Yep I wasn't totally sold on that premise, maybe it was too subtle for me. It was 98% chance suicide so I needed it sold well. And yes he was merged I wanted to see him in his own right though I liked him as a character.

My reaction immediately was that he was dead, it was the sudden silence and nobody around. Plus the guards would have been scared he'd shoot THEM so self preservation would have kicked in.

If he survived I'm 100% sure Ray's mom would take care of him. He's her only connection to her son and she'd want to honour Ray's feelings about him. I really believe that would keep him alive, he'd have a family and he'd want to stay alive to keep mom going.