Game Over

Game Over
Information
Appearances	Saw, II, III, IV, VI, 3D
Purpose	Signalizing a victim's failure
Used by	John Kramer Amanda Young Mark Hoffman Jill Tuck Lawrence Gordon
Status	Unknown

“	Game Over!	”
	— Jigsaw ends the Bathroom Game

"Game Over" is a line frequently used in the Saw franchise, usually during the climax of the movies. In general, the line is said by Jigsaw or his accomplices when a victim ultimately fails his or her deadly game.

History

Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon's Test

Several months after the beginning of his games, John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, used an old, dilapidated bathroom located in an underground tunnel network as the location of one of his most complicated tests. He and his apprentice, Amanda Young, abducted the renowned oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon and photographer Adam Stanheight, who had been observing Gordon for some days already. (Saw, III)

The bathroom

Both men were chained by the ankle to pipes in opposite corners of the room, with Adam lying in a water filled bathtub. He had the key for his shackle lying on his stomach. However, after waking up and scrambling from the bathtub, he accidentally pulled the plug and unwittingly sent the key down the drain. Between them, in the middle of the room, lay John in a pool of blood, posing as the corpse of a man who shot himself in the head, still holding the gun in one hand and a tape recorder in the other. Both Adam and Lawrence had an envelope in their pockets. While Adam's envelope only contained an audio tape, Lawrence's also had a key and a bullet inside. Using the plug from the bathtub, Adam eventually managed to obtain the dead man's tape recorder and play the tapes.

The tapes recorded by Jigsaw gave them the instructions they had to follow in order to win their game. Lawrence had to kill Adam by 6:00. Otherwise, his wife, Alison, and his daughter, Diana, would be killed by Zep Hindle, who held them hostage as part of his own test and was told to kill them and Gordon afterwards if Lawrence didn't kill Adam in time. Adam, however, was merely told to survive until the end of the game.

Listening to the clues provided by the tapes, Adam searched the toilet tank, which was marked with a heart. He found a plastic bag inside which contained a pair of hacksaws as well as the photos of Gordon he took throughout the days prior to the game. While trying to cut through their chains with the saws, Adam's saw quickly broke, leading him to angrily throw it against the mirror, breaking a piece of glass out of it. After unsuccessfully trying to cut through his chain as well, Dr. Gordon soon realized that the saws were not strong enough to cut through their chains and were actually meant to cut off their feet.

Lawrence reaching for the phone

Their desperation grew as the time was ticking down. When the clock struck six and Lawrence still hadn't managed to kill Adam, he was called on a cellphone he had found in a hollow space behind a wall. To his surprise it was Alison who called him. However moments later he heard shots and screams in the background, which caused him to panic. He was then electrocuted through his chain, rendering him unconscious for some mere seconds. Adam desperately tried to wake him up and finally managed to do so. However, this caused Lawrence to further panic, as he didn't know that his family actually managed to escape from Zep. Despite Adam's frequent attempts to calm him down, he started to cut off his foot while a screaming and horrified Adam was forced to watch. When Lawrence grabbed the dead man's gun and aimed at Adam, the latter begged for his life, but Lawrence shot him in the shoulder with the bullet from his envelope, intending to kill him, which caused Adam to collapse.

Shortly thereafter, Zep entered the bathroom, and Lawrence desperately tried to shoot him but was out of bullets. Zep then prepared to kill him, since he didn't kill Adam in time. However, Adam, who had survived the gunshot, knocked him to the ground and started to fight for Zep's gun. Adam eventually managed to get the gun out of Zep's hands and bludgeoned his head with the lid of the toilet tank. Lawrence promised to find help for Adam before crawling out of the bathroom, leaving Adam behind alone. Ridden by fear, Adam searched Zep's body for a key to his shackle, but instead found another tape recorder which revealed that Zep was merely another victim of Jigsaw.

