Overview
The most common reason for someone to say that the story of ‘BioShock: Infinite’ is bad is if they don’t understand it, and in all honesty, I don’t blame anyone for it. It’s very intricate. My passion for this franchise in its entirety kick-started my will to find every answer and I have some great friends that I couldn’t have done it without. Most people understand the general gist of the ending, but the majority have questions after that they assume are plot holes, and that majority doesn’t delve more into it.I’m here to answer these supposed “plot holes” mentioned.
Introduction
Recently, I picked up this game again, playing on ‘1999 Mode’ to get the ‘Scavenger Hunt’ achievement. How is this relevant? Reaching for this achievement basically forced me to look at every nook and cranny of the game for salts, health, money, etc. in order to keep myself alive to finish it. Now, six years later, I’ve finally found the answers to the most common questions I’ve seen asked by various people.
I now see this game to be the best-executed story in video game history ever told, and coming from someone whose favorite franchise is Dark Souls, it’s obvious that I love games where you have to piece it together yourself.
The writers of Infinite are, quite frankly, geniuses.
To start off, everything in this game has a purpose. Nothing is unnecessary and the dev team has put much care into what they include and don’t include not to complicate the narrative. Listen to the voxophones and delve deep into the meaning of each. Closely listen in on the dialogues of common citizens. Look at your surroundings. Watch every kinetoscope and use every telescope. Play the game at least twice. You’ll be surprised with how much you’ve missed out on your first run and how much sense everything makes.
Did they plan this entire thing from the beginning AKA since the first BioShock? No, they didn’t, and Ken Levine confirms this in the BioShock Remastered: Director’s Commentary videos. Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away from how impressive it is that they’ve stitched everything together, and come up with the prequel that we know as BioShock: Infinite.
I won’t get into stuff such as gameplay, aesthetics, themes, etc. This post focuses on the story.
Constants and Variables
- What’s the meaning behind and what are the “constants” and “variables” of this game? “Constants” are events that happen in every single universe while the “variables” are all the decisions that separate each universe. The main “constant” of Booker and Columbia is the baptism and the “variables” are the results of decisions that Booker makes after taking/refusing the baptism. The other main “constants” that apply to all universes including Rapture are “a man,” “a lighthouse” and “a city,” which Elizabeth puts it. Every single lighthouse AKA star is a separate universe and the Tears are doorways to them. Comstock (the man) creates Columbia (the city) in some universes and Andrew Ryan (the man) creates Rapture (the city) in other universes. The similarities don’t stop there, though.
Connections to the First ‘BioShock’
What are the similarities between BioShock and BioShock: Infinite? There are too many to mention here, but I’ll write down the basics.
- (Zachary Hale Comstock = Andrew Ryan) Both founders of the city. Zachary Hale Comstock of Columbia = Andrew Ryan of Rapture.
- (Columbia = Rapture) Both ambitious cities created by the founders. Columbia in the sky = Rapture in the sea.
- (Booker DeWitt = Jack Ryan) Both the instrument of taking down the founder. Booker DeWitt taking down Comstock = Jack Ryan taking down Andrew Ryan.
- (Elizabeth Comstock = Little Sisters) Both special subjects. Elizabeth Comstock and Tears = Little Sisters and ADAM.
- (Songbird = Big Daddies) Both imprinted protectors. Elizabeth Comstock and Songbird = Little Sisters and Big Daddies.
- (Rosalind/Robert Lutece = Brigid Tenenbaum) Both discovering what makes the special subject special. Lutece discovering Tears that makes Elizabeth Comstock special = Brigid Tenenbaum discovering ADAM that make Little Sisters special.
- (Daisy Fitzroy = Atlas/Frank Fontaine) Both starting a rebellion against the founder and is killed by the special subject. Daisy Fitzroy (killed by Elizabeth) rebels against Zachary Hale Comstock = Atlas/Frank Fontaine (killed by Little Sisters) rebels against Andrew Ryan.
- (Jeremiah Fink = Yi Suchong) = Both creators of tonics. Jeremiah Fink with the Vigors = Yi Suchong with the Plasmids.
FOLLOW-UP: Wait, since Booker is Comstock, how can Booker be both Andrew Ryan AND Jack? He’s not. Booker is Jack in some universes and Comstock is Andrew Ryan in the very same universes. When Booker took the baptism, he was “born again” as a different man, so he and Comstock aren’t really the same person.
The Main Universes
How many “main” universes are there in terms of Booker’s story? Three.
