Second Sun/Trivia

Before the EMP

 * When waking up in the chopper at the start of this level, the player's vision starts off clear, while in "Of Their Own Accord" vision is mostly blurred.
 * Before being given the M4A1, iron sights are seen on the model. But when the player has it out, the deactivated holographic sight replaces the iron sights.
 * Pvt. Wade, who gives the player a weapon after the crash, may look different than from the mission 'Of Their Own Accord". This discrepancy is because his appearance is randomly generated.
 * Using PC cheats, using "noclip" and flying under the map will reveal that the outer space scene is actually under the map.
 * In 'Of Their Own Accord', Ramirez can use Night-vision goggles, and is able to use them during the squad's last stand in the crash site. However, at the start of 'Second Sun', those goggles disappear.
 * If the player does not use up all of the ammo while in the helicopter, the mag that is received from Wade disappears.

In Space

 * The part where the player controls Sat1 was supposed to be in a separate level/interactive cutscene called International Space Station, similar to "The Coup and Aftermath". It was merged with this level in the final version of the game for unknown reasons.
 * Monsoon.jpg during the monsoon.]]The in-game appearance of ISS is modeled after the configuration the station from 2002-2005. The current configuration (as of November 2009) is different, in that the Station is slightly larger with the second and the third(~02.2010) nodes and the European and Japanese labs installed and the P6 Solar Arrays have been relocated from the top of the Z1 truss as seen in-game to the port side of ISS, with another set of solar arrays on the starboard side. The 2009 configuration is actually close to how the station will look when completed in 2011.
 * The astronaut in the ISS scene appears to be grappled to some sort of a satellite. Such a spacewalk would be impossible to conduct from ISS, as all spacewalks conducted on ISS are tethered, where the astronaut is connected physically to the station, and it would be impractical to investigate a satellite from the ISS.
 * The crew of ISS, as seen in game, appear to be American. As ISS is an international venture, there are typically astronauts from all nations on board, and every ISS crew to date has included at least one Russian astronaut (or "cosmonaut"). It's possible with the political situation in Russia, space flights to ISS were suspended, although two Russian Soyuz spacecraft can be seen docked to the station. However, the spacecraft being docked is entirely plausible as the Soyuz are launched on a six-month basis (thus would have been launched just prior to the unrest) and remain up there until just before the next craft is launched for use as "escape pods" in case of an emergency.
 * When "controlling" the astronaut, if the player looks anywhere but where the missile is coming from, ISS will say: "Sat1, rotate your view a little further to the right would ya?". Also, the missile seemingly will not appear until looking to the right, so no matter how long the player keeps looking left, the missile won't explode. If looking just a little, the player can see the light from the missile at the horizon, but it won't fly any further.
 * While the concept of a low-orbit nuke detonating and causing a widespread EMP has been readily tested and demonstrated, no shock-wave would ever reach the ISS because, at perigee (closest approach to earth) it is at 341 km altitude and there is no medium via which a physical shock-wave could be transmitted. The station would not suffer any ill effects from the detonation as the majority of the damage caused by an EMP from a nuke (E1 and E2) is created by interaction with the earth atmosphere and the last element of the EMP (E3) only effects very long conduction paths. Solar flares create a similar effect when interacting with the earth magnetic field and the ISS would be designed to survive these so would be able to cope with the nuke detonation even if it did contain sufficiently long wires.
 * The nuke most likely exploded over the Atlantic ocean, if the player looks at the areas affected, the only places on the east coast of North America that weren't hit by the EMP were Florida and parts of Newfoundland in Canada, meaning that many major Canadian cities also experienced the EMP effects also.
 * The EMP apparently did not knock out power in southern Georgia, Florida, or eastern Massachusetts because lights can be seen from Sat1.
 * The nuke would never be able to reach as far as it did from a submarine launch. Assuming Contingency takes place somewhere in Eastern Siberia, it is simply too far away to be launched in an east-to-west fashion. The farthest it could possibly be launched from the submarine west would be in about Kazhakstan, even if fired to the east of Russia, it could only reach about Denver, pretty far away from Washington D.C but then again it is 2016 so new nukes with longer range could have been designed.
 * The player can notice that there are no clouds around before the EMP goes off, but later in Second Sun it is a thunderstorm.
 * New Hampshire, Maine and Florida are the only states not affected by the EMP.
 * The Earth is only visible during the cutscene, if the player would use PC cheats to fly under the map during the cutscene and then stay there after it, the Earth will not be there afterwards.

