It wouldn't be surprising if any players who've reached the ending to Final Fantasy 7 Remake were left somewhat confused by the way the new game set up for Episode 2. In a twist that very few were likely expecting when first returning to Midgar, the new "Remake" has taken an approach more akin to a "Reboot," breaking some cemented continuity and addressing the classic storyline with an intriguingly meta narrative. Needless to say, this will be getting into Major Spoiler territory, since it is an analysis of the very end of the game.
This "Reboot" concept and the way that Final Fantasy 7 Remake has seen fit to change a number key events and deaths raises one very important question: Is Aerith's fate set in stone? At the moment, the answer isn't a definitive yes or no, as the final battle and the very concept of the Whispers in general throws almost every established detail following the escaping of Midgar into question.
Sephiroth's Clairvoyance
Throughout the original Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth seems to have some sort of insightful knowledge on the goings on of the world, partly from the research that drove him mad in the Shinra Mansion and likely some from his time inside the Lifestream. However, a combination of his pride and the infection of the Jenova cells that make him so powerful makes him blind to a few details, such as the true nature of the celestial being he refers to as his mother. So, this may be how the villain has a new level of foresight in the remake as well, although there may be more to it than simply being able to see the path ahead.
From what the ending to Final Fantasy 7 Remake shows players, it is likely that the Sephiroth that is pulling the strings through the numbered experiments is different than the one from the original that sends his consciousness out to control Jenova. This version of the game's antagonist may be one from a future where he has lost, having failed to bring meteor down on the planet and creating an all new plan to defy the destiny that he's already faced. If that does turn out to be the case, then his actions in the city of ancients may turn out slightly differently depending on how he believes her death may have affected her prayers to the Holy Materia kept in her ribbon.
Zack, Biggs, and Wedge
So far, it seems like Final Fantasy 7 Remake is priming us for the expectation that characters that most of us wrote off as certainly dead are now alive and well. The most notable revival is that of Zack Fair, the SOLDIER whose memories get grafted to Cloud and bequeaths the protagonist the iconic Buster Sword. This character is long dead before the events of the original game, having sacrificed himself to give Cloud the chance to escape to Midgar.
Similarly, the core members of AVALANCHE all meet an untimely end during the battle for the Sector 7 Pillar, sacrificing themselves in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop Shinra from dropping the plate on the slums. However, along with some much needed characterization that makes these bit players in the original Final Fantasy 7 much more fleshed out characters, at least two of them get to survive the fight that should have killed them. With so many deaths being changed after the final events of the game, it is likely that there is hope that characters like Aerith might possibly survive.
Cloud's Vision
Looking back at Sephiroth's foresight at his inevitable defeat, if he were to allow the story to unfold in the same way that it did in the original, his actions and effects on Cloud speak volumes to his future plans. Almost as if he's trying to draw on the motivation that leads players through the second half of the original Final Fantasy 7, the Whisper Harbinger gives Cloud a glimpse of the moment when Aerith dies, offering the same foresight to the main characters. The exact moment she dies isn't shown, but players are given the iconic shot of Aerith praying in the City of the Ancients just before one of the most memorable moments of the original games happens.
It should be noted that this is the first time that Cloud's strange memory visions give him a view of the future, with every vision before this moment showing him events like the fall of Nibelheim and previous confrontations with Sephiroth. So it could be possible that this vision is meant to be a warning, and could lead to Cloud overcoming the vision and saving Aerith, denying Sephiroth the kill and changing the course of the once familiar story. In a perfect world, devoid of conflict or motivation, this could happen and could have a golden opportunity for a much happier ending than the one Final Fantasy 7 originally gave us.
Aerith Can't Be Saved
Unfortunately, from a narrative standpoint at least, Aerith's death seem set in stone and there is likely nothing that we as the player can do about saving her, aside from stopping the game right before she takes the katana to the back. There is no possible way that Final Fantasy 7 Remake could get through the events that lead and follow Aerith's untimely end without her meeting the same fate as in the original. Her death is a major motivation for the main characters for the later sections of the game, and the moment is the driving force behind a majority of Cloud and party's hunt for Sephiroth, aside from the whole "Save the Planet" thing of course.
More appropriately for the actual story of the game, Aerith's death is the catalyst that forces Holy into action at the end of Final Fantasy 7. It's only after she dies that the Materia that falls from her ribbon activates and begins to glow, summoning the spell Holy to defend the planet from Sephiroth's Meteor. So if Final Fantasy 7 Remake intends to inform the future of Final Fantasy, it can't afford to stifle such an iconic moment, even if it means giving up the chance for a happier ending, albeit at the cost of its meaningful story. All things considered, this is likely meant to be dangled hope that still pulls the rug from under players' feet.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available now for PS4.
