Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Ryan's last argument, and the one that holds the game together: freedom is the ability to choose, even if all you can choose is how you die. The irony is that the player has just been proved a slave, which makes the scene the most quoted in the series. Fans reach for the line when debating free will, Objectivism and the player's place in a linear game, usually with the golf club implied.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BioShockShow the scene
In BioShock (2007), Jack finally reaches Andrew Ryan's office at the end of his climb through Rapture. Ryan, the city's founder, tells him that Jack has been controlled all along by the phrase "would you kindly" and demonstrates it. He refuses to flee, says that a man chooses and a slave obeys, and then uses the trigger phrase himself to order Jack to kill him with a golf club. Jack cannot resist, so Ryan picks the manner of his own death while showing how little Jack's choices were ever his.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Andrew Ryan (BioShock)Plot; Development; AnalysisReference checked
- Wikipedia: BioShockPlotReference checked
Context reviewed
