Game Theory: We Were TOTALLY WRONG! What Bendy's Ending REALLY Meant (Bendy and the Ink Machine)

First theory: Joey’s just a sad old man
Second theory: Joey murdered everyone

Does this mean that when the little girl at the end says "Tell me another story Uncle Joey" that's Joey telling the story of Henry's murder to Henry's own daughter? Wow that's twisted.

Hot take: I bet it’s as simple as the game’s big twist was called by Matt and other theorists by the time the second episode came out and the developers tumbled over themselves with the final two episodes trying to create a unique twist. Boris was always meant to be Wally, and Bendy was always meant to be Joey, but it was so obvious that they changed their plot midway through development.

i think that most likely,
part of this was probably the ending they initially planned on doing, where joey is revealed to be bendy, and the ink monsters have the souls of the employees trapped in them.
but then as the series progressed they decided to go a different direction, and chose to go with a more symbolic and story driven ending, as seen in the final scene with henry's daughter. Tying everything back together, and i think personally that was a much more satisfying ending. And it seems the devs probably thought so too.

Matpat: look bendy is smiling
Bendy: 😬

theories about henry throughout the franchise:
Henry is dead
henry is bendy
henry is human
henry is dead

I thought the strongest evidence was that line about “there is only one thing Bendy has never known-he was there for his beginning but he has never seen The End” and Henry never sees an “ending” either on account that the “ending” loops to the beginning for Henry.

With the new game out this was actually really close to the actual lore.

What is up with horror games making characters named Henry,
who have families,
*DIE AT DESKS*

*That's him smiling at his creator Henry*
Me : Aaawww that's so cute

If you use the Seeing Tool on the mirror in Chapter 3 you see the message "Who Am I Now?"... pretty solid evidence Henry isn't who he used to be.

I have a personal theory about the ending. I think it is a story, yes. (Because Joey has storyboards and stuff depicting the events in the studio.) but I think he managed to literally bring that story to life, which is how the events of the game take place. It was Joey’s entire motive, after all- so I feel like the truth would be a sort of mix of both of your ending theories.

More evidence Henry is a victim: when you die, you are rebirthed in the ink. Meaning you are made of the ink.

Is it just me, or the river of ink seems like a reference to river Styx in Greek mythology? The river that only the dead can cross......

When Joey said *“I want you to bring Alice to life once again.”* I didn’t think he meant it literally.

wait so if joey drew is actually bendy, does that mean that Joey hates himself?? Cause doesn't Bendy hate Joey because he lied to them???

MatPat: FNaF is done!
Scotty. C: Hold my Exotic Butters,
MatPat: BatIM is done!
Mr. Meatly: Hold my Bacon Soup.

That “Jazzy little intro” was fire

Wow, I was so confused by all of this but, damn. This theory REALLY takes the cake. It does sound weird when some enemies do melt away, but the Borris boss just adds it up more. Even with the part you go across the Inky waters and leave Borris and Allison Angel because they didn’t have the respective souls, oh my god that is so deep man.

I could see this being legit even with him telling the story to Henry's daughter. Like in the movie Fluke the dad's best frenemy is responsible for his death then cozies up to the grief stricken family afterwards. Jealous of all his friend had and wanting it for himself.

Teachers: Don't draw on you hand you'll get ink poisoning.
Henry: * literally swims through ink*
Me: My life is a lie-

Matpat: So is Joey Drew Bendy?
The Bendy franchise: Well yes, but actually no.

What if here me out, they are both true in a sense with one being literal and the other figurative, but both symbolizing Joey's betrayal of those around him with one being his regrets and the other the sacrificing to the ink?

My theory is that Henry got turned into the perfect version of bendy! That would explain why Sam says "you lied to me" instead of "he lied to me" during the battle, and why tom was so mistrusting of him! Idk if that would actually fir but I think it's cool.

*Matpat:* I solved Bendy.
*Bendy and the Ink Machine:* OH I DON'T THINK SO.

so basically joey lured everyone back to the studio, killed them, then turned them into ink monsters.

You mention that Alice and Borris can't enter the ink like Joey can because they don't have the souls of Allison and Tom. But that doesn't totally fit because we know that Susie-Alice ALSO can't touch the ink, even though she DOES have the soul of Susie Campbell.

I’m really not sure which theory feels better. The sad old man ending seems like a nicer ending, but the murder ending is more in the game theory style.

When he says "you should've pushed a little harder" he said it deeper than he did everything else

Plot Twist: Bendy’s developers are Scott Cawthon’s kids

Ah yes, in perfect matpat fashion, we get a “we were wrong” episode right after an ending 😅

Just to add to this whole thing, I’m pretty sure that Henry was turned into the perfected bendy ( if this is whole theory is true ) like how Allison is a perfected Alice Angel, My only evidence to this tho is what Sammy says in Chapter 5 of how he gave Henry everything and how Henry betrayed him when Bendy was the one he worshiped and was killed by, so Henry must’ve become a Bendy if he did in-fact get sacrificed to the ink machine

I think I liked the wholesome “it was a story of regrets” ending more

MatPat: FINALLY DONE!
Bendy and the dark reveal: I'mma end this man's whole career

Never thought that watching Game Theory with closed captions adds 100% more jokes. (Really though there are so many funny hidden jokes within the subtitles, 100% recommend rewatching with them on!)

is it just me or when the second time i heard joey say "you should've pushed a little harder", after the explanation, it sounded wayyyyy scarier...

henry: experiences the same nightmare over and over
william afton: first time?

