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I don't care about myself, not anymore. When you get out of this cell, I'm putting you in another prison.
— Michael talks to Joseph Poltzer.[src]

Michael Tapp is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He was the primary protagonist of Saw II: Flesh & Blood.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Michael Tapp was the son of Kara Tapp and David Tapp, a homicide detective who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department. As a classic workaholic, David became obsessed with his work and neglected his family. Eventually, he abandoned them when Michael was still a child, which resulted in a messy divorce. While Michael suffered from the lack of a father figure, Kara tried her best to rear him as best as possible. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Betrayal[]

When he grew up, Michael graduated and wanted to become a reporter. One day, he was called by his father, who investigated the case of a wanted serial killer known as Jigsaw but was put on probation after his partner, Detective Steven Sing, was killed by a trap when they raided the killer's hideout. While talking to his father, he told him he had trouble finding a paid position and asked David for insider information on the Jigsaw case. David got emotional and hung up the phone, as it was difficult for him to talk to Michael after abandoning him and his mother.

Sometime later, an acquaintance of Michael, who was friends with the editor of The Herald, approached him and made him an offer. If Michael could find out details about the Jigsaw case and sell them to The Herald, he would be given a job. Therefore, Michael repeatedly visited David in his apartment shortly afterward. The two talked about Kara and Michael's job as he had become an intern at a local newspaper. During such a visit, Michael asked his father for some pomegranate juice. David offered to go to the corner store because he had none at home. Unbeknownst to him, Michael used the opportunity to search his apartment. Thereby, he found David's files and an audiotape. The tape contained a recording of David confessing that he ignored proper police procedure when raiding Jigsaw's hideout. Michael stole the recording and documents and left the apartment before his father returned.

Michael used the information from his father's files and tapes and published a newspaper article about the raid on Jigsaw's hideout. In that article, he revealed that David had acted contrary to duty when invading the lair without a warrant, which contradicted his earlier testimony. Furthermore, Michael cast him in a negative light when stating that all evidence in the building would have been worthless as they could not be used in court due to David's improper invasion. Following the article's publication, David was discharged from the police force by Chief Henry Jacobs. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

David Tapp's Death[]

Several months later, he was abducted by Jigsaw and forced to play one of his games at the abandoned Whitehurst Insane Asylum. Ultimately, David chose to let go of his pursuit of Jigsaw in exchange for the freedom of all the victims trapped in the asylum. Throughout the following days, the press frequently reported the events at Whitehurst, declaring David a hero. Although the newspapers redeemed his reputation, David continued to suffer from severe depression. Unable to let go of his guilt for Sing's death, he asked himself whether he made the right choice at Whitehurst by allowing Jigsaw to escape. Furthermore, the traumatic events in the asylum and Michael's betrayal took a toll on him. Ultimately, David could not overcome his obsession with Jigsaw and committed suicide in his apartment by shooting himself in the head. (Saw: The Video Game, Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Abduction[]

Pig-head-2

Michael is abducted.

Following his father's suicide, Michael went to David's flat. Upon his arrival, Jennings Foster, one of David's former colleagues, investigated the scene alongside Chief Jacobs and Detective Joseph Poltzer. While Jennings promised him that he would find any evidence that might be there, Poltzer reacted dismissively and told Michael to leave. As they continued their work, Michael went out to have a smoke. Upon leaving the apartment, he briefly met his father's neighbor, Sarah Blalok, in the hallway. After a brief conversation, Sarah quickly went into her flat. Moments later, Michael went down and left the building. Unnoticed by him, a mysterious man with a sinister pig mask snuck up on him and injected him with an anesthetic. Afterward, he took him to the abandoned Holmes Hotel, where he trapped Michael and an accountant named Solomon Bates in two cages connected to two separate tracks on the floor. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

First Test[]

MichaelCage

Michael in his cage

When the men woke up, they were greeted by a mechanical ventriloquist puppet named Billy, which appeared on a TV screen and introduced them to their test. Once the game began, both participants had to push their cages forward. Whoever reached the end of their track first was promised to be freed. However, the puppet alluded to the tale of the tortoise and the hare, indicating that the way to win the game was to let the other person reach the end first.

When the TV turned off, the prisoners started pushing their cages, and eventually, Solomon reached the end of his track first and was released. After the latter left the room, Michael made it to the end of his path and was freed, too. The TV turned on again, and the puppet offered Michael another chance at survival by facing the next part of his game. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Sins of the Father[]

As Michael looked around the room, he pushed a crate with mattresses out of the way and found a hidden gap in the wall through which he escaped the chamber. However, the next obstacle was already waiting for him. Before him was a door secured by a combination lock. A table was written on one of the walls. The first row contained the letters A to M, while the second contained various numbers. Through a peephole, Michael read the message "Prove you deserve a second chance" on a wall in the next room, with the letters S, O, and N highlighted and underlined. When he turned off the light, another table with the letters N to Z appeared, as it had been painted with fluorescent color and was only visible in the dark. Thereby, Michael found the correct combination, 732, and opened the door. Behind it, he found another door. However, as Michael opened it, he was almost killed by a shotgun positioned above it. After barely escaping the shot, he entered the next room that Solomon must have passed after escaping from his cage. Michael then entered an elevator and rode up.

