Ending is Pretty Obvious
Permaximum
Banned
I just finished the game and when I read posts about the ending I was surprised that no one considered three major points about the ending.
If we assume Nerissa was Faith all along and she had been this master of disguise, what's she going to do when they find out the corpse wasn't Faith's but Nerissa's. That spell won't last forever. They would be coming after her to throw her into a cell because she won't be able to prove anything about her innocence and she indeed did violate law here and there. No one will take her word on the main charges anyways. She won't be able to escape either since they have a magic mirror and the ribbon spell is gone.
How could she afford that many glamour spells? She was Nerissa almost all the time and even while she was telling the Wolf the truth when everything's over she didn't even care about spending one more spell at least just to tell the Wolf the truth about everything.
Although she tells the whole truth in the end and gives the ultimate clue about who she really is at the very end, she still talks about Faith in third person with strong emotions. If she still wanted to continue on that specific lie about who she were to the point that showing strong false emotions, why did she give the ultimate clue in the end like 10 seconds laster?
I saw this one talked before but it's as good as any. Why did someone brake into Faith's makeup/personal locker if it was her all along? You can answer this if you push really hard but if you're pushing hard that means it's not true.
I'm 100% sure it was Nerissa all along and there's not even a tiny bit of doubt. Faith just wanted to escape again and took the frontline for it but ultimately failed unlike in her fable story. That's why we saw mentions of her story via actual talk or visual hints until the end. To see the contrast between this World and their home. Also it helped to confuse people on the ending. Otherwise it would be very straightforward. Because this whole game's story was all about how things were different in this World for them anyways and how they were changing into something different and how they needed to adapt. Faith couldn't adapt just like she couldn't before, Lily couldn't adapt but Nerissa adapted and saved her skin at the last moment. Thanks to her adaptation and not running away like a fool, she directed the Sheriff into right direction to allow him to save the town.
I think the ending is very clear.
Comments
Yeah, it seems to lean more on Nerissa more than anything, but its all up to how the player sees it, there's no canon ending.
I dont think the writers knew where they were going with the story at all. much of it didnt make sense, the first episode was pretty much one story then it was scrapped so they just made it up as they went along, then just came up with a stupid ending on a whim I think it sucked and the more I think about it the worse the story gets
Faith/Nerissa just wanted to end with the Crooked Man by getting Bigby's attention. Even if they found that Nerissa was the corpse, that isn't proof that Faith used the glamour and even if she used it doesn't mean she would end up in jail, and even if she would end up in jail, she would only have to "change her skin" again. Also, she still uses the necklace in the end, perhaps to avoid being found by the mirror (These lips are sealed)
But I thank you for gaving me another reason to replay this masterpiece.
So all major points still stand strong and you haven't even considered my third point. The thing is you're just trying to justify Faith's existence and unfortunately it doesn't even work. You're coming from one "possible" end to focus on some "possible" evidence instead of getting to the "actual" end from the "actual" evidence.
Going back to your original numbering...
With regard to whether or not anyone would come after Faith (if it really was Faith all along), I'm not so sure. I don't know all of the specifics on glamours, so I don't know how long it will be before it fails (it seems that Lily's didn't fail until the trinket was disturbed), but regardless, let's assume that it fails before Dr. Swineheart is done with his examination. Swineheart will probably report the issue directly to Bigby, who we suspect is already willing to let Faith go. I haven't read enough of Fables to know much about Swineheart's character, but I do know for sure that Bigby is fine with cover ups. Therefore, if Bigby and Swineheart are the only people who know, and Bigby convinces Swineheart to cover it up, then it's a done deal. Case closed.
As for how Faith could afford the glamour, I agree that she shouldn't have had the cash. However, the woman that we meet at the beginning of Episode 1 is tough and independent. She's not above blackmailing the people that she feels have wronged her (case in point, the photos that she stole), so you have to wonder what other "leverage" she could have built up on other members of the Fabletown community. Could she have had something on Greenleaf? Maybe she just walked into Greenleaf's apartment and threatened to burn the tree.
