Hideo Kojima’s landmark title Death Stranding features plenty of shocking moments and dramatic reveals. Throughout the game, we’re introduced to many characters played by popular actors, including Mama, a UCA scientist portrayed by actress Margaret Qualley. Throughout the course of the game’s fourth chapter, we learn about Mama’s life and how they have been affected by the titular Death Stranding.
At the end of this chapter focused on her, Mama dies in abrupt and mysterious circumstances. Although this event is telegraphed by narrative details, these moments can be easy to miss and require a comprehensive understanding of the game’s lore to fully understand, leaving many players to wonder why exactly Mama died.
What Happened To Mama?
To answer this question in the most direct way, the reason Mama dies at this point in the game is that they were already ‘dead’ before this moment and have been even long before the player encounters the character.
Before the events of the game, Mama, whose real name is Malingen, was crushed underneath rubble during a terrorist attack incited by the Homo Demens, one of the game’s factions of terrorists led by antagonist Higgs.
Mama was in hospital carrying a baby at the time, and due to the circumstances of the Death Stranding - which has blended the world of the living with the afterlife known as The Beach - Mama’s baby was born ‘on the other side,’ transforming into a Beached Thing. A Beached Thing, as you may already know, is a soul attempting to reunite with their body in the living world, which manifests as a kind of semi-visible ghost.
As explained in Mama’s own recollection of their backstory, after being crushed under rubble as a result of this attack, they were able to survive by drinking timefall rain, but not long after they were found, realised that their body was effectively ‘dead’ (lacking vital signs, despite still moving) and being kept alive by the BT of her baby, which acted as her soul. The exact science of this as explained by the game is a little confusing, so it’s easier to understand in a kind of magical sense.
Another side effect of this ‘death’ is that both Mama and her baby’s BT are tethered to the spot where the ‘death’ occurred. In order to provide critical assistance in Sam’s mission to reconnect America using the chiral network, Mama is required to leave to reconnect with her twin sister, Lockne.
Mama’s child was originally conceived using Lockne’s eggs so that Lockne could have a child, as Lockne was otherwise unable to carry a child. After the incident, Mama cut off communications from everyone, including her sister, Lockne.
After Lockne denies Sam essential assistance in his mission, Mama is the only one left with the same level of scientific genius to assist Sam, but they also see this as a final chance to reconcile with their sister. In order to go to Lockne and help same continue the mission, Mama must first cut the spiritual tether (which looks like an umbilical cord) between herself and the BT baby to leave the location they died in.
After they do so, it becomes clear that Mama’s physical form has started to deteriorate once separated from the BT, eventually dying after finally reconciling with Lockne. However, their soul lives on in The Beach, and pops up later in the story to assist at a crucial moment. Although Mama’s end is undeniably tragic, it’s tinged with an uplifting resurrection of a familial bond.