While playing the game I notice some striking parallels between Rapture and Andrew Ryan. On a literal level both are ambitious. Rapture, being an ambitious technological and architectural project most likely taking many years and billion to create. In turn the city becomes a reflection of Ryan’s ambition and at turns reflects what is possibly his mental state during the events of the game and vice versa. For example, the fact that Rapture is damaged, shown by the various objects that are destroyed or broken, but still standing reflects Ryan’s resolve during the entire thing. He has been betrayed at every turn but was still standing. Throughout the game I saw examples of the ruthlessness of the city itself Rapture with all of the blood and dead bodies around the city. It gives a glimpse into Ryan’s own ruthlessness on top of the many blatant examples of such as him killing Dr. Langford as she was trying to save the trees in Arcadia after Ryan himself gassed them. But out of all of the examples of this I want to focus on this one and what he says about it:
https://youtu.be/m7HaCQ0hP0M
While this is not the first time Ryan was willing to destroy Rapture, with the aforementioned gassing of the trees of Arcadia being a good example of it, but the mentality of that is completely different. Before that ruthlessness was based off of getting the victory and being on top at all costs, even if it meant destroying his pride and joy. But this time it felt different, it felt like it was his swan song–that he was giving up, not only on Rapture but on himself as well.
During the mission before he was taunting me as Jack about how he was going to throw a parade for Rapture’s revitalization and string up my the remains of my dead body and use my tombstone as pavement. He felt he would have the final victory; as if his pride and patience will be finally rewarded. But after that mission was over and I set off to his office maybe he realized something–that he lost, that his time, no his season was coming to an end. Even if deep down he didn’t want it to. So at that point I think he came to this realization and felt that if he was going down, everything was coming with him. As he even stated himself, Rapture is not the steel and glass that makes up its shell. Ryan is Rapture, his ambition, money and soul was used to build it and help it thrive. Now those very things that helped create it will be its end. There is a time for all things after all, and now it was time for Rapture to end.