The conflict and pacification between Valentine and The Judge mirrors the struggles and reconciliation in one’s mind between faith and cynicism. After all the darkness he/she has seen, one learns to cherish that younger self who still has belief in everything. Thus the survival with a ray of hope in the end.
Nobody's gonna love you the way I loved you.At times I couldn't stand it.I used to think of you.I'd think, "Deborah lives.She's out there. She exists."And that would get me through it all.