Who is the Real Villain in Mouthwashing?

Mouthwashing became an instant horror classic among the horror community, due to the brutal storyline and very layered characters. We follow the story of a crew of five people, who is now in serious trouble when their ship experiences a crash in space. The crew is now down to four functioning people, after their captain received brutal injuries from the crash. Jimmy, the co - pilot of the ship, was now the one who takes charge of the situation, and he is determined to keep everyone alive on the ship.

The game does a fantastic job with flashback and the present storytelling, slowly revealing what really happened behind the scenes during the trip before the deadly crash. In the present time, we learn that the cargo that the ship had been carrying during the trip was nothing but mouthwash, which greatly worries the crew, hoping that it was some kind of food source to keep them alive for the next couple of months.

It also doesn't help that the company that the crew was working for was shutting down for good, confirming that no help was ever coming for them. The crew slowly begins to all die, leaving only Jimmy and the captain as the last two survivors.

Then through the flashbacks, we get a crazy twist, and the real reason why the ship crashed in the first place.

Jimmy was the one responsible, the one who doomed everyone on board the ship.

And he did this to get away with a horrific crime he had committed against one of the members on board. Her name is Anya, and she comes to the conclusion that she is being tortured on board, and it's confirmed when she learns of her sudden pregnancy. Jimmy was the one who had done this to her, and she confronts the captain, known as Captain Curly, about what Jimmy did to her.

Instead of taking responsibility or taking action against his best friend, he tells Anya that he can fix everything. What pissed me off about the captain's reaction, is that he was more worried about his reputation, than being there for a woman that he had befriended on board the ship. When Jimmy realizes that he has been caught for these crimes, and he proceeds to crash the ship. When Curly attempts to save everyone, the front of the ship blows up, severely injuring the captain.

While the captain is at fault for everything that transpires, Jimmy is the one who started it all to begin with. He instigated the torture upon this helpless woman, that he had been secretly drugging to take advantage of her. Jimmy liked the control of harming her, because she was the only woman on board. He was also at fault for getting everyone else killed, and it didn't help that everyone suffered before their deaths.

Then toward the end of the game, Jimmy is left to battle his psychological mind, because he refuses to take responsibility for what he did to everyone else on board. Especially Anya, that he completely disregards, not wanting to face his actions against her. Believing his delusions, he vows to save Curly. He puts the captain in a hibernation tank, and leaves him inside, as a way to move past from his sins, to know that he was able to save at least one person.

Jimmy ends his life offscreen, as the captain is now entering the hibernation mode for who knows how long on board, leaving his fate unknown.

This story is a masterpiece, but it will really anger a lot of fans.

Jimmy is a pure cold-hearted monster who never shows remorse for his actions, and Curly played a part in his schemes, because he refused to believe that his best friend was a monster, and he feared losing his reputation too.

It all ties down to Anya, who never deserved such a tragic fate. Despite speaking out about the crimes that had been done to her, Jimmy nor Curly never took responsibility for their actions against her.

Mouthwashing is a powerful story, where the real monsters are actually right in front of you, and it's terrifying.

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn