Maybe not from Guybrush’s perspective. But as a player, that’s the McGuffin I chased the whole game. Of course I’d try to open it when the chance presents itself!
Not sure if they’d make such a last-minute addition, or if it was planned from the start. But in either case, I found it very powerful. When all those interludes played, where Elaine figures out what Guybrush had done, my first thought was “oh man, we’re in for a divorce!”. Since I wasn’t exactly sure where in the timeline RtMI falls, and I was pretty certain they weren’t married in Escape and Tales (but I might be wrong), that could have explained how things went down. So finding out she didn’t take it all too seriously, and that I was able to justify my actions came as a big relief.
That said, in one of the comment in the spoiler thread, someone noted that Elaine shows a rather motherly attitude towards Guybrush. And I think that also shows here. After all, which mother wouldn’t still love their child, even if he’s a bit of a rascal. In the ending of MI2, the mother’s name is Elaine. At the end of RtMI, Elaine leaves with Boybrush for another adventure/play she devised. I’m wondering if at that point, those two are there in reality, or just present in older Guybrush’s imagination. So is he just reminiscing about his own childhood and his mother, or is that his wife and son? Somehow, I lean more towards the former. That also poses the question: is the Scrapbook real or fake?
To me, the secret has been revealed (or confirmed), but it only raises more questions …