Adam about to be sealed in his tomb

After listening to the tape, the man in the middle of the room, who was thought to be dead the entire time, stood up and revealed himself to be the actual Jigsaw Killer. When he told Adam that the key to the shackle was in the bathtub, Adam recognizes how it went down the drain when he woke up. Terrified, he grabbed Zep's gun and attempted to shoot Jigsaw, but was electrocuted by the latter's hidden remote control. After that, Jigsaw turned off the lights before closing the door and leaving Adam to die in the darkness of the bathroom with the words "Game Over." (Saw)

Eric Matthews' Test

Eric, Kerry and Rigg raid John's hideout

Several months later, John and his apprentices targeted a corrupt detective, Eric Matthews, who had innocently framed several people, including Amanda Young, by faking the evidence in numerous cases. By leaving a message at his latest crime scene, John led Eric and his colleagues to his hideout at the Wilson Steel Plant. When Eric and his former partner, Detective Allison Kerry, and a SWAT team led by Sergeant Daniel Rigg arrived at the building the next day, John already expected them. Rigg's men were about to arrest him but hesitated when he told Eric to take a look at the surveillance monitors in the next room. Upon doing so, Eric and his colleagues saw what appeared to be another one of Jigsaw's games and recognized one of the eight victims as Erics son, Daniel Matthews. When he saw the recording of the game, Eric immediately attempted to attack John and angrily yelled at him but was held back by Sergeant Rigg. John then explained him the rules of his test. Eric's colleagues had to leave the room while Eric merely had to sit down and talk to John for a period of two hours until a timer went off. If he could do that he'd eventually see his son again. Otherwise, his son and the other prisoners would be killed by a deadly nerve agent. Following a discussion with Kerry, Eric eventually agreed to John's ultimatum.

John getting beaten up by Eric

However, as time went by and the game in the Nerve Gas House seemed to escalate, Eric eventually lost his composure and brutally beath John up and threatened him with his gun, forcing him to disclose Daniel's whereabouts. John was barely impressed by his violent outburst and provoked him. However, after a while he ultimately gave up and ended Eric's game with the words "Game Over." Heavily injured, he offered to take him to the house, but demanded to go there with Eric alone. Eric agreed and left the building with John in a hidden elevator. Pursued by the SWAT officers, Eric and John took one of their armored vehicles to flee. While on their way, John told Eric how to get to the Nerve Gas House, where the game was taking place.

When Eric and John finally arrived at the Nerve Gas House, John gave him the key and waited in the car. Eric then entered the building. As he searched the house, he stumbled upon the dead bodies of some of the other prisoners and ultimately reached the room where the game had begun. In there he found a trapdoor leading down to an underground tunnel network. Upon entering and following his way through the tunnels, Eric eventually discovered a grimy industrial bathroom where he found the remains of Xavier Chavez, another prisoner who had pursued his son to the bathroom, and the decomposed corpses of Zep Hindle and Adam Stanheight. When he went further into the room, he found a lifeless body covered in the cloak and lying in an empty bathtub, which he initially believed to be his son. However, when he approached the person, he was taken by surprise and injected with an anesthetic. Eric tried to shoot the attacker, who wore a sinister pig mask, but due to the narcotic ultimately lost his consciousness. The attacker was actually Amanda Young, John's apprentice. While Eric was unconscious, Amanda shackled him by the ankle to the same pipe as Adam Stanheight's corpse.

Amanda locks Eric up in the bathroom

Afterwards she took the magazine from his gun and disappeared, leaving only the empty gun, a flashlight, a hacksaw and an audio tape in the room. Once Eric woke up, he was disorientated at first but eventually found the tape lying next to him. When he started the tape, he realized that it was recorded by Amanda and that she had merely pretended to be a victim of Jigsaw all the time during the game in order to be able to observe the other prisoners' progress. She revealed to him that she was going to be John's successor once he died, and that Eric was her first test subject. Seconds later Amanda appeared. Eric angrily shouted at her and threw the tape after her, but she closed the door with the words "Game Over", leaving Eric alone in the room. (Saw II)

Amanda Young's Test

Amanda activates the Shotgun Collar

Six months after the events at Wilson Steel, John decided to set up a last game due to his dramatically worsening physical condition and his impending death. Therefore, he targeted Jeff Denlon, a father who had lost his son in a car accident three years earlier and was filled with his thirst for revenge since that day. In order to overcome his obsession with taking vengeance he had to face a series of tests, taking place at the abandoned Gideon Meatpacking Plant. Meanwhile his estranged wife, Dr. Lynn Denlon, was held hostage at the same house. John instructed her that she had to keep him alive until Jeff's game was over. To make sure that she played along, Amanda put an explosive collar, which was connected to his heart rate monitor, around her neck. If John died or Lynn moved out of range, the collar would detonate. However unbeknown to them, John's instructions were not only meant for Lynn but also for Amanda, who was tested as well after she had killed some of her own test subjects, including Adam Stanheight and Allison Kerry. Neither did any of them, except for John, know that the other test subject, Jeff, was actually Lynn's husband.

