At some point during my training as a psychotherapist, one of the sessions was about anger. Our tutor asked us to take some time and think about anger and draw or write or do whatever we were inspired to do around the subject.
Myself, I couldn’t think much about it within the context of the exercise but also I couldn’t shake the picture of Pyramid Head from my mind as a personification and manifestation of anger within the world of Silent Hill 2.
The role of Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2
Pyramid Head is James Sunderland’s arch‑nemesis, the main antagonist in Silent Hill 2. What’s unique though in Silent Hill 2 is that James can’t defeat him by force. Pyramid Head kills himself when he becomes obsolete. When James realises why he needs him so much in his life, Pyramid Head gives up and impales himself.
Regardless of all the horrors hiding in the mist, behind closed doors and around corners, Silent Hill is neither bad nor good. It just is. What Silent Hill will manifest depends on what is inside each person’s psyche and how they see the world and themselves in it. For Eddie it is the bullies; for Angela it is the fire and her abusive father; and for James it is his grief, guilt and anger around the loss of his wife and his part in it, although he can’t remember the exact details around her death as the game begins.
In the midst of all the abandoned buildings and the grotesque monsters in Silent Hill stands Pyramid Head. The ultimate manifestation of James’ raw emotions. All of his grief and anger takes shape in the figure of Pyramid Head.
Like the rest of Silent Hill, Pyramid Head also just is. He is neither bad nor good. He plays whatever part James’ anger and grief wants him to play.
How Pyramid Head becomes a symbol of unresolved grief and rage?
I think anger is the one emotion the majority of us fear the most. It’s raw and unfiltered, and if we leave it uncontrolled it can become a force of destruction. It has the power to cover all the other emotions. This is why I believe narcissists are so angry all the time. Anger is their only way to cover all the emotional angst they constantly feel inside their mind and body, and this is why I believe very often they struggle with addictions.
Nevertheless, anger is not an emotion to be silenced. Anger is an emotion that can tell us a lot about the world around us. Anger tells us that something is very wrong and needs to be made right. Anger can keep us sensitive to social injustices and the destruction of our planet. Anger can be a force for positive change if we learn to listen to it without allowing it to take full control.
Pyramid Head as a manifestation of James’ anger is a force pushing him forward towards acceptance of what he did and to make his peace with the fact that Mary is not coming back. No matter how much he tortures himself over this.
Men’s mental health, rage and what anger hides
As anger covers all other emotions, if we stay stuck with unresolved anger for too long, we will get stuck in an endless and vicious cycle of emotional pain that will affect both our mental and physical health. This is why, within this context, I find the theory that James is stuck in Silent Hill for the past 20 years, going through the same vicious cycle of reliving the same journey through Silent Hill over and over again until he finds peace so appealing. And I believe there are hints about this all over the game’s world.
This is what I think is our role as the gamer, to help James find peace and escape Silent Hill for good. For Eddie and Angela unfortunately this cycle is yet to be closed. Maybe this is their purpose in the game, to remind us what happens when unresolved pain and grief take full control of our lives.
Facing Pyramid Head in the therapy room
With this in mind, I want to clarify that I don’t judge those who are still stuck in this vicious circle of unresolved pain and grief. It takes a lot of energy, mental capacity and bravery to face those demons. Looking Pyramid Head in the eye, as the manifestation of our own pain, can be very scary. Facing our own darkness is possibly the hardest thing we will ever attempt, but it’s worth it.
With the support of a trauma‑informed therapist offering online counselling or in‑person sessions, we can navigate this path in a safe and non‑judgemental environment. It may not be a quick journey, it will take as long as your body and mind need it to take so it can be done in a way that won’t destroy your psyche.
Acceptance and self-forgiveness, the road leading out of Silent Hill
While Pyramid Head is the main antagonist in Silent Hill 2, he is not the villain. James Sunderland is both the hero and the villain of his own journey towards inner peace. As long as James is stuck in the vicious cycle of anger and self‑punishment, Pyramid Head will be there to torture him, but in a strange way to also push him towards resolution, towards acceptance of what he has done, and a way to move forward. Forward towards a life where he can, at last, forgive himself and escape Silent Hill.
For James, this time is his “lucky time”. At last he gets to come to terms with what he has done and his feelings around Mary’s death. After 20 years he gets to escape his personal purgatory that Silent Hill came to be. James’ grief didn’t just magically go away, there is nothing wrong with that, but he manages to find the way out of Silent Hill and take the first step towards healing himself and honour Mary’s memory.
George Papachristodoulou