History Fridge / BioshockInfinite

* If you chose to spare [[spoiler: [[BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama the interracial couple]] in the raffle, they will show up later to reard you with some gear.]] If you chose to [[spoiler: start the execution instead, Fink's assistant shows up an rewards you, leaving the couple's]] faith uncertain.

* There's a girl named Cosette in Paris. The [[LesMiserables reference]] is obvious but the girl is a brunette unlike the musical's classic blond Cossette. Recall now that Elizabeth predates the musical so only knows [[ShownTheirWork the original book where Cosette is a brunette.]]

** They make you play a game of heads and tails. So far it has always come up heads, just like in RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead. This is a brilliant reference because most of what they say falls into the genre of absurdism, they are into physics like Rosencrantz, they enjoy word-play that borders onto philosophical debates, they present to you choices that actually have no effect of the game echoing the free will vs. determinism theme in RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead, and [[spoiler: they have been dead for the whole game]].

** A bonus one is considering how the "Shiny Happy People" cover is done in the style of Music/LouisArmstrong and this is Columbia we're talking about, it's specifically about HappinessInSlavery as opposed to about [[StepfordSmiler being in denial in general]].

** A bonus one is considering how the "Shiny Happy People" cover is done in the style of Music/LouisArmstrong and this is Columbia we're talking about, instead of being about in denial of living in a communist country it's instead about HappinessInSlavery.

* Whatever the debate about police powers in the modern era, in 1912 they were certainly greater than they are today, sometimes (and depending on the level of local corruption) to the point of having almost no restrictions at all. So you realize that the police in Columbia are likely those who couldn't handle even the miniscule, almost cosmetic restrictions placed upon them in the America of that era. They already show their brutality on a regular basis, but this thought really brings it home.

* Early in the game when going through the Hall of Heroes Elizabeth remarks that she has read about how Comstock fought at Wounded Knee. To which Slate angrily shouts "COMSTOCK WASN'T THERE!" It's more complicated than that, though: After the battle of Wounded Knee, [[spoiler:Booker turned to baptism to assuage himself of his guilt and PTSD, but whether he goes through with it or not is what creates Comstock. However, it is telling that if he does get baptized and is born anew without sin]], he goes on to create the Hall of Heroes which feature him as the glorified hero of those battles. And yet Booker, who [[spoiler:refused baptism and wasn't absolved of his guilt]], instead insists he's no hero for his deeds and doesn't even want to ''talk'' about his involvement in the Boxer Rebellion or Wounded Knee. Once again, however, Comstock did the exact ''opposite'' of repenting. By attempting to take credit for Wounded Knee and repeating his actions at Peking, he's shown he's utterly ''unrepentant'' for his actions. He's actively trying to turn his vices into virtues. [[spoiler: Booker, who genuinely repents of his deeds at Wounded Knee but can't see baptism washing away the sin, later drowns and is reborn in new life]].

* Elizabeth could have tried to assassinate Atlas/Fontaine directly, but she doesn't. Without Atlas, Ryan's grip on Rapture would become a stranglehold; no one else has the power to challenge him. Events of ''VideoGame/Bioshock'' have to happen the way they happen for the cycle of violence to end.

* Of the various events that allow you make a choice, some expire after a set period of time. Invariably, if you let the choice expire, you end up with a worse outcome than if you make the "wrong" choice. If you wait too long to choose whether to pelt either the couple or Fink in the beginning, you lose out on a gear later in the game [[LostForever (and you can't get it by any other means.)]] If you wait too long to either draw on the ticket clerk in the Arcade or demand your ticket, you get stabbed in the hand (the result of the "demand your ticket" choice) for your trouble. That seems a strange feature, but if you think about it, it fits the a theme established in all of the games: the importance of choice. No matter what choice you make, the important thing is to choose. Regardless of the outcome, it's always better than agonizing over making the right choice.