As he left it, he was greeted by the puppet, which appeared on numerous TV screens positioned around a heavy metal door. The doll told him that many criminals his father arrested during his career were trapped in the hotel and warned Michael that they would not be happy to see him. This warning turned out to be justified, as only moments later, one of these prisoners entered the room and immediately attacked Michael with a nail-studded baseball bat, stating that he had to take up his father's debt for arresting him. Therefore, Michael was forced to kill the man in self-defense. After doing so, he searched his corpse and found a fuse, which he took with him. He powered a nearby panel with the fuse and passed through a metal door. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Bomb Chair[]

Upon following his way, he saw the message "Follow the rules" written on a wall before him. Moments later, he noticed a hole in another wall, through which he could see a man named Griff, a rapist, who was strapped to a chair with a bomb attached to it. Another TV turned on in front of him, and Jigsaw's puppet appeared on-screen, telling Michael that he was the only one who could save Griff but did not have much time to do so. Afterward, a 30-second-timer started to count down. Right underneath it was a row of four small combination locks. Before the timer expired, Michael had to arrange the four numbers correctly, starting with the smallest number and concluding with the highest. If he failed to do so, Griff was killed by the bomb attached to his chair. However, if he correctly arranged the digits in time, Griff was freed from his restraints and had to open the next door's combination lock, allowing him to escape the room before the explosion. The necessary numbers appeared on the same TV screen as the puppet. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Way to the Ballroom[]

After finishing this test, Michael continued his way. He proceeded through some rooms and hallways, climbed down to the lower level of the building through holes in the walls and floors, and faced several obstacles, such as unstable floors that caved in under his weight or more of Jigsaw's bobby traps. Thereby, Michael eventually reached the lobby. Upon entering, he saw Jigsaw behind a fence. Jigsaw, who was, in fact, a terminal cancer patient named John Kramer, informed him that Henry Jacobs was trapped in the ballroom. He was strapped to a chair with a loaded revolver in his mouth. To save him, Michael had to find a way behind the fence. While talking to him, Jigsaw hinted at a secret that had shattered David Tapp's trust in the Chief of Police. After that, he disappeared and left Michael to continue his path.

Therefore, the latter tried to find another way and eventually entered a hallway with several plates on the floor. Each of them was marked with a symbol. A TV showed him the order in which he had to step on the bottom panels to pass the hallway without being fatally electrocuted. After reaching the end of the hallway, he found himself in another room with a door secured by a combination lock. Right in front of it, the words "Time is on your side" were written on the floor. Michael looked around the room and noticed three clocks hanging on the wall. They looked all the same except for a red jigsaw piece painted on one of them. The position of its clock hands, which showed 8:26, eventually told Michael the right combination.

As he opened the door, he entered a large hall. A man was trapped in a metal cage in its center. Just as Michael came closer, it was lifted by a chain, allowing the man to escape and attack Michael. Again, Michael killed his opponent in self-defense and obtained a key from his dead body. With this key, he entered the stairs and went to the upper floor. He found a fireman's ax in one of the rooms, which he used to cut the chain holding the cage. Thereby, it fell and broke through the floor. As Michael jumped into the hole and searched the basement, he was suddenly trapped inside a room with several pig carcasses hanging from metallic carts. All around him were nail bombs, which would detonate after three minutes. Michael had to move the carts in the correct order and direction and finally push the last cart against a pressure plate to stop the timer and open the next door. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Razor Box[]

Michael went on and eventually reached the kitchen of the hotel. Upon entering it, he saw a man, Zeke, whose arms were trapped in a glass box suspended from the ceiling in an adjacent room. Due to several razor blades cutting his wrists, he could not pull his hands out. A TV turned on, showing the puppet which told them how to escape the room alive. There were numerous mannequins with numbers written on their backs all around the room and several numerical sequences written all over the wall. Michael had to choose the right combination from the wall and press a button attached to each mannequin in the correct order. At the same time, Zeke had to enter the digits to open a combination lock inside the razor box.

MichaelTappCombination

Michael looks for the combination.

When the tape ended, Michael told Zeke to hold on while he tried to figure out the right combination. Zeke, however, panicked and frantically yelled at him to hurry up. Michael's only clue was that the sequence he sought started with "8." He eventually found the right combination and pressed the buttons on the mannequins in the correct order. After entering the combination, 80647, Zeke was released from the box but collapsed and lost consciousness due to the immense blood loss. As Michael approached, he saw through a window how Zeke's unconscious body was dragged away by Pighead, who had abducted Michael earlier. At the same time, another TV turned on, showing the puppet, which told Michael not to feel sorry for Zeke and revealed that he was, in fact, a child molester who had ruined the childhood of numerous little girls before his conviction. Afterward, Michael was allowed to go on. As he was about to leave the kitchen, he finally found the key to the ballroom. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Henry Jacobs' Salvation[]

HenryMichael

Michael finds Henry.

Michael returned to the lobby with the key and opened a door in the fence, where he had previously encountered Jigsaw. As he entered the ballroom, he found Henry Jacobs still strapped to a chair in front of a target, with a gun aimed in his mouth. Another TV turned on above him, showing the puppet yet again. It confronted Henry about his corruption and involvement in a drug cartel, despite his promises to rid the city of drug-related crimes. Furthermore, the doll informed him and Michael about the game's rules, saying that Henry would die if they did not switch off all the lights on the panel next to him.

When the tape ended, Michael had to correctly click the glowing buttons on the panel to turn off the lights. Eventually, he managed to do so, and the metal pole holding the gun fell back to the floor. Seconds later, Henry was released from his shackles. Afterward, he told Michael that Jigsaw had abducted several other people connected to his father's suicide. Despite some initial hesitation, Michael ultimately decided to go on and save the others, while Henry tried to make it to the entrance to find help. After that, they separated, leaving the deadly trap behind. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Shotgun Vest[]

ShotgunVest

Michael finds the vest.

Michael then entered an elevator and rode down to the pool area. Upon leaving the elevator, he found a mannequin in the middle of a small room, wearing a mechanical vest equipped with a flashlight and nine shotgun shells. The words "Live or die. Make your choice." were written on the floor. Another video recording of the puppet informed Michael that he would need the flashlight to progress. However, the shotgun shells would kill him if he strayed from his path and stayed in certain areas for too long. Michael quickly decided to put on the vest, seeing no other possibility than following the rules. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Pool Pump[]

The next door was opened just as he did so, and Michael entered a hall with a large swimming pool. In the pool was a big cage, and on top of it was a glass tank in which Sarah Blalok had been locked up. As Michael approached her, another TV turned on, and the puppet appeared on-screen, warning Michael that the water before him was energized. Sarah frantically begged Michael to save her. Therefore, he tried to calm her down and went to find the water pump to drain the pool and reach her.

