Undertale is full of deep and multi-layered characters. Therefore, it's just natural that they can be seen in many different — and conflicting — ways.
NOTE: All spoilers will be unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
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The Human Child
- Given The Reveal that the protagonist, Frisk is in fact an entirely independent entity from both the player and the Fallen Child, guesses as to their exact personality abound. Are they only responsible for the True Pacifist run, while Genocide is the result of Chara's corrupted self controlling them thanks to your actions? Did they choose Genocide and then lose control? Were they in control the whole way?
- Not to mention, and even more disturbing, what the bloody hell ARE THEY? Chara will explicitly tell you that the determination comes from Frisk and not them (unless, of course, the determination Chara was speaking for was directed at you, which only raises more questions), meaning that this small child is so determined to survive that they literally warp time and space to keep moving forward. Not only that, but they are inhumanly powerful. While the explanation of LOVE tearing through monsters is one thing, you can destroy Undyne and do defeat Asgore even without a drop of LOVE. And the "Monsters lose to LOVE" explanation falls flat when confronted with Photoshop Flowey and Asriel Dreemurr. Both are the result of multiple human SOULs combining with one or more monster souls... and Frisk can rip them apart or outlast them to a standstill just as easily. Flowey gets away because of SAVEs, and Asriel because Frisk wants to SAVE them, but according to the lore, the human child should have been powerless before them both.
- There's also a question Asriel raises if you talk to him after the Pacifist Ending — why were they on Mt. Ebott in the first place, even though they most likely knew about the danger? Asriel hints that the Fallen Child didn't go there "for a very happy reason," but concedes that Frisk is a fundamentally different person.
Asgore Dreemurr
- Is he a genuinely good person placed into an impossible situation who only did what he had to do; a wicked schemer who got away with several murders and planning the destruction of mankind; a coward unable to live up to his promises; or a coward unable to go back on an extremely bad, wrath-induced decision because he can't stand up to his own subjects?
- Regarding his plan, did Asgore hesitate out of cowardice... or out of pragmatism and intelligence? Had he gone and attempted to take several human souls like Toriel suggested, it would have alerted humanity, and despite Asgore's increased power, there was a chance he would've been injured or even killed and could have even led to the extinction of monsters. Then consider how much time could've passed since Asgore would've gotten the first soul and how humanity has advanced since then, especially when you consider the modern-day weapons humans would now have to slaughter monsterkind with. While he may not have wanted to go through with the plan at all, choosing to wait in the underground for any stray humans to arrive is more logical in the long run. While some would call it a long shot, considering that several children have made it there to fulfill the requirements in what seems to be a relatively short period of time, the idea still possessed merit. Furthermore, no one would bother looking for the missing people since they would be assumed dead, having died from falling into the mountain. He would've gotten the souls and maintained an element of surprise on humanity, and with how much time has passed, could've convinced his subjects not to wage war, since they finally made it to the surface.
- Regarding his motives for making the plan. Does he actually want to take the surface back for the monsters? Does he simply want to give the monsters a new source of hope after the tragic loss of their prince? Or is he lying to himself and Frisk, and is revenge part of his motivations?
Toriel
- On relationships: Did she leave Asgore because she wanted nothing to do with his plans, to save the children that she knew would fall through the hole on Mt. Ebott, or did she have a problem just with the specifics of the plan and her husband being unwilling to go all the way? How much anger did she share with him over the death of their son, and to what degree has she mellowed out since then?
- On personality: Is she just as bad as Asgore because, through her pacifism and relinquishing her crown, she essentially condemned the entirety of monster-kind to a futureless, bleak eternity beneath Mt. Ebott? Or does she believe that life underground is better for monsters than on the surface, given how one-sided the war was, and that the humans killed Asriel simply for wanting to return his friend's body?
- Toriel condemned Asgore for his weakness, saying he could have taken one soul, left the underground, gathered six more souls outside, and opened the barrier that way, instead of waiting for humans to fall in and condemning the monsters to despair. Which begs the question of whether she would have wanted him to go kill humans to harvest their souls, or simply borrow the necessary souls from humans dying naturally; the ambiguity tends to make her come off as much more bloodthirsty than him. In addition, when she said this, did she mean she actually supported the general plan, or was she telling Asgore to stop dressing up his actions as noble by saying that if he really wanted to save his people that way, he could have done it already?
- Some have called Toriel out on being a hypocritical coward since, as Queen, she could've done the same thing using the Souls, and rather than do anything, she ran away from her past and abandoned her husband onto a dark path while criticizing him for handling a complicated issue alone.
- That said, Toriel doesn't actively advocate for murdering six children on the surface instead of murdering seven children that fall. She might have suggested the surface option as being better than what Asgore actually tried to do, but still not a good thing. She says herself that she doesn't think that it's right for a human to die just for someone to leave the Underground.
