What if the reason Henry was stuck in a loop, was that he never SUCCEEDED in playing the last reel to the ink demon? Until now. Think about it, Henry’s messages tell us two things: Don’t turn on the ink machine/leave the studio AND how to defeat the ink demon, how to play the “the end” reel. Now if playing the last reel just starts the loop from the beginning, why would Henry leave hints on how to play it? What’s the point? He should rather leave hints at how to destroy the ink machine or how to avoid the ink demon or something.

What we saw at the ending could just have been some kind of a prequel, just showing the players how Joey looks, how it all started, just some information.



But this leads to so many another questions. If i we indeed succeeded to play the reel for the first time, if we finally broke the loop… What happens next?







Do the toons, searchers and lost ones just leave the studio?



How will they react and behave in the real world?



Do they die?



Are they still stuck, because the elevator is broken or something?



Does Henry confort Joey?



Does he call the police?



Will Joey be charged for deprivation of liberty, murder and putting Henry and others in danger?



How will Joey react?



Will the ink creatures being seen as… things? Or living beings with a consciousness?



Will Henry forget everything once again?



If not, how will Henry cope with what he saw? He now knows that MONSTERS, DEMONS, TOONS actually EXCIST!



What about the ink machine? This thing is able to CREATE (at least semi) intelligent BEINGS! This is porpably the most important invention of all time in this universe!



Will Joey ever use it again? Will someone else use it? What happens if it’s turned on again? New toons?



Actually, I kinda hope that playing the last reel is NOT the way to break out of the loop. Maybe the Henry who wrote the messages just didn’t find the right way. Maybe he will write new messages when he does. Or maybe Henry who is played by us, the players, will somehow find out.



After all, it is hinted in chapter 3, that Henry seem to at least somehow remember that he is stuck in a loop. When he is in the area near the Heavenly Toys, he says “Wow, I don’t remember any of this.”



Someone who was never before in the studio, or someone who does NOT know that he was in this place, wouldn’t phrase it this way. I think this shows a tiny glimpse of Henry’s memory, where he remembers that he WAS there before, just doesn’t remember how it looked like.



Also, @adobe-outdesign (who also noticed the weirdness of the “I don’t remember any of this” phrasing), purposed that the flashing lights we see several times in the game, are actually Henry’s flashbacks.

http://adobe-outdesign.tumblr.com/post/174604858862/the-visions-arent-just-flashes-theyre/embed



Henry also instantly knows that Boris holds the lever hostage and wants something to eat. He didn’t wait for Boris to respond, he just knew.



Maybe Henry will start to remember more and more. Maybe defeating the ink demon increases the chances to make Henry remember or something.



What do you think?