While looking around the pool area to find a way to Sarah, he tried to enter an adjacent room when suddenly, the vest made a beeping sound and caused him to back off. Seconds later, Jigsaw appeared and calmly warned him not to get closer as a sensor on the wall would activate Michael's vest and kill him if he went any further. During their brief conversation, Jigsaw told Michael that he once had a son who died before he began his work. Meanwhile, Pighead passed the room and shoved the water pump into an elevator moments before his mentor followed him.

Once he was alone, Michael deactivated the sensor with a nearby panel. With his next target being the recovery of the pool pump, he entered the laundry, where he found a gear in one of the washers. With this gear, he went to the next floor and used it to repair a machine. Thereby, he was granted access to a key located behind several tanks. Michael obtained it by avoiding hot steam from numerous pipes around him and returned to safety only seconds before the tanks exploded due to the increasing pressure.

HolmesHotelMichaelCorpse

Michael proceeds through the hotel rooms.

Michael then went further upstairs and used the key on another door. A few moments later, he finally reached the fire exit and found himself in a dark backstreet. As he looked up, he saw a man on the fire exit stairs above him being brutally pushed through a door and thrown down the stairs by Pighead. After witnessing his death, Michael immediately climbed up the stairs. However, as he reached the top, Pighead had disappeared. Michael progressed through another number of rooms and eventually came across another TV. The puppet on-screen told Michael that the pool pump was nearby. However, it was too heavy to carry. Therefore, the doll advised him to use the elevator to bring it back to the lower floor. As he made his way to the pump, Michael briefly witnessed how Barry, another prisoner, burned one of the other victims alive by throwing a Molotov cocktail at him. However, he disappeared without noticing Michael, allowing the latter to reach the pump unharmed. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Patrick's Test[]

Patrick

Patrick breaks through the wall.

Michael shoved the pump through the hallways and had to evade and withstand numerous dangers and obstacles, such as locked doors, hostile prisoners, collapsing floors and ceilings, and more of Jigsaw's booby traps. However, his most dangerous obstacle was Patrick, one of the other victims, who wore a cage-like device with several pointy spikes on his head and had his hands tied up behind his back. As Michael progressed through the rooms, he saw Patrick through a hole in a decayed wall. Upon noticing his presence, Patrick ran forward and broke through the wall that separated them. Despite the pain caused by the device he was wearing, Patrick rushed toward Michael and tried to kill him. While evading his attacks, Michael saw the words "X marks the spot" written on the floor before another decayed wall. Therefore, he made Patrick run against it. After the third time, Patrick suddenly broke through the wall and fell into a bottomless, dark pit, screaming in fear as he fell to death. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Henry Jacobs' Betrayal[]

Shortly afterward, Michael reached the elevator and returned to the pool area. There, he pushed the pump back to its original position and was able to drain the pool. However, Michael still had to disconnect the power to the cage. As he passed by, Sarah angrily told him to hurry up, which resulted in a brief argument between them. Michael then continued his way and went up the next staircase. He unexpectedly came across Henry Jacobs and Joseph Poltzer and went into hiding. Upon listening to them, Michael heard how Henry ordered Joseph to find and eliminate him, as the chief was afraid that Michael knew the truth about the drug cartel they were involved in. Although Joseph did not see him as a threat, as Michael had helped them avoid being discovered, he agreed to obey Henry's orders.

After they disappeared, Michael carefully went on. Sometime later, he suddenly found himself trapped in a room with several nail bombs. Another recording of the ventriloquist puppet gave him a clue on how to escape the room and asked if he could "remember the simple details?". After that, a 90-second-timer started to count down. There were 16 monitors, each one with a different picture on-screen. Michael had to play a matching game and choose which two images fit together until all eight pairs were found. He ultimately managed to do so in time, stopping the timer and enabling himself to leave the room.

Following his escape, Michael went on and came across a large hole in the floor. As he jumped into the room below, he encountered Henry, who had somehow obtained a gun and shot at him without warning. Michael quickly took cover while Henry shot at him again and again. As he did, he tried to justify his betrayal by claiming that he had no other choice. Forced to move forward, Michael carefully ran from cover to cover while avoiding the gunshots. As he got closer, Henry eventually decided to flee. Once alone, Michael looked around and found another panel with glowing buttons, similar to the one from Henry's trap. By solving the following riddle and deactivating all the lights, Michael shut off the power and went to the next elevator. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Sarah Blalok's Salvation[]

When he returned to the pool, Sarah, still trapped in the tank, became increasingly impatient. Michael then entered the cage in the middle of the pool, climbed up a ladder, and finally reached her. However, another TV turned on, showing the puppet. It confronted Sarah about her drug problems and relapse after being offered a chance to overcome her addiction. Furthermore, it also told Michael that he had to align a few pipes outside the tank to save her.

