FF7 Rebirth ending explained: everything you missed in Rebirth’s finale

Full breakdown, analysis, and explanation of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's complicated climax

Contents

1. How many Stamps were there?
2. Battling Sephiroth across worlds
3. Is Aerith alive? What’s up with Cloud?
4. The white feather
5. Who is Glenn Lodbrok in FF7 Rebirth?

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second part of a Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, which also happens to act as a sequel to all previous Final Fantasy 7 material. That means it’s tough to get the full story without playing several games and watching at least one movie – in addition to that, a lot of story details from the expanded lore that we need to piece things together just aren’t available yet. Whatever Nomura is cooking up is still partly a mystery.

But that won’t stop us from trying. We sat down with RPGSite’s Alex Donaldson and had a lengthy discussion about the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. If you want the full discussion make sure to listen to the full thing on the GLHF YouTube channel, but for an overview and some personal theories from myself, just scroll down and check out our full breakdown below. Make sure to read Donaldson’s own RPGSite FF7 Rebirth ending analysis breakdown too.

Major spoilers for all of the Final Fantasy 7 universe games to follow!

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How many Stamps were there?

The Beagle Stamp is Shinra's mascot in FF7 Remake's primary timeline / Square Enix, FF Wiki

If you played FF7 Remake and kept up with Stamp, Shinra’s pooch mascot, you’ll know that he represents which world we’re witnessing. Stamp the Beagle was Shinra’s mascot throughout Remake, and then suddenly he switches to a Terrier when we see Zack returning to Midgar, still alive.

The Pug Stamp is one of at least five variations we see in Rebirth, representing the different worlds / Square Enix, RPGSite

That’s just Remake though – if you were paying attention during Rebirth’s climax, then you will have noticed Pug, Shiba Inu, and Pomeranian versions of Stamp, each from their own worlds. That means the climax of Rebirth actually takes place across at least four or five worlds, and each of those has its own Sephiroth.

Battling Sephiroth across worlds

Zack fights Sephiroth in the remnants of the Church, found in another world / Square Enix

Sephiroth tells us that each decision that diverges from fate conjures a new world, which explains why we’re seeing new Stamps in the worlds where Zack saves Biggs, and where Aerith wakes up the Mako-poisoned Cloud. It just so happens that Sephiroth also exists across worlds, and that might be the secret to his perseverance. Being part Jenova, Sephiroth cannot return to the lifestream, so he lingers in it as an independent, malevolent force, waiting for the universe to be reborn, and for the people that ruined him to reappear.

His interference, however, is what caused the worlds to split, and even more splits happen here in the climax. Cloud parries Sephiroth’s blade as in plunges toward a praying Aerith, and that action splits off yet another world – one we’ll talk about more later.

Cloud "saves" Aerith / Square Enix

Cloud gets absorbed into a universe where Aerith is seemingly still thriving, and battles Sephiroth alongside her. At the same time, Zack gets pushed into a world where nothing is left but Aerith’s church, hanging in a void. The rest of the party also jumps through the portal to help, before seeing Aerith and Cloud seemingly vanish. Each of the three groups begins battling an incarnation of Sephiroth and Jenova, and as each group does damage, those effects become visible in the Sephiroth of each world.

The whole team fights Sephiroth across different worlds / Square Enix

It seems that Aerith’s influence is what brings the worlds together here – Zack and Cloud can even feel one another’s presence, and link up for unique Syngery Abilities. These worlds are all connected by Sephiroth and the lifestream, and it seems Aerith is somehow inhabiting the lifestream in the same way.

Zack and Cloud manage to team up, somehow / Square Enix

Is Aerith alive? What’s up with Cloud?

Is Aerith still alive? / Square Enix

This is the big question, and the answer is… kind of. When Cloud prevented Sephiroth from stabbing through Aerith, this may have split the worlds, and right now, Cloud seems to be inhabiting both of them. In our normal world, which we believe is represented by the Beagle Stamp, Aerith has passed on, and the rest of the party knows this. However, there’s the world where Cloud parries the blade, where Aerith still might be alive, and Cloud can see that world in addition to his own. We believe this to be the Pomeranian Stamp world where Aerith and Cloud go on a date in Midgar, but it’s not clear.

