Endless Summer Theory Page

Welcome to Endless Summer Theory Page. This is a place where you can discuss confirmed, debunked, and unconfirmed theories from the Endless Summer trilogy.

Confirmed Theories

 * MC is The Endless: In the Book 2 Finale, if the player gets all 12 catalyst idols and solves the final puzzle, it was confirmed that the Endless is an alternate version of the MC.
 * The Proposals: Some fans believed that the order of the proposals from each LI mirrors the order that your character met them back in Book 1. The MC meets Sean, then Jake, then Quinn and finally Estela, and this is the order that the LIs propose to the MC in Act VIII.
 * Rourke Is Estela's father: Estela's father abandoned her as a child, and as Rourke is shown to be psychotic, he may be the one who gave her the scar on her eye, which explains why she doesn't want to talk about it. She hates him for two reasons - abandoning the family, as well as having her mother killed. Olivia Montoya was so angry that Rourke left her, she planned to expose his crimes. Lila, who Rourke probably tricked into thinking that Olivia was the one who abandoned Rourke, asked "Why did you have to betray him?" (referencing their divorce/separation, not the crime exposure) before killing her. This explains how Estela knew something was behind a painting in Book 1, Chapter 4, and why it was a picture of a sailboat - in Book 1, Chapter 15, it is revealed Rourke sailed to La Huerta in June 1980 (16 years before Estela was born). This also explains why Rourke said "I'm sorry Olivia" in Book 2, Chapter 1 - he may have felt genuine regret for his actions. This also explains the note found in Book 2, Chapter 10, where Rourke mentions he recognises the new junior researcher from somewhere - he may have had an affair with Olivia and left her to avoid bad publicity, but Olivia found out who he was and joined his company to resume their relationship, or confront him. This also explains why Estela's dossier has a hydra symbol and why her first name and middle name is redacted - as her first name appears to be longer than her middle name, maybe she is "Everett Estela Montoya" and goes by her middle name (like Aleister) to hide her connection with Rourke. This also explains why Rourke was sad to kill Estela in Estela's Catalyst Idol Vision. This is supported in Book 1, Chapter 13, where Aleister’s file says the “selected” can never learn his true identity - if Estela was “selected” as the new subject of Directive 1908, then Rourke would not want Estela to learn Aleister’s identity as she would hold Aleister hostage to kill Rourke. This is supported in Book 2, Chapter 13, when Rourke says to Estela that Olivia "of all people", suggesting that Rourke knew Olivia (and possibly Estela) well, and when Iris says she didn’t want to know Olivia, as Imogen Rourke may have been jealous of Rourke’s affair. This is further supported by the bonus scene of Act VIII, when Rourke says "I have a strong, worthy daughter... And I'm all the family she has left.", and Iris mentions that the "new host" has hostile DNA - in Book 3, Chapter 6, Iris refers to the catalysts as hostiles, which means that Estela would be a hostile. This was confirmed in Book 3, Chapter 11, but Estela didn't know that Rourke was her father beforehand.
 * MC and the Embers of Hope: Some fans believed that because there is no Ember of Hope for the MC, that everyone else's Ember of Hope will turn out to be something big for us. This was confirmed in Book 3, Chapter 11, when collecting all Embers of Hope allowed the MC to learn his/her origin and properly meet Vaanu.
 * MC has to sacrifice him-/herself: Because the MC's Hadean Sign is Andromeda, who was a princess who was put up for sacrifice to save her people, some fans believed that the MC would have to sacrifice him-/herself in the end. Although the player doesn't have to sacrifice MC, in Book 3, Chapter 11, Vaanu confirmed that one of the three possible endings was MC sacrificing him-/herself to save the world.
 * Photo of the Catalysts: If you free Rourke from his stasis chamber, he will mention in Book 2, Chapter 2, that he became interested in the Catalysts after he found a 500 year old picture that contained the entire group except Aleister. Fans (and the MC themselves) believe that the group selfie taken at the end of Book 3, Chapter 10, and the polaroid photo he had in Book 3, Chapter 11, was this picture.