When the tape ended, the tank immediately began filling with water. Therefore, Michael tried to align the pipes. After a while, he finally succeeded, and the tank door opened. As Sarah stumbled out of the box, Michael asked her if she was okay, which she affirmed. She also told Michael that she had worked as an informant for his father. When he asked her about the second chance his father gave to her, Sarah got angry, accusing Michael of ruining his father's life and driving him to suicide. Afterward, she climbed off the cage and ran away, leaving the room and Michael behind. However, Michael followed her through the exit door and left the hotel for good. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Elevator[]

Only moments later, Michael entered the loading dock area of another building, an abandoned chemical plant across from the hotel. He quickly left it behind and found himself in a large hall, where he saw Joseph Poltzer. The detective was trapped in one of Jigsaw's deadly contraptions and taken to the lower floor by an elevator platform. A TV turned on in front of Michael, showing the mechanical puppet, which told Michael that he had to find a way to Joseph. To get down to him, he had to use another elevator. However, it was not functional yet. A second recording of the puppet informed Michael that he had to find a lever and a control device. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Acid Vat[]

Michael went on to find the things he needed. As he entered the next hall, another TV turned on, showing the puppet again. The doll informed him about Anton, a brutal mercenary who used to attack his victims by throwing acid in their faces but was released from prison due to Michael's actions. He was trapped in a cage beside a large vat filled with acid. An acid drip was suspended above a chain. This chain was strung over the vat, across the room, and secured the cage door. It had to be destroyed to open the door because Anton held a key, which Michael needed to progress. However, he first had to find a valve to activate the drip.

While looking for it, Michael entered a storage area, where he saw a freight elevator. However, as he approached it, a large container was dropped from the ceiling and blocked his path. As he looked for another way, he entered a toilet room and saw the words "Darkness illuminates" written on one of the cabins' doors. Michael turned off his flashlight attached to the explosive vest. Thereby, he could see three numbers written on the walls with fluorescent colors. With these numbers, 620, Michael opened a door secured by a combination lock and entered a stairwell, which led him up to a control room. With a panel, he took control of a crane and used it to move the large container out of his way. After doing so, he finally entered the freight elevator, which took him to the upper floor.

As he went on, Michael found himself on a catwalk above the room where Anton was trapped. He told Anton to hit a switch in his cage, which caused a bridge to be lowered, enabling Michael to go on. Afterward, Michael went down a stairwell to a basement area and found the valve hanging from a rope. However, Henry was there and once again tried to shoot him. Michael managed to evade his gunshots by running from cover to cover and finally reached a room on the upper floor. When he hit a switch on a control panel, a wooden crate was dropped above Henry and barely missed him. However, as the box shattered on the floor, gas leaked from the chemicals inside, forcing Henry to flee the area. Afterward, Michael took the valve and returned to the room where Anton was still trapped.

He directed the acid from the drip above the chain. If Michael turned the valve too fast, the acid from the drip would cause the acid from the pool to splash over, thereby scarring Anton. This carelessness would cause him to attack Michael, who would then be forced to kill him in self-defense. However, if Michael turned the valve slowly and carefully, the acid from the drip would destroy the chain and free Anton from his cage. Afterward, Anton would thank Michael for his salvation and hand him the key. Then, he would kneel and pray for the well-being of his brother, whom Jigsaw had also abducted. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Lacquer Studio[]

After obtaining the key, Michael finally found the control device to activate the elevator leading to Joseph and immediately used it. As he was about to continue, he witnessed Sarah, who desperately begged another prisoner, a doctor named Carla Song, for drugs. After some hesitation, Carla eventually agreed and gave her what she desired. When they disappeared, Michael went on and used Anton's key to enter the lacquer studio. He spotted two large pressure plates on the back wall, each marked with an "X" sign. A message above each plate said, "X marks the spot." Michael had to shove two heavy motors against them to open the next door. However, there was a slowly rotating contraption resembling a giant rotary clothesline. Four bombs were hanging from wires attached to the contraption's four metallic arms. While pushing the motors forward, Michael had to avoid the bombs, which he eventually did successfully. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Dwayne's Test[]

Afterward, he proceeded through a large area filled with hazardous gas and passed it only moments before suffocating. Then, he went through the machine assembly area until his path was blocked by another door secured by a combination lock. Michael noticed various red lines drawn all over the walls in a small room nearby. From the correct perspective, these lines formed the numbers 4-5-2, which he used to open the lock. Upon entering the next area, he found the corroded corpse of a man surrounded by leaking acid barrels. Over the loudspeakers, Jigsaw warned him to avoid the chemicals. As he made his way forward, he evaded several acid puddles from leaking or upset barrels.

After passing the area, Michael found himself in another storage hall, where a roller door blocked his path. When he opened it by pushing a button, he encountered Dwayne, another hostile prisoner, who wore a cage-like device on his head, similar to Patrick in the hotel. Michael managed to evade his attacks as Dwayne repeatedly rushed toward him in an attempt to kill him with the spikes of his cage. By dodging his assaults, Michael caused Dwayne to run into another adjacent room with a second roller door. Afterward, he pushed the button again, closing the door and trapping Dwayne inside. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Conveyor Belt[]

Michael proceeded through the machine assembly area and eventually came across a large glass box standing on a conveyor belt with a pressure button mounted to its front part. A set of TVs turned on, and Jigsaw's puppet told Michael the box contained the lever he needed. However, it was also filled with explosives, which would detonate once the pressure button hit any obstacle. Michael started the conveyor belt and ran through the following rooms quickly. While doing so, he had to pull several carts away as they blocked the path of the box.

Eventually, he found himself in the room above Joseph, and the box arrived there undamaged, too. Michael opened it and picked up the lever. Over the loudspeakers, Jigsaw confirmed that he now had all the means necessary to activate the elevator. Therefore, Michael immediately attached the lever to a nearby panel and entered the elevator that took him down to Joseph. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Joseph Poltzer's Salvation[]

The detective was still in his trap, which resembled a metal table. Each of his limbs, as well as his head, were held in place by mechanical vises. As Michael approached him, a TV turned on, and the mechanical puppet appeared on-screen. It confronted Joseph about his crimes and involvement in the same drug cartel as Henry Jacobs, despite his promises to protect the city. Furthermore, it informed him and Michael about the game's rules, saying that Joseph would die if Michael did not save him.

JosephTrap

Michael tries to save Joseph.

