Alright, I've been stewing on this for awhile, and it's time for a big ol Roaring Knight Identity Effortpost! Let's run down the possible candidates!
And at this point I sound like one of those guys in front of a conspiracy board tied up with red thread. I fully expect that Toby Fox intends people to develop theories about the Knight specifically, and at this point waiting for the next chapter is more about seeing whose theory is right rather than seeing what happens next. Thank goodness Chapter 5 is slated for 2026.
As the Roaring Knight's appearance suggests, they are likely a member of the Holiday family. Their horns and the horns on the knight's helmet are identical, and I can't imagine Toby Fox would leave a clue that blatant for it to mean nothing. So barring a major asspull at the very end it's a pretty safe assumption that the Knight is a Holiday. But which one? There's four in total, but really only two are likely candidates. Right?
Right?
1: Dess.
Dess, Noelle's big sister December, is the first answer I thought of when the knight first appeared in Chapter 3, and likely it was the same for everyone else. Dess has been missing since Chapter 1, though this wasn't obvious until subtext in Chapter 2 (or, text, depending on whether or not you're weird routing). It's not a stretch to think that she's missing because she's been the knight all this time. Whether that means it's due to her choice or not remains to be seen, that could go either way.
Another mark in the Dess column is the weapon the knight materializes right before the battle. It turns out to be a sword, but right when it first appears it looks a lot more like a bat, something that is associated with Dess (the 'wiffle bat' comment in Chapter 1, the 'Raise up the Bat' song in Chapter 3), and much like the horns it seems unlikely that visual would be used accidentally or as a misdirect.
There is one thing that suggests it might not be Dess, though, and that's the unused dialogue in the code. Ever since the first Chapter there has been lines of text with no reference in the game data, but it's not just random lines. They're the lines of someone who is lost in darkness, as if lost within the code itself. Considering that these unused lines keep getting added with each chapter, and this individual's situation progresses and becomes more dire, it seems likely Fox is adding them knowing people will be datamining the game. Who this individual is is still unknown, but Dess is the only actual character that's missing. But if she's the character that's lost in the code, then could she still be the knight as well?
But if not Dess, then who?
2: Carol.
When Carol first appeared in Chapter 4 she might as well have been waving a giant flag that said 'I'M THE BAD GUY', but I guess King already had that line in Chapter 1. Still, Carol's immediate atagonistic tone made her a runner up in the theories of who the Knight is, and it could very well be her. She spends a lot of time talking with Kris behind the player's back, a number of overheard calls give her an almost hissing style of speech. And if it turns out Dess is the character that's lost in the code and cannot be the Knight, Carol is the next best candidate.
Whatever Carol is actually doing, it think it will turn out she's not overtly villainous. She just comes on so strong in her first appearance I can't imagine it being anything other than a red herring. She's definitely up to no good, and might be the knight, but why? Well if it's to save her daughter that might explain just why she's so intense about it.
I've also heard theories that she might also not be in full control of herself, her movement and speech seems almost stilted, and while that is super suspicious, it isn't like we haven't seen that exact behavior already. What if she's being manipulated by something else, another entity controlling her actions?
Y'know, like Kris is?
Plus there's that big-ass ornamental sword just hanging in her kitchen, and another one by her bed that you can spot. It's either her's or Rudy's, and let's be honest, the Knight isn't Rudy. Right?
3: Rudy.
I admit, the evidence that the knight is Rudy is pretty slim. It honestly just comes down to 1: He is a Holiday, so he matches the horns, and 2: His illness is hella suspicious.
Seriously, isn't it weird that this one character has this really significant illness that keeps him bedridden most of the time? Conveniently out of the way of whatever his wife is up to? Or, perhaps, keeping her out of his way?
It could be that an extended stay in the Dark World makes a Lightner sick. But, we have not seen any evidence of that. Well, except for other Darkners turning to stone in unfamiliar Dark Worlds, so if exposure to the 'wrong' type of darkness can do that to a Darkner, is it really such a stretch that it could affect Lightners too?
