, there must be a viable link.
After realizing this, it becomes clear that Evil Garian either cannot affect Bilan, or that he chooses not to. In order to understand his relation with Bilan though, it is necessary to understand Bilan himself. The answer to that starts back on the ship. When Bilan reappeared, many of the ordinary things of the universe started functioning oddly; the rules of time for example.
Bilan begins on the ship, but there is one other person on the ship. Musashi. Of all of the characters in the game, Musashi is by far the oddest. It’s easy enough to take him as a petty criminal and his hatred of Garian is easy enough to understand as well. And yet, he knows the truth. He hints at things that he shouldn’t know. How is this? Musashi will be returned to later, with the proper point, but keep this question in mind as you consider how other pieces fit into the whole.
Returning to Bilan; to further reinforce the point that Evil Garian cannot affect events that Bilan has a hand in, consider this. The first known activity of Evil Garian occurs after Bilan is dead. Interesting. While Bilan is alive, Evil Garian seems to do nothing. Secondly, Garian enters the Marathon of Death after Bilan kills him. The text tells us quite explicitly that the Marathon is a chance at redemption, a chance he can only access after Bilan slays him before reaching Jailers Island. Third, all of the hints that are suggested in Parallel 4 lead one to the conclusion that Evil Garian is the Dark Savior, not Bilan.
What does all of this add up to? Simply, that Bilan is Garian’s only measure of protection in the parallel universes. Again, note that Bilan and Evil Garian never, ever interact with each other. Why? Because they are rivals for evil and each is afraid of the other. Consider again, Evil Garian tries to kill Garian 2, after Bilan is dead. Evil Garian tries to kill Garian 3, after Bilan is dead. Yet, Evil Garian inexplicably stays his hand with Garian 1. That is to say, it is inexplicable unless one accepts the theory that Evil Garian is frightened of Bilan and uses Garian to kill him.
This immediately brings up another point; why did Bilan come to Jailers Island? We are provided with the convenient excuse that he came for the bilanium, but note this; Bilan only ever goes for the bilanium once. The rest of the time he’s conveniently slow enough for Garian to keep following him, not to mention he seems more distracted by his other apparent goal, slaughter. Why? Why would he want Garian to keep following him?
Before answering that question, consider another point. Why is Garian following Bilan? Because of Lance of course; Lance acts as the factor that brings Garian into the time-loop. Lance is the motivation. And Lance’s random appearances in the parallels occur, because he is the factor that ties the ‘real’ Garian to each of his parallel selves. Lance is what gives the amount of ‘realness’ as it were, to all three Garians.
So, Garian follows Bilan because of Lance. Bilan, who conveniently caused Garian to kill Lance, which draws him after Bilan in a state of guilt. Garian goes where Bilan goes, and Bilan goes to Jailers Island. Not to go after the bilanium, time after time Bilan has proven that he doesn’t even need that, no, he goes to Jailers Island after killing Lance to make Garian follow him. Why? Because Bilan is as frightened of Evil Garian as Evil Garian is of him. Bilan draws Garian out so that Garian will kill his dark counter-part for Bilan.
There is one niggling little inconsistency throughout the whole game that doesn’t make any sense. Namely, some of the minor characters have knowledge that it doesn’t seem that they should have. The victims of carbon freeze, and Indigo, and Duran. How is that they all know so much about the Dark Savior? The obvious answer is that they are sworn to Evil Garian and therefore know the truth that he is trying to create, the evil truth. And yet, there are two interesting exceptions. The Doc and Musashi. Both of these characters also claim to have knowledge and they have no contact with Evil Garian.
There is only one thing that all of these characters have in common; they are all servants of evil. Thus comes two major points; the parallel system and the fact that evil knows everything. The parallel system shall be addressed first; this is not just the game system, but the time-loop as a whole. For every evil character, there is someone who is ‘good’ to balance it out. The list is as follows.
Garian/Evil Garian
Kurt/Kay
Jack/the Doc
Tracy/Bilan
Drizzit/Duran
Bruno/J.J
Musashi/Lance
Alibaba/DeBose
Olivia/Luke
Miranda/Don
Bounty Hunter Team/ Carbon Freeze Victims
Indigo/Howee Man
Some of those pairings are obvious, and others not so much. Before continuing putting pieces into place, I’ll take a moment to explain our rationale between some of the pairings.
