Majora's Mask - Is Link dead?

Well if you've paid even the slightest bit of attention to all the rage around Majora's Mask, you'll know that one of the most popular theories is that Link is dead in it. And it's all the stages of grief associated with his death.

However, while there are many things that point to such a thing, there's just as many that point to that NOT being the case.

"Termina is a parallel world as stated in Hyrule Historia. The portal to Termina is most probably that twirling corridor just before you enter the clock tower. Before you enter the portal, you can still see that Link is inside the large tree. I'll give you a quote from Hyrule Historia about this: "Link's transformation into a Deku Scrub is caused by the spirit of a member of the Deku Tribe that died in the forest connecting Hyrule to Termina."

We even see that member of the Deku Tribe before actually going through the twirling corridor, too.

So there's the next theory. Transforming via the masks, who are all of dead people. Well one inconsistency with this is the Fierce Deity mask. A Deity, by most standard definitions is not capable of dying. However, there's something else to support this point in game.

When you play the Elegy of Emptiness, it leaves behind a 'shell'. And you can do this for each of Link's forms: Human, Deku, Goron, and Zora. This is worth mentioning because the Deku, Goron, and Zora shells have pure white, blank eyes. As if completely lifeless.

But Link's Human 'shell' has blue eyes. It's a very clear distinction. There's also a quote from Sharp in Ikana Canyon -- Ikana being where you learn the Elegy of Emptiness as well.

Sharp states that Link is "full of life". Now if there was ever a time to foreshadow or imply that Link was dead, it would be right here. By actually allowing Link to pass through unfazed.

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Finally, there's the fact that the Majora's Mask Timeline leads directly into the Twilight Princess timeline -- But it's ALSO when Link goes back to being a kid. If he died as a kid, this would mean two things: He could become a Stalchild, not a Stalfos. And he would be unable to have a family.

That means there is no direct bloodline to Twilight Princess Link.
"Hyrule Historia page 115: "Just then, a human appeared who had been transformed into a beast by the Twilight. It was none other than Link, a young man from Ordon Village in whose veins flowed the blood of the Hero of Time"."

It's also backed up from the Hero's Shade quotes. "I could not convey the lessons of that life to those who came after". Meaning that his children weren't capable of learning his ways or techniques. 100 or so years later, a new Link was born from the bloodline where he was capable of learning from the Hero of Time. "A young goatherd makes his home in Ordon Village. He possesses the qualities of the Hero..." Another quote from Hyrule Historia.

And yes, he's specifically called the "Hero's Shade", NOT a Stalfos. A Stalfos is not shown to be sentient. And the only trivia we have related to them is that "anybody who comes into the forest will become lost. Everybody will become a Stalfos. Everybody, Stalfos."

But several different Links in different time periods have successfully navigated the Lost Woods. And indeed, it's the same in Ocarina of Time. Where it's successfully navigated by at least TWO people. Link AND Saria.


So in closing; Link's not dead. It just doesn't add up, and there's a lot to disprove such a theory anyway.