[SPOILER ALERT!] Well...Paul Serene was right about End of Time. But not all decisions was...let's say "friendly". He thought it will happened few years later...and it's correct. The whole Quantum Break is about changing past to prevent future. But past cannot be changed - the past is set. All actions - will only trigger chains of events, leading to events in future. Which means... The End of Time will happen, no matter what. Jack only prevent it temporarily (using countermeasure). It will happened few years later, just like Paul believed. Why? Because it already happened, and trying to fix that in the past...will lead to start End of Time in future. And Jack had vision on Ending - on final cut scene. But there will be no Lifeboat this time... And this whole conclusion is...everything we do...is futile. Time travel in Quantum Break will not change anything. They can only start chain of events. And Paul was not a bad guy - he was right about everything. But some decisions - especially those we can choose...can lead to Paul as cold murderer. But at his core - he was trying to save mankind from End of Time.
Tbh, I see him as a hero (especially true if you go the PR route and kill as little as possible because a lot of main heroes end up killing the villain. Jack may cause the end of time due to his lack of understanding and while unfortunate, he needs to be dealt with. Paul all the time tries to reason with Jack but Jack just doesnt listen and hopes it will turn out OK - what may look like hope to some though may be seen also as ignorance or even delusion/unwillingness to face the harsh reality. Paul was the only one trying to solve the bad stuff based on informed decision and save as many as he humanly could while killing the people that would cause the end of time.
It frustrates me in literature when the drama is caused because both sides don't sit down and talk. Both of them wanted the same thing. To save the world. Personally, I would have loved to see two CFRs made. So both could do their plans independently. One way or another it would have been fixed.
Personally I think he starts off the way you describe but as his mind is corrupted by the chronon syndrome he becomes something else. The murder of Dr. Amarel reflects this. It is a tragedy that someone with such good intentions was brought so low amd became a chaotic force.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Well maybe he started to develop shades of well intentioned extremist by that point(control) or is starting to suffer from sanity slipage due to his disease(surrender)
Personally I don't think we will get that kind of Avengers moment. They can't use Jack until they settle publishing rights with Microsoft. What i think is more likely is they will reference what is happening with the others without directly having them team up. That would be really cool though.
@@GamingUniversityUoG like the billboard in act 1 part 2/3 that’s inside the classroom before will is taken to the library. Massive Alan wake reference there. And in the bottom left it says “AWE - Alan Wake Experience? Altered World Events?”
He sure isnt a villain. He didn't like killing. He did what he thought nesesary to save the humans. From the end of time. Wich we have never seen. But he has.
Hopefully we get to see what really caused the End of Time. I'm curious if Martin Hatch and Clarice Ogawa have something to do with it. I agree though. I wouldn't call him an outright villain. At least not unless you pick the Surrender option at Junction 4. That's when he goes off the deep end.
And find a way to stabilize him. He has a time limit currently. Also maybe give him a character lol. I think he was the weakest of the 4 Remedy protagonists in terms of characterization.
In the lifeboat life action cutscene, Whenever you pick surrender, Amaral talks about the zero state being off and/or the time machine being blatantly different than Monarchs version. If you pick Hatch and control, she says that it was probably a sabotage by hatch (her opinion, not necessarily true or wrong). However when you pick control and amaral, she doesn't say this, why? I'm just curious. I also agree that Paul isn't a villain, just an antagonist and also agree with your theory that the time travel machine caused the fracture but not the end of time. Anyway, I'm just really curious about this. You deserve a sub as well.
I just finished the surrender and hatch tun and found this scene. I feel she suspected something was off about his timeline presumptions. With how the game ended, I feel the End of Time was going to be explored in the sequel. Most likely she only mentions it because she realizes he is going off the deep end and is trying to pull him back.
@@GamingUniversityUoGI don't think we will ever get a sequel now. Do you? Is it possible to understand everything that happened with only the information we have in this game? I'm watching your full playlist now. Love your channel.
