Episode 14: Lou

**Episode 14: Lou** is the 14th and final main story episode in *Death Stranding*.

## Objectives

* **[Order No. 70] Cremation: BB**
	+ Deliver BB to the incinerator

## Story

### The Inauguration

After Sam is brought back from the Beach in Episode 13, we see the inauguration of the new president of the UCA, Die-Hardman. He makes an uplifting speech to all the members that have gathered and removes his mask. He then mentions an 'unsung hero', strongly implying towards Sam, thanking him for all he has done in rebuilding the country. Sam leaves the room in the middle of the speech, and Deadman chases after him into the corridor. He attempts to make Sam stay longer, however, Sam replies that since Amelie is gone, he has no reason to stay. On instinct, Deadman grabs Sam's arm when he turns to leave, only to stare in wonder as Sam- formerly afraid of touch- doesn't flinch. Deadman heartily pats Sam on back, before informing Sam on how they brought Sam back from the Beach he was stranded on.

At first, they had used Bridget's umbilical cord to try to locate Sam, as it was most connected to Amelie's Beach. Unfortunately, as Amelie had already cut her Beach loose from the Beaches of everyone else's, they were unable to locate her Beach. Heartman and Mama then split up and searched every single Beach that Sam could have washed up on for a month in vain. When they were about to give up, Die-Hardman reminded them of Clifford Unger's revolver. Using that as a new medium, they located Sam on the far corner of his own Beach. Fragile then "slingshotted" Deadman and Lou into Sam's position, all of them wearing quipus woven from Bridget's DNA obtained from the umbilical cord, and rescued him. Deadman then theorises that Bridget had purposefully left both the umbilical cord and the revolver such that Sam could be saved. He then envelops Sam in a great bear hug -one that Sam passively accepts, before telling Sam another piece of news - BB's mother was Lisa Bridges, Cliff's wife. He then also says that Die-Hardman, whose real name is John, vanished after Cliff's death and was later found dead. However, John had actually taken up a new identity and donned a mask. Deadman upon spying Die-Hardman walking down the corridor then whispers to Sam that he doesn't trust him, possibly due to the array of "dirty laundry" that he had found in Die-Hardman's past, before passing Cliff's revolver to Sam.

### Die-Hardman's Breakdown

> The captain saved my life. You know why they call me Die-Hardman? Because he wouldn't let me die. He brought my sorry ass back home every time. And I *loved* him as much as I loved her. And when he stared me down, that ghost, I knew. He was here to kill me. To make it right. And why shouldn't he? Why *didn't* he?
> – Die-Hardman
>
>

After this scene, Sam attempts to walk past Die-Hardman, however, the director calls out to him and says he doesn't expect forgiveness but pleads for Sam to hear him out. He then makes a confession to Sam about killing Cliff because he loved Bridget with all his heart, however, he has been living in remorse ever since. When Sam turns to walk away in disgust, Die-Hardman grabs his shoulder and begs for Sam to listen to him. He then describes how Captain Clifford always brought him back from the battlefield through thick and thin, earning him the nickname "Die-Hardman". His words trembling and halting with emotion, he admits that he loved Cliff just as he loved Bridget, before falling to his knees in tears.

> I guess, when he saw I was trying to do my part for America, he remembered who he was... and he *forgave* me.
> – Die-Hardman
>
>

Die-Hardman then describes that the moment he saw Cliff on the Beach, he knew Cliff was about to kill him as that would be justice. However, Cliff instead forgave the director when he remembered who he was, which Die-Hardman breaks down in wracking sobs and cries that there is no atoning for what he had done. Sam brings him back on his feet wordlessly, after which Die-Hardman states that perhaps Cliff had spared his life because he wanted the director to continue becoming "Die-Hardman". Sam then angrily replies that nobody wants a president who acts like they are immortal, after all, if one is not scared of death, how can one value life? He then shoves the revolver into the hands of the director, quoting Amelie that "That gun won't help you here," before leaving. An emotional Die-Hardman stares at Sam's retreating back before thanking Sam.

### Lou's "Death"

Sam after meets Deadman holding Lou in her pod - but she appears to be dead, so Deadman tells Sam he has two options - bringing Lou to the incinerator to avoid a void-out, or he can try to take Lou out of the pod to see if she can survive, but that is against the law under the new president. He also turns Sam's handcuff offline and tells him that if he takes them off, the UCA will never be able to find him, but upon using the incinerator, Sam will be reconnected to the network automatically. Sam turns to leave for the incinerator before hesitating, turning around, and hugging Deadman. Sam thanks him "for everything" before he leaves the gates of the distribution centre.

