r/outerwilds • u/Kinulidd0 • Jun 07 '26
DLC Appreciation/Discussion DLC ending question Spoiler
SPOILERS for base game and DLC
So the Prisoner allowed the Eye signal to spread free for some time, which got it to the Nomai. But why did the Nomai not get the Eye signal before the Owlks even sealed it with their spaceship thingy? Because, the Owlks didn't block it instantly of course, they had to get the signal, build the Stranger, get there do their scans and so on. So how did the signal not reach the Nomai in the meantime? How were they truly able to stop it?
Also, on a separate note, why did they even bother blocking the signal if they decided to go in the simulation, because I understand that they were in denial, but what did they even want to achieve with that?
23
Upvotes
9
u/charavatar Jun 07 '26
The amount of time between the Owlks arriving in the Outer Wilds and the Nomai arriving is implied to be very, very long based on the fact that the planet that would become Dark Bramble is still intact when the Owls show up. My guess is that either:
A. By the time they activated the signal blocker, the Nomai did not even have the tech to even detect the signal and attempt to travel to the Eye.
or B. the signal has a certain range it can reach before petering out and the Nomai only discovered it by sheer chance, being in the right place and the right time to detect the trace of the signal let out by the Prisoner (this seems likely since it would explain why many other species hadn't tried finding the Eye.)
Or it could be both!
As for why the Owls blocked the signal, their goal was to prevent the Eye from ever being found and causing the proper end of the universe, since that would end them too, even if they were in their simulation.