Theory on the Secret of Monkey Island and MI2 ending: Spoilers
Okay, this is a theory I have been thinking about for a while and have posted in portions around the forums. I want to basically write down the theory in its’ entirety so it’s pretty long and also sheds some light on other characters. Don’t go easy on it, just please be polite about it.
Monkey Island, an incredibly mysterious Island that holds numerous mysteries, secrets, voodoo powers, and treasures. It is of course known for a legendary Secret, but what is the secret, and how did word spread of one if it’s supposed to be a secret? First, I shall state what I think the secret is and then go into detail about how it connects to the story. The secret: the island is nothing more than the creation of voodoo priest and priestesses, hoping to unlock the secrets to the crossroads. The voodoo group harnessed their powers to open up a huge rift into the crossroads and all the magical energy cultivated itself into the image of an island. For generations, the voodoo priests taught others in the way of voodoo, instructing them to take their place and continue working on deciphering the secrets of the crossroads.
However, over time, the voodoo interlopers began become madly in love with power and sought to use the powers of voodoo to exert control over all the seas. Others realized that it was a grave mistake in tampering with the magic of the afterlife as absolute power corrupts absolute. Amongst the ones who saw the error in their ways was the voodoo lady, Helen (based off evidence presented in the second game) and amongst the power hungry were LeChuck’s voodoo priest, although he did not know LeChuck at this point. The voodoo lady and the rest who opposed the evil voodoo users engaged in a brutal and violent fight with their magic forces.
Over time though, the battle raged on and on with no end in sight. The voodoo lady and her associates then took a drastic measure and split the enegeries of the island into two separate portions, positive and negative energy. The negative energy left nothing except a pit of hellfire, serving as a gateway into the crossroads through demonic energy. The positive energy was cultivated into one of pure form: beautiful, caring, kind, brave, the essence of a gorgeous and pure woman. This woman would be known as Elaine Marley (though she was still unnamed at this point), who, when created, took on the appearance of a mere child. The evil voodoo users took their chance when they saw it and absorbed the power of Big Whoop ( as they later would call it). None of them knew just what price it cost them however, and all were banished into eternal damnation (unlike LeChuck who was able to return due to a spell he knew and the shred of life). Only a handful of them lived on with demonic powers, one being the voodoo priest from MI2
The voodoo lady and the others knew that Elaine must be kept safe from evil, knowing if word got out of her power, there would be unstoppable bloodshed between others to obtain her and use the power she possesses for their own ends. They then decided to place her in the care of two parents, one of which was being trained to be a governor by his father, Horatio Marley. The reason why these people were chosen was due to their high stature, which would insure Elaine a life of ease and comfort. The voodoo lady told them of the situation and they agreed to take care of her and they so they named her Elaine Marley. The voodoo lady left them one last token of thanks, an artifact that served as a power beacon for a voodoo artifact the tribe created as one of their experiments on the island, the ultimate insult.
They kept the seal safe and decided to disguise it as the symbol of power for the governor of Melee Island. The voodoo lady left to establish residence on the Jerkbait Islands and tried her best to keep the Secret under raps. However, the evil magic users who survived spread word of the Secret and many hoped to find the island. The only way to find the island however was through the use of voodoo as the island is made up of voodoo and would only resonate with that of the same magic that makes it up. The evil voodoo priest took up residence on an island where LeChuck was born, where he taught dark voodoo magic. LeChuck was raised in a very harmful environment with his father leaving him and his mother when he was young. The father met another woman and had another child known as Guybrush Threepwood. LeChuck in the meantime was raised by an alcoholic stepfather and learned dark magic from the voodoo priest. He eventually murdered his family and embarked on a violent quest to become a pirate, using many voodoo powers taught to him by the priest.
