Hiya!

So, last week I took a break from playing Grand Theft Auto V to get Street Fighter 6‘s latest DLC character, Arjun, to Master rank. Now that I’ve done so and I don’t have to touch the character ever again, I immediately got back to playing Grand Theft Auto V and it turns out I was actually closer to getting to the end of the Story missions than I thought. I know Rockstar Games are known for making extremely big stories so either I was playing all the Story missions back-to-back or Grand Theft Auto V’s story is smaller than I thought.

Anyway, I got to the point where a couple of the major villains of the game, corrupt FIB agent Steve Haines and morally bankrupt billionaire Devin Weston, go to one of the games protagonists, gangbanger Franklin Clinton, with separate requests but both involving who he’s running with. Steve Haines wants Franklin to eliminate the psychotic and unstable Trevor Philips as he’s become a liability for him. Devin Weston, on the other hand, wants criminal mastermind Michael De Santa taken out.

So, now, Franklin Clinton is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does Franklin take out Trevor Philips, who is definitely insane but has been a loyal friend and ally to him? Should Franklin go after Michael De Santa, who’s been more like a mentor and father figure to him? Honestly, this should have been a difficult choice to make… but Rockstar Games gave Franklin an out with a 3rd option: The Deathwish option. This has Franklin teaming up with Michael and Trevor to take out Steve Haines, Devin Weston and the others who have been a thorn on their collective sides throughout the game’s story.

Was there really a choice to make? Of course I was picking Deathwish! What were the scenario writers of Rockstar Games smoking? I ask this because it doesn’t make sense why I wouldn’t pick it from both a storytelling perspective and a gameplay perspective!

Let’s talk about why the 3rd option is the logical choice if we’re talking about gameplay. Like with every Grand Theft Auto that came before it, you can continue playing the game once you’ve completed all of the story missions. Now, we’ve been playing with all of the 3 protagonists for all this time. We’ve accumulated different vehicles, collected clothing, gathered a ton of money and even purchased all sorts of property and businesses with Franklin, Michael and Trevor. So, if you eliminate Trevor or Franklin, you are essentially locking yourself out of all of the stuff you’ve built throughout your game. So, why would anyone want to do that, especially during your first playthrough, when there is literally no incentive to do so?

More importantly, for my anyway, is it doesn’t make sense from a storyline perspective. This is because there is no way Franklin Clinton would betray either Michael De Santa or Trevor Philips. Despite their flaws and being hardened criminals, there is no way Franklin would turn on them.

So, we first have to talk about Franklin Clinton and what his character and personality is like throughout Grand Theft Auto V’s story. Throughout his story missions, Rockstar Games consistently has told the player Franklin is extremely loyal to his friends. One of the earliest instances are the missions involving the drug addled Tonya. Tonya pleads with Franklin to do her also drug-addled boyfriend’s tow truck job or else they’ll lose everything. What does Franklin do? He helps Tonya do the jobs even though he doesn’t get paid. He didn’t need to (and you technically don’t have as long as you don’t do these missions) but it does show how much of a good guy Franklin is.

There are also the missions involving Lamar. Lamar is pretty much Franklin’s closest friend as they grew up in the gangs together. Their paths are diverging, though. Franklin is tired of all of the petty gang wars and the small time crimes he was pulling when he was more active with the gang. Lamar, on the other hand, is in deep with the gangbanger lifestyle which has gotten him in several messes. Even though he knows this, Franklin still stands by Lamar and has his back. Even when he knows Lamar is dumb and walking into a trap, Franklin still goes along with the mission and has to fight his way out while also making sure Lamar survives. So, the game is already shows how much Franklin will do pretty much anything for his friends.

The story also doesn’t give you any reason as to why Franklin would want to off either Michael or Trevor. Let’s talk about Michael De Santa first. Franklin technically first meets up with Michael when asking him for direction during a car repo job he’s on but nothing really happens here. He really gets to know Michael when he tries to repo the car Michael’s son purchased but didn’t keep his payment on. While driving back to the car dealership with the vehicle, Michael sits up and orders Franklin to crash through the glass pane. He then makes an offhand comment for Franklin to come by if he needs work. Franklin actually takes him up on his offer but Michael admits he was joking. To make up for it, Michael offers Franklin a trip to a bar for a drink. While on the way to the bar, Michael receives a call from his son saying their yacht is being stolen. Michael and Franklin actually chase down the thieves but, despite losing the yacht, the two form a bond.

After that, Franklin actually goes out of his way to help Michael, even volunteering to help him when he gets involved with mob boss Martin Madrazo. Because of his impulsive actions, Michael has to find a way to make a lot of money and he assembles a crew to rob a jewelry store. Michael also vouches for Franklin to go on the mission, giving the former gangbanger his first taste of an actual big score. After this, Michael starts acting more like a mentor to Franklin, giving him advice on how to be a successful criminal and Franklin seems to appreciate it, especially after he actually gets a big house in the hills thanks to the money they’ve earned from robbing the jewelry store.

Now, let’s talk about Franklin’s relationship with Trevor Philips. Trevor is indeed a murderous psychopath, willing to kill people at a moment’s notice without any warning. He also has a very short fuse and tends to go on deadly rampages when something rather innocuous sets him off. It actually might seem like it would be a good idea if Franklin does take out Trevor just for the general safety of the world. It also does seem like Franklin is aware of all this, especially with Michael warning him about Trevor’s violent past.

I would have actually been okay if Franklin was ordered to take out Trevor early on as I did find him to be a very despicable person. However, the character did grow on me a little as he is shown to be an incredible and loyal friend to Franklin! Although they have worked jobs in the past, Trevor really didn’t show any, shall we say, affection toward Franklin… until Lamar involves both of them in a mission to acquire drugs from a rival gang’s territory. Despite not really knowing Lamar (and not really knowing the plan), Trevor immediately inserts himself into the job. Trevor actually proves his worth as he quickly identified a scam and helps both Franklin and Trevor out of the rival gang’s territory in a bloody shootout.

Franklin learns he can actually rely on Trevor for help as proven when Lamar is kidnapped by the rival gang. Knowing he cannot rescue Lamar on his own, he calls for the assistance of both Michael and Trevor. At this point in the story, both Michael and Trevor have had a falling out. While Michael would probably show, because of his strong animosity towards Michael then, Trevor might actually decline. Even with that, he still showed up and the trio successfully rescue Lamar. As this is near the end, this act does show how much Trevor is loyal to Franklin. So, once again, why would Franklin want to kill a loyal friend and ally? Based on his character and personality, simply put, he wouldn’t.

Maybe I’m the weird one as this is technically the first ever Grand Theft Auto game I’ve ever played but I just can’t fathom as to why anyone wouldn’t choose the 3rd option. It doesn’t make sense for Franklin as a character and it doesn’t make sense if you want to get the most out of the game after you’ve completed the story missions. I know you can replay missions and get the alternative endings. However, I just don’t have the heart to do it as, throughout the game, I’ve been putting myself in the shoes of one Franklin Clinton. Franklin, meaning me, would try to find a way to keep his two friends alive, even if it does mean taking a long shot of taking out the people more dangerous and powerful than he is. So, I don’t think I have the heart to even retry the missions to get the other endings.

That’s not stopping me from watching them on YouTube, though.

Byee!

Which ending did you pick when you first played Grand Theft Auto V? Let me know in the comments section down below!