Michael spotted four panels around the table, each one with nine dials. He had to turn these dials correctly to keep the hydraulic pressure low. Different colors were above, below, and on both sides of each dial. The colors between two adjacent dials had to match. Eventually, Michael accomplished his task in time, and Joseph was released from the table. When Joseph got up, he was slightly surprised that Michael had saved him. However, when Michael confronted him with his crimes, Joseph merely responded that he had to make a living and told Michael to stay out of his way. Michael promised to put him in prison if they ever escaped the plant. Joseph insulted him, stating that he would not go to jail, and then rode up the elevator and left Michael behind. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Generator Room[]

Michael went in a different direction and entered another area of the plant. As he went on, Jigsaw informed him over the loudspeakers that another victim needed his help. A few moments later, he witnessed Pighead strapping Carla Song to an elevator. However, when Michael tried to save her, the doors were closed, separating them. Another recording of the puppet told him that Carla was taken to the upper floor. He had to restore the power to the freight elevator to save her. While Michael looked around for a way to proceed, he noticed a base plate connected to a big winch by a chain. With a handle located in an adjacent room, Michael took control of that winch and suspended the bottom panel, which allowed him to enter the room below through a hole in the floor.

As he traversed the lower area, he soon reached the elevator. However, his path was blocked by a barrier made of wooden beams and razor wire, forcing him to find another way. In the next room, he saw an electronically locked door. He had to push a cart against a pressure plate to open it. Unfortunately for him, several bare cables lay on the floor between the cart and its destination. Therefore, Michael had to deactivate a nearby generator before opening the door. In the next room, several more carts blocked his way, and he had to push and pull them in the right way to free his path. However, Michael could not stay in the area for long as there were sensors that activated his vest. Because of that, he either had to hurry up or retreat occasionally. Furthermore, Barry, the insane pyromaniac he had already briefly encountered in the hotel, appeared on a catwalk above him and attacked him with Molotov cocktails.

Nonetheless, Michael overcame this obstacle and fled to the next room. Barry, however, followed him and continued to attack him from above. While evading his attacks, Michael noticed fire coming from a pipe. He redirected the gas with a valve, causing it to escape from another pipe above him. As Barry ignited his next Molotov cocktail, the pyromaniac also accidentally ignited the gas. In doing so, he caught fire and eventually died while screaming in agony and perverted satisfaction.

With the flames posing no threat anymore, Michael went on and finally reached the generator room. He successfully activated the generator with a coupler found in a small adjacent room. Over the loudspeakers, Jigsaw congratulated him for his success but told him he did not have much time left to reach Carla. Michael passed another door and climbed a ladder, leaving the generator room behind. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Steam Maze[]

In the upper area, he entered another room and encountered the next trap. One wall of the room was equipped with sharp, pointy blades and started moving toward Michael. To open the door and escape, Michael had to correctly adjust another dial panel, similar to the ones from Joseph's trap. He successfully did so and was allowed to leave the room while the wall slowly moved back into its original position.

A few moments later, Michael crawled through a vent and found himself in another room. On the lower level, he saw Sarah, who screamed for help as hot steam blocked her path. Michael mocked her for her unfriendly attitude back at the hotel, which resulted in a brief argument between them. Nonetheless, he eventually decided to help her and redirected the steam via a valve. His path, however, was blocked as well. By slowly moving forward and using the valves on the room's upper and lower levels, Sarah and Michael helped each other in turns. Their teamwork ultimately allowed Sarah to climb up a ladder to the catwalk where Michael was. Despite her initial hostility toward him, she was grateful and called Michael a good man, just like his father, David. However, when he responded that she did not know his father, she slapped him and told him that David still loved him despite having abandoned him as a child. Unwilling to talk about his father, Michael turned away. Unnoticed by him, the door behind Sarah was opened, and Pighead grabbed her. As he witnessed how he carried her away, Michael tried to help her but was held back when the door was closed again. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Gate[]

Michael then passed another door and headed back for the main hall. While doing so, Jigsaw spoke to him over the loudspeakers, asking why he was willing to make so many sacrifices to save a stranger's life while he had barely hesitated to betray his father and destroy his reputation. Shortly afterward, Michael reached the main hall and, from there, went on to the storage warehouse.

As he entered it, he found a closed roller door. Jigsaw informed him that the only way to open it was by destroying it with a bomb. After facing several more obstacles, such as an electrified floor and a chamber filled with gas, Michael found a room with a machine. Jigsaw explained that he needed to fill the two cylinders of the engine with chemicals and then mix them to create a bomb strong enough to break the door. However, he warned Michael that the bomb would explode prematurely if he mixed the chemicals before the cylinders were filled completely.

Afterward, Michael went up a stairwell to another room. Through a large grate on the floor, he spotted a storage room. Michael used another panel with glowing light buttons to open the grate and jumped down to the lower floor. He found bottles of ammonia and paint thinner in the numerous storage lockers. With these chemicals, Michael returned to the machine and filled the cylinders. Afterward, he mixed the ammonia with the paint thinner and successfully built a chemical bomb. He returned to the gate and set up the bomb before taking cover. As expected, the explosion destroyed the gate, allowing Michael to continue. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Cage Fight[]

MichaelDwayne

Michael and Dwayne in the cage

Moments later, Michael entered a big cage. When he hit a button, the doors were closed, and a smaller cage was moved in. To Michael's surprise, Dwayne was trapped in the cell. Still furious because Michael outsmarted him during their last encounter, he attacked him again once he was released. Meanwhile, Jigsaw spoke to them over the loudspeakers and told them that only one would survive this final fight. As before, Dwayne tried to kill Michael by aggressively rushing toward him to ram him with the device on his head. However, the cage walls surrounding them were divided into separate segments, which were energized by turns. Michael caused Dwayne to run into these walls by evading his attacks often enough until the latter was killed by an electric shock. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Zeke's Revenge[]

Saw-2-Review-5

Michael flees from Zeke.