Throughout the game, John suffered two breakdowns which he just barely survived. Both, his worsening condition and the amount of attention he gave to Lynn, caused Amanda's emotional state of mind to worsen as well. Ultimately this resulted in a mental breakdown when she received a letter from Detective Mark Hoffman, another apprentice of Jigsaw, who blackmailed her and told her to kill Lynn Denlon. Otherwise, he would tell John that she was involved in the robbery, which had caused the death of John's unborn son, Gideon. When Jeff finished his third test, Amanda went to John and told him about Jeff's progress. Therefore, he also told Lynn that she was now free to go and ordered Amanda to unlock the Shotgun Collar. However, Amanda refused to do so as Jeff hadn't finished his final test yet and took out a gun which she aimed at Lynn.

John witnesses Amanda's death

John tried to calm her down, telling her that it was Lynn who held her life in her hands. He also revealed that he knew about all the murders Amanda committed by manipulating her games. In return for that Amanda told John that she didn't believe in his philosophy and said that no one would ever change because of his games which was the reason why she didn't give the subjects a chance to live. During their argument John tried to convince her one last time to put down her weapon. However, Amanda decided against it and shot Lynn in the back just when her husband Jeff arrived. Angered and shocked by this Jeff entered the room and shot Amanda in the throat, causing her to crumple. Saddened by her failure John now revealed to her that Lynn and Jeff were husband and wife and that he had tested her as well in order to see if she was a worthy successor. Realizing that she had failed John Amanda succumbed to her gunshot wound and died on the floor in front of her mentor's eyes who ended her test with the words "Game Over". (Saw III)

Daniel Rigg's Trial

Eric and Hoffman in the Ice Block Trap

At the same time another, Officer Daniel Rigg had to participate in another series of tests in order to overcome his obsession with saving everyone around him. When this game began, Rigg was provided with live footage from another section of the Gideon Meatpacking Plant where two of his colleagues were held hostage. The first one was Eric Matthews who had been held hostage for the last six months. The second victim was Jigsaw's apprentice, Mark Hoffman, who merely pretended to be a victim while being in no actual danger. Upon the beginning of Rigg's game, a timer of 90 minutes started ticking down. During that time, Rigg followed the clues left by Jigsaw and faced three different tests. During all of them, Jigsaw frequently told him that the victims had to save themselves. After reaching his final test, Rigg found the final clue which led him to Eric and Hoffman's location.

Shortly afterwards he arrived at the Gideon Meatpacking Plant and entered the building, where he ultimately found the room in which his colleagues were trapped along with Art Blank, who had a deadly contraption attached to his body which would crush his spine if he didn't follow Jigsaw's instructions and observed Eric and Hoffman. However, Rigg falsely assumed that Art was actually Jigsaw's accomplice. When he reached the final room of his test, Eric desperately yelled at him not to open the door. With only one second left, Rigg broke through the door and was shot in the chest by Eric in a final attempt to prevent him from entering. Unknown to Rigg, Eric's trap was directly connected to the door and was activated when it was opened before the timer expired. When Rigg entered the room, two large ice blocks suspended from the ceiling swung down and crushed Eric's head.