We’ll start with the few that aren’t, perhaps, so obvious that don’t really explain other points of the theory. Olivia and Luke. These two are paired together, because their roles are remarkably similar. They both act as extremely minor triggers for the events on Jailers Island. Luke acts as a trigger for Garian all throughout Parallel 2 and Olivia acts a trigger for the JLO which is balanced perfectly between good and evil. And, she acts for the evil side so that J.J can try to enact his take-over. As an interesting note, Olivia and Luke even look a little bit alike.
Miranda and Don is the other non-obvious and non-dynamic pairing. We’ll start with Don. He had quite an entrance for a character who means nothing, wouldn’t you agree? Some might say the same for other characters, such as Dunbar or perhaps Max. But remember, Max acted as a random soul to be snatched by Bilan or, alternately to defend Kurt. Dunbar acted as a chance to see that bounty hunters are not well-liked. Neither gave any interesting information. Don, on the other hand, tells you more than a little about Warden Kurt, no matter what scenario you start. Warden Kurt who is deranged, but neither good nor evil. I’ll get to that in a moment. Anyway, and what does Miranda do? She also serves as a source of information, information designed to aid Garian in his quest to stop the Warden. Minor characters with a minor connection and perfectly balanced.
Kurt and Kay, obvious though it is, require a brief word. Kurt is the only other ‘evil’ character who doesn’t serve Evil Garian and doesn’t seem to have any knowledge of him. This is understandable given the fact that he’s dead by the time Evil Garian escapes, but it does make an interesting character point. The one thing all the characters have in common is that they serve the truth of the evil universe or the truth of good universe. But the all do serve the truth. Kurt, on the other hand, serves his own truth. He’s evil and deranged, but his evil has a very direct purpose always. He’s never ‘evil for the sake of evil’ to put it in the words of Duran. What does this mean? His truth, his character is alone in a different way. This is evidenced in the game of course; depending on the circumstances Kurt can go either way. How does this tie into his pairing with Kay then? Simply that she also serves ‘good’ for different reasons than anyone else. She doesn’t fight for survival or common decency, at least not at first. She fights as an agent for very specific purposes. She turns to Garian in both cases because she has no choice.
One of the most interesting pairings and points is that of Musashi and Lance. On the outset, these characters have nothing to do with each other. To begin to understand the connection, one has to start with Lance whose role in the loop is already defined. Lance is the factor from the ‘real’ world that drew Garian to Jailers Island. Once Garian enters the time-loop, Lance serves no further purpose. It’s interesting that once Musashi reaches Jailers Island, he also serves no purpose. On the ship, he let Garian know that evil knows by having knowledge that he couldn’t have. On the island, even when he shows up, he’s not serving any purpose but his own random crazed notions. He doesn’t seem to fit with Lance’s other main point either, that of being a real-world factor. And then you have to consider the nature of the time-loop and Garian; no where is it said that Evil Garian can exist exclusively in the time-loop. The dialogue from the Marathon of Death leads one to the conclusion that Garian sort of splits up in his different parallels. That is to say; the evil is always a part of him and Evil Garian also needed a factor to drag him into the time-loop. And what better factor that one, crazed, bitter, petty criminal? Exactly the sort of person from the ‘real’ world that Evil Garian can be connected to.
The last three pairings that require a word of explanation are all really quite fascinating. We’ll start with the mysterious Indigo Mcnamara and that drunken pirate who enjoys saying, “HOWEE!” The connection here is a simple one. Indigo helps Garian in one universe, because Evil Garian is not yet active and therefore, Indigo has no reason to want Garian’s death. It’s important to keep in mind that Indigo is very pragmatic; he does things according to his nature. When the Dark Messiah arrives, he swears himself to Evil Garian because it’s in his nature. The HOWEE pirate is the only other character who does things for such a simple reason. He’s not good, nor evil, nor an agent, he’s just a drunken pirate who thinks it’d be funny to see someone drink a bottle of jalapeno juice in one gulp. Furthermore, they are both important for setting up events in the time-loop; it is Indigo who gives the definitive hint that explains to you that Bilan cannot be the Dark Messiah, something which is necessary to understand to understand the game at all, and the HOWEE pirate sets the catalyst for your encounter with the child which is how the evil is created.