Michael searched Dwayne's corpse and found the freight elevator key. However, as he could not return the same way he came, he went through another door and traversed a hallway, where he met another familiar face. Zeke, the pedophile he had saved from a trap back at the Holmes Hotel, had been waiting for him. A video of Jigsaw's puppet told Michael that, after losing his hands due to his injuries, Zeke held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, despite having been offered to leave. Zeke attacked him with two blades attached to his arm stumps as replacements for his hands, forcing Michael to run away. By throwing several obstacles in his path, such as a dumpster and a trash can, he managed to keep Zeke at a distance and ultimately escaped by jumping over a large hole in the floor. Unable to follow him, Zeke jumped into a nearby vent and disappeared. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Carla Song's Salvation[]

Michael returned to the main hall with the key and finally entered the elevator next to the one where Carla was trapped. After riding up to the upper floor, he left it again and witnessed how the doors of Carla's elevator opened. As Michael approached her, several TVs inside the elevator well turned on. The ventriloquist puppet appeared on-screen and confronted Carla about her crimes, as she had stolen medics from the free clinic where she worked. Furthermore, the doll also told Michael how to save her. Carla's arms were shackled to a metal contraption suspended from the ceiling by two chains. Likewise, her legs were bound to the top of the elevator. The elevator was held in position by four clamps attached to four metallic bars. A panel with two vertical rows of combination locks was outside the lift well. Michael had to arrange the four upper locks of each row and add them together so the two lowest locks had the same number. Doing so would eventually result in Carla's release from her shackles. However, if Michael failed his test, the clamps holding the elevator would open, and the elevator would fall down the well, thereby tearing Carla in half.

When the tape ended, Michael tried to arrange the numbers on the panel correctly, while Carla started to panic and frantically yelled at him to hurry up. Eventually, he balanced the numbers, and Carla was freed from her shackles. However, a large grid prevented Carla from leaving the lift shaft. She begged Michael not to leave her but was separated from him again when the elevator went downstairs with Carla still standing on top. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Helping Carla Song[]

Michael tried to follow her in a second elevator. As he made his way down, Jigsaw spoke to him over the loudspeakers and told him about Solomon Bates, who had escaped from the first trap back at the hotel. However, in doing so, Solomon ignored Jigsaw's clue and thereby failed his test. Michael learned that Solomon was trapped somewhere at the chemical plant and was told he was the only person alive who knew the entire truth about the cartel and David Tapp's death.

Eventually, Michael reached the lower floor and left the elevator. As he entered a large storage hall, he saw Carla in the room below. After a brief discussion, Carla activated a fuse box, enabling Michael to control a crane. With this crane, he repositioned several large crates to build a bridge, which allowed him to get to the other side of the room. There, Michael had to correctly adjust another dial panel, which opened a door on the lower level. Even though he told Carla to wait for him, she ran through the door. When Michael eventually reached the room's lower level, he saw how Henry Jacobs pursued her with a gun. However, Michael could not follow them because another door slammed shut before him. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Chuck's Test[]

Chuck

Chuck attacks Michael.

Therefore, Michael had to find another way. He proceeded through several offices and smaller storage rooms and ended up in a sewer area below the plant. As he made his way through the dark tunnels, he reached a ladder and climbed back to the upper level. Michael proceeded through another hallway when, suddenly, a roller door opened in front of him. Behind it was a small room where Chuck, a drug dealer, was chained to a metal column while standing in a puddle of water. The length of the chain around his neck allowed him to move forward to a certain distance of only a few meters. At regular intervals, a mechanism was activated, pulling Chuck back again. The only way to free himself was to take someone else to the column. However, he had several sharp, pointy razor blades pierced through his forearms and therefore had to be careful not to kill Michael.

While trying to grab him, he aggressively yelled at Michael and threatened him. As the chain pulled Chuck back, Michael embraced his opportunity and reached a set of four small combination locks. He energized the water by entering the four numbers correctly, starting with the smallest number and concluding with the highest. When Chuck was pulled back into the puddle again, he was fatally electrocuted. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Truth[]

As Michael went on, he suddenly came across Jigsaw, who waited behind a window. The latter confronted him with his past actions and played an audiotape. It contained a recording of a previous conversation between Michael and another man. While Michael's father had still investigated the Jigsaw case, he initially lied to his colleagues about the death of his partner, Sing. The man on the tape told Michael to sell the true story about the raid on Jigsaw's hideout to the editor of The Herald in exchange for a job. Michael eventually found the evidence he was looking for and sold it to the newspaper, destroying his father's reputation and causing his discharge from the police force. Angered by being confronted with his sins, Michael tried to attack Jigsaw but was held back when a roller door slammed shut between them. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Slicer[]

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Zeke ambushes Michael.

Therefore, Michael had no other choice but to go on. As he went through another area, Zeke, who was still eager to wreak vengeance on him, broke through a door and jumped at him in an attempt to impale him with his blades. However, Michael reacted fast enough to evade his assault, causing him to break through another door. Embracing his opportunity, Michael ran away and squeezed through a narrow passage to another room, where he tried to hide from Zeke. However, the latter quickly found him. Again, Michael evaded his attack and caused Zeke to run head-on against a metal pipe, briefly paralyzing him. To Michael's dismay, Zeke quickly recovered and continued his pursuit.