Gaming University I think Beth is a doppelgänger of Jesse. But this was mostly when I thought Quantum break was another reality in the remedy multiverse. However seeing the Monarch article that basically references the FBC (AWE before Control released) existing and them Being aware of the organization I believe this is the same world in both games. I’m just trying to piece together timeline... no pun intended lol
@@brandonbishop1259 You’ve probably noticed this but I literally just had this pointed out to me a few weeks ago, the Monarch logo literally has the Board & Nail in it
Well. Let me add one critical point which is overlooked here guys. ☝️ Note that only "witnesses" of End of Time were precisely Paul and Beth. Which are the only protagonists who died AND travelled to the future. So for them - of course - time has ended. Think about that. - - - Continuation of conversation for @Gaming University @Pat Gunn @Vitowisko (how the heck should I tag u guys? 😑😣) - - - This brings new perspective to shifters/entities beyond time (for example in Control) and the "field" and "ways" they operate in. Shame that QB does not elaborate on this topic too deeply, because for me, they somehow had been practically "raised from the dead"/came back from the "beyond"/"underworld"/"world of non-living" IF the End of Time is subjective. I think for Remedy this is just another genius move, so they can use this "area" for additional storytelling IF they need to for Remedyverse. (Timeline from 1999 to 2021 as the End of Time in QB) But for me there is no need to consider End of Time as inevitable or that it even would/should really happen. There are some arguments for it and there are some against that, but the most important is that the story does not NEED it to be true, so (considering Sam Lake's genius) for me personally - there is no objective End of Time (because Occam's razor). Now let me add another two critical remarks which you may consider maybe for your future videos @Gaming University ? We can consider End of Time as subjective EASILY (see my first point). Which precisely means that it might be just a matter of perspective. Remember the final scene of Foundation DLC (correct me if Im wrong here)? The move of the camera from regular to upside down on the pyramid? (So it posits whether you are REALLY looking UP to the (ivnerted) pyramid or you are REALLY looking DOWN on (classical) pyramid.) So what if Lifeboat was really just stoping the time for the insiders, not for the world. Lifeboaters continue they life "as if" nothing happened, while the outer world is in Stutter. But what if from perspective of the outside world, it is them who are stuck. Lifeboat operates in Zero state fueled by CRF, so subjectively they think time is really "going on". Note the apparent connection of "fueling the Lifeboat from CRF" and "extreme stutters/End of Time". (in game they precisely mention "2020 levels" - LOL 🤣 is Remedy actually a prophet gaming studio or what???) The mere fact that there even IS a connection implies that there can be either this or that. Either Lifeboat/End of Time OR objective forward flow of time. It is a speculation really, but from point of view of regular people outside it is them - the Lifeboat - that for a brief moment of time (and unimaginable power as well) - are stuck. In infinity. I could go on, but let me finish this here for now... I am a little messy here, but hopefully you see my point. Second point. Jesse and Beth connection (besides apparent actress choice). I must confess that I don't LIKE the idea that there even IS a connection. Because in Control, Jesse came to the FBC with a story. With a story her own. So let's not take it from her. Or let us not add to it when it is not necessary. (See some of my points earlier) HOWEVER! - There is one thing. I am not sure whether you have elaborated on this channel about it or not, but in FBC, the time is stuck on 15:45 on every watch in every part of the Bureau!!! We might speculate that they do not operate in classical "Time-scapes". (...or is that/coud that be somehow similiar situation to those in Lifeboat? Note that in Control there are many instances that the game feels like its 60s, then like 80s, then there is current era and sometime it feels like future era) - - - OK, i finish here for now 😁😄 I recently commented under one of your Control videos and you see how hooked I got to the Remedyverse since then! 🤣 I must say I had the privilege of playing Control with no AW or QB experience prior so my soul is pristine and I can look at the whole thing retroactively! And that is what I am doing these days. Played Control with DLCs first, been blown away, finished QB yesterday, next stop - Alan Wake. And I will finish with Max Payne haha 🤣🤣😎 Peace ✌️
I think at the end of the day one recurring issue with the characters decisions is based upon their false assumptions. Paul assumed that the event at the University caused the fracture. As soon as the projections deviated from his original timeline he should have realized maybe he didn't know as much as he thought. Amarel said as much to him. Second assumption was that the End of Time 2020 was a permanent event or that it was world wide. It potentially could have been a localized one. Really hard to say without more info. Chaos Theory plays a big role in this story, so believing to understand the cause and effect of these events is a mistake. Until we experience it it is all supposition. I did notice the clocks frozen inside the Oldest House but didn't really think about it too much. That would be an interesting thought though.
