Spoiler Alert:
My analysis of Portal 2
First and foremost: GlaDOS:
GlaDOS is as almost anyone on the Internet knows, an AI. Artificial Intelligence. What came as a surprise to me was that she was once Human, and had been forcibly placed into the mainframe by Aperture's engineers.
I'm not sure what would have put her famous murderous streak into such high gear otherwise… Or what could have sparked it to begin with. Various programs and sub-programs had been added to contain GlaDOS, and each was, or at least became a fragment of personality. The Cores, too, were further additions.
As we all know from our own PCs that the more stuff you add to a base OS, the worse it gets, each new program or piece of hardware can become a vulnerability, each one requests different versions of the same files, there's compatibility issues and simple accumulated code and driver error.
GlaDOS is as almost anyone on the Internet knows, an AI. Artificial Intelligence. What came as a surprise to me was that she was once Human, and had been forcibly placed into the mainframe by Aperture's engineers.
I'm not sure what would have put her famous murderous streak into such high gear otherwise… Or what could have sparked it to begin with. Various programs and sub-programs had been added to contain GlaDOS, and each was, or at least became a fragment of personality. The Cores, too, were further additions.
As we all know from our own PCs that the more stuff you add to a base OS, the worse it gets, each new program or piece of hardware can become a vulnerability, each one requests different versions of the same files, there's compatibility issues and simple accumulated code and driver error.
GlaDOS thus gained multiple, somewhat compartmentalized personalities.
In Portal, we first see Her as the Computer. The Puppet Master, speaking pre-programed lines until Chell starts getting Dangerous, then we realize that GlaDOS is aware.
We start seeing signs of a Spurned Lover come through, fresh from rejection and full of hind-brain hatred.
In Portal, we first see Her as the Computer. The Puppet Master, speaking pre-programed lines until Chell starts getting Dangerous, then we realize that GlaDOS is aware.
We start seeing signs of a Spurned Lover come through, fresh from rejection and full of hind-brain hatred.
In Portal 2, GlaDOS has had some time to brood over Chell, and we get to see what she can do with that hatred, taking every opportunity to try to hurt Chell emotionally as well as physically, but none of the tests, save the "Last one" are truly deadly.
Backtracking toward the beginning of P2: We find a turret in a trash-tube, who says "I'm different!" as we pass it by. This little throw-away bit told me something. These turrets are a loving personality. But the sort of love that you see in an abused Woman who will not give up the relationship because she needs it. It's her fault, she can change! She's different. "I don't blame you."
You see?
GlaDOS's speech just before getting to Wheatly's Lair also hints at her personality conflict, and just iced the cake for me.
Backtracking toward the beginning of P2: We find a turret in a trash-tube, who says "I'm different!" as we pass it by. This little throw-away bit told me something. These turrets are a loving personality. But the sort of love that you see in an abused Woman who will not give up the relationship because she needs it. It's her fault, she can change! She's different. "I don't blame you."
You see?
GlaDOS's speech just before getting to Wheatly's Lair also hints at her personality conflict, and just iced the cake for me.
And then the ending: The turrets, unable to express this love for Chell through all her testing, finally show their love by doing the only thing they can: They serenade her on her way out of the facility.
They sing a lovely song to their One true Love, who they'll never see again.
They sing a lovely song to their One true Love, who they'll never see again.
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