In any case, I wouldn't have put it past Faith to find a way to obtain what she wanted. Maybe Lawrence and her failed to adapt to Fabletown initially, but given her backstory, she clearly finds a lot of willpower when the situation turns ugly for her.
It's hard to say why a person who was doing a good job of pretending to be someone else might suddenly drop a huge hint as to their true identity. Maybe she was ambivalent about the whole situation. She wanted to come clean to Bigby, but she felt that doing it in a straightforward manner would obligate him to investigate further. I really don't know.
Overall, I'd say that there could be reasonable, rational explanations for the first two points that you raised. The third is harder, and as for the make-up thing, that always felt like a red herring to me. Someone messed with the make-up specifically to confuse the situation and put Bigby on the wrong track. The make-up thing was always frustrating to me because it felt like a clue that led nowhere.
I don't think anyone would even think about faking that make-up thing. First, I don't think they were really worried about Bigby until the late game. And even if they're worried, braking Faith's make-up locker would be the last thing they would arrange before covering up lots of other big major evidence that points out to the Crooked Man. That broken locker thing was there as a clue to the true existence of Nerissa or Faith.
I don't think there's any debate here. The ending is almost too obvious. It was Nerissa all along.
Ok. Actually it's been quite a while since I played it, and English is not my first language. The game is not even sub in my language where I live. So I may miss some important information.
My first point still matters: It doesn't matter if they look after you if they cannot do anything more than interrogate you. Innocence prevails and in this case, they wouldn't be able to probe anything.
It means that she could hint she wasn't Nareesa because the worst thing if they get her is to be interrogated.
I actually would love this game even more if the next time y play it I am unable to say if she was Faith or Nareesa all the time. I don't think I will read more this thread, but if you are right, congratulations. Right now I don't see it your way. Next I play it, I will pay attention to that.
I thought about that, and I agree that Swineheart was working directly with Snow at first. However, by the end of the game, Snow's role had changed, and she barely even had time to talk with Bigby. I'd think she'd let Bigby cleanup the loose ends from the investigation. In any case, if Bigby suspected something he could always make sure that he got to Swineheart before Swineheart got to Snow.
As for Toad, don't even get me started on that guy. The only reason that he didn't have a glamour was because he didn't want to spend his money that way. He made a willful decision to ignore the law, and he got what he deserved. No matter how much you tried to help him, he wasn't going to get a glamour. It was his choice, and it had nothing to do with how clever he was. Consequently, I wouldn't compare him to Faith when it comes to getting glamours. Toad might have been clever, but he wouldn't have had the same level of desire to get a glamour.
With regard to Nerissa dropping the hint, you're right, she was taking a risk. However, maybe by then she trusted that Bigby would just "let it go". At the end of the game, you can choose to go after her or walk away. If you watch both endings, you'll see that the "walk away" ending is the one that seems to play out best. If you choose to go after her, the screen just goes black.
And then there's the make-up.... I also agree that they weren't worried about Bigby until late in the game. I'm still not sure what to make of it.
If you apply Occam's Razor, then there's no question. The simplest explanation is definitely what you're saying. Nerissa was Nerissa. However, Fabletown is the home to mythical creatures with magical abilities. Should Occam's Razor really rule here?
From my perspective, there isn't a 100% definitive answer. The comic seems to point in a specific direction, but even it doesn't conclusively answer the question.
I think you understood the game well, and I agree with your points too. If the town does go after her Nerissa/Faith, what's the worst that would happen?
The town seemed ready to put the whole Crooked Man fiasco in their rearview mirror.
They might not even catch her. She was good with disguises.
Both you and Permaximum raised excellent points. The story is intentionally open ended. If a sequel is ever made, I know there are many people who want it to answer "who was who". However, I'm fine with this storyline ending just the way that it did.
Ending was stupid. It could have been better, IMO.