Everything is set in place to make Ethan the possible killer. As well as Gordi. They should have made truly alternate endings with different killers. It almost seems like they have it all set in place - Ann silently whispers the name to Madison, Gordi already killed another boy, etc. Change the one crucial piece of evidence when Jayden is reviewing the Blue Lagoon footage and presto! Different killer. And then all the potential evidence leading to other characters should then be explained in the ending... like Ethan's origami. Also, Madison's intense reaction to the name isn't justified by her complete lack of knowledge of who Scott Shelby is. That should be considered the MacGuffin, because that sealed it for me that Ethan was the killer. And... then it was Shelby. Shelby lying... especially at the graveyard... was also bothersome.

Jayden falls into the shredder, Madison gets arrested, Shaun lives, and Ethan dies in a hail of gunfire. Shaun is seen putting flowers on Ethan's grave, Shelby gets away, and Madison writes her book and someone mysterious meets her at the signing to say she needs a more 'ferocious adversary' or something.

Lauren's underwater death in the car specifically

After finding the Blue Lagoon lead in the doctor's bedroom, I had Madison GTFO of the house. I just thought he was a creepy potential rapist dude until I saw the credits at the end.

Ethan and his separated wife reunite?

i got outta there just as soon as possible. Jeez, that guy was skeevy...

what was going on when Ethan was looking for Shaun's location? He put the phone to his hear, and heard seagulls and foghorns and crap, but was that a recording, or what? Was it being transmitted to him or something? Confused me a bit.

Hearing enviromental clues to help you deduce the right spot on the map. I mean it was sound picked up by the camera while videoing Shaun.
I didn't do all the trials, so this is how I picked the right spot.

Ethan doesn't save Shawn (resulting in his eventual suicide), Jayden dies at the police station, Madison gets burned alive in the apartment, and the killer escapes.

First thing:

1) I'm gonna need a little help with the story here, because there was a time when I was playing it consistently, but had to stop for a couple weeks, and I just got back into it now and finished it, but have a little confusion.

Namely, why/how is Shelby the killer? Was his pursuit of that guy and his rich father all for show? Did he really risk his life to pin the blame on someone else (being thrown into the ocean in his car with Lauren)? And, if he is the Origami Killer, did he really care to even save Lauren? This whole this has me puzzled based on his actions throughout the entire game.

Was he killing out of sadness and confusion due to his childhood trauma with his brother? Did he get joy out of it?

2) I loved this game but geeez, I had a horrible ending. Everyone died but Shelby. Where it all went wrong was when Madison found out Shelby was the killer. She broke out of that room, but when I had to maneuver her through the fire, I pressed one wrong button and the game punished me for it--she burnt to death on the bed!

3) Decisions--here's something that I felt I screwed up in hindsight, but while playing the game, I made decisions based on certain reasons. For example, in one of the trials, you have to kill a man. I opted not to kill him because I was hoping that, at some point later down the line in the story, this man would reemerge as an important component to the story. I figured he might help me later on in determining whre Shaun was and would help me because I spared his life earlier. Guess not.

4) Essentially, my ending was this:

-Due to me completing only 3 out of the 5 trials (couldn't get through the nuclear plant one and I opted not to kill that guy) I didn't have enough letters to make out the address. I had six options and I just took a wild guess (is there another option here besides guessing?) I was wrong, as it ended up being a restaurant.

-Madison burnt to death on the bed and mostly certainly was eviscerated when Shelby's apartment exploded.

-Then, I see a scene with Shaun essentially dying in the sewer/well.

-Ethan puts a gun to his temple and takes his own life.

-Jayden has a conversation with himself, before overdosing and dying on the floor.

-Scott Shelby roams the streets among the people, undiscovered as the killer and unpunished for his crimes.

Loved the game but was a disappointing ending.

I've seen several people say that they let Lauren die becase they didn't know what the controls were would do, and I just don't see how that's possible if you're paying attention. When you look over at Lauren, there are 2 options, kick out the window, and untie her. Now I can see not knowing which is which, as I didn't either, and I also accidentally selected the window first, but as soon as you go to select it, you can see what he's starting to do, and you don't have to keep doing it. I think you even have to do it a couple of times before it breaks. The game gives you ample time to change your mind and do something else first. It's obvious you're kicking out the window while Lauren is still unconsious and tied down. If you choose to continue doing it, it's your own damn fault that she dies.