Also, those swords could easily be his instead of Carol's. They're just in the house, and their bedroom, we don't know who owns them beyond that.
He would have the same motivations as Carol would regarding Dess. Plus there's his friendship with Asgore, and Chapter 4 has a lot of hints suggesting Asgore is about to be important to the story in a big way pretty soon, but that's a different post. Still though, there's a non-zero chance the knight has been Rudy all along. I mean, it's better odds than it being Noelle. Right?
4: Noelle.
Ok so hear me out. There's really one one thing that makes me think Noelle could actually be the knight, ignoring all the everything else screaming that she isn't. And that thing is this:
Just what the hell happened at the start of Chapter 2???
When the chapter ends and the Dark World is banished, Noelle and Berdley are already sitting at a desk in the computer lab, while Kris and Susie are standing at the entrance, as if they just walked in. If the Dark World were already formed before Noelle and Berdley entered, why are they seated? Or, for that matter, why did they just walk blindly into a gaping black void behind a door in the Librarby? Why did no one else see it?
Unless the Dark World was opened only after they went inside. But then who did it? It wasn't Kris, we were with them from the end of the schoolday to them and Susie going to the Librarby. If it was the Knight, and thus one of the other Holidays, there's no way Noelle didn't notice that.
So. What if Noelle is the one who created that fountain? It would explain her and Berdley's position when the fountain was sealed, and also why Queen was just so darn obsessed with her.
But Noelle has no idea what's happening all throughout Chapter 2. And I don't think that's an act, either. So, then what?
If Noelle is the Knight, and I grant that is an enormous stretch, then I don't think she's actually aware of it. And that alone kind of torpedos this whole theory. But I just can't put it past Toby Fox not to make it turn out like this. Knight or not, Noelle is a really important character to the entire story.
The full implications of the weird route are still unknown, but think about it. If nothing else, the player's actions in the weird route are probably messing with the Knight's actions, if the Knight is Noelle without her knowing, and that would explain why Kris (the character) is so completely against the players actions in the weird route. There's more than enough evidence that Kris is loyal to the knight over just about everyone else, for whatever reason, so the player trying to mess with all that would set them off. Sure, it could instead be because Kris cares about Noelle and hates what the player does. Or maybe it's because the player is messing with the Knight's plan in the weird route, and Kris just can't have that.
Right?
1: Dess.
Dess, Noelle's big sister December, is the first answer I thought of when the knight first appeared in Chapter 3, and likely it was the same for everyone else. Dess has been missing since Chapter 1, though this wasn't obvious until subtext in Chapter 2 (or, text, depending on whether or not you're weird routing). It's not a stretch to think that she's missing because she's been the knight all this time. Whether that means it's due to her choice or not remains to be seen, that could go either way.
Another mark in the Dess column is the weapon the knight materializes right before the battle. It turns out to be a sword, but right when it first appears it looks a lot more like a bat, something that is associated with Dess (the 'wiffle bat' comment in Chapter 1, the 'Raise up the Bat' song in Chapter 3), and much like the horns it seems unlikely that visual would be used accidentally or as a misdirect.
There is one thing that suggests it might not be Dess, though, and that's the unused dialogue in the code. Ever since the first Chapter there has been lines of text with no reference in the game data, but it's not just random lines. They're the lines of someone who is lost in darkness, as if lost within the code itself. Considering that these unused lines keep getting added with each chapter, and this individual's situation progresses and becomes more dire, it seems likely Fox is adding them knowing people will be datamining the game. Who this individual is is still unknown, but Dess is the only actual character that's missing. But if she's the character that's lost in the code, then could she still be the knight as well?
But if not Dess, then who?
2: Carol.
When Carol first appeared in Chapter 4 she might as well have been waving a giant flag that said 'I'M THE BAD GUY', but I guess King already had that line in Chapter 1. Still, Carol's immediate atagonistic tone made her a runner up in the theories of who the Knight is, and it could very well be her. She spends a lot of time talking with Kris behind the player's back, a number of overheard calls give her an almost hissing style of speech. And if it turns out Dess is the character that's lost in the code and cannot be the Knight, Carol is the next best candidate.