- The Comstock universes: In some realities, Booker accepted the baptism, and took the name Zachary Hale Comstock. We call this character Comstock.
- The Booker universes: In other realities, he denied the baptism (one of them is the start of the game.) We call this character Booker.
- (DLC) The Rapturestock universe: In ONE reality, Comstock decapitated Anna and went to Rapture, thus becoming separated from the Columbia universes. I’ll touch upon this further down where I talk about the death of Comstock. We call this character Rapturestock.
Breaking the Circle
How does one break the circle? To break the circle, someone has to kill “the man,” before he builds “the city.” BioShock: Infinite breaks the cycle because it’s a prequel to the first BioShock and I’ll delve into that further down.
How do we know how many times they have attempted to break the circle? When we’re thrown into the game, it’s suggested that it’s Booker’s 123rd attempt at breaking the circle. We can tell this by looking at the “Heads or Tails” board that the Luteces present us with. The first time you die in-game (if you do,) is the 124th attempt at breaking the cycle, and so on and so forth. You can of course complete the game without dying once and that means that the 123rd attempt is the one that breaks the circle.
Booker’s Past
What’s the significance of OUR Booker’s past? In 1890, Booker took part in the Wounded Knee massacre. He was riddled with guilt for killing so many people and considered baptizing himself in hope to “wash away” his sins.
What’s the “constant” backstory of the Booker universes AKA the one we play in from the start? Booker met a woman named Annabelle Watson and married her. The two had a child in 1893 and Annabelle died giving birth, sending Booker into depression. He began drinking and gambling, which eventually led to him forming several debts. He named the child Anna as a tribute to his wife.
Booker’s Wife
Who is Booker’s wife? A woman named Annabelle Watson is his wife in the Booker universes, and in the Comstock universes, she’s Lady A. (Annabelle) Comstock. His wife is alive in the Comstock universes because she never gave birth to Anna as Comstock was sterile. It’s the same person in separate realities.
Comstock’s Past
What’s the “constant” backstory of the Comstock universe? A baptized Booker AKA Comstock meets Rosalind Lutece. She’s a scientist and finds out how to open Tears. Using the Tears, Comstock sees into alternate universes and poses as a prophet that can “see into the future,” building his following. Lutece explains in a voxophone that Comstock didn’t realize that the Tears were simply renditions of “what could be” instead of “what is.” Comstock found out that he needed a heir to destroy the world below and this heir was Anna Watson DeWitt from a separate reality. Using the Tears for his “prophecies,” Comstock is greatly exposed to the Device, becoming sterile and aging rapidly. He does, however, need a child that can continue his legacy and it’s more dire than ever considering his rapid aging. With the help of Lutece, he opens a Tear into the Booker universe with the intent of taking Booker’s child as his own.
‘Everyman, All at Once’
- “One man goes into the waters of baptism (Booker.) A different man comes out (Comstock,) born again. But who is that man who lies submerged? Perhaps that swimmer is both sinner and saint, until he is revealed unto the eyes of man.” (the end-game Booker.)
– ‘Everyman, All at Once’
The ‘Everyman, All at Once’ voxophone foreshadows the ending, but Comstock mentions a THIRD man. Who is this? At the ending of the game, Booker is drowned, leaving him submerged (a word that means “below water”) with the use of Comstock’s words in said voxophone. The THIRD man is the Booker that drowned.
Elizabeth’s Powers
How does Elizabeth have her powers in the first place? Her pinky was chopped off and remained in the Booker universe while the rest of her ended up in the Comstock universe. This allows her to open Tears because she was separated between two universes, and without the siphon to ground her, she’s capable of creating her own universes by will like any other person who was separated between realities.
The Nose Bleeds
What is the significance of the nose bleeds? That means they’re dead in that universe, right? Nope. That’s a common misconception. The nose bleeds is the result of someone remembering a memory that contradicts the actual forgotten memory when entering another universe. Your memories start to merge with your alternate self. This explains why Booker bleeds from the nose even before he kills Comstock in the main game. Remember the scene near the beginning when Comstock tells his men to “stand down” and appears on a big screen? OUR Booker bleeds right after that because he desperately tries to recall a forgotten memory. Both Booker in the main game and Elizabeth in the second part of the DLC have nose bleeds because of that reason.
