Post by Rob MacWolf in [Spoilers]Jean's actions near the end

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What I read that scene as is: Hermes slipped into Recursion, the kind P was talking about during Hinterlands. I don't know if he was trying to leverage the power of his own myth for whatever "undo the labyrinth" scheme he's working on, or if he just didn't notice and putting literal Hermes in the position of killing someone in the role of Argos to release someone in the role of Io was just too close to his story, but either way I think the story took over. Which is why he couldn't remember where he was, why he was calling people by the names of people from the story, and why when someone who was a better fit for the role of Argos showed up, he switched to trying to kill them without noticing.

That's my interpretation, anyway.

Rob MacWolf2 years ago (1 edit) (+5)

This just now hit me, but I now feel sure I know what's going on with "Jean."

The key was in how hard he tries to talk you into a relationship with Asterion.

We know he voted against Athena's plan. We know he wants to free Asterion completely. And we know he's behind the Argoi, and therefore chose the pseudonym 'Argos' for them, deliberately. And in his attempt at killing Nikos and then Pedro, he doesn't lose control and slip into recursion until AFTER you interrupt his attempt to kill Nikos. The killing of Nikos, of Argos, then, is intentional, and part of the plan. Which must mean that his use of recursion is intentional: presumably, by bringing to bear enough recursion on the labyrinth, he hoped he could override the story with a different one, one in which he wins, and one in which the person in the Io role is released from captivity.

To do that he has to cast as many roles as possible. Io is easy, Asterion's already a cow in captivity. Hermes disguised as a mortal is easy, too, that's his role already. Argos needed time and an opportunity, but when he saw one with the establishment of the hotel, he took it, and put his own agents into the system. Their actual instructions are irrelevant. It didn't matter, to Hermes, whether any individual Argos succeeded or failed, he just needed them to be "a captor" and "called Argos."

So why act NOW? Why during your tenure and not Clement's or Jean Marie's? Why, when Nikos returns to the hotel, does he say that Hermes has suddenly decided to take action? What does that have to do with his nosiness about your and Asterion's relationship?

Because he thinks the final role is finally cast. A Master, a Supreme Lord according to the laws of the Olympians, who is IN LOVE with the Io.

Hermes needed to a wait for an MC who could play Zeus's role.

Minoh Workshop2 years ago(+2)

I will neither confirm nor deny what you said, but I will take this opportunity to drop a little commentary about Jean and how people have interpreted what he says.

When he arrives at the hotel with Robert, he insists on the topic of the MC and Asterion getting together, particularly on the point that there is nothing wrong with that. Some people might interpret this as a heavy-handed message from the developers, or a tongue-in-cheek wink-wink-nudge-nudge about the nature of the story, but both of those interpretations are far from what we had in mind.

Jean truly, wholeheartedly believes what he's saying (that mythicals are deserving of love, and that there is nothing wrong with them being in relationships with regular humans) and he does want to see the MC getting together with Asterion.

Pic related (thank you dilukha)

Rob MacWolf2 years ago

That was the EXACT picture I was thinking of when this occurred to me!

raccooncritics2 years ago

Problem is that plan also ties into a whole lot of other recursions... aka when Mortals and Divines get together, it usually doesn't end up happy, for the mortal more often. I guess this is a large risk when attempting recursion rituals. You might just find yourself being pulled into another, more significant pattern with a resolution completely different from what the ritemaster was aiming for.

BraydenG7102 years ago(+1)

Following your interesting theory, I have some concerns:

1. In carrying out that recursion, if "freeing the roles" means killing the actor/actress of those roles, won't that kill the mc too, since he plays Zeus in that play?(technically everyone else who's playing any role would die but Asterion technically is unkillable as long as he's still under the labyrinth's magics, if that works out then he'd be truly freed)

2. We're still missing an important role, Hera's - the rightful wife of Zeus who got jealous of her husband's affairs and started the whole imprisonment in the first place.

And please talk more about the ancient Greek mythology since I'm complete ignorant on this but would still love to enjoy the theory crafting of this game no matter how busy I am with the real world OTL

Rob MacWolf2 years ago

Not necessarily: he has to to kill the person playing "Argos" because, in the story, "Hermes" kills "Argos." Which is what sets "Io" free. So, presumably, his reasoning is that Asterion is in captivity, making him count as "Io" and then freeing "Io" will undo that. If that is his plan, and if it works, then presumably nobody else has to die.

So I guess in this case, the role of "Hera" would be Athena? As the architect of "Io"'s captivity whom Hermes is thwarting.

itch.io

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