Now, for another of the more interesting pairings; Jack and the Doc. Like some of the others, on the face of it, this seems like a ludicrous suggestion. In order to understand this one, start with the less-complicated character, the Doc. The important point with the Doc is to remember that he’s alive after Bilan attacks the lab. There’s a reason for this that’s immediately handed to you from the game. The Doc is mumbling about how he created the evil, an inane and pointless comment. But it is the truth. He used the bilanium and saw to the carbon-freeze, etc. The Doc is the true creator of evil in the loop, and therefore evil cannot touch him, Bilan could not touch him. The second thing to understand is that the Doc is truly alone. He created the evil, but the rest of the evil cannot touch him. Why? Throughout the game there is a theme of the truth. Those on the side of evil comprehend only the truth of the evil universe whereas those on the side of good comprehend the truth of the good universe. The Doc, however, comprehends both truths while choosing neither. He is evil, but aside from creating the evil, he does not involve himself. Jack is also alone. Remember, Jack is the only character who ever tries to help Garian. Jack tells Garian back on the ship that he does not have to go. Jack keeps Garian from killing the child. Interestingly, after the incident with the child, Jack never tries to stop Garian again. This proves that Jack knows what the time-loop is about, yet he tries to help Garian. The only explanation for this is that he is alone, as a character of good to balance out the Doc.
As another point with Jack is the issue of the Blue Rose. Remember, it is the Blue Rose that keeps Garian from killing the child 3 times out of 4. Also remember, Garian is having his dreams and wakes up to randomly find the Blue Rose. Kay is a common red herring about the rose; she in fact has nothing to do with it. Remember that is was Jack who was alone in Garian’s cabin where the rose was found, that it was Jack who warned Garian not to leave the cabin, that it was Jack who tried to keep Garian from drinking the juice, and that it was Jack who tried to stop Garian from killing the child. The Blue Rose was what stopped Garian, a rose that Jack had the opportunity to plant on Garian. This shows that Jack not only knows the truth, but that he tries his best to create the good, the same way that the Doc tries to create the evil.
And now for the last pairing, that of Tracy and Bilan. This is another one that seems a bit odd. The thing that makes Tracy special is her ability to see into the future. She triggers certain events on Jailers Island because of what she sees. Now, for Bilan again. Why did he come to Jailers Island? I already answered that didn’t I? To stop Evil Garian, the Dark Messiah with whom he competes and of whom he is afraid. But, how would he know that he could cause Evil Garian to come out on Jailers Island? How is it that Bilan so shrewdly snatched Lance’s body and caused Garian to kill him? How is it that he seemed to know that this would make Garian follow him out of guilt? One possible answer is simply that he recognized Garian on sight. If so, however, why would he try to draw Garian to Jailer’s Island? Why not deal with him immediately? No matter how you try to explain it, Bilan’s foreknowledge must be a result of his own gift to see into the future and to know, the Evil Garian could only be stopped on Jailer’s Island.
There are a few final points to be considered. To start with, there’s the minor sub-parallel that can be accessed by letting Kay die in Dead Man’s Castle. Let’s skip ahead to the meeting with Tracy and the events that follow after a futile fight. You learn that bilano type creatures invade the rest of the world. How is that possible? Bilan is quite dead at this point. To start with, let’s consider Drizzit. Drizzit is a monster of bilanium and therefore, only Bilan, or as is seen in the game, Kay, can stop him. Bilan dies on the ship and Kay dies in Dead Man’s Castle. So, what happens next? With no one to stop him, Drizzit rampages across the Island killing everybody, except the Doc. Now, a while later Garian of parallel one comes along to find a slaughtered populace. Bilan of parallel one can kill Drizzit quite easily and will, just to be rid of him. And, since Garian has no help, he can kill Garian pretty easily too. How does this affect events in Parallel 3? Well, two Garian’s are now dead, their worlds collapsed. Evil Garian can finish Garian 3 easily under such circumstances. And then it comes down to a fight between Evil Garian and Bilan. So, as you can see, the sub-parallel fits like a glove.
One other point to be considered; it is well-known that Dark Savior had at least one parallel left in Japan. It is commonly rumored that in this parallel, Jack turns out to be an evil time-controlling enemy. I put it to you, that this is entirely the case from Evil Garian’s point of view.