That bit is a theory of mine. Paul knew everything about the timeline. End of Time was supposed to start on January 5th 2021. This occured 5 years before. My theory is that the Fracture caused this event but whatever caused the end of time was unrelated. Paul just assumed this was what led to that.
I was annoyed with Jack the whole time and now after watching this video even more so. Jack simply didn't have any idea about what was going on, and killed way more people than Paul did. Jack was simply a hot head and ignorant idiot hell bent on stopping paul without any deep reasoning
Frankly if Paul didn't 'execute' Will at the beginning Jack may have talked things out. But because of this he didn't stop to think and just went. Luckily it all worked out but I feel like the most efficient way to handle this is let jack his thing but have Paul's plan as a backup. I wonder how it would have turned out if the original design for the game made it into the story. The developers wanted to have the player swap between jack, Beth and Paul evenly throughout the game as playable characters. This was cut due to time though.
Paul basically adheres to the mindset of 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' and really only fought and killed when it was absolutely necessary out of self defense. I'd personally consider him an 'Anti-villain' or morally grey antagonist. He thinks logically and does what he needs to do to complete his goals, even if it isn't always the 'right' thing to do. I really love Paul's character and emphasize with him a lot, he's probably my fave character in the whole game (With Beth being a close second)
One of the recurring themes I kept telling myself when I played this the first time is I can't judge Paul or Martin's actions until I knew their motives. Paul is such an interesting character that I knew would be divisive on how players ultimately judged him. For me he was a character who I wanted to save, knowing he wasn't a bad person. But as the story progressed and his mind was rotted by chronon syndrome, I resigned myself to the idea it was necessary.
I finished this game at the end of last year and loved but couldn't find any videos about the game's story and details about it (even though i read most files and etc). Now, to my surprise, here it is: videos about Quantum Break, one of my favorite game of this generation. The videos also helped me understand some things better too. I hope one day we'll get a sequel for this game. I loved it. Thank you for the videos! (Also the song at the of these videos are amazing. I love Chrono Trigger)
I'm glad I was able to help! In with you, I'm surprised there isn't more content creators following Quantum Break and Remedy I general. The worlds they built are so rich in literature and lore to explore. Haha and thanks! Yeah Frog's Theme was my favorite character song in it.
The end boss battle was so poorly done and designed, that it left a really bad taste in almost all who played it, reviewers and gamers alike. I have heard through credible sources that this is the single reason the game 'flopped' as I agree it is superb for a new IP in terms of gameplay, visuals, plot and story telling with TV episodes etc. But all will just mention how bad the last 10 mins of the game is
Unfortunately I've never played Quantum Break seeing as I haven't had an Xbox1 or PC since it's release via Microsoft exclusively... I'm a PS4 Gamer. Luckily I had a 360 when Alan Wake debuted though!!! Great video, as usual!!!
I'd definitely recommend funding a playthrough of it online. It isn't up to the same surreal standard that AW and Control have but it's a good story and experience. Sadly because Microaoft still owns the rights to it I doubt we will get to see these characters in the Remedyverse anytime soon.
Gaming University for sure, it’s definitely up on my “to do list..” without a doubt, I’m going to play it @ some point sooner than later. Just wondering, but have you ever played the Metro Series, & it so what’s your opinion on it? I personally love it & was j/w your take on them.
Although the game strongly implies that time is immutable, I think the sequel is set up to undermine this. This is based on Jack's declaration that he will save Beth, who he witnessed being shot and killed by Paul. He will have to change time in order to save Beth. If he can do that, then perhaps he can even save time from stopping.
One thing I found interesting the entire game is even though Paul said repeatedly that time cannot be changed, the junction points contradict this. We are literally changing time each time Paul makes a choice. I think this is meant to imply that the past is set but the future can be changed. There is also the idea that Hatch, being a Shifter, exists in multiple realities. The documents even say that killing a Shifter wont end it because another version of it will take its place. I have a theory on how to save Beth but that's for another video.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I know I am late to this but you said in your reply that it is implied that the past can’t be changed but the future can, but the future is the past specifically Paul’s past so therefore it can’t be changed as it is the past which can’t be changed (I couldn’t think of a better way of explaining it) I think that past, present and future is subjective. In jacks view the end of time is his future but the end of time is Paul’s past as he has already experienced it
Of course! The fracture isn't what causes the end of time. The fracture gets fixed at the end of the game , yet paul and beth went to the end of time so it must happen because time is a closed loop, or an egg according to will. The fracture gets fixed in 2016 and time ends in 2021. It all makes sense now! Thanks for clarifying that
Even in the game Sofia Amarel kept saying the degradation is faster that the projections he saw. Implying something else was going on. I am still waiting for a sequel so we can check out the end of time!