After the EMP

 * Once Sandler frees Ramirez from the Black Hawk, Wade's body will have vanished.
 * This level is the last time the player hears from Overlord, who calls on Dagger 2-1 after it is shot down. Comms were down after Price's EMP crippled all electronics in the area.
 * When helicopters are falling from the sky, the player has unlimited sprint. Interestingly, the player won't have unlimited sprint when replaying the level on the PC version.
 * The player cannot remain outside, despite avoiding the helicopters. If looking up, a never-ending stream of helicopters falling from the sky can be seen (from altitudes no normal helicopter would fly at). One of these, a Little Bird (identifiable because it spins continuously), will actually "track" the player and will always crash close enough to kill them, regardless of where the player is on the street. If the player makes it inside, that same Little Bird will crash outside the building, preventing any exit.
 * An interesting thing to note is that the holographic sight is already blacked out the moment the player returns to Ramirez, even though the EMP reaches him after everything else in sight.
 * An interesting thing to note is that when the player, along with the Rangers, enters the building, the M4A1 fills up full with ammo and M203 grenades are fully replenished as well. Additionally, the player now has a sidearm (the Pistol). This is actually because there is a table full of ammunition on it in the cafe (this is obviously unrealistic.) Note that even if the player does not even get close to the replenish table, their weapon will still be filled up.
 * Oddly enough, Cpl. Dunn yells "EMP!" when the debris is falling, but later on, he questions if the other Ranger's "Red Dots" are working maybe to make sure.
 * Dunn is the first to notice that optics are offline, saying "Hey, is your Red Dot workin'? Mine's out." However, if looking at his weapon, the player will see he is actually using a Thermal Scope, which appears to be working.
 * As with "Game Over", there is a way to obtain three weapons. As the helicopters start falling, run to the area where the first helicopter crashes dangerously close to Dunn. If the player maneuvers around it carefully, one should be able to pick up an enemy weapon (often an AK-47 or a FAL). Continue on as normal until getting to cover inside the building. When a deafening explosion goes off, the player gains max ammo in the M4A1 and also gains an M9, while also keeping the third weapon. The player can keep them for as long (the weapons can even be carried over to the next level) as one wants and swap them out for other weapons.
 * The Boeing that crashes outside of the building where the player takes cover makes strange noises when approaching it. Likely because of the metal warping under such intense heat.
 * When exiting the helicopter, run left as fast as possible, and the player will see a van intact. This van has no physical properties as the player can run through it, however it is scripted for a helicopter to land on it, so if the player runs into it, he/she will die. If re-attempting this once the helicopter falls on it, it regains its physical properties.
 * Dunn is wounded outside the Blackhawk, but after the EMP detonates, he seems fine.
 * During the Helicopter rain a total of 3 Rangers fall from the sky, 2 land with a Black Hawk across the street 1 in the middle of the road and the other by the small concrete fence while one is in the Black Hawk although they're hard to see because Sandler is pulling the rubble out of the way, the other is the Ranger who lands on the police car [Listed below].
 * If the player focuses straight ahead when the EMP blast goes off, they can see several Russian troops freezing because of the sky, then running away from the battlefield and out of sight when aircraft starts to fall.

Moving up

 * After everything goes quiet, the debris resulting from the EMP blocks the path between the cafe and the crash site; the player can only go forward from there.
 * There is a glitch when after Cpl. Dunn leaves the building after the Little Bird crashes, blocking the way the player came in, if looking to the left of the bus there is a police car that has not been destroyed by the EMP. This was most likely overlooked by Infinity Ward due to the fact that most likely no one would look in that direction if trying to beat the level as fast as possible.
 * There is a scene during the helicopter rain where a US Ranger falls on top of a police car and it blows up on impact. If the player is quick enough and puts the cross-hairs on him, it will flash his name showing he is alive when he falls on the car. This could have been done to show the severity of the EMP (Ranger fell off the helicopter he was riding) or as an attempt at dark comedy by Infinity Ward.
 * If the player runs past the squad to the door where the runner comes out from, look inside the window to the right and he'll see that the runner appears at the door.
 * Just before meeting the runner, the traffic lights are still blinking red. Even though the EMP was supposed to destroy all electronics.
 * If the player follows the runner when he runs off, he will eventually jump over a downed helicopter and the player can't follow.
 * Like in "Wolverines!", it is rumored that Ramirez can be heard speaking. After Cpl. Dunn says, "Is your red dot working? Mine's out." A ranger can be heard replying "Mine's out too, this is weird bro." This can be heard from anywhere, including the office in which the player receives more ammunition for the M4A1. As with other trivial dialogue, no one's mouths move.
 * The aircraft on the street ahead that Cpl. Dunn comments on is a Boeing 777-200ER, which is a fly-by-wire aircraft. This explains why it was downed so quickly after the EMP hits.
 * It's strange that a civilian airliner was flying over D.C. in the first place, considering the Washington D.C. area is restricted airspace. Although the FAA, Air Force and NORAD are probably too focused on defending the country rather than worrying about unauthorized aircraft invading "no-fly" zones. It is also possible that the aircraft was used in a Dunkirk-esque evacuation of Washington D.C to ferry civilians out of the city.

Office Shootout

 * Many of the buildings in this level and the next level have pictures of William Henry Harrison, the President who served the shortest term, after dying only a month into office.
 * The player can break the small window next to the door to the offices and use grenade launcher to kill the enemies. For some reason they don't fire back. However, if the player uses a hand grenade, the enemies fire back and the player's squad does not fire back at all until scripted.
 * The dead rangers have burns on their face.
 * Oddly, after destroying lights built into the roof, they spark even though all electricity has supposedly been cut off by the EMP.
 * When Foley tells Dunn to check the corpse after exiting the office, Dunn reports that the man is a goner, but the subtitles spell goner with an extra N.