[Image: Lutece quote explaining that Booker and Elizabeth have nose bleeds because their brains are overworking]
Lutece
Who is Lutece, how do they have their powers, how can they still exist when we know that Comstock killed them, and what’s their role in all this? Lutece is one person. Rosalind is the Lutece of the Comstock universe while Robert is the Lutece of the Booker universe. Rosalind and Robert — both brilliant scientists — managed to find out how to converse through worlds. They invented the Lutece Device together that allowed them to open Tears. Comstock hires the Luteces to offer Booker the chance to pay his debts by giving them his child AKA Anna Watson DeWitt. Comstock, being a prophet, has a good income and Lutece needed it to further their research. They also find it to be an interesting experiment. Comstock orders them murdered, and with that, the Lutece Device is destroyed. This happens when Robert and Rosalind are using it. The result of this is that they’re both killed and that gave them the ability to exist OUT of time. Possibly to get their revenge on Comstock, they convince Daisy Fitzroy to “mature” Elizabeth so she can see her full potential and put a stop to Comstock. The Lutece mention in a DLC voxophone that they wanted to go back to Columbia, but didn’t, because Lutece knew her/his powers would disappear because they’re dead in that universe and could never return without losing them. This is why they couldn’t “mature” Elizabeth on their own.
Why does Lutece help Booker in getting Elizabeth/Anna back? Rosalind is content with the way things are while Robert feels remorse for taking Anna from her father. Since Rosalind’s wish was only for her and Robert to be together, she complies, because Robert gave her the ultimatum that he would leave if they didn’t.
Why don’t the Luteces just travel back in time and drown Booker? First remember that, if you travel to a universe where you died, you’ll lose your powers. Lutece died in Columbia. The Columbia Sea of Doors connects every Columbia universe, so if they went there, they’d lose their powers. They make it rather clear that they’d prefer to keep them and therefore finds someone else to do it for them.
The Murder of Lutece
Why does Comstock murder Lutece? Two reasons. Lutece could open Tears and that proves a threat to Comstock. The other reason is that Robert Lutece wants to return Elizabeth to her rightful universe. Comstock, however, won’t allow them to take Elizabeth back.
The Murder of Lady A. Comstock
Why does Comstock murder his own wife AKA Lady A. Comstock? Lady A. Comstock found out about Elizabeth and assumed that Comstock cheated on her with Rosalind Lutece because the two spent so much time together. In truth, they simply researched Tears together. Lady A. Comstock eventually finds out that Elizabeth is taken from another universe, and to silence her, Comstock has her murdered.
Why does Comstock blame Daisy Fitzroy for Lady A. Comstock’s murder? Comstock uses the Lutece Device to see into alternate realities and realizes that Daisy becomes the leader of the Vox AKA the rebellion against him. That makes her his greatest threat in Columbia, so to avoid any problems, he frames her. Daisy managed to flee and started her rebellion anyway because the rebellion is a “constant” that Comstock was unable to change.
The Man in the Lighthouse
Who is the dead body in the lighthouse? Ken Levine said in an interview that this is the lighthouse keeper. He was sent by Comstock to stop Booker. We know this by looking at the note nearby atop the map signed by ‘-C.’
- “Be prepared. He’s on his way. You must stop him. -C.”
[Image: Lighthouse note]
Who killed him? Lutece most likely sent someone. One can argue that they don’t seem violent, but if you look back at the scene where they play baseball, the bat is covered in blood. Thus they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. We can also speculate this because, in Lutece Labs, they have a picture of the Lighthouse with this caption:
- “Only one obstacle.”
[Image: Photo of the lighthouse in Lutece Labs]
‘The First Lady’ Airship
Why did Elizabeth leave ‘The First Lady’ instead of just going to Paris? The Vox were too close and Booker was still in the airship. It would be strange if she chose to travel to Paris while Booker — a guy who could easily overpower her — is still inside.
Booker and the Bathysphere
How can Booker operate the bathysphere limited to the DNA of Andrew Ryan’s inner circle? Zachary Hale Comstock of Columbia is the Andrew Ryan of Rapture, and considering that Comstock was “birthed” by Booker’s baptism, Booker and Comstock share the same DNA although they’re technically not the same person.
The Illusion of Choice
What’s the point of giving the player illusion of choice (bird or cage/demand tickets or draw pistol/kill Slate or spare Slate?) Because that’s what the game is about. This universe is already decided for Booker. He can’t change it because Booker doesn’t have Tear powers. Ken Levine confirms this, also, in the BioShock Remastered: Director’s Commentary.
