It is difficult to discern authorial intent, as opposed to a mere story byway having no particular significance. Who would not have nightmares about that level of responsibility?Ī psychoanalytic perspective might see the dream sequence as the Kid's unconscious mind reconciling all he has been through - with the final powerful image silhouetted against a sunburst representing the Kid's eventual catharsis. Moreover, the Kid must be under an extreme level of stress after all that has happened, with no end in sight. He is going around smashing things up, while at the same time, supposedly, saving the world. The Kid's fight with himself might be most easily interpreted as representing his own inner turmoil, as he grapples with overwhelming questions and contradictions. Alternatively, the Kid is merely imagining Zulf's voice in his dream.but this would be by far the weaker narrative. While this may merely be the kid's fever-dream imagination running wild, the change in narrative style is so distinct, it is clearly intentional, so we must entertain the idea that this may be the first hint that Zulf is not all he appears, and Zulf himself has drawn the Kid into this insane place and literally speaks to the kid in his dream.
It is the first time we hear Zulf's voice, and he welcomes the Kid into the upside-down, inside-out world. It's certainly about the most emotionally powerful level we have so far met in Bastion. There are several straight-forward ways to read this level. The Kid is dreaming (within a dream?) but why this image? Or could the Kid be reflecting on the destruction wrought by Zulf on the Bastion ("undone" in the past participle form referring to Zulf's undoing of everything achieved in the Bastion)?Īs the Kid falls asleep on his bedroll at the end of the dream sequence, we see perhaps the most powerful still image that appears in the game, with the kid (pictured from behind) standing strong, with hammer, atop an engraved remnant of Caelondian architecture, surveying the endless landscape of the world, in a burst of sun. But now, it is apparent there is so much still to be put right (yet to be done - currently undone), it is an impossible burden. undone." So far, the Kid has been unstoppable. If that's not highly symbolic of something, I don't know what is.Īt the very end of the sequence, there are two more key events: Everything else has been building up to this: We go right back to the start of the story, except this time, the "whole world's all right." Is that mind-bending or what? But wait, there's more. The Rippling Walls - now things are about to get really trippy. The Sole Regret - once again, the Kid's past experience is turned on its head, as his actions are narrated as malevolent The Bastion itself - where this time round there were other survivors: the wilds and the beasts which inhabit them. This startling development surely cannot be incidental. It is also the first time we hear Zulf's voice (or indeed any voice except Rucks). This time, instead of saving Zulf, the only option is to "Surrender" to Zulf (the roles have been reversed). Hanging Gardens - the area where the Kid found Zulf. She draws the Kid further into his fever dream. However in the fever dream version of the area, Zia is a Siren (an entity in classical Greek mythology whose song lures sailors to their death). However, the fever dream copy of each area is turned upside down: what was right is wrong, and what was wrong is right: Each area in the fever dream is a replica of a specific previous area. While Rucks has the power of knowing and narrating what it is taking place in the physical world, he does not have the power to see what takes place within the Kid's mind.Ĭlosely examining the level, it carefully recapitulates areas the Kid has been through before. Rucks does not refer to physically guiding the Kid, but rather guiding his mind back from the fever dream that is that is to follow, brought about by the noxious gases that Rucks knows exist in the bog. The tone of the narrative has turned foreboding. And I won't be able to guide you back." This is our first inkling that the narrator is not omniscient. I will discuss The Sole Regret segment in the context of the entire Jawson Bog level.Įvents that follow are foreshadowed by the narrator on arrival at Jawson Bog: "You'll get lost in that bog, I told the Kid.
It certainly deserves the title of Most Bizarre Level in Bastion (an exceptional game, BTW, for those who may not have played it). This level has bothered me (and no doubt others) for a long time! And I think that's intentional on the authors's part.
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