* At Soldier's Field, two women are talking about a boy who was sent to [[spoiler: Comstock House]] and was never heard from again. [[spoiler: The horrors you encounter in the BadFuture were, at least to some extent still existed in 1912.]]

* During the level 'The Hand of the Prophet', you drop multiple Patriot pods off a sky line to reach the top of a zeppelin. During the lighthouse scene at the beginning of the game it shows that Columbia's flight-path stays primarily inside the US, given that at least have passed since Booker entered Columbia (Hall of Heroes and Comstock House take place at night). That gives Columbia more than enough time to get past the coast of Maine, and the pods were probably designed to be dropped. [[ParanoiaFuel So where did the Motorized Patriots in the pods go, and what did they do once they got there]]?

* From what we saw in the first of ''[=BioShock=] Infinite'', Booker is travelling in a boat along with a lighthouse-like structure to (supposedly), get to Columbia in the sky. Since the first game was set in an underwater world, the opening of them contrast with each other. The first game started on a plane and then goes to the ocean, where Infinite starts in the water and goes into the sky.

* The background material about Comstock states that he was at the battle of Wounded Knee and also used Columbia to raze Peking to the ground during the Boxer Rebellion (supposedly in retaliation for Americans being held hostage). [[spoiler:But in the game itself, Booker had never heard of anyone named Comstock at the battle of Wounded Knee. Why? Because Comstock was the name a alternate version of himself chose after accepting baptism for his sins after the battle. Which then led to the events in the story]]. Same thing goes for why Slate not hearing of him.

* Heard all those anachronistic covers of more recent songs, like 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World', 'God Only Knows' and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'? In modern times, these songs won't be original ones, they would be treated as historical songs, being "written" decades before their times. Given a double fridge brilliance in that Booker and Elizabeth's voice actors made a cover of 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken'.

** Booker, who the main religious establishment of Columbia hates and fears, is revealed to have been martyred as a hero to the Vox in, then seems to come back to life. Comstock would certainly believe him to be the anti-christ, seeing his actions as a perverting of the Jesus mythology.

*** "My father yells what you gonna do with your life" -- Father Comstock's criticism of her indecision between following him or the false prophet

** Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Comes up a few times from a cameo, Elizabeth singing it, and a Fink record. It's fair to say that this could be considered a representation of Comstock's desires to rain fire from the skies with Elizabeth. It could also be [[spoiler: interpreted that, at some point in space and time, everybody has a desire to rule or reign. Comstock is Booker, it's clear he wants to rule. Eventually Elizabeth gives in and follows up to Comstock's wishes, and Daisy went mad while ruling the Vox Populi and now wants to take over everything for herself]].

** Firstly, Elizabeth and Booker don't really seem to ''care'' anymore. Think about it; Booker was in awe of Columbia (for more reasons then just the positive) because it was totally new to him and he's never heard of or seen anything like it before. Elizabeth is much the same, having spent her whole life cooped up in a cage with nothing but books and lockpicks, and is at first excited and later disturbed by how wondrous and massive the city is compared to what she's always known. By the time Songbird ruins their escape, the initial curious wonder has worn off. They've seen more than enough of Columbia, for what it wants to be seen as and for what it actually is underneath, and now they just want to '''leave''' and get to Paris. From that point on they're focused more on their own internal drama than whatever the ruin of a city is still putting itself through, because that's what will actually matter when it comes to them finally escaping.

** He seems really on the nose with his confrontations with Booker in the Hall of Heroes, doesn't he? Almost to the point where it's implied that Slate knows the truth of Comstock/Booker's relationship. [[spoiler: Remember, this is the universe where Booker became Comstock, which means Slate knows full well about how his old war buddy went and got saved and ended up building Columbia. So when he sees Booker come in, sans beard and holier then though attitude, it's pretty obvious he knows the score, even if he's not in on the specifics of how tears and alternate universes work]].