As you can see my lords, and ladies, everything fits into place for the explanation of a parallel time-loop. To recap; the game is mostly a struggle between Bilan and Evil Garian for existence as they are both terrified of each other. The both attempt to manipulate Garian to kill the other for them. Jack is aware of the time-loop and tries to aid Garian before it’s too late. Garian, however, makes all the choices ultimately and his choices result in the differing actions of the populace of Jailers Island. And finally, Garian actively works against himself in trying to kill Bilan. Evil Garian can affect anyone else, but Bilan, for Bilan is the only viable link back to the ‘real’ world.
In conclusion, Garian is stuck in a highly fascinating, complex, and slightly depressing time-loop that seems to have been designed to screw him over.
My lords and ladies, my associate and I have prepared, for your reading enjoyment, a theory to explain the time loop of Dark Savior logically. This theory explains everything that there is to be explained. There are two people who must be fully credited for this theory. My co- author, His Grace Morgan the Frenchman, Legendary Greater Devil, Lord of Oddeye, the First of His Name, is responsible for coming up with the original, base theory. I, of no long list of titles, helped refine this theory and explain some of the extra pieces that were left over.
Before the explanation begins there are a few points that one must consider before anything can be constructed, first; that there are 5 Garian’s that we know of, Garian of Parallel 1, Garian of Parallel 2, Garian of Parallel 3, Evil, sometimes known as Carbon, Garian, and Garian before the time-loop began. Second, that at no time do any of the Garian’s encounter each other face to face with one notable exception after parallel universes have collided and last, that as Garian is in a time-loop every factor must add up into that loop and so must every character.
In order to understand the game one must work backwards, starting with Garian 3 who is the first to leave the ship. However, one must start with the ship as a point of reference, for that is surely what it is. Garian 3 isn’t just the first to leave the ship; he’s also the first to return to the ship. He gets to Jailer’s Island before either of his counter-parts and reaches the island. His parallel, even with parallel 4 added to it is slightly short and he therefore returns to the ship first. Garian 2 must, therefore, return to the ship when Garian 3 is about halfway through it. And Garian 1 reaches the ship at about the same point that Garian 3 is leaving it whilst Garian 2 is almost half-way through himself.
From here, there is no simple path or timeline to follow. The point of interest that is the starting place for understanding is Dead Man’s Castle where Garian 2, Garian 3, and Evil Garian all come together in the same place. The event, on the surface of it, depicts Evil Garian activating a trap in the wall which is an attempt to kill Garian 2 whilst Garian 3 watches. This much is quite straight-forward. But, it offers an explanation for quite a puzzling little event in Parallel 1. Recall, in the first parallel Garian 1 whilst exploring Dead Man’s Castle at the behest of the JLO, comes across Kay who is desperately hanging on to the side of the rock to avoid falling into the tank of bilanium. The question is; how is it that a trained Latvian ninja would have fallen in the first place? The only possible answer is that Evil Garian’s attempt to kill Garian 2 also affected her in Parallel 1.
This explains one thing, but gives us another question. On the one hand, it’s clear that Evil Garian can see all of the alternate universes and can affect all of them. Yet, if that’s so, why is it that, aside from Kay, he never tries to affect Garian 1?
In order to understand the answer to this we have to examine all of the actions that Evil Garian takes. And, it’s important to note, every single thing that he does affects other people. His attack on the child, his attack on Garian 2 and Kay, his gathering of a following etc. The other thing that is important to note, is that Parallel 2 is the direct result of Evil Garian’s interference. Had he not tried to kill Garian 2, then Drizzit becoming a bilanium monster wouldn’t have happened. And this reinforces the earlier question; why does Evil Garian never try to affect Garian 1? Why does he affect Garian 2? What is the difference between these two parallel universes?
The answer is Bilan. Bilan is the difference. Bilan dies on the ship in Parallel 2 and can no longer affect event in that Parallel. The ship which is, incidentally, the point of reference for the time-loop, is where his influence ends. In Parallel 1, however, Bilan kills everybody on Jailer’s Island with the important exception of the Doc. Realizing this, the question shifts. Why is Bilan not a viable link for Evil Garian? Evil Garian can only affect other people and Bilan is technically not a person. In order for Evil Garian to do things in other parallels, there must be a viable link.
After realizing this, it becomes clear that Evil Garian either cannot affect Bilan, or that he chooses not to. In order to understand his relation with Bilan though, it is necessary to understand Bilan himself. The answer to that starts back on the ship. When Bilan reappeared, many of the ordinary things of the universe started functioning oddly; the rules of time for example.
