23/01/18
Or: why metal gear is a beautiful romance series.
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR METAL GEAR SOLID SERIES
You hear METAL GEAR SOLID and you think: Gruff, masculine men war game. And you're wrong. Sorta. It's actually very, very anti-war. It's about the horrors of war, and how it affects those exposed to it.
This is what no one wants you to know though: Metal Gear is all about love. Whether it is the love of peace, or the love of a nerdy rat man and a super soldier, or the love of one man for guns (not killing - just guns!)
In Metal Gear Solid 1 Solid Snake (Dave) saves a scientist, who is being forced to work on horrible weapons, the details of which I won't get into.
Otacon is infatuated with Sniper Wolf, an enemy, who has been holding him hostage. Solid Snake is attached to Meryl, a sniper on his own side.
You'd think this would mirror the plot of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in which Naked Snake aka. Big Boss (John/Jack not Jack Raiden but Jack as in the nickname Boss (not big boss) gives him and also the bestie of Revolver Ocelot you know.) gets together with enemy/ally EVA who then turns out to be a quadruple agent and betrays him - but you do the final few fights with her anyway.
Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, aka John/Jack loses EVA and grows from it - she doesn't die, but she leaves. Technically this game came out after MGS1, but in the timeline it comes before MGS3, since Solid Snake is the clone of Naked Snake / Big Boss / John / Jack (not Raiden Jack, he isn't a clone of John, they just have similar names.)
Anyway so, in MGS3, in the beginning you see Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, aka John/Jack be disinterested in romance, love or sexual content, and he seems visibly uncomfortable with EVAs advances. He preoccupies himself with guns and anything else - even saying he isn't able to sleep around here (this will be important later). Throughout the game he becomes more and more comfortable with her - in his own way. He sits at a campfire with her, chats with her and she is a sort of respite when he's being tortured by Volgin. They become so close, and in the end, After all the trauma of losing so much, including the woman, who raised him, Boss, he finally connects with her. It is implied that he sleeps with her, but really what is important is that he sleeps around here. This is when she betrays him. And she leaves with half of the philosophers legacy.
But really, the whole game is about Love. About finding love and what it makes you do. She could've killed Naked Snake aka Big Boss, but she doesn't. He finds love and it's taken from him.
Then there's Solid Snake. His clone. A soldier, a machine used and abused by the systems he's tossed into. He has never really known to doubt himself, he's been made to be able to do anything.
And then there's Otacon and Meryl.
Otacon is a scientist, his real name is Hal but he dislikes it, as he isn't a machine. He survives the kidnapping and horrid conditions on Shadow Moses Island through finding attachment and love with his captors. And when he is saved by Solid Snake, aka Old Snake, aka Dave/David, he doesn't let go of this notion. Believing that something good can come from all of this.
Meryl is also very important. But what is most important, is the theme of love.
Otacon wants to give up any turn, and Snake appears to never fail at anything, he is the most confident. In one scene, Otacon follows Snake onto the battlefield only to ask one thing:
"Do you think love can bloom, even on a battlefield?"
And to everyone's surprise, Snake says yes. He believes love can happen anywhere and anytime - it is only about being able to protect the ones you love.
Otacon doesn't want to hurt anyone.
In the bad ending - Snake cannot save Meryl. And for once he is the one about to give up. He crumbles under the pressure, the entire facility collapsing in on itself. They have no time to escape - and then Otacon motivates him.
Otacon gets him to keep going, by telling him how he feels having been around Snake. He has been motivated, he wants to take his life into his own hands. And he won't let Snake and himself die on Shadow Moses Island. With everything that has happened, everything that kept him going being gone, and Snake about to give up - it is Otacon who pulls through.
They ride off into the sunset together (well more an cold wasteland), laughing about being Dave and Hal.
This is the bad ending. And yet.
It is the connection between two characters, losing their love and then finding comfort within one another, that kept them going in the darkest moment of the game.
Similar to EVA when (not yet Revolver) Ocelot accidentally cuts out one of Snakes eyes as he's being tortured by Volgin.
This ending makes more sense, attached to the following events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Twin Snakes and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
It isn't explicit, what happens between Snake and Otacon, but they raise a child together and in the events of MGS4 go on to attempt Project Philantropy: A project, concepted by Otacon, to stop the spread of Metal Gears, for peace, for a better future. A future worth living in, for their daughter. They do this out of love. Out of care.
The bad ending makes more sense, and some players were genuinely surprised seeing Meryl in MGS4, as they'd assumed the one she died in was the correct one - seeing how close Otacon and Snake are later.
One of Otacons catchphrases is "I'm with you. Now and forever."
In the novel of MGS4, during the microwave hallway scene, there is this beautiful sense, that just like in MGS1, it isn't just sheer determination that keeps Snake going.
It is the love others have for him and he has for those around him.
EXCERPT FROM MGS4 NOVEL:
"Otacon," Snake said, his creaky voice escaping from a burning throat. "Are you... there?"
Softly, I said, "Yeah, I'm here."
On the verge of weeping, I forced my voice to be steady. "I'm with you, Snake. Now and always."
...
Snake needed my voice now. To retain his senses while his body was destroyed, he needed something to hang on to.
So this is an extremely significant moment in my brain. You don't even know how many hours I've spent thinking about this. The tragedy of it all.
During these events, he should've retired already, enjoy what was left of his ruined life. And yet man gets microwaved in the name of making a better world, for those he loves. Fuck it's so deep.
Everyhting in METAL GEAR SOLID happens in love for others. Especially later, when the characters have known to what it is to be seen and to be accepted and to be appreciated and loved.
The end of MGS4 never happened. Nothing bad happens to Solid. Everything goes well and he's happy forever. Nothing more. Nothing more.
50 dogs, a daughter, a scientist and a soldier can be a family.
Now with more spoilers about BIG BOSS.
SO you'd think. Solid Snake and Big Boss are essentially the same person. You'd be wrong.
See. Big Boss may be the host body from which Solid was cloned - but they have different origins. Big Boss had a normal life once. He was made into a fantastic soldier by Boss and then found himself betrayed over and over. Even the organization he started would eventually turn against him. All because of Major Zero - a figure in his life from the beginning of his career.
He can never escape from the cycles of abuse from the CIA, from fox and eventually even from Foxhound - cloning him against his will. Above this there is obviously Boss, who despite her best intentions lies to him and puts him in a position where he has to kill her. He has EVA but she disappears too.
The one remaining character is the enemy-ally Ocelot. The real son of Boss. He is a fantastic soldier, but eccentric. He worships Big Boss from their first meeting. Big Boss tells him fascinating things about the weapons he uses and he immediately adjusts. He keeps a bullet on a necklace . the bullet that dislodged from his gun after it jammed - as he went to shoot Big Boss that first time.
Ocelot has no direction here. In MGS3: Snake Eater he is a mere puppet of volgins without direction - breaking free in order to expose EVA and go against Volgins orders - to ensure Big Boss gets to go against Volgin one on one.
At the end of MGS3: Snake Eater he reveals his true name to Big Boss in a scene that's clunky. It's like watching a baby deer trying to walk on ice, as Ocelot proudly stammers: "My name is Adamska!!" and Big Boss, who had no interest in names previously responds, with no awe or interest: "John."
Yup the renowed, feared and respected BIG BOSS is really just John MetalGear. Oh Well.
But then the plot thickens massively in a tiny cutscene at the end of METAL GEAR: Portable OPS. Adamska is not just a double agent of GRU - embedded in the KGB - NO HE'S ALSO A CIA AGENT BUT ABOVE THAT HE'S MORE AS HE KILLS CIA AGENTS?
After this bombshell - we see him again after being taken into FOXHOUND - The FOX-hunting org - started by Big Boss and overseen by none other than Major Zero. Ocelot is recruited by Big Boss and renamed Revolver Ocelot.
He is loyal to Big Boss - to the extent of being used by the CIA who is still sorta in charge of FOXHOUND on Shadow Moses Island (where Solid and Otacon meet) as an enemy. As someone who cherishes the idea of Metal Gears.
To dive into the mentality of Ocelot for a tiny bit: Ocelot is really a pacifist at heart. He fights only to protect the people. He revolts against Volgin in an attempt to protect people and he is a kind soul until taken over by Liquid. SO the fact that he trusts Big Boss to the extent of going against his morals and being the enemy force responsible for keeping Otacon, some random nerd-scientist, hostage in order to build weapons of mass destruction is just crazy.
BUT HOW? How could this be? Well. Ocelot trusts Big Boss. With anything. With his life. And maybe he was wrong to. Betrayal after betrayal. Big Boss gets played and everyone who cares for him, anyone who loved him or listened to him gets played alongside him.
That is not a great foundation for any relationship.
Here's where Otacon and Snake are different.
Snake saves Otacon and Otacon decides to help him - now and forever. He's always with Snake but it's not really Snake making these decisions - it's Otacon. Otacon has ideas for missions and Otacon creates project Philantropy.
Otacon seeks out Snake in Alaska to tell him about it - and it's really almost entirely just the two of them. A long roadtrip full of little missions. The spy gets to go home (to a motel room) every night to see his little nerd scientist who worked hard all day to keep him informed and safe.
They both lose faith in these systems really early on - and so both of them choose to break from the cycles of abuse. They know little good can from all of this - after having been betrayed and don't seek to rise in ranks the way Big Boss did. (Sorta against his will - but it's more complicated than that.)
Solid simply makes it impossible to rise in ranks - he just fucking leaves. And this is the key moment. Otacon is with Snake - now and forever but the unspoken rule is that it's mutual. And it's not mutual in the way of "Under the missions of the CIA I need to listen to you" it's mutual in the sense of "If you turn up on my doorstep at 3am to tell me abt a crazy plan - I will follow you."
So Snake (BIG SPOILERS) breaks the cycles of abuse by destroying the Patriot AI that has been causing all this war- with Otacon. With help of the life that was kind to him and sweet to him. With the help of having had a wonderful daughter and a caring nerd and a life where he turned against Betrayal. He could've never done thsi wrapped up in the systems that are controlled themselves too.
And since it isn't just one person controlling everything - Big Boss could've never risen high enough to get rid of it all. He could've gotten to the Patriot AI and just given up because how do you kill that thing??? How do you fix that?
Snake however had an ally who knew how. And Snake could withstand anything, knowing the support that would follow him. Unconditionally - without a system hovering over it.
It isn't that Big Boss cannot love. It is that love is ruined by the betrayals that control him - maybe also why he disappeared and why Venom Snake had to take over. But Solid Snake breaks the cycle of abuse - with love.
And this is why Metal Gear Solid is a series about love.