All a matter of interpretation (in response to "The True Meaning of FFVII's finale")

by Cheryl Lachowicz

I'm sad to say that I very strongly disagree with Mr. Mastrangelo's interpretation of FF7's ending. In his editorial, "The true meaning of FFVII's finale," he states his interpretation of FF7's ending. Fine. It's an interesting interpretation, and one that may not be all that far off. But to say that his interpretation is the only correct interpretation is both false and, to me, insulting. It is insulting because I write fanfiction, and I write it based on my interpretation of FF7. And I write about "Human's living happily ever after." (If you can call it that...)

There are logical problems with Mr. Mastrangelo's interpretation, and one of these logic problems is one that can be applied to any interpretation. This problem is that his interpretation is stated NOWHERE in the game itself. The game does NOT explicitly say that Holy has determined that humankind is "evil or unbeneficial" to the planet. The game doesn't even say that Holy has the sentience to MAKE that determination. The player sees Holy as a little white ball falling from Aeris's hair, and then as thousands of white streams of light rushing to Midgar's heart.

Don't get me wrong- no one can say for certain that mankind survived, either. It's not stated in the game.

To counter Mr. Mastrangelo's interpretation, I offer my own. I feel that Mr. Mastrangelo left out several important symbols in the ending. These are the direction in which Meteor fell, Marlene watching from a window in Kalm (I believe that's the town name), and Aeris's presence.

The game eludes, in several cases, to the idea that Mako energy is stripping the planet of the Lifestream. The fact that Mako is polluting the earth is Avalance's whole reason for existence. Meteor was not summoned in Midgar, or anywhere near Midgar, if my memory serves me correctly, yet where is it heading? Straight for Midgar.

Note, now, that Marlene gets up, walks to a window, and gazes out, an expression of worry and wonder on her young face. Kalm is very close to Midgar, and it seems to me that it is obvious that Marlene can see Meteor fall. Now, the whole problem with Meteor, as was stated in the game, is that it can destroy the earth. So how is it that Meteor, a thing of evil and destruction, is so close to the earth's surface, and very near to Kalm, and yet Marlene and that town are seemingly unaffected?

I'll tell you why I think that they're not affected: Because I don't believe that Meteor was evil. It was a force that, like Holy, was created to protect the earth; Meteor through destruction, and Holy through protection. Naturally, one would think that Meteor is evil: it is destructive.

I think that Meteor, when it was summoned, was drawn to the point of harm on the earth's surface and went after it. However, it would have wiped out more than just the harmful source if allowed to continue as it was. After all, Midgar would be pretty damn small compared to the rest of the world- dare I make the comparison of a virus to a human being? Therefore, Holy intervened, and "cushioned" Meteor, so it's impact wasn't as severe. This is supported by just how long it took for Holy to act- Meteor was right on top of the town and doing clear damage before Holy interfered.

Was Aeris the one who triggered Holy? Her presence at the very end indicates something to that effect. While Meteor was summoned by an outside force, so it would seem logical that Holy would have to be, too. How did Aeris know whem to summon Holy and unlease the Lifestream?

She was an Ancient, within the Lifestream itself. It would seem fair to say that she would have just known this after she passed away.

That last statement may seem like a cop-out, but it's my interpretation. And that's the wonder of leaving games wide open like that- the gamers can exercise their imaginations and power of logic to reason out what may have happened. And they don't necessarily have to agree. That is why game ending interpretations are called "interpretations".

-Cheryl

Flames? Questions? Comments? E-mail me at autmnwnd@voicenet.com