Guybrush was raised by his parents until, at a young age, his island was raided by a young a newly appointed pirate, LeChuck. LeChuck recognized his father immediately and brutally murdered his father and the woman he left his mother for. Guybrush was able to escape the island with his life and was raised in an orphanage. LeChuck kept the corpses of the parents as remembrance of how he finally obtained ultimate revenge. LeChuck continued to raid the seas and eventually lusted to find Big Whoop as he heard much from his voodoo priest, whom at this point had hired him as his own personnel priest. LeChuck then went to Melee Island to meet the voodoo lady for information on Big Whoop and went to the Scumm bar to interrogate pirates about where the she is located. In the course of this, he met Elaine and she invited him to dinner as she was very attracted to him. She later learned to despise him and told him to drop dead. LeChuck then went to the voodoo lady and asked her what he must do to have Elaine. She told him to find the Secret of Monkey Island.
The voodoo lady knew of LeChuck’s evil and needed to keep Elaine safe from him and so put a sequence of events in order, hoping that LeChuck will finally perish. She conjures up a storm to kill him and his crew, unfortunately only succeeding on the latter. LeChuck was able to learn the Secret of Monkey Island; that Elaine is the source of it’s power, and sought to marry her to control the powers she commands. He refused to tell anyone the secret for fear that it could be used against him. The rest of the story has already been told. Fast-forward to the tunnels under Dinky Island that LeChuck most likely found. The tunnels were the last defense from reaching Monkey Island, the person who goes through are put in a trance in which they see a mixture of their past, desires, and fears. Guybrush saw his parents’ dead, the desire of being with them again and spending a family afternoon with them, and also learning of LeChuck being his half brother. The whole episode at the end of Monkey Island 2 was all fake with illusions of past aspects in Guybrush’s life, until he was able to break free of it only to become trapped in LeChuck’s carnival of the damned.
The voodoo lady has been guiding Guybrush to protect Elaine, knowing that she has become a loose cannon and is too powerful to be under her control. She told him to find Big Whoop, knowing what it was, but also knew that Guybrush had to go through those trails to in order to fulfill his destiny.
Monkey Island, an incredibly mysterious Island that holds numerous mysteries, secrets, voodoo powers, and treasures. It is of course known for a legendary Secret, but what is the secret, and how did word spread of one if it’s supposed to be a secret? First, I shall state what I think the secret is and then go into detail about how it connects to the story. The secret: the island is nothing more than the creation of voodoo priest and priestesses, hoping to unlock the secrets to the crossroads. The voodoo group harnessed their powers to open up a huge rift into the crossroads and all the magical energy cultivated itself into the image of an island. For generations, the voodoo priests taught others in the way of voodoo, instructing them to take their place and continue working on deciphering the secrets of the crossroads.
However, over time, the voodoo interlopers began become madly in love with power and sought to use the powers of voodoo to exert control over all the seas. Others realized that it was a grave mistake in tampering with the magic of the afterlife as absolute power corrupts absolute. Amongst the ones who saw the error in their ways was the voodoo lady, Helen (based off evidence presented in the second game) and amongst the power hungry were LeChuck’s voodoo priest, although he did not know LeChuck at this point. The voodoo lady and the rest who opposed the evil voodoo users engaged in a brutal and violent fight with their magic forces.
Over time though, the battle raged on and on with no end in sight. The voodoo lady and her associates then took a drastic measure and split the enegeries of the island into two separate portions, positive and negative energy. The negative energy left nothing except a pit of hellfire, serving as a gateway into the crossroads through demonic energy. The positive energy was cultivated into one of pure form: beautiful, caring, kind, brave, the essence of a gorgeous and pure woman. This woman would be known as Elaine Marley (though she was still unnamed at this point), who, when created, took on the appearance of a mere child. The evil voodoo users took their chance when they saw it and absorbed the power of Big Whoop ( as they later would call it). None of them knew just what price it cost them however, and all were banished into eternal damnation (unlike LeChuck who was able to return due to a spell he knew and the shred of life). Only a handful of them lived on with demonic powers, one being the voodoo priest from MI2
The voodoo lady and the others knew that Elaine must be kept safe from evil, knowing if word got out of her power, there would be unstoppable bloodshed between others to obtain her and use the power she possesses for their own ends. They then decided to place her in the care of two parents, one of which was being trained to be a governor by his father, Horatio Marley. The reason why these people were chosen was due to their high stature, which would insure Elaine a life of ease and comfort. The voodoo lady told them of the situation and they agreed to take care of her and they so they named her Elaine Marley. The voodoo lady left them one last token of thanks, an artifact that served as a power beacon for a voodoo artifact the tribe created as one of their experiments on the island, the ultimate insult.