Bilan begins on the ship, but there is one other person on the ship. Musashi. Of all of the characters in the game, Musashi is by far the oddest. It’s easy enough to take him as a petty criminal and his hatred of Garian is easy enough to understand as well. And yet, he knows the truth. He hints at things that he shouldn’t know. How is this? Musashi will be returned to later, with the proper point, but keep this question in mind as you consider how other pieces fit into the whole.
Returning to Bilan; to further reinforce the point that Evil Garian cannot affect events that Bilan has a hand in, consider this. The first known activity of Evil Garian occurs after Bilan is dead. Interesting. While Bilan is alive, Evil Garian seems to do nothing. Secondly, Garian enters the Marathon of Death after Bilan kills him. The text tells us quite explicitly that the Marathon is a chance at redemption, a chance he can only access after Bilan slays him before reaching Jailers Island. Third, all of the hints that are suggested in Parallel 4 lead one to the conclusion that Evil Garian is the Dark Savior, not Bilan.
What does all of this add up to? Simply, that Bilan is Garian’s only measure of protection in the parallel universes. Again, note that Bilan and Evil Garian never, ever interact with each other. Why? Because they are rivals for evil and each is afraid of the other. Consider again, Evil Garian tries to kill Garian 2, after Bilan is dead. Evil Garian tries to kill Garian 3, after Bilan is dead. Yet, Evil Garian inexplicably stays his hand with Garian 1. That is to say, it is inexplicable unless one accepts the theory that Evil Garian is frightened of Bilan and uses Garian to kill him.
This immediately brings up another point; why did Bilan come to Jailers Island? We are provided with the convenient excuse that he came for the bilanium, but note this; Bilan only ever goes for the bilanium once. The rest of the time he’s conveniently slow enough for Garian to keep following him, not to mention he seems more distracted by his other apparent goal, slaughter. Why? Why would he want Garian to keep following him?
Before answering that question, consider another point. Why is Garian following Bilan? Because of Lance of course; Lance acts as the factor that brings Garian into the time-loop. Lance is the motivation. And Lance’s random appearances in the parallels occur, because he is the factor that ties the ‘real’ Garian to each of his parallel selves. Lance is what gives the amount of ‘realness’ as it were, to all three Garians.
So, Garian follows Bilan because of Lance. Bilan, who conveniently caused Garian to kill Lance, which draws him after Bilan in a state of guilt. Garian goes where Bilan goes, and Bilan goes to Jailers Island. Not to go after the bilanium, time after time Bilan has proven that he doesn’t even need that, no, he goes to Jailers Island after killing Lance to make Garian follow him. Why? Because Bilan is as frightened of Evil Garian as Evil Garian is of him. Bilan draws Garian out so that Garian will kill his dark counter-part for Bilan.
There is one niggling little inconsistency throughout the whole game that doesn’t make any sense. Namely, some of the minor characters have knowledge that it doesn’t seem that they should have. The victims of carbon freeze, and Indigo, and Duran. How is that they all know so much about the Dark Savior? The obvious answer is that they are sworn to Evil Garian and therefore know the truth that he is trying to create, the evil truth. And yet, there are two interesting exceptions. The Doc and Musashi. Both of these characters also claim to have knowledge and they have no contact with Evil Garian.
There is only one thing that all of these characters have in common; they are all servants of evil. Thus comes two major points; the parallel system and the fact that evil knows everything. The parallel system shall be addressed first; this is not just the game system, but the time-loop as a whole. For every evil character, there is someone who is ‘good’ to balance it out. The list is as follows.
Garian/Evil Garian
Kurt/Kay
Jack/the Doc
Tracy/Bilan
Drizzit/Duran
Bruno/J.J
Musashi/Lance
Alibaba/DeBose
Olivia/Luke
Miranda/Don
Bounty Hunter Team/ Carbon Freeze Victims
Indigo/Howee Man
Some of those pairings are obvious, and others not so much. Before continuing putting pieces into place, I’ll take a moment to explain our rationale between some of the pairings.
We’ll start with the few that aren’t, perhaps, so obvious that don’t really explain other points of the theory. Olivia and Luke. These two are paired together, because their roles are remarkably similar. They both act as extremely minor triggers for the events on Jailers Island. Luke acts as a trigger for Garian all throughout Parallel 2 and Olivia acts a trigger for the JLO which is balanced perfectly between good and evil. And, she acts for the evil side so that J.J can try to enact his take-over. As an interesting note, Olivia and Luke even look a little bit alike.
