Braid's Ending Explained

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First of all, casually internet clicker be warned - this features contains heavy Braid spoilers so if you plan on playing it at some point in the future (and we recommend you do), then click away now.

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First of all, all of this is debatable and open to interpretation. Braid has a plot that isn't easy to nail down, which is part of the fun. Who is Tim? Who is the Princess? How are they connected?

A lot of the worlds seem to contradict each other and suggest multiple meanings within the same plot. Regardless, here's some quick analysis for you to agree or disagree with and encourage further theories of your own.


The Ending

There are two things to bear in mind here. First, this last level is actually World 1, so it's the start of the plot. It just happens to take place at the end.

Secondly, as with the puzzles leading up to this final level, everything takes place in reverse. That's the key here.

The ending shows Tim in a small underground tunnel while above him, a knight descends with the Princess in his arms. "I got you!" the knight shouts and when he reaches the bottom, the Princess leaps to the ledge above. "Get down here!" he yells as she shouts "help!"

The Princess then runs away to the left while you run after her chasing by a wall of flames. The Princess hits switches to let you through the obstacles, while you hit switches to open doors to let her through. Eventually, she reaches her room and when you climb up the fence to the outside of the window, there's a bang and the Princess is asleep. There's no way for you to get inside to reach her

The Actual Ending

When you rewind time, you see the level for what it really is - you're the one chasing the Princess, who is trying to get away from you. She's actually hitting switches to set off traps trying to kill you and block off the ladders out of the underground tunnel, while you're hitting switches trying to trap her.

At the end of the level, she shouts out "help!" to the knight, who shouts "get down here!" She jumps down into his arms and he then carries her away on a rope while telling her "I've got you." In Tim's mind, the knight is the monster at the start of the level. In reality, Tim is the monster the Princess is running away from.

The Epilogue Books

The Epilogue is a series of simple rooms punctuated by red books, which contain more scripture. In addition to that are hidden scraps of text that show an alternative viewpoint. So access these hidden bits of text:

First room: Read the red book, when walk around the room until you hear the female 'ahhhh' sound.

Second room: Drop down, read the red book, then rewind yourself up to the left hand ledge and walk behind the scenery until you hear the 'ahhhh' sound.

Third room: Read the red book, then walk onwards to the next room. Stand on the left-hand side of the green platform and rewind time (you'll hear the green book close). Then walk back into this third room and walk behind the rock.

Fourth room: Hit the switch so the green platform goes up, then hit the switch to bring it back down. Stand on the red book, then rewind time so the platform moves up with you on it. Run off the left of the platform and check behind the rock for the usual sound.

The Atom Bomb Theory

Some of the Epilogue text reads as follows:

He worked his ruler and his compass. He inferred. He deduced. He scrutinized the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a thread. He was searching for the Princess, and he would not stop until he found her, for he was hungry.

Ruler, compass, fall of an apple (Isaac Newton's gravity example), metal orbs hanging from a thread (atoms) suggest Tim is a scientist. His search for the Princess is actually his search for a specific goal within science.

Someone near him said: "It worked."

Someone else said: "Now we are all sons of bitches."

"Now we are all sons of bitches" is a famous quote, said by Kenneth Bainbridge after the detonation of the first nuclear bomb.

She stood tall and majestic. She radiated fury. She shouted: "Who has disturbed me?" But then, anger expelled, she felt the sadness beneath; she let her breath fall softly, like a sigh, like ashes floating gently on the wind.

She couldn't understand why he chose to flirt so closely with the death of the world.

This alternative text follows directly on and could be the viewpoint of the bomb exploding.

The nuclear explosion theory also explains why the main hub of the game shows a city on fire and why the final painting shows a man looking grim in a burning city.

It has also been suggested that the main theme of the game is undoing mistakes, similar to how Tim could regret creating the atom bomb that is a harbringer of destruction and may want to undo that mistake.

Also note how the worlds slowly get darker in tone as you progress, which could show the effects of the atom bomb's creation on the world around us. The first world is bright and colourful. The following worlds are dark and grim.

Also consider what Tim says when he stands in the final castle at the end of the epilogue, which suggests the creation of an atom bomb:

But how would this be perceived by the other residents of the city, in the world that flows contrariwise? The light would be intense and warm at the beginning, but then flicker down to nothing, taking the castle with it; it would be like burning down the place we've always called home, where we played so innocently as children. Destroying all hope of safety, forever.

Other theories suggest that rather than perfecting the atom bomb, Tim has perfected time travel. However, the atom bomb theory slots in more neatly than a time travel theory does.

The Fractured Relationship Theory

The problem with the atom bomb theory is it only really applies to the Epilogue books. All other books talk of the Princess in a different manner entirely.

The book for World 2 reads:

Tim is off on a search to rescue the Princess. She has been snatched by a horrible and evil monster.

This happened because Tim made a mistake.

Not just one. He made many mistakes during the time they spent together, all those years ago. Memories of their relationship have become muddled, replaced wholesale, but one remains clear: the Princess turning sharply away, her braid lashing him with contempt.

This follows on from World 1, where in Tim's mind the Princess is snatched away by a 'horrible monster'. What was Tim's mistake? Again, the only gameplay mechanic in this first world is rewinding time to undo your mistakes.

It could be the Princess left the relationship with Tim because of a mistake he made, though what Tim did is wide open to interpretation. The following are all possible:

Tim could have been violent towards her ("he considered violence" - epilogue book)

Tim could have ignored her because of his career ("She never understood the impulses that drove him, never quite felt the intensity that, over time, chiseled lines into his face" - World 5 book)

Tim could have been an alcoholic (the paints for World 2 and 3 show alcohol)

They could have married too early ("But the ring makes its presence known. It shines out to others like a beacon of warning. It makes people slow to approach. Suspicion, distrust. Interactions are torpedoed before Tim can open his mouth." - World 6)

World 6 also features a ring that slows people down... it makes people slow to approach. Or could it be that marriage slows Tim down in his quest for the Princess?

What's Your Theory?

These are just two theories on what Braid could mean. The plot is so open to interpretation, it could mean both. Why is the Princess always in another castle? What does the dinosaur represent, if anything at all?

This article is just a starting point for theories on Braid, so post up your thoughts on what you agree and disagree with. Let us know what YOU think.

Ryan King