- For that matter, is she a caring, healthy mother, or an overbearing, tyrannical Control Freak? She does resort to physical violence when Frisk disobeys her, and bakes the same pie regardless of how Frisk answers her question about flavors. Does Frisk matter to her as a person at all, or just as a thing she can impose her will upon?
- If Toriel survives in the Neutral ending, she returns to being queen and decrees that humans must be treated as friends, but if a fair number of characters are dead, she'll be forced to abdicate and return to the Ruins. Does she have stronger principles than Asgore does by virtue of refusing to let the demands of her subjects or her emotions sway her, or is she too weak-willed and ineffectual to lead well? Or is the political climate too hostile to the idea of peace after the death of a royal family member, which means neither she nor Asgore could have dissuaded the monsters from wanting revenge?
- The neutral endings vary depending on how many monsters are killed (and who); Toriel is only forced to abdicate if a lot of monsters were killed (or if either Papyrus or Undyne is dead, or even both). If you play the Neutral route more or less pacifistic, the monsters are a lot more accepting of her new rule and law on humans.
- Toriel is the first non hostile friendly monster you meet in the underground and she solves some puzzles for you while making sure you're not hurt. After arriving at her house, she is not only overjoyed that she has company again in a long time, she even has a room set up for you and lessons prepared to educate you. If you try to leave her so you can return to your home with the humans, she blocks the way and attacks you to see if you're really capable of standing up on your own two feet. Is Toriel an extreme case of My Beloved Smother or is she just really worried about the player character's safety and doesn't want anything bad to happen to them? It's only during the true pacifist route where you discover that Toriel and her husband had two kids of their own- one biological and another adopted- that died at the same time before the game started.
Sans
- Is he so lazy because that's just how he is, or because he knows everything he does could be undone at any moment and doesn't even bother trying? He even lampshades this during his boss battle.
- The fact that Sans' personality doesn't seem to have changed in Deltarune, where no timeline shenanigans are going on in the real world (Flowey doesn't exist and Kris doesn't seem to ever have used their save file before the start of the game
◊, nor do they ever use it during the game outside the Dark World) points to the former. - Alternately, was he originally "just" lazy but then gave in to despair after all the timeline shenanigans happened in the Undertale universe?
- The fact that Sans' personality doesn't seem to have changed in Deltarune, where no timeline shenanigans are going on in the real world (Flowey doesn't exist and Kris doesn't seem to ever have used their save file before the start of the game
- Is he suffering from depression? Is this over his guilt at not being able to save anyone? Is it connected to Gaster in some way?
- His awareness of the fact that he exists within a repeating timeline has inspired a lot of fan speculation and discussion in terms of how it affects him emotionally and psychologically, especially since he's intentionally meant to be a character that's difficult to get into the head of.
- For that matter, is he truly aware of the other timelines? There have been numerous instances where he refers to the "glint" in Frisk's eyes and even makes mention of it before his boss fight. It could be that he's just reading Frisk and filled in the gaps.
- Is he trying to befriend the Human Child on the Pacifist and some Neutral playthroughs because he just wants to, or to keep The Anomaly attached and entertained so they most likely won't go on a killing spree? Or maybe both?
The Fallen Human
There is an enormous range of interpretations of the first child who fell into the Underground, to the point where virtually every mention of them on this wiki contradicts every other mention of them.
- Most fanworks tend to depict them as callous, untrustworthy and sometimes downright evil due to their Genocide route role being their only true appearance and their most memorable impact, but that's where the similarities stop.
- It's clear that they hated humanity and wanted to get revenge, but what about monsters? Did the first child care for their adoptive family and want to help the monsters escape the Underground, or was that just a manipulative ploy? Were they always a monster (figuratively, not literally), or does the No Mercy path transform them into one as a result of the player's influence?
- Given that a concept storyboard for the scene at the climax of the Asriel fight depicted Chara happily eating pie with Asriel◊, as well as it being implied that they were the one who made the hand-knit sweater for Asgore, indicates that they did seem to care for the Dreemurr family.
- And why exactly did the Fallen hate humanity? Were they just a sociopathic jerk from the start, or did they actually have a good reason for such an attitude? Could it possibly be tied to why they decided to go to Mt. Ebott in the first place? Considering their official status as an extension of the player, both possibilities could be equally true.
- Was the first child even human? Although they have been a SOULless entity similar to Flowey/Asriel since their death, were they really human to begin with? At the end of a second Genocide playthrough, they refer to themself as a demon, but do they mean this literally, metaphorically (similar to how Asriel is dubbed "The Absolute God of Hyperdeath"), or did they end up that way through the player's actions? Was it even the first child themself that set everything in motion, or were they possessed by something else, the way Frisk becomes if you play the Genocide route to the end?
- An interpretation Played for Laughs is that in the corrupted Golden Ending, even though they're now possessing Frisk, they're not actually powerful enough to do more than Poke the Poodle. The prototypical example is to assume The Stinger you get in that ending is the entirety of Chara's exploits — if you choose to stay with Toriel, Chara... disrupts Frisk's sleep and possibly steals their pie. Or if you said you have places to go, Chara can't do more than vandalize Frisk's memento.
