Final Fantasy VIII ending plot analysis *MAJOR SPOILERS*

[zero_chance]

So in a few threads here, I've hinted that there's a lot more to FF8's plot than meets the eye, and figured I might as well spill the beans now. Here we go:

*spoilers*


Ultimecia is Rinoa.

Have you let that sink in yet? Good.

Now, the evidence:

- Ultimecia's GF is Griever. But how is that possible? Griever is the name of the lion emblazoned on Squall's jewelry, which he practically made up on the spot to impress Rinoa. Unless, of course, the GF Griever was created in honor of Squall.
- Where is Ultimecia's castle located? Over the flowering fields at Edea's orphanage. The place where Squall promises that he'd meet Rinoa if ever they get separated.
- Sorceress' are immortal. They don't age, while everybody around them does. You'll see why this is significant in a moment.
- Ultimecia has wings. Rinoa's sorceress powers manifested themselves as angel wings. Ultimecia's wings are black, however, possibly symbolizing how she has been corrupted.
- The final is hard to tell because of the way that it's presented, but Ultimecia's facial structure in the ending cinematic closely resembles Rinoa.

So the story goes like this:
In the present, Rinoa falls madly in love with Squall. Then she is granted Edea's sorceress powers after defeating her in Galbadia Garden, which grants her inate immortality. Presumedly, in the current timeline, Rinoa and Squall get hitched, and live a happy life. But eventually Squall grows old, and dies, and Rinoa has her heart torn from her, and eventually she wallows in her own grief and sorrow. Unable to love properly, for fear of losing more people she cares for, she grows reclusive, and steadily insane. She learns how to manipulate time, eventually stumbling upon Ellone. She then realizes that her time magics, coupled with Ellone's ability to link the past and the present, would allow her to achieve time compression, and possibly reuniting her with her true love. I suppose that with time compression, since past, present, and future are all one, Squall wouldn't die either because his future would be his present, blah blah blah.

Anyways, Rinoa's time magics only extend so far as being able to link herself through the various incarnations of her power, hence Edea. Ultimecia manipulates Edea to draw out Squall and the SeeD, along with Ellone. The problem is that she finds that she isn't powerful enough to bring about Time Compression. So she transfers Edea's powers to Rinoa (herself), and uses that body to resurrect Sorceress Adel. After Squall defeat Adel, her sorceress powers are transferred into Rinoa, and thus Ultimecia becomes doubly powerful, and can commence the compression of time.

The premise is actually quite simple, as far as time travel/manipulation stories go. Seeing as how Final Fantasy VIII was touted as having a story based around love, it fits. Ultimecia's motivations are driven by her fanatical devotion to her lost love.

The tricky part, however, is deciphering the rather cryptic ending. There's two ways that you can take it, physically, or metaphysically. If you take it physically, then the scenes ensuing can be assumed to be the unravelling of time, with Squall ending up in some sort of time crossroads, lost, until love's beacon shows him the way home. I think metaphysically though, it makes just a bit more sense. After you kill Ultimecia's first form, the rest of the battle takes place inside Squall's head, which could also help explain the presence of Griever (I mean, is it really possible for a Sorceress to create a GF?). After she is killed, in her waning moment, she tries to latch on to Squalls mind to preserve the last of their bond, but Squall fights back. The final blow dealt to Ultimecia True kills both Squall and Rinoa, because she is bonded to his mind. The hazy scenes of the ending cinematic show both of their lives "flashing" before Squalls eyes, as he dies. Then we see Ultimecia's powers being restored to Matron Edea (and presumedly, because time is compressed, this means all instances of those powers, even the one belonging to the present Rinoa, thus averting the situation from ever happening again). Time unravels, and everybody is restored to their proper place in time, except Squall, who is dying, as we see him collapse on the path to the afterlife. However, the power of Rinoa's love and his promise to meet her forms a strong power, and revives him.

*end of spoilers*

Hopefully, that cleared things up for some people. I might have left some details out, so if you notice any holes, just ask, and I'll probably be able to fill them in.

Edit by Ace: Please use hidden for spoilers, threads do have to be moderated, and some of the mods / admins might have not completed the game, so use hidden instead, that way they can still read the entire thread, and mods / admins that did complete the game could check the hidden text.