the moral of undertale - part 1: letting go

(undertale spoilers)

undertale is a game filled with lessons that have great merit even in real life. one such lesson is that people are more than their first impression. another is how one should treat others with kindness. undertale shows that, even in the face of intense opposition, mercy is always an option, even if that mercy involves running away. however, there is an overarching theme that resounds throughout the game: one must learn to let go of the hardships from one’s past in order to move on and find happiness. nevertheless, the road to letting go can be wrought with adversity.

unable to let go

each of the dreemurrs have the hardest time letting go because they have suffered the biggest loss. before the events of undertale, each member is consumed with emotions that make them unable to move on.

consumed with anger, asgore declares war

after asriel perished, asgore was consumed by anger. he declared war on humanity, promising to kill all humans who fell into the underground – even if they were children.

toriel resents asgore for his actions



because asgore declared war on the humans, toriel left him and the kingdom. she could not let go of her resentment, and the kingdom suffered as a result.

flowey couldn’t cope with chara’s death

after he was brought back to life as a flower, flowey couldn’t cope with the loss of chara.

his inability to cope may be why asriel in the pacifist route is so desperate to keep frisk (who he projects chara onto) trapped with him forever. this is a deterimental coping mechanism as he uses it to avoid having to accept not only chara’s death but the horrific events that led to his own death as well. he blames himself for the tragedies he experienced instead of facing them.

flowey’s overwhelming desire to have his best friend back may also be why he will blindly support chara in the genocide route, regardless of the danger chara poses to him.

chara hated humanity

chara’s hatred of humanity was the driving force behind their plan. their hatred was so strong that they were willing to sacrifice their own life for their cause.

it’s important to note that asriel shares this information before he comments on how different frisk is from chara. he then mentions one last important thing – how chara attempted to use their “full power” to kill the humans. this caused asriel to resist, leading to both their deaths.



ASRIEL:

There’s one last thing I feel like I should tell you.

Frisk, when Chara and I combined our SOULs together…

The control over our body was actually split between us.

They were the one that picked up their own empty body.

And then, when we got to the village…

They were the one that wanted to…

…to use our full power.

I was the one that resisted.

And then, because of me, we…

Well, that’s why I ended up a flower.

letting go & moving on

throughout the neutral route and the pacifist route, each family member learns that they must let go of the past to move on towards a brighter future.

toriel lets go of frisk & her resentment

the moral of “letting go” is seen as early as in the tutorial.

despite her own wants, toriel realises she has to let frisk go. she understands that she cannot keep frisk trapped in the ruins forever. she concludes that, if frisk wants to leave, it is their decision – not hers. in the pacifist route, toriel even puts her animosity toward asgore aside in order to follow the human – not to drag them back to the ruins, but rather to ensure frisk and asgore’s safety.

TORIEL:

At first, I thought I would let you make your journey alone…

But I could not stop worrying about you.

Your adventure must have been so treacherous.

…and ultimately, it would burden you with a horrible choice.

To leave this place, you would have to take the life of another person.

You would have to defeat ASGORE.

However… I realized…

I cannot allow that.

while toriel does not forgive asgore, she does let go of her resentment in order to reclaim her principles: that no one should die for the sake of another.

asgore lets go of his obligations

overcome by guilt and grief, asgore lets go of his anger towards the humans who killed asriel and does not fight frisk with his full power. instead, he seems to resign himself to the fight and peacefully accepts his death at frisk’s hands to give them freedom.

ASGORE:

I just want to see my wife.

I just want to see my child.

Please… Young one…

This war has gone on long enough.

You have the power…

Take my soul, and leave this cursed place.

asgore appears to have let go of his rage a long time ago, but this scene marks the moment that asgore lets go of his obligation to his kingdom in order to stand by what he believes is right and a better future for all of monsterkind.

asriel lets go

after asriel is saved, he performs the most selfless act in the game – he releases all the souls he had captured, even though this means he will no longer be himself. he resigns himself to a meaningless life as a soulless flower in order to grant happiness to all of monsterkind by breaking the barrier.

ASRIEL:

Without the power of everyone’s souls…

I can’t keep maintaining this form.

In a little while…

I’ll turn back into a flower.

I’ll stop being “myself.”

I’ll stop being able to feel love again.

what is so important about this is that, regardless if frisk forgives asriel or not, he will do what’s right.

whether or not asriel is comforted, he will give the same dialogue. however, when comforted, he quietly confesses how he truly feels.

even though it’s the hardest thing in the world, asriel lets go of his new friend and another chance at life in order to restore everyone else’s lives. asriel realises that his time has passed, and he must move on so everyone can live their lives. he mentions this at the flowerbed in the ruins.

ASRIEL:

Frisk, please leave me alone.

I can’t come back. I just can’t, OK?

I don’t want to break their hearts all over again.

It’s better if they never see me.

if frisk continues to speak with asriel at the flowerbed, he will reiterate the importance of this lesson once more.

ASRIEL:

This whole time, I’ve blamed myself for that decision.

That’s why I adopted that horrible view of the world.

“Kill or be killed.”

But now… After meeting you…

Frisk, I don’t regret that decision anymore.

I did the right thing.

If I killed those humans…

We would have had to wage war against all of humanity.

And in the end, everyone went free, right?



asriel admits that he has regretted his actions his whole life, up until now. it took his entire existence as flowey to learn this lesson, and he passes this message to frisk, and by association, the player.

there’s nothing that can be done to keep asriel as himself. frisk and the player must accept asriel’s choice and move on. this is why asriel chooses not to let his parents know about his fleeting return. he recognizes they are finally recovering and getting their life back on track – they’re finally letting go.



chara & the player must let go

the player cannot restore life to asriel or the other fallen humans. they must accept how their lives ended and move forward along with toriel and asgore.

flowey takes this lesson one step further by asking the player directly if they can let go of their attachment to the game and move on. after completing the pacifist route and restarting the game, flowey will appear and plead to “chara” to not reset.

FLOWEY:

So, please.

Just let them go.

Let Frisk be happy.

Let Frisk live their life.

But.

If I can’t change your mind.

If you DO end up erasing everything…

You have to erase my memories, too.

I’m sorry.

You’ve probably heard this a hundred times already, haven’t you…?

Well, that’s all.

See you later…

Chara.

players often express that they want to play more of undertale, but their good will prevents them from committing a true reset. in order to attain a truly happy ending, the player must prove that they have taken asriel’s lesson to heart and permanently quit “the game.”

letting go is flowey’s last request to chara (and, by association, the player).

conclusion

each member of the dreemurr family experiences hardship that requires letting go in order to move on in life. while forgiving others is an option, it’s neither expected nor required. what matters more than forgiveness is letting go of past grudges, hatred, and lost ones to move forward with others.

whereas the importance of letting go is the predominant moral in the pacifist route, there is the other half of the lesson as well. the next segment focuses on the genocide route, and why refusing to let go paves the way for misery.

» the moral - part 2: the consequences of holding on