- Another possibility is that they don't actually want to hurt anybody in the corrupted Golden Ending — all they're doing is reminding the player of what they’ve done and that they can't be forgiven.
- However, it's likely that Frisk's low LV is the reason Chara would go to kill them all in The Stinger, since they need to increase their LV back to 20 again. Just how much power a LV 20 human possesses in comparison to other humans (and whether it means anything on the surface) is left unclear.
- There are many hints littered throughout the game that the Fallen Child is the narrator of all the routes, not just the No Mercy route, because of how when the Fallen is in control, looking into the mirror results in "It's me, [Playername]" as the narration text, but when the Fallen isn't, it says "It's you!" or "It's still you, Frisk". If such an interpretation is true, then it adds a new layer to the Fallen's characterisation, as the narrator in the Pacifist and Neutral paths have shown a more dynamic, vibrant, and even sassy personality, and even seems to detest conflict at times, suggesting ways in which Frisk can resolve the battles peacefully. You can find a very well done in-depth analysis here (PDF copy of original post).
- This interpretation adds a whole new layer of sadness to the No Mercy route, as the player's bloodlust corrupts whatever is left of the fallen child from someone who helps Frisk through the Underground, despite their hatred of humanity, into someone who assists them in their slaughter of the monsters they once lived with and would kill Asgore, their adoptive father, without hesitation.
Other
- Flowey:
- In The Stinger of the Golden Ending, Flowey begs the player to close the game and leave the characters on their happy ending, but he also notably says goodbye to the player's named character. The Fallen Child mentions that they will come when they are called, and indeed Flowey wonders aloud during a Genocide run if they came back because they heard him calling them. Has Flowey truly changed after the True Pacifist ending, and is just referring to the player by their name as one last farewell? Or is he still just as sociopathic as ever, and is calling out to his old friend so they can keep playing and cause more destruction?
- Why exactly did the humans wage war on monsterkind and seal them underground?
- The cave writings indicate that the monsters have no ideanote , but considering the fact that many of the monsters you meet are quite clearly not mentally stable by real-life standards, and the fact that there are entire species of monsters, like Vulkins, who don't realize how incredibly hazardous their mere presence is to humans, is it possible that the humans did it out of a legitimate fear for their safety, or perhaps in response to human deaths, accidental or otherwise, at the hands of monsters?
- The main character's predecessors. Some of them are heavily implied to have taken the lives of multiple monsters before dying. It's left ambiguous what their reasons and motivations were, and plenty of people debate whether they killed those monsters for psychotic fun, or in legitimate self-defense since they didn't have Frisk's resetting powers and thus had far more justification to use lethal force in defense of their life, or if they were the aggressors, but did it out of a tragic desperation to escape the underground and avoid being used as a weapon through which to exterminate their own species. Most agree it probably wasn't a uniform reason between all of them and that between all six of them, all of these reasons and more could have been behind their actions.
- Dr. W.D. Gaster:
- What does he want? Because so little is known about him, a multitude of interpretations exist in fan content. A lot of it has Gaster as driven insane by his condition or seeking to return to life even if it is at the player's expense, some portray him as Creepy Good (especially when it comes to laying the smackdown on a No Mercy player), some have him either antagonistic or heroic depending on the circumstances, and in others he is just... weird. And that isn't even touching on his connections to Deltarune, a game which makes his situation even harder to grasp...
- Additionally, the nature of Gaster's...well...whatever the hell happened to him. His followers say that he fell into his creation, and that something had Gone Horribly Wrong. But was it an accident, or did he jump? The fact that one of the followers speculates Alphys "might end up the same way", and she commits suicide in multiple neutral endings, might imply that it was the latter. But if he did so, then why?
- Alternatively, a third option presents itself: Gaster was pushed. But we know about as much about the possibility of "who" and "why" as we do about Gaster himself. Which is to say, we know absolutely nothing.
- Was he an arrogant Mad Scientist whose erasure from reality actually benefited the Underground? Or was he a relatively harmless scholar who poked too much into things that monsters weren't meant to know and unwittingly paid the price?
- Do the monsters naturally want revenge on humanity, or are they going along with their beloved and well-respected king's decision?
- Gerson says that he agreed with Asgore's decision to stay underground instead of risking a second Hopeless War with humanity, and "felt a little betrayed when (Asgore) eventually changed his mind," but comes around on the Genocide route, when a human's killing them anyway. This could suggest that some of them could accept life underground as safer than the alternative, or that the right circumstances could change their minds. However, the game also says that Asgore's motivation to keep going with the plan was to keep morale up because he believed that the hope of exterminating the human race and reclaiming the surface was all that kept his people going. So either this theory is completely false... or this entire story is a colossal tragedy of miscommunication, with both sides at least partially claiming to support the genocide because they feel the other side wants it.