Im just realizing how much Henry is abused during the game, he gets knocked out every chapter

The only flaw I see in that theory is that the 'dead at desk' clipping is in a scene with Henry supposedly before he's been sacrificed.

Great add ons for the captions! Loved it! ❤😂😂

"Joey's endgame speech"
Now all i can think of is Joey saying "You couldn't live with your own failure, where did that bring you? Back to me"

Listening to it again, when Joey said, "You should've pushed ba little harder." I heard some kind of edge or spite. Just a little a detail I picked up.

never thought i world like this game but matt just did it again , keep up m8

8:56 “G is for game theory, we are slowly going insane-“
God I love the captions

Theory: Henry is dying over again
*Sounds like William Afton’s hell..*

love that theme song & you

One theory that I kinda would change is Allison and Thomas one at the end ( think they have souls). After watching some play-throughs you can see these two have a VERY close relationship, and later after reading some of the notes you learn that both of them were married. I assume Joey lured both of them back and turned them into the ink creatures, but the reason they won't go into the ink is that even though they have souls that don't mean that can't be dragged to the bottom. because of the material, they are made of. in the scene where Norman gets killed by Bendy, he struggles, alluding to the fact they just don't want to die again possibly the trauma from dying once stuck with them all. As well as that even though they have no have memories I think another reason they didn't go is because of their relationship,( they're married) and how it would finally truly come to an end and both of them can't handle that. And finally, with the same logic used in the video with Henry, they had possibly ( I'm assuming ) just got married or recently so if they went missing I think people would definitely worry about them and that's why they have no coffins.

I love the subtitles, whoever made the subtitles, I appreciate you so much, especially at 5:46

This theory may be a little unpopular, but...
Henry wasn't turned into a Bendy character. When he was shoved through the Ink Machine, he became an ink version of himself. The PERFECT ink creature. I say perfect, because all other ink creatures are affected if they touch the ink for extended periods of time, but Henry is immune. I think the reason Imperfect Alice asks "What are you?" is because she senses that he's not human but he also exhibits characteristics not present in all other creatures of the ink. This could be the reason Allison and Tom distrust him at first, as well.
As for Joey, either he gets to the studio before Henry and hops into the machine becoming Ink Demon Bendy before Henry can get there, or Joey was already I.D. Bendy but left an ink creature version of himself at his house.
But hey, that's just a theory. An amateur theory! Thanks for reading.

2:57 when your friend told you that it's a good idea to sleep in the Nether in Minecraft

10:45 I disagree with this. Sammy makes it very clear that Henry, not Joey, is the creator. Henry is the one who lied. The audio logs confirm this, with Henry stating that he created Bendy.

Sorry if I missed something already explained, but what about the “Ink Demon” terminology and how does that damn magickal machine work? All the ritual symbols, circles, candles and materials and the way the ink beings worship Bendy and reject Joey The Creator. Is Bendy some actual vengeful demonic (soulless heartless) force that came through when Joey tried to cheat the magick which was meant to require a soul to work?

The line "Pushed a little harder" could also have ment that Henry should have pushed Joey away. Kinda like a warning in a twisted way

I've learned from FNaF that in *ANY* indie horror game, there is no such thing as a coincidence.

I honestly kinda have another reason on why Henry could’ve gotten his soul taken away. Throughout the whole game, we never got to see how Henry looked like (like we never saw his hands or anything, so we don’t really know if he is human or not) because if we saw his hands, it would’ve been obvious that he isn’t human

Lore fact: the messages whit the invisible ink are most likely written by Henry, sicne this is a loop so he has been there before and had the opportunity to write them. since he can't remeber anything after "restarting" the loop he wrote the things whit invisible ink for Himself in future loops.
Idk if this makes any sense but for me it does

did i just rewatch all of these theory’s? yes. yes i did.
did i sleep? no. no i did not.

16:19 A person trapped in purgatory with their own creations
*Now where have I heard that before*

1:09 yay finally a dig dug reference

After seeing gameplay of Cuphead and researching Bendy and the Ink Machine, I was wondering who was worse: The Devil from the Cuphead game or Bendy the Dancing Demon from Bendy and the Ink Machine. Not to mention how there was concept art of Bendy meeting with the Cuphead and Mugman since they both have a similar art style.

On Boris desk where you give him soup, there is a tally chart where it shows Henry and Boris are keeping track of some score, showing that Henry has been present before. Yet Henry wakes up and it can be assumed that Henry doesn’t know where he is. Since it’s essentially a loop, this further pushes the probability of this theory being correct.