They kept the seal safe and decided to disguise it as the symbol of power for the governor of Melee Island. The voodoo lady left to establish residence on the Jerkbait Islands and tried her best to keep the Secret under raps. However, the evil magic users who survived spread word of the Secret and many hoped to find the island. The only way to find the island however was through the use of voodoo as the island is made up of voodoo and would only resonate with that of the same magic that makes it up. The evil voodoo priest took up residence on an island where LeChuck was born, where he taught dark voodoo magic. LeChuck was raised in a very harmful environment with his father leaving him and his mother when he was young. The father met another woman and had another child known as Guybrush Threepwood. LeChuck in the meantime was raised by an alcoholic stepfather and learned dark magic from the voodoo priest. He eventually murdered his family and embarked on a violent quest to become a pirate, using many voodoo powers taught to him by the priest.
Guybrush was raised by his parents until, at a young age, his island was raided by a young a newly appointed pirate, LeChuck. LeChuck recognized his father immediately and brutally murdered his father and the woman he left his mother for. Guybrush was able to escape the island with his life and was raised in an orphanage. LeChuck kept the corpses of the parents as remembrance of how he finally obtained ultimate revenge. LeChuck continued to raid the seas and eventually lusted to find Big Whoop as he heard much from his voodoo priest, whom at this point had hired him as his own personnel priest. LeChuck then went to Melee Island to meet the voodoo lady for information on Big Whoop and went to the Scumm bar to interrogate pirates about where the she is located. In the course of this, he met Elaine and she invited him to dinner as she was very attracted to him. She later learned to despise him and told him to drop dead. LeChuck then went to the voodoo lady and asked her what he must do to have Elaine. She told him to find the Secret of Monkey Island.
The voodoo lady knew of LeChuck’s evil and needed to keep Elaine safe from him and so put a sequence of events in order, hoping that LeChuck will finally perish. She conjures up a storm to kill him and his crew, unfortunately only succeeding on the latter. LeChuck was able to learn the Secret of Monkey Island; that Elaine is the source of it’s power, and sought to marry her to control the powers she commands. He refused to tell anyone the secret for fear that it could be used against him. The rest of the story has already been told. Fast-forward to the tunnels under Dinky Island that LeChuck most likely found. The tunnels were the last defense from reaching Monkey Island, the person who goes through are put in a trance in which they see a mixture of their past, desires, and fears. Guybrush saw his parents’ dead, the desire of being with them again and spending a family afternoon with them, and also learning of LeChuck being his half brother. The whole episode at the end of Monkey Island 2 was all fake with illusions of past aspects in Guybrush’s life, until he was able to break free of it only to become trapped in LeChuck’s carnival of the damned.
The voodoo lady has been guiding Guybrush to protect Elaine, knowing that she has become a loose cannon and is too powerful to be under her control. She told him to find Big Whoop, knowing what it was, but also knew that Guybrush had to go through those trails to in order to fulfill his destiny.
Sign in to comment in this discussion.
Comments
Demetris
IOW, don't be such a killjoy
Anyway, metroidreborn's theory is a nice one that brings together all the MI games. I'm not so sure about the part where the Voodoo Lady wants LeChuck to die though, based on how Tales ended.
Exactly, this is just a theory of mine I made so I could have some ease of maybe knowing what the Secret could be. Granted that I believe one or two of these things could be what Ron had in mind, it's really a matter of making a theory that could work in multiple ways. I know the secret drives a lot of speculation, but I would really love for the Secret to finally be put to rest. Twenty years is enough time to speculate for me. No hints have been given in about fifteen of those years, so this is what I will have in mind until the Secret is finally revealed, though I doubt that will ever happen.
Demetris
in other words, the secret if one of the many jokes that make this game wonderfull.