ZekeDeath

Zeke's death

Whenever he got the opportunity, Zeke attempted to slice Michael with his blades while taunting him with frightening threats. Eventually, Michael fled to another room and blocked the door by overturning a shelf. Zeke then tried to enter the room through the only other door. Unbeknownst to him, a trap was located behind it, consisting of a pressure plate and two large contraptions armed with blades. By pulling a lever, Michael repositioned the devices just in time. When Zeke finally broke through the door, he jumped on the pressure plate and was crushed by the contraptions, which closed in on him. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Donovan[]

After Zeke's death, another door opened behind Michael. As he traversed the next area, he witnessed a conversation between Henry Jacobs and Joseph Poltzer. Henry gave his gun to Joseph and told him that Michael must not survive as he knew too much about their criminal activities. Afterward, they separated, and Michael went on once he was alone. Moments later, he reached the influent pipes. Upon passing the area, Michael came across a door secured by a combination lock. He noticed several green, red, and blue lines painted on the floor and the walls. From the correct perspective, these lines formed the numbers 4-8-5, which allowed Michael to open the door.

Upon going on, he entered another large storage hall. There, Michael was attacked by Donovan, another prisoner who wore a cage-like contraption on his head. Furthermore, he was forced to wear another device with several even bigger spikes on his body. Donovan tried to prevent Michael from passing the area and ran toward him to kill him. Michael tried to evade his attacks whenever he rushed forward, causing the spikes to get stuck in the wooden crates around the area. Afterward, he used the opportunity to attack Donovan with whatever weapons he could find and eventually knocked him down. When Donovan was unconscious, the exit door opened, and Michael left him behind to continue his way. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Cartel[]

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Michael finds the photos.

Eventually, Michael found himself on a platform above the influent pipes. With a valve, he opened a gate in the area below. As he returned to the lower level, he found a large wooden crate behind the gate and pushed it forward onto a pressure plate. Thereby, another door was opened. Michael went on and ultimately entered a room with several photos on the wall. These photos showed all the persons involved in the drug cartel, Jigsaw's ventriloquist puppet, Michael's father, and Michael himself. Over the loudspeakers, Jigsaw explained that they all were somehow connected, meaning that everything that happened to one of them inevitably affected the others. Afterward, Michael had to solve another one of Jigsaw's riddles. Each person in the photos, including the puppet, had a specific symbol assigned to them, illustrating their role in the cartel and the game. There were 16 monitors, each showing a name or one of the symbols. Michael had to choose which symbols and names fit together until all eight pairs were found. After successfully doing so, a box on a nearby table was opened, enabling Michael to pick up a key. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Carla Song's Death[]

With the key in his possession, he soon came across a large grate. Behind the grate, Carla stumbled through a door. She apologized to Michael for her initial distrust, claiming she would work with him to escape Jigsaw's game. However, only moments later, Henry came through the same door and brutally slashed her with a pair of scissors. He told Michael that he was merely tying a loose end and stated that they were not so different when it came to protecting themselves. Afterward, Henry disappeared through the door, leaving Michael and Carla's corpse behind. Michael then returned to the area right before the influent pipes, where he found the entrance to the furnace room. After opening it with the key from the box, he entered the next area. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Solomon Bates' Salvation[]

He finally found Solomon Bates inside the room, strapped by his hands, feet, and torso to a sliding cart connected to a railing system on the ceiling. A few feet below, on the floor, were numerous pipes. Those were linked to a heater and alternated between spewing flames that would eventually burn Solomon alive. As Michael approached him, a set of TVs turned on, and the mechanical puppet appeared on-screen. It confronted Solomon about his crimes and involvement in criminal organizations while explaining that he could only survive and escape by getting to the other side of the area.

SolomonTrap

Michael tries to save Solomon.

Afterward, the TVs turned off again, and the pipes below him started spewing fire. Michael pushed the cart to which Solomon was bound to the next room. Unlike in the first room, three sets of pipes alternated between spewing flames. To get Solomon to the last room, he had to push and pull several other carts in the right way and clear the path while occasionally moving Solomon back and forth to ensure he was not hanging above the spewing pipes. The third and final room contained 16 monitors, each with a different picture on-screen. Michael had to play another matching game to open the last door and choose the corresponding images until all eight pairs were found. Eventually, he successfully moved Solomon to the end of the track, where the latter was freed from his chains and fell to the floor.

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Michael interrogates Solomon.

Michael then demanded information about the drug cartel. Solomon told him about Henry Jacobs and Joseph Poltzer, who used to steal drugs from the police station's evidence room to sell them on the streets with the assistance of Carla Song and Sarah Blalok. Furthermore, he stated that Michael's father coincidentally stumbled upon the cartel while investigating the Jigsaw case and that Sarah was supposed to knock him off their trail. Eventually, Solomon confronted Michael with his article that had destroyed his father's reputation. In a fit of rage, Michael assaulted Solomon, who evaded his attack and ran away. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Sarah Blalok's Death[]

Michael pursued him to the sewers beneath the plant. Solomon insulted him, stating that it was his fault that Jigsaw targeted them. Therefore, Michael attacked him again and caused him to back off. In his attempt to escape, he crawled through a small passage in a collapsed hallway. However, upon leaving it on the other side, Solomon was attacked by Pighead. As he tried to flee, Pighead pushed him into a pit filled with thousands of syringes and closed the door behind them, making it impossible for Michael to reach them.

Therefore, Michael went on and climbed up a ladder. Through a hole in a wall, he entered a subway tunnel, where he reencountered Sarah. When he confronted her about her involvement in the drug cartel, she admitted that she was blackmailed into spying on his father because her accomplices from the cartel were afraid that he might find out about their criminal activities. However, when she wanted to reveal the identity of Pighead to him, Poltzer suddenly snuck up on her and shot her in the head. Afterward, he aimed his gun at Michael. Michael ran from cover to cover to avoid being shot and got closer to Joseph, forcing the latter to retreat. Eventually, Joseph fled to a utility room and closed the door behind him. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Robert's Test[]

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Robert attacks Michael.