Final Firefight

 * At one part in the level the player kills three men trying to open what looks like a fried BTR-80. After eliminating these threats, Cpl. Dunn says, "What about the guys inside?" Sgt. Foley responds, "What about 'em?" Listening closely the player can hear trapped Russian soldiers banging on the internal walls and saying something in Russian. They only say this once when triggered and they do not speak again after. Dunn's remark about the Russians in the BTR could be a nod to earlier Call of Duty installments. In earlier titles, allied characters would always finish off a stricken vehicle by throwing a grenade down the hatch.
 * Also, if the player fires at the BTR prematurely, the Russian soldiers both inside and outside the vehicle will not notice.
 * It is odd how the soldiers trying to get the other soldiers out of the BTR don't even hear the gunfire happening in the office building less than 100 meters from their position. However, there was torrential rainfall in the area at the time, which may have made it much harder to hear.
 * If the player happened to retrieve RPGs from the soldiers in the offices, they do no damage to the BTR.
 * It is strange that near the area where Foley sees several unidentified soldiers near the bus, there is a pickup truck with the twisted remains of a M2 Browning machinegun loaded in the back. It is possible that the pickup truck armed with a machinegun was used by local civilian resistance to defend themselves against the Russian forces. There is another one by the crashed plane by the cafe.
 * If the player fires at the unidentified soldiers near the bus before the whole scene plays out, Foley will still throw the flare at them for lighting to see where the Russian soldiers are.

President's Bunker

 * Despite telling Ramirez to take point, Foley, Dunn, and McCord will not wait for Ramirez to reach the stairwell. They will move on, regardless of the player's position.
 * When at the President's bunker under the Eisenhower building, Cpl. Dunn says he thought it was under the West Wing, but Sgt. Foley says that one's "for tourists" and this one must be the real thing. In a real map, the Eisenhower Building is actually west of the White House. When starting the next level, Whiskey Hotel, the player somehow starts east of the White House when in this level the player ended west.
 * The President's bunker door is unrealistically thin, and looks like it could easily be destroyed by explosives. The roof is also too thin; no way would a bunker for such a high-profile person be penetrated so easily by what appears to be either a mortar or Howitzer round.

Miscellaneous

 * This is the only level, besides "No Russian", that contains no intel.
 * This is the only level in Modern Warfare 2 where the player controls two characters within the same level (Ramirez and Sat1), also being the first in the franchise. There are several missions in Call Of Duty: Black Ops, where the player is able to control two characters in one level, or even three in WMD.
 * In the briefing part of the level, Shepherd is talking to the Secretary of Defense about the incoming ICBM's possibly destroying Washington D.C., stating that "we've rebuilt it before, we can rebuild it again." This is a reference to the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain, in which the British burned down the White House.
 * As in "Exodus" and "Wolverines!", it is implied that during the five years in between Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 there has been a second Cold War.
 * Ramirez sustained severe injuries to both hands, yet this doesn't affect his aim or use of weapons in the slightest. The gashes can be seen throughout this level when reloading or switching weapons. However, in the next level, Whiskey Hotel, it seems that they have been treated and/or he has been issued or found a new pair of gloves.
 * After having left the building where the player takes shelter from the falling helicopters, if looking at the news-post, the headline for the newspapers reads "Call of Duty 2."
 * The heavy rainstorm that occurs during the later half of this mission is likely in reference to an actual storm that broke out while the British occupied D.C during the War of 1812. Accounts of the storm range from a strong thunderstorm to a tornado that ripped through the British encampment, killing several British soldiers. While evidence does suggest that a storm did break out in Washington, the exact nature of the storm is disputed. Regardless, it saved much of the still-burning Washington and drove the British from the city.
 * The timer in this level is 18:57 (6:57pm), 22 minutes after the timer in "Of Their Own Accord," 18:35 (6:35pm). If the player was able to clear the previous two levels in less than 22 minutes, the time lapse of these events should be accurate.


 * This level has the most profanity in Modern Warfare 2.
 * This level is widely considered by fans to be the least difficult on Veteran difficulty as there are only two fire fights. One in the office and one outside the bunker in the "monsoon". It is one of the shortest levels in Modern Warfare 2, similar to S.S.D.D.


 * The EMP would have resulted in many civilian casualties, since the helicopters evacuating them would crash when the EMP hit.
 * Dunn seems to be freaked out by the EMP because he didn't use profanity in "Wolverines!", when he said "F" instead of the actual profane word, yet in Second Sun, he doesn't hesitate to use profanity.
 * The beginning of this level is the first player action in Call of Duty history to not take place on earth.
 * All the fighters seen in Washington i.e. during missions Second Sun and Whiskey Hotel, are Russian made.
 * This mission's title may be a reference to Icarus in "Die Another Day" or the EMPs explosion being as bright as a "Second Sun".