Barbaros

The Fun Gang are lost in the dark, the Knight's attacks threatening to whittle them down without a fight. And in response, through no action on Your part, Kris's SOUL lights up, shining the way in the dark for all of them.

And while You do control their dodging, it doesn't stop there, as the attacks quickly become undodgeable, but with every blow Kris suffers, Ralsei and Susie are there to pick them up so they may carry on. And when Kris literally can't take another hit, Susie steps in to shoulder the burden.

Ralsei is the last to step up. Before, he would always try to take on the pain of this journey without troubling his friends. Here, he allows himself to be picked up and carried by them, enduring what attacks he can... but it's enough. Together, Ralsei, Susie, Kris, and You are enough. Despite the beating they all endure, and how close they come to not making it, there's nevertheless something so hopeful about it too. "Dark Place" is like a more uplifting reprieve of "The Dark Truth".

It also marks one of the first times where both You and Kris work together in harmony to accomplish something. It comes on the tail of two other pivotal moments in Kris's relationship with their SOUL; before that they choose on their own to close their eyes, and takes advantage of their SOUL's ability to see those they share a bond with, literally guided in the dark to save Susie from a potentially lethal blow (sadly I don't have any screenshots of this moment)

And before that, it was Susie's words of encouragement that allowed them to play the piano as their whole self for the first time in a long while. Now, what do I mean by that? Toriel told Susie that Kris used to play, but they haven't participated in the choir for some time, even before the game starts, according to Father Alvin. The only time they've been able to lately is by detaching themselves from everything that's happened (ie., SOUL ripping).

In other words, it's not that You can't play, but that until that moment, Kris can't play without getting out of their own head by hurting themselves. That they're able to do it in this moment, not thinking about what they're doing and letting muscle memory take over ("Your hands began to move on their own.") is a HUGE positive step for them!

Whenever people talk about Kris and their SOUL in chapter 4, it's usually either the closet scene or the bathroom scene in Noelle's house (depending on the route). Either they're doing Tom & Jerry shit, or engaged in one of the most brutal depictions of self harm I've seen in a video game (there's no mincing words, they're literally at half health afterwards). When for me it's the above moments, but especially that dark hallway, that stay with me.

So, what does this all mean?

Given where Kris is at with their SOUL, I don't think You're going to be an antagonistic force in their life much longer, if indeed You ever were to begin with. The way the game is going now, Kris is going to be growing more in sync with their SOUL, not less. Now, that may not be entirely the case in all routes.

Those snatched moments from the player? They weren't the triumphant grasp at freedom we thought, but another, yet more insidious layer of control that has been exerted upon them. Because for the end of Chapter 3 to have happened, a few things had to be prepared - the TV had to be plugged in, Susie had to come over, the tires had to be slashed so the police would be called, and the door had to be left open so that the Knight could gain entry - not the police, but The Roaring Knight. The Enemy.

And make no mistake - they didn't want to do ANY of it. Drinking in the Holidays' kitchen... the way their head turns whenever Susie or Noelle mentions them... Carol's ice-cold hand on their shoulder ("in the shadow of the Knight's hand")... do any of these things indicate Kris as a willing co-conspirator? Or rather, a child who has fallen into the clutches of a very manipulative - and very real - authority figure, who is being groomed and coerced into performing dangerous acts that threaten the lives of not just their friends, but their family, their town, and quite possibly the whole world?

We knew that Kris Dreemurr's life sucked before this. But we could never have anticipated just how badly it sucked, just how little control and agency they truly have, in any aspect of their life. This situation has been going on for MUCH longer than we've been around - you can tell that much from the birdcage. Their situation is so utterly, catastrophically FUCKED that death seems the most preferable outcome for them.

Remember Susie noting how Kris responds to Queen's offer to "Perish" with enthusiasm?

Remember the way they crumple onto the floor when Spamton NEO is about to kill them and take their SOUL, not even attempting to fight back?

Remember them whispering in Susie's ear in "the_newest_girl_girl"?

...yeah. It's THAT bad.

And you have to wonder... if we were never shunted into Kris's body... if we didn't literally FORCE Kris to move, to go to the dark world, to Fight and Spare enemies - to FORCE them to play at being a hero, in spite of their situation... What would have happened?