In another room nearby, Michael found several nail bombs connected to a timer. There were also 16 TV monitors with different pictures on each screen. Again, Michael had to find the matching images. He eventually managed to do so successfully, and the timer was stopped. Furthermore, a nearby shelf was opened, allowing Michael to pick up the key to the utility room. He proceeded through several rooms with the key in his possession and found himself in a big hall. In the middle of the hall, he saw Robert, another Jigsaw victim, who was chained to a metal column similar to Chuck back at the chemical plant. However, unlike Chuck, Robert was surrounded by several explosive barrels. He had the same sharp, pointy razor blades pierced through his forearms and was tasked with grabbing Michael and taking him to the column. A flammable substance, probably oil or kerosene, leaked from the barrels around him and caught fire. Michael managed to evade Robert's attacks and extinguished the fire blocking his path by turning two valves on both sides of the room to activate the sprinklers on the ceiling. Afterward, he ran past Robert and left the room. Just as he did, a roller door slammed shut behind him, and Robert was killed in an explosion. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Storage Hall[]

Michael jumped down an elevator well and eventually reached the station building's main hall. However, Joseph was there and tried to shoot Michael from behind a fence, but Michael managed to evade his attacks and escaped to the next area. Unfortunately, there was a heavy metal door blocking his way. He had to place a motor on a pressure plate to pass it. As he was still wearing the mechanical vest, which was activated by sensors around him, he would die if he stayed in the area for too long. Michael deactivated these sensors and pushed the motor onto the pressure plate, opening the door.

DonovanMichael

Donovan rushes out of the elevator.

Afterward, he passed a small alleyway and reentered the building on the other side. Thereby, he found himself in a large storage hall. Just as Michael came across an elevator, the doors opened, and Donovan attacked him. Furious to see Michael, Donovan rushed toward him and barely missed him, causing his spikes to get stuck in a crate. Another fight ensued between them, during which Donovan yelled at Michael to help and free him from his trap. When he got stuck in another box, Michael embraced his chance and hit a button on a panel nearby, which caused a large container to be dropped from the ceiling, crushing Donovan in the process. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

The Spotlight Carousel[]

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Michael on the carousel

Michael retrieved a key from Donovan's mutilated corpse and passed the next door. A few moments later, he entered another big hall. In front of him was a giant rotating carousel, divided into several segments by large fences. Additionally, several red spotlights were illuminating the carousel. As Michael went further, a TV turned on in front of him, and Jigsaw's puppet warned him to avoid the lights as they would immediately activate his shotgun vest. Nonetheless, Michael had to enter the carousel. To get to the other side of the room, he had to find a way past the fences while avoiding the red lights. By carefully moving forward, Michael ultimately overcame this obstacle and went on. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Final Encounter[]

Moments later, Michael entered the next room. Through a window, he saw Henry, who talked to Pighead. Seeing that Pighead intended to kill him, Henry tried to prevent him from doing so by threatening him that the entire police department would be after him. However, Pighead barely hesitated and stabbed him multiple times, while Michael witnessed Henry's demise from the next room. After his death, Pighead left them behind and calmly went away. Michael went in a different direction and reached a mixing station. By mixing ammonia and paint thinner found in the next room, Michael built another chemical bomb to destroy a nearby wall.

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Joseph is shot with his gun.

He entered the main hall through the hole in the wall and encountered Joseph. As before, Michael evaded his gunshots by running from cover to cover. Every time Joseph had to reload his revolver, Michael used the break in the firing to get closer to him. Thereby, he forced him to retreat. While avoiding the shots, Michael pursued Joseph to the upper floor. When he had to reload his gun again, Michael embraced the opportunity and attacked Joseph, causing them to break through a damaged wall. When they found themselves in an alleyway outside the building, they struggled for the gun. During this fight, Joseph was shot in the head and killed by the last bullet in his revolver. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Final Test[]

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Michael in the elevator room

Michael then reentered the building through a door and found himself in a dark room. As he entered the big hall, the door slammed shut behind him, and the lights turned on. Before him was a gaping chasm, and only a single wooden beam led to the other side. The last TV turned on, and Jigsaw's puppet introduced Michael to his final test. It informed him about Campbell Iman, a drug addict, who was trapped on the floor below. Once the game began, the walls and ceiling would move toward each other. To survive, Campbell and Michael had to walk across the beam to reach a glass elevator on the other side of the chasm. However, the elevator was only big enough for one of them, so the other participant inevitably had to die.

  • Path of Flesh: After the introduction to the game, the walls and ceiling began moving. Michael walked over the beam and reached the elevator in time. The door finally opened when the elevator arrived on the upper floor. Michael stumbled into a storage hall and was greeted by Jigsaw's puppet, which approached him on a tricycle and maniacally laughed at him. At the same time, three TVs turned on around him. Jigsaw informed him that he had passed his test and offered him one final choice. There were two doors before the young man. One led Michael to freedom and gave him a chance to use the evidence found by his father to print the story of Jigsaw and the drug cartel, but he was told people would forget sooner or later. The other door revealed a Pighead costume and offered Michael the chance to learn Jigsaw's methods to help others.
  • Path of Blood: After the introduction to the game, the walls and ceiling began moving. Due to Campbell's desire to see his son, he walked over the beam and reached the elevator in time. As it went up, he saw Michael, who desperately tried to enter the cabin but was crushed to death by the ceiling in front of Campbell's eyes. (Saw II: Flesh & Blood)

Personality[]

After growing up without a father figure, Michael Tapp had to teach himself how to survive and make a living. Due to his father's abandonment and the way he treated his mother, Michael held a strong grudge against him. Eager to get revenge on him, he did not hesitate to destroy his father's reputation when he got the chance.

Michael was also a very selfish individual who blamed his father for all of his problems. However, throughout his game set up by Jigsaw, he realized his mistakes and admitted that his actions were not born from his wish to publish the truth and be a good reporter but rather from his egoistic desire for revenge. Therefore, he might have ultimately forgiven his father as he understood he was no better than him.

Appearances and References[]

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