trivard676Video games in general have no shortage of folks who are down on their luck. After all, game narratives wouldn’t be very interesting if there weren’t. We root for this underdog, hoping that eventually they’ll triumph in the end no matter how great the odds. Because video game narratives are still in their infancy, the underdog usually does triumph.
But not always.
Survival Horror has no shortage of these types of characters. When you’re so often dealing with the dark and disturbed, you quite often have characters that don’t make it to the happy reunion party. The Silent Hill series stands out as a leader in the portrayal of human suffering. This portrayal is a testament to the powerful nature of the series’ writing and secures its place as one of the most poignant game series in the industry.
When James Sunderland first stumbles across the cemetery on the way to Silent Hill, he meets Angela Orosco. It is immediately made clear that unlike our protagonist James, there’s something a little bit off about her. She exhibits very submissive behaviour, even when warning James that Silent Hill is dangerous, and insisting that she is telling the truth. What is unclear however is whether the fear and submissive behaviour she is exhibiting is from the nature of the town or something else entirely.
Representatives from Konami insist that Angela’s character was only supposed to be 15 or 16 years old. However Donna Burke, the voice actor for Angela Orosco didn’t quite fit the bill of a teenager. Angela’s official age is 19, but if you’ve ever heard her voice she still sounds to be in her late 20s or early 30s. It adds a lot of depth to the idea that she is traumatized.
While in the cemetery, Angela is looking for her mother, her brother and her father. Although she’s looking in the cemetery at the beginning of the game, she spends the rest of the game still trying to find them. Her progress almost mirrors James’ progress looking for Mary. Perhaps she received a similar letter, but is sane enough to know that the person who wrote it may not have the capability of doing so?
Despite her warning, James heads into the foggy little town alone, but that’s not the last we see of Angela. In the Blue Creek Apartments, she lays on the floor, staring at herself in the mirror as she contemplates taking her own life. She is ready for it all to be over – as if she has made her revelation and knows what she needs to do.
“It’s easier just to run. Besides, it’s what we deserve.”
In her conversations with James, Angela is suspicious of how he knows what he knows, but again, is submissive to him. Naturally, she is alarmed when James reveals that Mary is in fact, dead, and insists that she needs to go and find her mother (but not her brother or father, as she was looking for before). Before she leaves, James suggests that she give him the knife she’s been carrying around. Angela reinforces the fact that she was/is contemplating suicide by stating that she doesn’t know what she would do if she kept it. However when James goes to take the knife from her, she reacts negatively and screams at him. As soon as the outburst happens, it’s over, and she is back to being scared, submissive Angela again – placing the knife on a table and fleeing in terror.
If you hadn’t already made the connection, Angela has some pretty deep-seated issues with men. The next time we see her, we get a better grip on what has happened in her life. The monster “Abstract Daddy” says more than a few lines of dialogue ever could; and it’s enough to make your stomach churn.
While wandering around the Labyrinth, James overhears a plea, “Please, Daddy, no!” and rushes in to the rescue. The room in which James finds Angela and “Abstract Daddy” is a sick twist on a child’s room. Angela’s room. The walls are a fleshy colour, with pistons thrusting high on the walls constantly. Abstract Daddy appears to be a bed frame with a person underneath stained blankets. The suggestive imagery of the enemy make it very clear what happened to young Angela.
“You don’t have to lie! Go ahead and say it! Or you could just force me…Beat me up like…he…he always did. You only care about yourself anyway! You disgusting pig! You make me sick!”
What is not clear however is if Angela’s brother was also cause for her distress (more on that later) or another victim of their father’s abuse. Remember in the cemetery at the beginning of the game? She was looking for him, yet her search for him ended by the next time she appeared. Instead, her search switched from her entire family to just her mother.
If you found the newspaper article just before the battle this exposition should be no surprise nor is her business in Silent Hill. The article states that Thomas Orosco was murdered; stabbed to death in the neck by the very same blade she was touting earlier…maybe James should have another look at it?
Angela’s final scene is probably one of the most moving cinematics the series has to offer. The Burning Staircase comes at the end of the game, in the flooded out Lakeview Hotel.
Notice the two objects on the wall, on either side – two creatures that almost look like Abstract Daddy. However they’re smaller, pinned to the wall, struggling to break free. Dried blood stains their gential areas. Angela is found standing, watching this, despite the fire all round. Symbolism for never fully being able to heal from the wounds of a traumatic childhood, forever having to bear witness in her mind of the unspeakable acts, for she says “for me, it’s always like this.”
What is so moving, yet tragic about Angela’s story is that despite James telling her otherwise, and despite any other reasonable person’s mindset, Angela fully believes the abuse she suffered was deserved. This was obviously something hammered into her young skull, by her mother no less, enough times so she would come to accept it. Whatever sense of self worth, pride, or hope in this little girl has all but withered away. Yet she still longs to see her mother, someone who for all intents and purposes is just as big a scum bag as her father. All that’s left of Angela Orosoco is a fragmented soul – a shell of a human being.
While the actual ending of Silent Hill 2 is left open to debate, we don’t need to wonder or debate what happened to Angela after the Burning Staircase. There is really only one way for Angela Orosoco’s story could have ended.
“Thank you for saving me…but I wished you hadn’t.”
