Pennapolie

It’s very clear when you look into it that Rudy knows far more than we’re permitted to know as the player, with the grand point being: his best friend destroyed his life over this conspiracy and his wife literally has a conspiracy board in the room a few feet away from the bed he slept in. Yet, he mentions nothing about it to us. Not a single word. Almost.

The only thing he mentions to us is conveniently the locations of every dark world we’ve been in, which some people interpret as evidence he’s the knight, but I think is a more glaring thing to imply that he knows the prophecy. It does not make sense that his best friend and his wife, the most important people in his life, would not make him FULLY aware of the most important thing in THEIR lives. He knows more than we are allowed to know by him, that much is clear especially when you start to ponder where Kris has been going at night, if not solely to meet with carol, there was also mention that Kris has been stopping by to see Rudy a lot lately, regardless of if you visit him in any previous chapters. This is always stated.

Now for the big point. What I stated in a different vein in my last post, the chapter 5 festival lights.

Rudy was very insistent on doing the lights himself, it’s his responsibility and he refuses any help. And after the festival, we get to see the unfinished lights he sets up in the hours that we’re at the lake after the festival. Of course, they’re unfinished, clearly as he fell. But, what’s interesting to me is the location of these along with the fact it’s a mandatory dialogue. Rudy fell right nearby to the flower king shop, the place the prophecy states the next dark world will be. At the same time, we (presumably in eyeshot) are at the lake, right nearby. Afterward, carol gives frequent, but not urgent calls (about ~5 minutes between the first two calls) telling Noelle to come back because Rudy fell. There was no urgency though, Noelle was more focused on Susie after she said she had to leave, showing it wasn’t a serious injury. Noelle was brought away in an event that brought. Everyone away from the festival. Such a small town! everyone would be distracted. Giving the perfect leeway for Kris to make the fountain.

As seen in the first image, these lights were never up when we were at the festival, and strangely enough, they weren’t up at the weird route either. At a time later than we were at the festival in the normal route, though earlier than when we left the dark world initially, the lights were never setup to begin with. Rudy stayed at the town hall the whole day. He never fell, there was never a ruckus, and Noelle never left. The only difference? Kris never came to the festival. Isn’t it strange that these lights that are significant enough to be pointed out in a mini dialogue with Susie would be overlooked in the design of the weird route’s festival? I think they’re not overlooked at all. I think we were meant to see these lights and think about them, as they are integral to Rudy’s place in the festival.

Rudy didn’t set up the lights at all during the festival, almost as if there was no necessity. The only difference being Kris’ presence is evidence enough to show that Kris was in themself the necessity. Kris’ place in the festival was the necessity that brought Rudy to insist he alone would put up lights. It’s why there was no panic when carol called. It’s why it never happened in the weird route. Because Rudy’s fall was intentional. He clearly knows more than he allows us as a player to, but in a place just out of view managed to pull Noelle away for us to make the fountain, but doesn’t feel the need when the fountain never exists. He isn’t a distraction when there is nothing to distract from. Noelle was allowed to stay at the lake because there was no reason to separate her. Rudy has a place here, and no one else is seeing it.

So we know in chapter 5, Rudy is doing the lights for the festival, putting them up all by himself as he insists upon. And upon leaving the darkworld, Susie notes how the lights are “still up”. This is initially seen as just a one off comment since most of the festival has been taken down by that point. However. What really stands out here is that in the weird route, at an earlier time, the lights are never there to begin with. Just Rudy, sitting in the same spot we found him in, not having put up any lights.

This could easily be nothing. It could be that Toby Fox somehow forgot about the lights he made a comment on in the other route! Yeah nah I don’t buy that. I believe this was an incredibly intentional decision. So here’s where I dive in to Rudy knight.

Rudy putting up the lights was a very convenient deterrent to any belief that he’s the knight, I mean why would he be in dark worlds if he’s putting up lights? However, in the normal route, surely he wouldn’t have continued putting up lights after his fall. This means his fall happened right where the lights end, at the house next to the flower king shop. Given that Rudy’s best friend is obsessed with these dark worlds and his wife is at the very least a conspiracist like Asgore and at most a direct affiliate to the soul. This means it’s very likely that carol may know of the prophecy, after all she’s working directly with Kris who knows of it, and Kris has been sneaking out on the phone with carol to either meet with her or someone else we don’t know of. So if carol knows of the prophecy, SURELY Rudy has been told of it. SURELY Rudy has at the very least heard of it and at most is directly involved. So, if he knows of the prophecy, surely he knows of the flower king in asylum, and knows of a dark world being made there.

I propose he took a fall to give Kris and Susie leeway to enter the dark world. That he fell to have a minor (but not serious) sense of urgency for Noelle to leave and by extension, for other people in hometown to be distracted as well, all so Kris could initiate the next dark world.

This is where I get into Rudy knight… that after taking his fall, eventually carol or himself were able to get people away for him to he could serve his purpose of going to the dark world, given late, and kidnapping asgore. And boy did he cut it close.

Any other points from previous chapters about Rudy knight can be found like. Anywhere else. But this is specific information that no one (to my knowledge) has noticed. This feels to me as far too intentional to be an oversight. Toby wanted us to pay attention to this line from Susie, to pay attention to the fact that Rudy is the only other npc in the weird route aside from SANS. There’s something more to Rudy, more than we’re permitted to see right now, and even if he isn’t the knight, he is definitely not just the sick guy. He knows something.

This is all to say. If Rudy didn’t need to take a fall in the weird route cuz there’s no darkworld, why would he need to put up lights in the first place? If Kris isn’t at the festival, Rudy wouldn’t need to try, he could just sit there all day and only see Kris at the end of the day knowing the fountain wasn’t made! The lights feel more like an alibi than some random thing he decided to do. In the normal route his insistence upon doing them through this lens feels more deliberate than stubborn.

Also in case there’s any doubt or thinking that he fell at the town hall, the lights were not up anywhere except the town hall when we were at the festival! These lights were only put up after we left the festival! (As seen in the third image)