Ending analysis (spoiler alert!) | Walkthrough The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Guide

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is based on the atmosphere created by the beautiful graphics and the story authored by Tom Bissell and Rob Auten - the ending to a game that is so much focused on the storyline, could not have a cookie-cutter finale. The upside of this game is that you can freely interpret the events that played out on the screen.

Interpretation one

Your character, Paul Prospero, does not exist. He is another figment of imagination of Ethan Carter, a boy of incredibly vast horizons, who spent whole days on writing stories. He came up with the story about fangs, the witch or the monster from the deep. He also came up with the atmospheric storyline telling about the brave detective coming to the rescue. This is so, because Ethan's family is not doing well, which is proven by the dialogues that you can hear during the game, and the final scene with the fire accident. The story that the player experiences is a way to soothe down Ethan's troubled mind and to unite the family (even if in the face of a tragedy).

The final scene is not only the beautiful landscape, but also a moment to reflect on the story.

Since the moment that Paul Prospero leaves the tunnel up to the moment at which he finds the boy in the underground, 4 minutes elapse. This has been expanded to long hours, which is a popular motif, while describing the experiences of the dying mind. When the fire breaks out and the stupefied Ethan lies down on the mattress, it is 07:00. Paul "reaches" the boy at 07:04. In the last moments of his life, Ethan's mind was occupied with what made the boy the happiest - dreaming. His hero overcame all obstacles and reached the destination. The Carter family had to unify at that grave moment. The bittersweet final, indeed.

Interpretation two

The key is the sentence uttered by Paul Prospero ("I have crossed so many portals already..."). The sentence suggests that the protagonist is an angel that took on the form of a detective invented by the dying boy, as a means to make the boy's progression to the afterlife less painful and less shocking. Paul cannot leave the Red Creek Valley (a looping tunnel) up until he succeeds at his task.

Dysfunctional family

Although the developers do not deny the theory of Ethan's being deep in sleep, on their blog, as a matter of fact, this story that is inspired by the Lovecraftian works is a layer for a much more down-to-earth story, yet not less terrifying. The title character, rejected by his family, presents his family's true selves, by putting them in the story (the possessive mother, the cowardly father and the intolerant brother). The Carters, as see by the rejected child, is a truly terrifying picture.

Your interpretation?

What was the first thought that came to your mind, after you saw the final cutscene?