The Real Relationship Between The Boss and Big Boss
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater may have been released almost eighteen years ago, but the game still gains traction even today. With its immersive gameplay and diverse storytelling, it captures the attention of new fans and remains beloved with old fans. Forums and discussion boards of Snake Eater are still active even today. One topic, in particular, is the relationship between The Boss and Big Boss. Are they like mother and son? Are they lovers? Or are they purely just master and pupil? An in-depth analysis of the two heroes will provide that answer.
At the beginning of their relationship, it seemed strictly maternal. Big Boss, also known as Snake and Jack, mentions that she was like a mother to him. The Boss confirms this when she later says that she raised Jack. Some fans have speculated that Jack is possibly The Boss’s son, but that is most likely not true since [Spoiler Alert] Ocelot is her true son.
But when EVA asks Snake what the extent of his relationship with The Boss is, he also states that she was his master too. She did teach almost everything Jack knows and they even went on to develop a new technique together: Close Quarters Combat (CQC.) Snake finally graduates from pupil to master with the end of Operation Snake Eater.
As for the aspect of them being lovers, Snake tells EVA that it is “deeper than that.” Some players analyzed the meaning behind The Boss wanting Snake to see her as a woman rather than a soldier as a romantic aspect. But Snake’s words show that it has nothing to do with romance. Often or not, people tend to think any bond between a man and a woman must develop into a romantic relationship. The Boss wanting Jack to see her as a woman didn’t have anything to do with them being together. She sacrificed everything she was as a soldier and wanted Jack, the only person who really knew her, to see her for what she was which simply is just a woman.
The Philosophers and the government saw The Boss as a tool. She did anything that they had asked her to do. Everything she did, she did for her country. She was a soldier until the end. But when it came to the last remaining moments of her life, she didn’t want to be seen as just a soldier to the one person that mattered to her: Jack. They have been soldiers for all their lives and wanted to, for once, be seen as something deeper.
Snake and EVA’s conversation is meant to show the player that there really is no label to the relationship between him and The Boss. Yes, she raised him. Yes, she did teach him everything she knows. But Snake uses the word “like” instead of “is.” He specifically states, “She was like a mother… and my master.” Not that is she is his mother or his master. Like Snake says, their relationship is deeper than all of this.
EVA goes on to accept that she may never understand the relationship between Big Boss and The Boss. This is the meaning of their whole bond. There is a type of love that has no labels or understanding. The only people who can understand the relationship are The Boss and Big Boss. No one else can.
In a way, both characters are one and the same. Both are soldiers dedicated to their country while at the same time being used by their country. This is why The Boss was drawn to Jack in the first place. They shared a similar upbringing by being used as test subjects. In the end, they both sacrificed in one way or the other. The Boss gave up her life for her country. Snake had to sacrifice his love for his old mentor by killing her for his country.
The relationship between The Boss and Big Boss is something people will never understand. It is a human instinct to want to put a label on everything. Sometimes things don’t need a label. Sometimes there are things that will never be understood. The bond between the two heroes is one of those things. The sad truth of the story is that Jack was never the same after her death. In Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun of the Patriots, Big Boss claims that on the day he killed her, he was already dead. It shows the connection between them was one that was truly special. One may have lived. And the other did die. But the reality of it is that both of them died that day. Big Boss was never the same with her gone.