Hey, something I caught that I don't think anyone has talked about, or even noticed.
In the final scene, where we hear a young child talking to Joey, there is a faint sound in the background of ink sloshing and flowing around.
I don't know if anyone is going to find this or not in this tidal wave that is the comment section. But I just wanted to put this out there.

"this changes everything" should be one of those catch phrases stamped in shirts or sweaters

this is the first video i saw of this chanel and i loved it ever since thank you matpat

Mat pat, he’s back. Salad fingers is back to haunt us all again.

I think this game was one of the products of Squidward inking himself when he turned into a giant. That is to say, it’s sacred.

I love the subtitles they are hilarious like in 5:46 the noice reference made me happy

The intro remake is amazing!

6:47 looks familiar. Y'a know, who else died sitting at his desk? Yeah, that grey thing from fnaf world. Wasn't his name Henry, after all?

Just wanted to throw this out there since I covered this same angle a few months ago in a video: The newspaper clipping about the artist dying can actually be found elsewhere in the house, and not just in the off-limits room. It's the first paper on the stack of papers in the bedroom that branches off of the living room.
The most perplexing things left now are the repeating second layer to the studio's timeline (retro view) and the importance of the randomly cycled date when you enter the house. Curious to hear your thoughts on em'.

I have something even though this video was made a long time ago. Remember when that audio for Henry when he said "joey?" That was probably made because he heard that audio log and he might be confused cause the ink demon has it there.

Does anyone else remember what he said in the first livestream? When he saw that Henry didn't have a shadow in the projector he said he thought that Henry was dead.

Game theory: I'm done
Fnaf: no
Bendy: no

“I wasted so much time in this chair”
At the desk?
*wasted time being dead*
*then became like Alice and Boris*

Great Video! I love these theories!

So i noticed something in joey's house in the skecths on the desk theres a message to henry about joey making a story called Bendy&the ink machine and theres a bendy charater that did al things that henry did in the game.

wait...
Pushes to hard, found dead at desk
henry in fnaf dies at the desk in fnaf world
COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT

"wheel of gaming turn turn turn, tell me which franchise i should burn!" ahhhhhh nostalgiaaaa

I know this is a bit late but i love how sassy the subtitle person is. Keep it up, so funny.

Also in the fight against one of the bendy forms he says "you left me to rott" "you lied to me" and stuff like that so it means your playing as Joe during the fight (Or the bendy thinks your Joe)

Aww that was a cute intro, I missed the wheel of gaming gag

*Damn,* that plot twist is spicy

Honestly the most entertaining part of this theory upon rewatch is the captions. They are hilarious and whoever writes them needs a raise

6:55 "What makes the headline even more suspicious though is when it's put in context with Joey's endgame speech..."
the ad that played directly after: " You're probably not going to get a 4 or 5 on your AP exam"
me: *Scream*

Man,Matpat could convince me that I'm a black clone of Tony Stark.
Please do.

Plot twist! Splatoon inklings were made with the ink machine.

Rewatching this and I LOL'd just now when MatPat said "Need more proof?" since I've been hearing FuhNaff say that so many times in his videos.

I'm watching it with subtitles and when it was talking about the jazzy lil intro it said "Ya like jazz?"

Aww yah another episode of Five nights at Bendys...... I mean Henry Afton and the ink machine...... I mean Bendy world...... FNAF 8 confirmed

MatPat playing both the prosecutor and the defence attorney

For the smiling thing at 9:41 that is a reference to the book Dreams Come True where buddy frees the first (and only) Bendy.

Ok the theory intros are the best, they acually introduce the channels really well

"The ones in coffins are ACTUALLY in coffins" - Matpat
Coffins : F boi

It’s a shame that I know more about indie game lore than I do Algebra

Unfortunately you seem to be wrong again. A few things, actually.
The only reason why Boris dissolves is because he's soulless, and dead. The Boris we tag along with is 95% Buddy, a character from the books, the proof is being called buddy in writing, knowing how pipes and machines work, and in BATDS, it is comfirmed Boris has a human in him. The collage in the safehouse represents that. In the process of making Boris FrakenBoris, Alice probably killed him and removing the soul, and maybe used the thick ink or machines to reanimate him as a soulless monster. That's why he dissolves, but the dead clone Boris' and Alice persist.
And it is confirmed Alison and Thomas are Alison Angel and Mecha Boris, through the credits, and the writing. Allison, even being a perfect representation, is a liar, shown through the Lense Of Truth. She lies that they can't swim through the ink, even when she has a soul in her. Plus, ink monsters without souls cannot speak. Even if Allison and Thomas declined to come, they still did, through unknown means.

I gotta admit, I can genuinely vibe to the opening song in this vid (and the normal one too)

*I'm lovin the intro song. Huge props to Ryder from footofaferret

Now that's an epic intro remake

8:56 U is for ukelele N is for any where in always down here in the deep blue sea. F is for fire that burns down the whole town! You’s for uranium. BOMBS! N is for no survivors WHEN YOU-
-SpongeBob and plankton”

I love how like he ‘ this is all such a beautiful metaphor about forgiveness’ on the Previous Bendy episode and on this one he likes ‘nah joey freaking killed Henry’ Hahaha 🤣