Outside, Fragile is gazing outside with her umbrella in hand. They engage in small talk, where Fragile confides in him that she decided to follow her father's footsteps and that her company is the first private delivery company to get official approval from the UCA. She also mentions that she did not, in fact, shoot Higgs. Instead, Fragile gave him a choice- death or eternal solitude on the Beach. Sam quips back that she never did like breaking things, to which she replies with a smile that he is right, she finds and fixes what is broken, and reconnect. As a joke, she asks Sam if he would like to work for her, which Sam declines and says that the world is as broken as before. Fragile tries to reason with him that despite that, everyone is still "chugging along", but Sam replies "not everyone, not me." Despite her best efforts to reason with him that he had grown and learned to connect with people, Sam turns to leave, leaving her behind as the gates close.

### Taking Lou to the incinerator

At the incinerator, Sam tries to tap the glass of the pod to get a response, however, when he sees she remains inanimate, Sam connects his cord to Lou where he sees a flashback. It shows all past memories of Cliff in chronological order, and unlike previous memories, it shows it in the perspective of outside the pod. Die-Hardman- or John- warns Cliff that the BB is about to be taken to a new facility, after which he would not see BB again as it will serve as a sacrifice for the foundation of the communications network. Handing Cliff a note containing all that was needed to know, John leaves the room.

The next day, John is waiting for Cliff in Lisa's room. He states that the system won't allow Lisa's life support to be turned off, before handing Cliff's revolver back to him and saying that it was the only other option. Draining and opening Lisa's life support pod, John tells Cliff that he had rigged the system to spoof Lisa's vitals for five minutes before an alarm would inevitably go off. He then warns Cliff not to hesitate as it will be the only chance he will get, before leaving. Cliff approaches the nearby medicine cabinet, starts wrapping a towel around the muzzle of the gun as a makeshift silencer, and retrieves a pillow from it as well. He walks towards the comatose Lisa and apologies for what he is about to do and promises that he will take care of BB. Giving her one last kiss, he places a pillow on her face and fires his revolver twice, killing her instantly. Cliff takes BB's pod out of its stand and is seen fleeing the room before the flashback ends.

Back in the real world, Sam wakes up from the flashback and disconnects himself from Lou. He prepares the incinerator, suddenly recalling Deadman's words about the offline cufflinks, he also places it on the stone bed that will be used incinerate corpses. Reluctantly, he places Lou on the stone bed and watches as it sinks into the incinerator. At the last second before the doors of the incinerator shuts, he snatches Lou's pod and remembers Deadman's words that there is a 70% chance of catastrophic failure when removing a BB from its pod. Sam reconnects his cord with Lou one last time and sees a flashback of the scene where Cliff is fleeing the room.

### The Reveal

> BB. Don't worry. It's okay. I'll always be with you.
> – Cliff Unger
>
>

Despite Cliff's best efforts in dodging guard patrols, the main doors are locked and he is unable to make a quick escape. Due to this delay, he is inevitably found out and shot as the alarm sounds. John tries his best to assist in Cliff's escape by commanding his security patrols to stand down from shooting his Captain, but to no avail as Bridges security, a specialised task force for eliminating enemy targets, is out of his power to control. Cliff, severely injured, corners himself back in Lisa's room while John wards off the Bridges security task force, telling them that Cliff had cornered himself and that standard security will handle it from here.

Inside the room, Cliff locks the door and shoots the security panel, then sits down to rest due to his injured state. Sam himself can be seen standing in the room, however it would seem he is not actually there, but rather just viewing the memory. Upon hearing voices, Sam worriedly approaches the doors of the room where several security personnel can be seen attempting to breach the doors. He watches as Cliff struggles to Lisa's bedside with BB and apologises to her, telling her that he screwed it up and ruined everything. Outside, John tries to protect Cliff further by ordering his men to search for another place despite their protests that they saw Cliff inside the room. Suddenly, Bridget's voice can be heard ordering Bridges security to breach the doors. Through the deafening slams of security breaking through the door, Cliff comforts BB and cradles the pod protectively while Sam throws panicked looks between Cliff and the doors. Cliff sings to BB while Sam stares at him, then raises his revolver to the doors in preparation. Sam, at a loss at his powerlessness, glances between Cliff and the almost-breached doors. As Bridges security breaks through, Sam flings his arms out and tries to stop them, however as he is not actually there, they go through him and immediately shoot Cliff.