Hoffman ends Rigg's game

After witnessing his death, Rigg angrily yelled at Art whom he had shot as well when he broke through the door. Art tried to tell him that he was tested by Jigsaw and grabbed in his bag, causing Rigg, who thought that Art was grabbing a weapon, to shoot him in the head. However, it turned out that it was no weapon but an audio tape. Upon listening to the recording, Rigg finally realized that his test wasn't to save Eric but to let him save himself. Moments later, Hoffman freed himself from his trap and calmly approached Rigg. Therefore, Rigg realized that Hoffman was Jigsaw's accomplice. However due to his gunshot wound he collapsed while Hoffman went away. He turned around one last time and ended Rigg's game with the words "Game Over" before he disappeared and left Rigg for death. (Saw IV)

Mark Hoffman's Test

Following John's death at the hands of Jeff Denlon, Hoffman continued his games and became John's successor. However, John had also targeted him. After his death, his ex-wife, Jill Tuck, received a black box from her late ex-husband's executor, Bernie Feldman. This box contained the instructions for another game which focused on William Easton, manager of the Umbrella Health insurance company, and his workers. These instructions were later collected from Hoffman. Jill gave him the five envelopes with photos of the victims, but didn't tell him that the box had contained a sixth envelope with his own photo as well as a more modern looking version of the Reverse Bear Trap which was once used to test Amanda Young.

Jill leaves Hoffman

At the same night Hoffman set up William's game at the abandoned Rowan Zoological Institute where he also had a surveillance room directly above the animal enclosures where the last part of the game would take place. However, he also had to deal with Special Agent Erickson and Special Agent Lindsey Perez who came closer and closer to deducing his true identity. While he was at an external technical lab used by the FBI, Jill went to the surveillance room and placed a bag, which contained the trap and photo for Hoffman's test, in a locker before she disappeared. Shortly afterwards, Hoffman returned to the room to observe the end of the game. However, when he sat down, Jill suddenly reentered the room and gave him an electric shock. While he was unconscious, she strapped his arms to the armrests of the chair and put the Reverse Beartrap on his head. Only moment later he woke up again and was shocked when Jill showed him his own photo, revealing he was the last person John wanted to be tested. However, as she had found out about his blackmailing letter to Amanda Young, which contained the truth about the death of her unborn child, Jill decided not to give Hoffman a chance to escape. When the timer of the trap started ticking down, she left the room with the words "Game Over", expecting Hoffman to be killed by the trap. (Saw VI)

Jill Tuck's Execution

Jill's corpse

Despite this, Hoffman was able to escape the trap but was severely injured as it tore his right cheek apart. Following his near-death experience Hoffman sought for revenge on Jill. When he learned that she had been taken into protective custody after revealing his true identity to Matt Gibson, a detective working for the Internal Affairs Department, he developed a complex plan to get to her. Eventually he managed to infiltrate the police station and ruthlessly killed six of his former colleagues until he finally reached the detention cells. Afraid of his revenge, Jill tried to flee but was eventually found by Hoffman when she tried to hide inside the evidence room. Hoffman brutally beat her up before he strapped her onto the same chair, she had strapped him to in the Zoo's surveillance room. Then he took the original Reverse Beartrap formerly used on Amanda Young from one of the shelves and put it on Jill's head. When she woke up Hoffman started the timer, causing Jill to panic immediately. However, as she had no chance to escape, the timer eventually went off which caused the trap to burst open and rip her jaws apart in front of Hoffman's eyes who left the room and closed the door with the words "Game Over." (Saw 3D)

Mark Hoffman's Execution

Following the murder of Jill, Hoffman returned to his hideout in an abandoned hangar and prepared everything to flee. After providing himself with necessaries such as money and a gun, Hoffman turned on two explosive gas bottles and blew up his hideout and everything inside. However, when he was about to leave, he was attacked by two men with pig masks, Brad and Ryan, two Jigsaw survivors who had been put in a trap by Hoffman before. Moments later a third man approached and injected Hoffman with an anesthetic, causing him to collapse. Seconds before Hoffman ultimately passed out, the man took off his mask and revealed himself to be Dr. Lawrence Gordon, who had become a Jigsaw apprentice on his own after surviving his test.

Lawrence leaves Hoffman in the bathroom

When Hoffman eventually woke up again, he found himself to be chained by the ankle to a pipe in the same bathroom where Gordon's game had taken place. When Gordon entered the room, Hoffman started to panic and tried to grab the hacksaw to free himself from his shackle. However, Lawrence took the saw and threw it out of the room. Ignoring Hoffman's angry and desperate yells Lawrence turned off the light and closed the door, leaving Hoffman to die with the words "Game Over." (Saw 3D)