The Ending
Can you explain the ending in its entirety? In the end, Booker and Elizabeth figure out that killing Booker before he became Comstock is the only way to prevent him from ever taking Anna. OUR Elizabeth takes OUR Booker into the past before the baptism in a universe where he accepted it. Before he can accept, however, she drowns him. In the ending scene where Elizabeth shows Booker the Columbia Sea of Doors — what the area is called in the loading screen — she’s rather absent and Booker asks Elizabeth “who are you?” moments before she drowns him. Keep in mind that this scene is pre-baptism and so OUR Booker never met any Elizabeths at all. The Elizabeth right in front of us is no longer OUR Elizabeth that OUR Booker experienced the game with and we know this by looking at her choker necklace. She is no longer wearing the pendant (BIRD or CAGE) that OUR Booker gave her.
[Image: This OTHER Elizabeth isn’t wearing the pendant at all and OUR Booker says that he doesn’t know her because this is pre-baptism AKA before he met OUR Elizabeth]
If you pay attention to her pendant when you’re in the boat in the very scene below, it will have changed to the opposite of what you chose.
[Image, Left: I chose the BIRD and here you can clearly see that it’s the CAGE. This is the OTHER Elizabeth. Image, Right: It changes back to what you picked for her when Booker goes up the ladder a moment later and sees her standing there. This is OUR Elizabeth.]
Below, I put two screenshots of another playthrough of mine. I chose the CAGE this time, and again, Elizabeth changes her pendant to the opposite one.
[Image, Left: This OTHER Elizabeth isn’t OUR Elizabeth. Image, Right: Again, she went back to wearing the CAGE pendant right after Booker walks up the ladder. This is OUR Elizabeth.]
Chances are that the OTHER Elizabeth (the one that drowns Booker) is a younger version of the Elizabeth that grew old and gave Booker the way to control Songbird because we know this version also destroyed the siphon to warn Booker AKA has her full powers.
[Image: This Elizabeth is possibly the one to drown Booker and has her full powers just like Elizabeth Prime.]
FOLLOW-UP: What’s the explanation for Elizabeth’s changing pendant? We meet several Elizabeths during the last portion of the game. The bandage Booker has — the one Elizabeth wraps his hand in if he chooses to “demand tickets” instead of “draw pistol” — will also have disappeared in the ending sequence. If you “drew the pistol,” you will see that the AD brand isn’t there anymore, because Anna was never born. This is OUR Booker (the one we played as,) but in the PAST, same universe but a different time. This OTHER Elizabeth — the one without the pendant — drowns Booker and prevents Comstock from being born while OUR Elizabeth remained in the multiverse AKA the area with the appearing bridges and several lighthouses.
FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOLLOW-UP: So where is OUR Elizabeth? She left to find the DLC version of Booker. Again, I’ll touch upon the DLC later. OUR Elizabeth probably wasn’t emotionally able to drown OUR Booker because we know how much she loves her true father.
- “Booker, you there?… I miss you. You were the only one who ever… You were my only friend.”
– Elizabeth
FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOLLOW-U… you get the gist: How does anything Elizabeth do matter? She can’t exist without Comstock meaning that she can never drown him. Remember that she was separated between two universes? This allows a person to open Tears and create new ones. Tears are doors to universes/lighthouses. When the siphon was destroyed, Elizabeth existed OUT of time, just like Lutece. There are at least TWO Elizabeths that managed to destroy the siphon of their universe and obtain “quantum superposition” (the Elizabeth that we played the game with and the Elizabeth that drowned Booker.) That makes Elizabeth’s actions in Burial at Sea and at the end of Infinite happen regardless of Comstock’s existence. The Elizabeths that destroyed the siphon aren’t affected.
(DLC) The Existence of the ‘Burial at Sea’ Comstock
(DLC) How is “the last Comstock” alive after the purge? I touched upon this briefly, but let me explain in detail. Each city has its own set of lighthouses/universes. During the last portion of the game, Elizabeth takes Booker to Rapture, using a key and unlocks a lighthouse leading to the RAPTURE set of universes. She takes you through another set of lighthouses soon after and these are the COLUMBIA set of universes. At the Sea of Doors in the ending, Elizabeth only kills off the COLUMBIA Comstocks. The DLC Comstock had already gone to RAPTURE because he went to Rapture after decapitating Anna AKA before Elizabeth took Booker to the Sea of Doors. Comstock lived in Rapture for years, thus becoming a Comstock of the RAPTURE universes, disconnected from the COLUMBIA universes. He doesn’t get affected by drowning him at the COLUMBIA Sea of Doors because he now belongs to the RAPTURE Sea of Doors.