> When I found out I was gonna be a father, I was so scared. Scared of what it would mean. I had to be there for you and your mom... no matter what. I couldn't just go off and get myself killed anymore... couldn't leave you all alone. I couldn't. I had it all wrong... all wrong. Being a father... didn't make me scared. It made me brave. I'm sorry... sorry it took me so long...Don't make the same mistake. Be yourself... be *free.*
> – Cliff Unger
>
>

Lying on his side in a pool of blood, Cliff apologises to the BB pod he still cradles in front of him, where he admits his fears of fatherhood and his devotion to being a father. John yells at security to back off and helps Cliff into a sitting position. One of the Bridges security personnel hurriedly retrieves the BB pod and returns it to Bridget who was standing at the back. She presses a button that enables the BB pod to be transparent, only to see that the BB is missing from the pod, but is actually in fact out of the pod and cradled in the arms of Cliff.

John, now in a noticeably more aggressive posture, picks up Cliff's revolver, stands up, and points it at him, demanding him to hand the BB over. Sam, who had been watching the events unfold, hurriedly puts himself in between the gun and Cliff despite knowing his powerlessness, one hand outreached to John as if to beg. In the background, Bridget orders John to shoot Cliff, and continues to pressure him to do so in the light of John's obvious reluctance and hesitance. As the tension in the room climaxes and it almost seems like John would pull the trigger, time stops and Cliff speaks to Sam directly.

> They told me your name was Sam Porter...but you're Sam Bridges. My son. My bridge to the future."
> – Cliff Unger
>
>

Gazing fondly at Sam's stunned form, Cliff acknowledges Sam as his son, and that without Sam, he was "just like any other cliff, a dead end, no way forward." Cliff then goes on to say that he is nothing but an obstacle, watching as people like Sam attempted to build the world. With great difficulty and cradling BB- baby Sam- in one arm, Cliff attempts to stand up and in the process, touches Sam and uses him as a support which is the first real contact he had while in the memory.

Standing in front of Sam, he says that Sam is different from him, that Sam brings people together and is the bridge between the future and Cliff's future. He prompts Sam to stand up and gently passes over BB to Sam, which Sam asks in awe if this was him, and Cliff nods. Cliff then removes his dog tags and fastens it on Sam's neck, then lovingly cradles his face while smiling in wonderment before hugging him. The time-stop of the memory ends and the events play in real-time again, and John, whose hand is now physically controlled by Bridget, shoots Cliff twice in the back with the revolver while Sam and Cliff are still hugging. Cliff, now dead, falls to the ground and drops BB. However, the bullet had accidentally gone through both BB and Cliff, and Bridget falls to her knees and screams in grief as she sees that BB is dead.

On the Beach, Bridget- or Amelie- finds baby Sam unmoving. She gently picks him up and heals the bullet wound on his stomach with two gestures in the shape of a cross, explaining the strange scar that Sam has on his stomach. Baby Sam then regains colour and starts crying, which Amelie smiles in relief and cradles him on her shoulder. Across the Beach and in the sea, Cliff's soul can be seen looking at them for a moment before he turns and walks deeper into the sea. Amelie comforts baby Sam and then returns him to the land of the living.

Back in the physical world, Bridget's relived face can be seen as baby Sam opens his eyes. John reminds her that baby Sam's time as a BB is now ended as his connection to the other side has been severed. Bridget acknowledges this as she was the one to cut the cord in the first place. John continues and asks her if they should decommission baby Sam as there would be a deathless repatriate in the land of the living. Bridget picks up baby Sam's pod and orders John to take him out of the pod, where she would raise Sam as her own.

### Lou

The flashback ends and Sam is back in the real world with Lou, now out of the pod, cradled in his hands. He desperately tries to revive her by rubbing on her feet and body in an effort to provide warmth, and when that didn't work he tries to give her CPR. However, his efforts would be in vain as she remains unresponsive and the telltale starting symptoms of necrosis started to show. Feeling hopeless and in tears, Sam cradles her on his shoulder and hugs her. To his surprise, Lou starts to cry. He gazes at her in shock, and she smiles at him while holding up Amelie's quipu. Overwhelmed, Sam embraces Lou lovingly as baby BTs watch them in the background- presumably past BB's that had been put into the incinerator before this.

Hugging Lou close to him, both of them step outside and into the rain. However, the signs of Timefall do not present themselves, indicating that it is simply normal rain. A regular rainbow, with the colour blue now present in it, shines brightly in the background. Birdsong is heard, juxtaposing the mass bird death in the opening scene.

## Walkthrough

You have to take Lou up to the incinerator.