Gears of War 2's unanswered questions

QUESTION #5:
Who is the Locust Queen?

Her name, according to the credits, is Myrrah. She speaks perfect English. She has remarkably human features, with a face and body that could easily be described as beautiful. Or, as one character puts it, “I thought she was supposed to be butt ugly!”

Indeed, Cole, indeed. Even if we accept the theory that Locust are descended from humans, why is this particular Locust so much more human than the rest? And, more disturbingly, how does she know about Marcus and his father Adam?

Our best guess: The Locust Queen isn’t a Locust at all. She appears so human because she is human... or at least mostly human. Take a closer look at that screenshot. Except for the strange taste in clothing, there’s nothing alien, mutant or transformed about her. She seems to be a normal woman, simply dressed up in abnormal accessories. And don’t tell us that the female Locust aren’t hideous – remember the Berserker?

Currently, the internet is wild with speculation that the Queen is actually Marcus’s mother and Adam Fenix’s former wife. This seems way too cute and convenient to us... not every story needs a “I am your father” moment. Besides, why would she say something like “So, you’re the son of Adam Fenix” if she was his mother?

Who is she, then? The best bet would be a human who traveled with the Sires to Mount Kadar, possibly a doctor who sympathized with their condition or a patient who was partially infected with their condition. The latter could explain why the Queen has survived, and remained youthful, for so many years.

QUESTION #6:
What is the meaning of the final cutscene and credits?

The ending to the first Gears was short and anticlimactic, but at least you felt heroic and productive. In Gears of War 2, however, you’re left with the uneasy feeling that you just worked very long and very hard to accomplish something potentially deadly and disastrous.

Adam Fenix told you to sink mankind’s stronghold in order to exterminate all the Locust. But as the credits begin to roll, you realize the Queen is still speaking, just as she was before the credits of the first game. So the Locust clearly survived. And, as the credits end, you realize that not only is Adam Fenix still alive, he’s not at all happy. “What have you done?!”

Our best guess: Yes, the Locust will have survived the flooding of Jacinto, just as they survived the Lightmass bomb. How else could there be a Gears of War 3? A few of the Locust species might have been wiped out, like the Kryll were in the first game, but the majority of the race will be fighting strong for many games to come.

As for Adam Fenix... his allegiance and motivations are questionable. The Locust Queen obviously knows and respects him well. He conducted secret research in a basement laboratory, including the mapping of every Locust tunnel. His supposed death means he’s been missing and unaccounted for nearly a decade. Could he have joined forces with mankind’s enemy? Could he have betrayed his own race and his own son? Or perhaps he had reached a truce with the Locust in order to defeat the greater danger of the lambent Locust?

As with every loose end in Gears of War 2, the possible answers only inspire more possible questions. Bring on the sequels.

Got your own theories on the unanswered questions in Gears of War 2? Enlighten us in the comments below.

Dec 2, 2008

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