There is a novel of quantum break called zero state. Amaral in the end explains that both paul and jack were wrong. The fracture caused by the university machine was supposed to happen within 24 h, It's only thanks to jack stealing the cfr that the end of time was delayed till 2021 (dr.Amaral confirmed that the time field was stabilized and it's degradation was slowed down, but not repaired) Paul was wrong about fracture and jack was wrong about cfr being able to fix it.
I can finally watch this video, just finished the game! I love your analysis, as always. But Paul, even if he is trying to prevent the end of time, even before he does all his evil actions, is still at fault for ignoring the warnings of the experiment. I know, if he didn't start the machine, there wouldn't be a story/game. But he is still at fault, he caused it. One could argue that if he didn't, someone else in the world would eventually recreate his time machine and probably fail? The best thing he could have done was to sit down with William in the past and try to solve the issue (then again, he was being followed by Sara Connor aka Beth Wilder). Or maybe killed himself? But I imagine that would break time too.
You know, I just realized something. Beth got hit point blank with the countermeasure. That means she might have a quantum duplicate if it made her chronon active.
It is the small decisions, the actions we take in the here and now, which determine our future. They ripple outward, slowly colliding with one another, until they coalesce into something which manifests real change. The Fourth Dimension does not decide our fate. We do. That is something Paul Serene failed to understand. If there was only ever one way forward, he'd never have been presented with two different paths to a similar destination. And Amy Ferraro, Sofia Amaral, and Charlie Wincott would have died no matter what he chose at each Junction.
For the first time, I had to give a dislike. I hate videos that, by the title and thumbnail, suggest they are going to answer something and, in the end, leave the answer open for the viewer to interpret.
That's perfectly fine. I appreciate the comment anyway. For the purpose of this video it was intended to invite the viewer to make their own decision. Some will agree and some won't so my opinion doesn't matter. Focused more on the logic of making the decision.
This game has such a cool and frankly ambitious way of telling you the story, I just kinda hate that the characters are telling me to hurry while I'm reading stuff. Not sure if I just haven't seen it yet but idk why or what Hatch's motivations are.
The fracture caused a Zero Point state in the year 2016 which was the plot of the game this is true. However, the Zero Point/End of Time that Paul was preparing for occurs in 2020. While we don't know what caused this one it seems to be an event seperate from the first one. Likely it was intended to be relates to Martin Hatchs plans and Quantum Break 2.
It could also be that the countermeasure doesn't completely succeed. So the fracture could still have caused the end of time. Either way Paul is clearly the good guy in the story and Jack is a misguided idiot.
That's possible as well. Especially considering Will's last words being, "There is no reason to believe the Fracture isn't over." Frankly I see Paul and Beth as the main characters over Jack. He kind of just bumbles through the story. Those two had clear conviction, forethought, and purpose.
Same here. I felt bad for him and it sucked watching his mental state degrade over the course of the story until he completely lost it. He is just as much of a victim as everyone else.
Something unrelated which was intended to be the plot of the second game. According to paul end of time was in 2020. Not 2016. Dr. Amarel noticed this and was trying to figure out why. At the end of the day the changed timeline was as a result of the fracture. But Zero Point is still coming.
It's unproven that the end of time has been prevented at the end of the game, and I think it's more likely that Jack has doomed humanity by preventing the only reasonable plan to survive.
The end of time is still going to happen in 2021. Amarel comments to Paul that Zero Point is happening sooner than anticipated. With this setting, that's not possible. That should have been clue #1 to Paul that things are not what they seem. Based upon Jack's choice in the junction at the end of the game, we will see how his choices play into the events surrounding the End of Time.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Amarel could be wrong, like anyone else in the setting. I don't think the game explicitly confirms or disproves inevitability in time (although it suggests it). So if Paul was right but got some details wrong, it doesn't taint his cause. A sequel exploring things more would be welcome; right now I see Jack as a very misguided protagonist and Paul as pragmatic hero.