(DLC) Rapture Universe
(DLC) What universe is the Burial at Sea Rapture set in? Ken Levine states that this is the same universe we explore in BioShock (yes, that’s right, your Jack might’ve picked up a pack of cigarettes and a couple of dollars from Elizabeth’s dead body.)
(DLC) Elizabeth in Columbia
(DLC) How can Elizabeth go to Revolutionary Columbia if Comstock is dead by the end of Infinite? The DLC happens before Elizabeth drowns Booker. Elizabeth is off doing her DLC thing while we, the players, are controlling Booker while walking through the lighthouses. The beginning of episode 2 of the DLC possibly happens during Booker’s drowning where we see the Elizabeths vanish and “collapse” by the use of Elizabeth’s words — merge — into the Elizabeth that dies in episode 2 of the DLC explaining her returning pinky. I’ll touch upon this in detail later on. The Comstock erasing process is gradual, however, not instantaneous. This is why Elizabeth has to be quick before the Columbia Tear closes for good. Let me expand upon how this is possible in the point below…
(DLC) How can Elizabeth take a hair sample from Columbia that doesn’t erase by the time Comstock dies? Just like Rapturestock becoming disconnected from Columbia by traveling to Rapture, the same works for objects, and thus the hair sample also becomes disconnected from the Columbia universe. Said hair sample now belongs to the Rapture universe and thus won’t be erased with the death of Comstock who is killed at the Columbia Sea of Doors.
(DLC) The Story of ‘Burial at Sea’
(DLC) What really happens in the Burial at Sea DLC? Elizabeth, right after the siphon was destroyed in the main game, had all the doors open and saw Anna be decapitated behind one of the doors. She wants to both kill off and torment Rapturestock for what he did to her and thus goes to Rapture. Revenge. This is what happens in the Burial at Sea DLC. Rapturestock grows a close father-daughter bond with an orphan girl named Sally there and so Elizabeth tortures him by forcing him to believe that Sally burns to death before his very eyes.
- “You look at the journey of Elizabeth from the girl you met in the tower to the woman standing in front of you at the end of this, with Comstock’s blood all over her face. That’s a very different person who has been changed by events. To me the question is – what has Elizabeth just done? What kind of person has she become and where is she going? She’s concocted this scheme to have Comstock murdered while at the same time nearly burning a little child, leaving Sally to her fate.”
– Ken Levine
Rapturestock is in denial that Sally has become a Little Sister and thus believes she dies in that vent (Little Sisters are generally immune to damage.) However, now defenseless, a Big Daddy kills Elizabeth because she doesn’t have Rapturestock to protect her anymore. Elizabeth ends up in her Paris “pocket realm” after her death and that leaves behind a corpse in the DLC universe. As Elizabeth has as much power as Lutece, she’s able to travel back to this universe even when dead, at the expense of her Tear powers. She knows this when she goes in.
PS: I also wanna point out something creepy that I’ve only seen one or two people mention… so prepare for nightmares. When Elizabeth sits in the boat with Lutece and says that she “has to go back” in order to save Sally, if you watch the water on each side of the boat closely, several corpses will float on each side.
(DLC) Sally and the Big Daddy
(DLC) Why does the Big Daddy protect Sally when he’s not imprinted on her yet? Because all Big Daddies are PARTIALLY bonded with Little Sisters.
- “Yes, the “Big Daddy” defends the girl… but he is programmed only for the fight, like a sheepdog who wanders off unless a wolf is tearing at his flock. When no aggressor is present, he regards his Little Sister as he might a common houseplant.”
– ‘Improving on Suchong’s Work’
Big Daddies are only FULLY imprinted after having an emotional connection with their Little Sister(s) just like Songbird is only FULLY imprinted after having an emotional connection with Elizabeth. We see this emotional imprinting twice. It’s about empathy.
- One with Elizabeth as a child helping Songbird after he crashed into her tower. Empathy. Elizabeth understands that he needs his mouth piece and puts it back.
- One with Masha Lutz and Leta (the Little Sisters) with the wounded Big Daddy. Empathy. The Little Sisters understand that he needs ADAM and injects him with it.
(DLC) Elizabeth in Rapturestock’s Flashback
(DLC) How is Elizabeth present during the flashback of taking Anna from Booker? The OTHER Elizabeth (the one that drowned OUR Booker) went back into the past in attempt to stop the future Rapturestock from taking Anna in the first place that resulted in Anna getting decapitated. She pops in while he wrestles with Booker and Rapturestock is visibly confused by her being next to him because he has no idea who she is.