Miranda and Don is the other non-obvious and non-dynamic pairing. We’ll start with Don. He had quite an entrance for a character who means nothing, wouldn’t you agree? Some might say the same for other characters, such as Dunbar or perhaps Max. But remember, Max acted as a random soul to be snatched by Bilan or, alternately to defend Kurt. Dunbar acted as a chance to see that bounty hunters are not well-liked. Neither gave any interesting information. Don, on the other hand, tells you more than a little about Warden Kurt, no matter what scenario you start. Warden Kurt who is deranged, but neither good nor evil. I’ll get to that in a moment. Anyway, and what does Miranda do? She also serves as a source of information, information designed to aid Garian in his quest to stop the Warden. Minor characters with a minor connection and perfectly balanced.
Kurt and Kay, obvious though it is, require a brief word. Kurt is the only other ‘evil’ character who doesn’t serve Evil Garian and doesn’t seem to have any knowledge of him. This is understandable given the fact that he’s dead by the time Evil Garian escapes, but it does make an interesting character point. The one thing all the characters have in common is that they serve the truth of the evil universe or the truth of good universe. But the all do serve the truth. Kurt, on the other hand, serves his own truth. He’s evil and deranged, but his evil has a very direct purpose always. He’s never ‘evil for the sake of evil’ to put it in the words of Duran. What does this mean? His truth, his character is alone in a different way. This is evidenced in the game of course; depending on the circumstances Kurt can go either way. How does this tie into his pairing with Kay then? Simply that she also serves ‘good’ for different reasons than anyone else. She doesn’t fight for survival or common decency, at least not at first. She fights as an agent for very specific purposes. She turns to Garian in both cases because she has no choice.
One of the most interesting pairings and points is that of Musashi and Lance. On the outset, these characters have nothing to do with each other. To begin to understand the connection, one has to start with Lance whose role in the loop is already defined. Lance is the factor from the ‘real’ world that drew Garian to Jailers Island. Once Garian enters the time-loop, Lance serves no further purpose. It’s interesting that once Musashi reaches Jailers Island, he also serves no purpose. On the ship, he let Garian know that evil knows by having knowledge that he couldn’t have. On the island, even when he shows up, he’s not serving any purpose but his own random crazed notions. He doesn’t seem to fit with Lance’s other main point either, that of being a real-world factor. And then you have to consider the nature of the time-loop and Garian; no where is it said that Evil Garian can exist exclusively in the time-loop. The dialogue from the Marathon of Death leads one to the conclusion that Garian sort of splits up in his different parallels. That is to say; the evil is always a part of him and Evil Garian also needed a factor to drag him into the time-loop. And what better factor that one, crazed, bitter, petty criminal? Exactly the sort of person from the ‘real’ world that Evil Garian can be connected to.
The last three pairings that require a word of explanation are all really quite fascinating. We’ll start with the mysterious Indigo Mcnamara and that drunken pirate who enjoys saying, “HOWEE!” The connection here is a simple one. Indigo helps Garian in one universe, because Evil Garian is not yet active and therefore, Indigo has no reason to want Garian’s death. It’s important to keep in mind that Indigo is very pragmatic; he does things according to his nature. When the Dark Messiah arrives, he swears himself to Evil Garian because it’s in his nature. The HOWEE pirate is the only other character who does things for such a simple reason. He’s not good, nor evil, nor an agent, he’s just a drunken pirate who thinks it’d be funny to see someone drink a bottle of jalapeno juice in one gulp. Furthermore, they are both important for setting up events in the time-loop; it is Indigo who gives the definitive hint that explains to you that Bilan cannot be the Dark Messiah, something which is necessary to understand to understand the game at all, and the HOWEE pirate sets the catalyst for your encounter with the child which is how the evil is created.