Whatever Carol is actually doing, it think it will turn out she's not overtly villainous. She just comes on so strong in her first appearance I can't imagine it being anything other than a red herring. She's definitely up to no good, and might be the knight, but why? Well if it's to save her daughter that might explain just why she's so intense about it.
I've also heard theories that she might also not be in full control of herself, her movement and speech seems almost stilted, and while that is super suspicious, it isn't like we haven't seen that exact behavior already. What if she's being manipulated by something else, another entity controlling her actions?
Y'know, like Kris is?
Plus there's that big-ass ornamental sword just hanging in her kitchen, and another one by her bed that you can spot. It's either her's or Rudy's, and let's be honest, the Knight isn't Rudy. Right?
3: Rudy.
I admit, the evidence that the knight is Rudy is pretty slim. It honestly just comes down to 1: He is a Holiday, so he matches the horns, and 2: His illness is hella suspicious.
Seriously, isn't it weird that this one character has this really significant illness that keeps him bedridden most of the time? Conveniently out of the way of whatever his wife is up to? Or, perhaps, keeping her out of his way?
It could be that an extended stay in the Dark World makes a Lightner sick. But, we have not seen any evidence of that. Well, except for other Darkners turning to stone in unfamiliar Dark Worlds, so if exposure to the 'wrong' type of darkness can do that to a Darkner, is it really such a stretch that it could affect Lightners too?
Also, those swords could easily be his instead of Carol's. They're just in the house, and their bedroom, we don't know who owns them beyond that.
He would have the same motivations as Carol would regarding Dess. Plus there's his friendship with Asgore, and Chapter 4 has a lot of hints suggesting Asgore is about to be important to the story in a big way pretty soon, but that's a different post. Still though, there's a non-zero chance the knight has been Rudy all along. I mean, it's better odds than it being Noelle. Right?
4: Noelle.
Ok so hear me out. There's really one one thing that makes me think Noelle could actually be the knight, ignoring all the everything else screaming that she isn't. And that thing is this:
Just what the hell happened at the start of Chapter 2???
When the chapter ends and the Dark World is banished, Noelle and Berdley are already sitting at a desk in the computer lab, while Kris and Susie are standing at the entrance, as if they just walked in. If the Dark World were already formed before Noelle and Berdley entered, why are they seated? Or, for that matter, why did they just walk blindly into a gaping black void behind a door in the Librarby? Why did no one else see it?
Unless the Dark World was opened only after they went inside. But then who did it? It wasn't Kris, we were with them from the end of the schoolday to them and Susie going to the Librarby. If it was the Knight, and thus one of the other Holidays, there's no way Noelle didn't notice that.
So. What if Noelle is the one who created that fountain? It would explain her and Berdley's position when the fountain was sealed, and also why Queen was just so darn obsessed with her.
But Noelle has no idea what's happening all throughout Chapter 2. And I don't think that's an act, either. So, then what?
If Noelle is the Knight, and I grant that is an enormous stretch, then I don't think she's actually aware of it. And that alone kind of torpedos this whole theory. But I just can't put it past Toby Fox not to make it turn out like this. Knight or not, Noelle is a really important character to the entire story.
The full implications of the weird route are still unknown, but think about it. If nothing else, the player's actions in the weird route are probably messing with the Knight's actions, if the Knight is Noelle without her knowing, and that would explain why Kris (the character) is so completely against the players actions in the weird route. There's more than enough evidence that Kris is loyal to the knight over just about everyone else, for whatever reason, so the player trying to mess with all that would set them off. Sure, it could instead be because Kris cares about Noelle and hates what the player does. Or maybe it's because the player is messing with the Knight's plan in the weird route, and Kris just can't have that.
And at this point I sound like one of those guys in front of a conspiracy board tied up with red thread. I fully expect that Toby Fox intends people to develop theories about the Knight specifically, and at this point waiting for the next chapter is more about seeing whose theory is right rather than seeing what happens next. Thank goodness Chapter 5 is slated for 2026.