Well - my theory is, that End of Time will happen. Because it already happened in future. Trying to fix that in the past, will do nothing. We cannot undo things - and that's the whole point of Quantum Break. Jack only dalayed it. It will happen, just like Paul believed (and Jack had vision on End, at the final cut-scene, so it happened). On the other hand - countermeasure was used to prevent Fracture. And there will be no Lifeboat, because of that. But who know's, how Jack will prepare to the End of Time (maybe he become a new CEO of Monarch).
Well. Let me add one critical point which is overlooked here guys. ☝ Note that only "witnesses" of End of Time were precisely Paul and Beth. Which are the only protagonists who died AND travelled to the future. So for them - of course - time has ended. Think about that. 🤔 - - - I will continue more in separate standalone comment so pls read guys ok? @Gaming University @Pat Gunn @Vitowisko
I don't think we can consider the people stuck at the end of time to be dead. Given what the game tells us, if the end of time is reversed, and the flow of time resumes, these people will go about their normal lives without ever noticing that anything has changed. The only proof that time has ended would be the fact that the researchers and technicians inside the lifeboat aged and they labored to undo the end of time.
You know, if they ever get the rights back and make a sequel, I think I know how they can explain the end of time not being 2021. Simply make it so that Paul is proven right, and Jack ultimately has to use the Lifeboat Protocol. So the end of time in 2021 happened, and maybe years or decades go by on the lifeboat before time is unstuck. So time broke and was fixed and anybody outside of the lifeboat and shifters had no idea.
Very belated counter-argument: Paul is played by Aiden Gillen, aka Littlefinger from "Game of Thrones". Therefore: *_Villain._* 😄 (I mean, technically I'm kidding, but every time he shows up in this video, he seems to be making a Littlefinger "I'm the smuggest, smarmiest shit in the universe, chaos is a ladder, ha ha ha" face.)
I think he's entirely an anti-hero until you get to the final choice, where you can choose between basically being a anti-villain or staying an anti-hero.
Yes, he is. Saving the humanity was not validated in the game by him. I mean, why he exactly wants to save the world. Just another 'great' goal to burn everyone left behind in the process.
That's how you make a good antagonistic. You can understand their motivation but recognize they step over a line in achieving their goal. The thing Is if Paul was successful, the world would never have known time stopped in the first place. Unaware of what he and monarch did to save them. And if they failed then all but those in the lifeboat would be doomed.
That's my assessment as well. In my opinion the best option would have been to allow Jack/Will try to prevent while Paul carried out his backup plan just in case they failed. Everyone wins.
About the game -- so it seems they DID stop the "End of Time." Or it's still bound to happen in the far future. But when? I think only Sophia Amaral knows since she sent Beth to it. I wonder if it's just 9999 (the farthest she could type) or a specific date from their studies at Monarch. Hmm
This game is so under rated. I absolutely love your videos about it. I just watched your shifters video. I knew there was something more to hatch and those eye drops, just didnt know what because as of now I've only seen one version of the multiple playthrough options.
@@GamingUniversityUoG 10:18 the board states the end of time happens early in 2021 could the three games be related? not that well versed, but i read the universe was void and dark before the creation (watched some of your videos on creators and voice) perhaps the darkness is the end of creation and it is using creators to do it, the agents of the darkness are chaotic and they want nothing more to bring it back in and reduce everything back to the way it was.. what exactly would the dark presence do to the world when it is out?
No clue to be honest. The end goal of the Dark Presence is never really elaborated on. The 2020 timeline is found in Quantum Break within Paul's office.
I considered him an Anti-Villain, He saw the end of time by mistake and was trapped being hunted by shifters for years. Then he escapes the end of time and he knows what he must do. His actions with creating Monarch was the lesser of two evils on his mind. Ultimately Martin Hatch working against him and subsequently allowing him to succumb to Chronon Syndrome and then he had to die. He never wanted to be a despot or a villain. He wanted to stop the nigh unstoppable for e that is the shifters. Higher level beings with abilities that surpass even his.