Now, for another of the more interesting pairings; Jack and the Doc. Like some of the others, on the face of it, this seems like a ludicrous suggestion. In order to understand this one, start with the less-complicated character, the Doc. The important point with the Doc is to remember that he’s alive after Bilan attacks the lab. There’s a reason for this that’s immediately handed to you from the game. The Doc is mumbling about how he created the evil, an inane and pointless comment. But it is the truth. He used the bilanium and saw to the carbon-freeze, etc. The Doc is the true creator of evil in the loop, and therefore evil cannot touch him, Bilan could not touch him. The second thing to understand is that the Doc is truly alone. He created the evil, but the rest of the evil cannot touch him. Why? Throughout the game there is a theme of the truth. Those on the side of evil comprehend only the truth of the evil universe whereas those on the side of good comprehend the truth of the good universe. The Doc, however, comprehends both truths while choosing neither. He is evil, but aside from creating the evil, he does not involve himself. Jack is also alone. Remember, Jack is the only character who ever tries to help Garian. Jack tells Garian back on the ship that he does not have to go. Jack keeps Garian from killing the child. Interestingly, after the incident with the child, Jack never tries to stop Garian again. This proves that Jack knows what the time-loop is about, yet he tries to help Garian. The only explanation for this is that he is alone, as a character of good to balance out the Doc.
As another point with Jack is the issue of the Blue Rose. Remember, it is the Blue Rose that keeps Garian from killing the child 3 times out of 4. Also remember, Garian is having his dreams and wakes up to randomly find the Blue Rose. Kay is a common red herring about the rose; she in fact has nothing to do with it. Remember that is was Jack who was alone in Garian’s cabin where the rose was found, that it was Jack who warned Garian not to leave the cabin, that it was Jack who tried to keep Garian from drinking the juice, and that it was Jack who tried to stop Garian from killing the child. The Blue Rose was what stopped Garian, a rose that Jack had the opportunity to plant on Garian. This shows that Jack not only knows the truth, but that he tries his best to create the good, the same way that the Doc tries to create the evil.
And now for the last pairing, that of Tracy and Bilan. This is another one that seems a bit odd. The thing that makes Tracy special is her ability to see into the future. She triggers certain events on Jailers Island because of what she sees. Now, for Bilan again. Why did he come to Jailers Island? I already answered that didn’t I? To stop Evil Garian, the Dark Messiah with whom he competes and of whom he is afraid. But, how would he know that he could cause Evil Garian to come out on Jailers Island? How is it that Bilan so shrewdly snatched Lance’s body and caused Garian to kill him? How is it that he seemed to know that this would make Garian follow him out of guilt? One possible answer is simply that he recognized Garian on sight. If so, however, why would he try to draw Garian to Jailer’s Island? Why not deal with him immediately? No matter how you try to explain it, Bilan’s foreknowledge must be a result of his own gift to see into the future and to know, the Evil Garian could only be stopped on Jailer’s Island.
There are a few final points to be considered. To start with, there’s the minor sub-parallel that can be accessed by letting Kay die in Dead Man’s Castle. Let’s skip ahead to the meeting with Tracy and the events that follow after a futile fight. You learn that bilano type creatures invade the rest of the world. How is that possible? Bilan is quite dead at this point. To start with, let’s consider Drizzit. Drizzit is a monster of bilanium and therefore, only Bilan, or as is seen in the game, Kay, can stop him. Bilan dies on the ship and Kay dies in Dead Man’s Castle. So, what happens next? With no one to stop him, Drizzit rampages across the Island killing everybody, except the Doc. Now, a while later Garian of parallel one comes along to find a slaughtered populace. Bilan of parallel one can kill Drizzit quite easily and will, just to be rid of him. And, since Garian has no help, he can kill Garian pretty easily too. How does this affect events in Parallel 3? Well, two Garian’s are now dead, their worlds collapsed. Evil Garian can finish Garian 3 easily under such circumstances. And then it comes down to a fight between Evil Garian and Bilan. So, as you can see, the sub-parallel fits like a glove.
One other point to be considered; it is well-known that Dark Savior had at least one parallel left in Japan. It is commonly rumored that in this parallel, Jack turns out to be an evil time-controlling enemy. I put it to you, that this is entirely the case from Evil Garian’s point of view.
As you can see my lords, and ladies, everything fits into place for the explanation of a parallel time-loop. To recap; the game is mostly a struggle between Bilan and Evil Garian for existence as they are both terrified of each other. The both attempt to manipulate Garian to kill the other for them. Jack is aware of the time-loop and tries to aid Garian before it’s too late. Garian, however, makes all the choices ultimately and his choices result in the differing actions of the populace of Jailers Island. And finally, Garian actively works against himself in trying to kill Bilan. Evil Garian can affect anyone else, but Bilan, for Bilan is the only viable link back to the ‘real’ world.
In conclusion, Garian is stuck in a highly fascinating, complex, and slightly depressing time-loop that seems to have been designed to screw him over.