* The very first "choice" you make in the game has only: be baptized, or wander around the room forever. You MUST go through the baptism, even insincerely, to enter Columbia. [[spoiler:Columbia only EXISTS in those universes where Booker went through a baptism and rechristened himself Zachary Comstock, not to actually better himself but to simply assuage his guilt, which is an insincere reason for baptism. At which point another universe's Booker was brought in to stop him, who had to insincerely be baptised to enter]]... It's a ButThouMust moment crossing over with a StableTimeLoop. Which feeds into Fridge Brilliance part two: the thing about loops is that they're (more or less) circular. And what's the name of the song that Elizabeth sings to the scared child, with Booker backing her up on the guitar?

* As you first arrive on ''The Hand Of The Prophet,'' Comstock tells Elizabeth (over the PA system) that she clearly knows that there's something weird about Booker but "can't quite put your finger on it". Quite apart from the fact that it sounds like a cheeky hint as to [[spoiler: Booker being the cause of Elizabeth's missing finger]], this isn't the first time someone in the [=BioShock=] series has used this particular turn of phrase: [[spoiler: Andrew Ryan in the first game, hinting at Jack's true origins]].

* Near the very end of the game, [[spoiler: Elizabeth explains that, despite there being "a million million" worlds, there are constants and variables. "There's always a lighthouse. There's always a man, there's always a city..." It's easy to dismiss how similar these constants might be, but you were just on a bathysphere in Rapture. So, how is this significant? While in Rapture you can observe a familiar sign from the first game, where surface travel and bathysphere use was restricted... And only those who have genetic makeup similar to Andrew Ryan could use them.]]

* Booker [[spoiler: becomes Comstock after being baptized and becomes a sociopath, whereas Prime!Booker doesn't and is still trying to become a better person. Baptism isn't vindication-your "sins" are no more because they were the correct course of action; it's forgiveness-your sins are no more because you turn away from them and repent-the Bible refers to this as "Casting it into the sea". Booker was desperate to escape the consequences of his actions, and likely saw baptism as a "Get Out Of [[FireAndBrimstoneHell Jail]] [[KarmaHoudini Free]]" card. It's not; it's a Good Start, but you have to work from your end. Prime!Booker understands that, but [[MoralEventHorizon doesn't believe he can be forgiven]].]]

!!'''THERE MAY BE MASSIVE SPOILERS LEFT UNMARKED HERE.''' '''''THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.'''''

* Even if Booker and Elizabeth went to Paris, it's unlikely they would have gotten a happy ending. Remember the year the game takes place in 1912. [[WorldWarI What happened to France two years later?]] Frankly, it's quite possible that the ending of this game was the only way that it could have ended happily [[spoiler: or even in a way that would be considered bitter sweet]]. Elizabeth, as she exists in all of the Universes seen [[spoiler: up until the end]] will never have a chance at a normal life. The people of Columbia aren't likely to stop following her unless the city is destroyed, and even if it is, there's still no way that all of the other countries in the world won't desire a means to control her power. Hiding it would be difficult, since she's able to create tears involuntarily. There is no good ending for Elizabeth if Comstock continues to exist, because existing as a being capable of hopping from dimension to dimension will inevitably lead to a short, violent, and frightening life without a stable home anywhere in any reality. [[spoiler: By killing the Booker who becomes Comstock, Elizabeth gives a version of both herself and Booker a chance at a normal, peaceful life. Maybe even one where she gets to see Paris, provided this version of Elizabeth isn't the one Booker attempts to give to the last Comstock in ''Burial at Sea'']].

** [[spoiler: In the end, it doesn't actually matter which brooch. Unlike the original [=BioShock=], where player choices were important to determining the ending, the choices in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' are only there to give the ''illusion'' that player decisions impact the story, again playing with the idea of predestination, states of existence, and decision-based multiverses. Some players will put lots of symbolic consideration into a decision that will ultimately mean nothing more than a tiny cosmetic change for Elizabeth.]]

* [[spoiler: Did baby Anna suffer from Tear Sickness? And if she did... HOW BADLY WAS SHE '''BLEEDING'''?! And that doesn't even account for her newly-severed finger...]]