#(yes i know its just silly game but im putting my little analysis hat on hehe)

[spaceistheplaceart]

another hlvrai char analysis thing: benrey's insistence on "going back"

lots of people attribute this to benrey not wanting to be the final boss. but i think he's trying to delay the end of the game, trying to delay his permanent death.

most video games end, and after they end, the game is shut down. what happens to the characters inside once it's shut down? they are shut down, too, "atom by atom". imo it's like going to sleep- you're falling asleep one second, then nothingness, then you wake up. But when the game is shut down and not turned back on, you don't wake up.

Benrey has known it was a game from the beginning, so he's basically got the attitude of someone who's been told they have three days left to live. Benrey is going to use that time/his life to fuck around, have fun, etc. And he does! But during the later half of the game/streams, we see him start to insist on "going back", especially before the final zone of the game, Xen.

This is because if Gordon goes back, he gets further away from the end, and this extends the game's playtime. This extends how long Benrey and everyone else gets to live.

I think this also could tie into why Benrey is the final boss. Of course, it makes sense in canon because he's not human, he's the most antagonistic, etc... but what if he chose to be the final boss as a last ditch attempt to extend Gordon's playtime? If he keeps killing him, keeps making him re-do Xen over and over, then he also keeps himself alive.

(but then after Xen the game doesn't shut off... Benrey is still alive, the game is still running. His whole life was spent preparing for his death, and now it won't come. I wonder what he does with his newfound life in hl2vrai...)