Debunked Theories

 * Lila is a robot/artificial intelligence: Throughout Book 2, some fans came to believe that Lila wasn't a human. She had a bizarre speech pattern (including referring to herself in the third person), a trance-like persona around Everett Rourke and showed almost inhuman displays of strength. The Act V bonus scene debunked this by showing her being mauled by a strange creature and later treating her wounds.
 * The identity of the ghost handing out the Embers of Hope: Some fans believed that the ghost giving the group Embers of Hope was the new form of the Endless, since they parted with the MC by letting themselves get swallowed by lava if the MC met the Endless in Book 2 finale, which allowed them to bring the group Embers of Hope. This was debunked in Book 3, Chapter 4 when the Endless has met the group in person. In Book 3, Chapter 6, the ghost's identity was revealed to be Vaanu.
 * Island's Heart thief: There are a few suspects as to who stole the Island's Heart at the end of Book 3, Chapter 8. The four prime suspects appeared to be Mike Darwin, if he wasn't fully cured of his brainwashing and is still loyal to the Arachnids, Aleister Rourke, if he was a double agent who destroyed the Omega Mech to trick the Catalysts into trusting him again, Kele, given that he barely speaks and doesn't seem to add much to the plot, and Uqzhaal, given that he developed negative feelings towards the Catalysts. However, in Book 3, Chapter 9, it was revealed to be Fiddler
 * The Endless will become a villain: Some fans believed that The Endless will eventually become a villain and will turn out to be the true antagonist of the series with Rourke acting as their puppet. It was theorised that The Endless could have gone insane due to the psychological trauma of watching their friends die over and over, or they see themselves as a superior being due to their abilities. This was disproven in the Act VIII bonus scene when they died of their injuries from the battle against Rourke in Book 3, Chapter 9.
 * Kele worked for Rourke/The Arachnids: Some fans believed that, because Kele appeared out of the blue, he was a double agent for Rourke/The Arachnids. However, he helped us in the final battle, and never betrayed the group.
 * Relationship between MC and Everett Rourke: A theory is you are a Rourke International experiment who escaped from him in 1996 but suffer from short term memory loss, explaining why you can seemingly remember nothing prior to the events of the series. This theory has been strengthened by the claim Rourke made in Book 3, Chapter 9. This chapter has also led fans to believe that the MC is Rourke's *biological* child given that he sees them as his heir and stated "It seems nature has succeeded where science failed". In Book 3, Chapter 11, it is revealed that the MC was created by Vaanu, and Rourke was referencing Estela.
 * Aleister is MC's half-brother: Several fans have been led to believe that the MC is related to Aleister given the revelation at the end of Book 3, Chapter 9, that Aleister is Rourke's clone and Rourke views the MC as his heir and is possibly his/her biological father. Aleister is shown to be jealous that Rourke considers the MC more dangerous than him, which some fans have compared to sibling rivalry. In Book 3, Chapter 11, it is revealed that the MC has no 'parents', as s/he was created by Vaanu. This means that Rourke is not the MC's father, and therefore Aleister is not the MC's (half-)brother.
 * Estela's mother is alive: There is a theory that Olivia's death was faked (as the video showing her death cut off abruptly at the end) and she is alive. If this is true, it is unknown why Lila let the catalysts believe she killed Olivia, although it may be because of her dedication to Rourke. In Book 3, Chapter 11, however, Rourke confirms that he had Olivia murdered. She is mentioned to be alive if the MC chooses to let Rourke shape the world in his image in Book 3, Chapter 12.
 * MC can never officially leave La Huerta: A popular theory on Tumblr is that the MC is bound to La Huerta and can never permanently leave the island. Several fans support this by pointing that the MC couldn't remember a popular video game console, didn't contact anyone in the Book 2 finale, and Rourke International not being able to find any information on you except your name, birthday, place of birth and Hadaen Sign. This is strengthened in Book 3, Chapter 10, when you reveal to your spouse that you can't remember your parents' names. MC's Hadaen Sign, Andromeda, may constitute her as a sacrificial lamb against the Raan'losti caused by Rourke and his schemes. However, if the MC decides to finish project Janus and alter history, then the MC will be at Hartfeld.
 * Possible Continuation: Several fans believe that choosing Rourke's ending leaves the story open to have a spin-off or sequel. The presumed plot is you will rebuild your friendships with collectibles that allows the rest of the Catalysts to remember the previous events, which will lead to you forming a rebellion against Rourke's tyranny. However, given that the end of Book 3, Chapter 12, says "story complete", this is unlikely, which means the theory is debunked.

Unresolved Theories

 * Sean and Michelle's break-up: Some fans believe that Becca was one of Michelle's sorority sisters who told Sean that she cheated on him, given Becca's reputation as a bully prior to The Sophomore. While this might be true, there is no evidence to support the theory.
 * Endless Summer/Hero crossover: Some fans believe that the stories of Endless Summer and Hero will eventually have a crossover event. The Prism Crystal was discovered on La Huerta, as well as the fact that Silas Prescott has been referenced in Endless Summer, Everett Rourke has been referenced in Hero and Grace's catalyst idol appeared in Hero. This is unresolved however, when Hero vol.2 is cancelled.
 * The MC in Hero is the child of the MC in Endless Summer: if you choose the endless ending, it's possible that the MC and his/her LI have a child, which could have accidentally walked through the prism dimension. This theory is unresolved.
 * Rourke isn't the only Hydra: Some fans believe that Rourke isn't the only Hydra, but instead is one of its "heads", and the remaining two heads are other criminals. The prime suspects for the other two heads are Silas Prescott (he has been friends with Everett for years) and Blaire Hall (her company was making cargo drops on La Huerta, something her own daughter found suspicious). This theory is unresolved however.
 * Estela's scar: It is never explained how Estela received the scar over her eye. The most likely explanation is that it is due to her military/assassin experiences, although due of lack of evidence, this theory is unresolved.
 * Diego's crush: It is never explained who Diego had a crush on in Book 1. Fans believe that it was most likely Sean, Jake, or Craig. (it could also technically be Raj or Aleister but this is unlikely given that Diego hints his crush would like someone who's sporty or adventurous). While this theory might not be entirely debunked, Diego never said who he had a crush on.
 * Crossover with Hero: Due to both books sharing similar use of the Prism World, and the long weight time for Hero, Vol. 2, many theorize that PB is working on crossing over the two series, as they do share similar themes and overlapping plotlines. This is unresolved since Hero, Vol 2 has been canceled.