Only Cloud can see her at the end of the game / Square Enix

As he is at the end of the game, Cloud can still see a ghostly Aerith that warps around the party as they wait for the Tiny Bronco to be repaired. He can also see the scarred sky, hinting at the world’s impending doom. But that scarred sky only belongs in one of the worlds that Cloud is in, and not the one he shares with the rest of the party members. 

While the team mourns Aerith, Cloud’s high spirits unnerve the party. It’s around this time that Cloud finds the Black Materia, and places it inside the Buster Sword. I believe this to actually be the empty materia that Aerith previously gave to Cloud, which is now filled with the energy of the real Black Materia, unlike the "fake" that Cloud gave to Sephiroth. It's now hidden within the Buster Sword, and in the next game we'll see if Sephiroth figures that out.

Cloud slots the Black Materia into the Buster Sword / Square Enix

It’s not entirely clear how these changes will impact the next game in the trilogy, but it’s likely to be the biggest departure from the original Final Fantasy 7 yet.

The white feather

The white feather from the game's intro might be the biggest hint at what's coming next / Square Enix

One of the biggest questions we’re left with is the purpose of the White Feather. Right at the beginning of the game, as we see Zack approach Midgar, a white feather drops into the scene and flutters by. It feels hopeful in this scene as the music swells, which is the opposite of when a Black Feather drops into the scene, foreboding the presence of Sephiroth.

The white feather probably comes from Aerith's white wing, which will oppose Sephiroth's black wing / Square Enix

By the end of the game, we still don’t have an explanation for the white feather, so this will be a prediction for the next game: just as Sephiroth has inhabited the lifestream, Aerith now resides in it, and she will return to finish Sephiroth for good in the next game, complete with a single white wing, opposing Sephiroth’s black wing.

The white whispers needed Aerith to die, but that might be her will from another world, or from within the lifestream / Square Enix

Another reason I believe this is the presence of the White Whispers. The White Whispers seemingly need Aerith to die in the primary Beagle world, but I believe that they’re actually working on the side of the Aerith that lives between worlds in the lifestream. When Aerith pushes Cloud through a portal from the Church, we see black whispers try to attack Cloud as he falls, and the white whispers protect him. She’s learned to influence fate with the whispers, just as Sephiroth has, hinting that her abilities are starting to mimic his.

Alex Donaldson also points out that this game misses Aerith’s level 3 Limit Break, Great Gospel, despite it being an iconic and important moment for the FF7 franchise – it is the climax of Advent Children, after all – in addition to her ultimate weapon, the Princess Guard. I would like to combine these facts into my white wing theory and say that these are being saved for her grand return in the next game, which will likely come when the worlds are forcefully reunited.

Who is Glenn Lodbrok in FF7 Rebirth?

Glenn taunts Rufus privately throughout the game / Square Enix

The game ends with Glenn Lodbrok in Rufus’ office in the guise of a Black Robe. You might be wondering who the hell he is, and the answer is that he’s a character introduced in Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, and is a playable character in Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.

Glenn seems to be doing Sephiroth's bidding to get revenge on Shinra / Square Enix

According to the Final Fantasy fandom wiki, following Wutai’s surrender to Shinra, Glenn and his team that defected from SOLDIER led a coup d’etat in Wutai, and Glenn became the interim government leader. It just so happens that in his final scene with Rufus, Glenn is shot in the back, and is revealed to be possessing a Black Robe. The only other character we see do this is Sephiroth, hinting that Glenn’s team and his control of Wutai will become a key plot point in the next game.

FF7 Rebirth is a confusing game, even if you’ve played the original and spin-offs, and its climax leaves us with a lot of questions that probably won’t be answered until the next game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. 

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