[Image: The OTHER Elizabeth goes to the past and attempts to stop Comstock from taking Anna. She has her FULL powers meaning that she can make a difference even with Comstock dead]
Again, look at her pendant. It isn’t there. However, her finger is gone meaning that she has her powers. Remember that this isn’t OUR Elizabeth. We know thanks to the DLC that there are at least TWO Elizabeths who managed to destroy the siphon AKA has her full powers.
(DLC) The Pendant
(DLC) How do you explain why Elizabeth always wears the BIRD pendant in the DLC no matter what you chose? This is a design oversight because Ken Levine explicitly stated that the Elizabeth in the DLC is ‘Elizabeth Prime.’ They didn’t add a ‘transfer save’ function to affect the DLC. Elizabeth does, however, lose her pendant after time as her clothes gets messed up (it’s just realistic.) It’s pretty safe to say that choosing the BIRD pendant is canon because of this.
- “This is ‘Elizabeth Prime,’ this is the Elizabeth that went through the experiences in ‘BioShock: Infinite’ and this is the Rapture from ‘BioShock.’ We’re not splintering that.”
– Ken Levine
(DLC) Elizabeth’s Goal
(DLC) Why does Elizabeth go back to save Sally? Guilt. She feels guilt for leaving Sally to her fate simply so that she could teach Rapturestock a lesson. She goes on a journey to save Sally to correct her wrongs. Elizabeth succeeds, kick-starting the events of the first BioShock, where we see Sally taking Jack Ryan’s hand.
(DLC) The OTHER Elizabeth
(DLC) By the end of Burial at Sea: Episode One, OUR Elizabeth dies and loses her powers, but what about the OTHER Elizabeth that drowned Booker? She’s still out there, right? Nope. Every other Elizabeth was merged — again, “collapsed” by the use of Elizabeth’s words — with OUR Elizabeth after she lost her powers. We can speculate this because OUR (now powerless) Elizabeth gets her pinky back that she might’ve gained from another body. There is only one Elizabeth at this point and this last Elizabeth (a merge of every single one) dies in Burial at Sea: Episode Two by the hand of Atlas because she’s ‘mortal’ at this point.
(DLC) The Return of Elizabeth’s Pinky
(DLC) Why does OUR Elizabeth get her pinky back? Because she was possibly merged with every other Elizabeth’s body and some of those Elizabeths never lost her finger at all. Say, if she lost a foot, she would get a foot from one of the other Elizabeths.
(DLC) Booker in ‘Burial at Sea: Episode Two’
This is stated multiple times in the DLC, but I’ve heard the question asked and decided to add it.
(DLC) Who or what is the Booker speaking to her via radio? To keep herself at peace, Elizabeth’s brain creates a projection of Booker from her forgotten memories, although Booker is never there. The projection of Booker says this in the elevator.
(DLC) The Elevator in Revolutionary Columbia
(DLC) If all Elizabeths were merged at the beginning of the 2nd part, why can we still see OUR Elizabeth in the elevator with OUR Booker talking with Daisy over the comm? Because this is in the past. She hasn’t “collapsed” into one person yet. OUR Elizabeth, whom we control, is seeing herself from the past.
The Conclusion
Are there more Elizabeths, Comstocks, Rapturestocks, Bookers, and Annas after the ending? The result of BioShock: Infinite and the DLC is that all Elizabeths, Comstocks, and Rapturestocks are dead. In the purge, we’re made to believe that the remaining Elizabeth survives because the screen goes black, but pay attention to the sound design. An Elizabeth disappears after each piano chime. When one remains, the screen turns black, but there is another piano chime. THIS Elizabeth is merged with OUR Elizabeth because this happens at the same time as OUR Elizabeth returns to Rapture in Burial at Sea: Episode Two. Booker and Anna, however, exist in several universes. All in all, BioShock: Infinite has a happy ending in at least one of the universes. Booker and Anna get to be together as a family again.
Sources
- In-game dialogue
- In-game events
- In-game audio-logs
- In-game voxopohnes
- (Annabelle Watson/Lady A. Comstock)
10,ooo tweet: Lady A. Comstock's maiden name is…Annabelle Watson. Or Anna Watson, to her closest friends growing up.
— Ken Levine (@levine) February 16, 2015
- (Elizabeth’s intentions in the DLC) [link]
- (Anna and the crib)
RT @JessicaLaine4: @IGLevine Is Anna in the crib or not? =( –ask schrodinger.
— Ken Levine (@levine) June 23, 2013
- (Elizabeth’s identity in the DLC) [link]