Undertale: The Alphys Problem

This was originally a reply to a conversation I was having with someone that got too long, so I decided to simply make it a journal entry instead. Out of respect for their privacy, I wont mention who they were. I'll also be speaking about people who have this similar mindset regarding Alphys in general, not just this one person.

Fan reactions to this character really baffles me.

I'm talking about the fact that you have a sociopathic flower that's undone the world and fucked with it's people countless times, and a demon child thing that takes no pleasure from anything except misery. At least with Flowey there's a viable reason to forgive them, but the Chara at this point in the timeline has no such qualities. Then there's Alphys. Somehow, out of all of them she's "a horrible person who shouldn't be forgiven." Chara, the kid who wipes out the whole goddamn universe for kicks doesn't get this description. And unlike the others, Alphys never actively tries to hurt Frisk.

Nearly everyone besides the Skelebros has fucked up in some way. Undyne tried to outright murder a child, Toriel wanted to keep them locked in forever, and Asgore actually went through and killed a bunch of kids when an alternate route could've been taken. Mettaton screws with puzzles and hires monsters with the full intent of murdering you. Good intentions or no, it's still some messed up shit. But we forgive them all because of circumstances and the fact that they redeem themselves in the end.

Alphys' lying can come across as pretty shady. I can understand that. You can certainly argue that putting someone in pretend danger just to make themselves feel like a hero is also pretty shady. But like the others, there's a reason for her actions. Not just because she didn't want Asgore killed. After screwing up so many times, she wanted to feel like she was worth something. That she really could help someone. She wanted to feel needed.

Speaking of which, let's get to the real shit. The experiments. Yes, Alphys created the amalgamations. Yes, she ended up creating Flowey. But HOW was she supposed to know that monsters would end up MELTING INTO EACH OTHER when the Determination apparently worked the first time? How was she supposed to know what Flowey was going to turn into?

In fact, if everyone's so quick to forgive Flowey, why aren't they HAPPY she created him? Essentially, she saved Asriel. And before anyone tells me "Oh, the amalgamations happened and then she went right on to create Flowey! She didn't learn from her mistake!" Uh, no. The ordering of the journal entries is mixed throughout the True Lab segment so the player could piece it together themselves. Everything more or less happened at the same time.

"But she still ended up creating the amalgamations! She destroyed families and kept it hidden from them!" True. But the whole reason they ended up like that was because, again, she wanted to help them. She thought Determination could keep them alive after "falling down." And when it didn't work? Alphys was distraught. She kept it hidden because she was already fucking SUICIDAL over her mistakes and anything more would've driven her to the edge.

This is why I KNOW Alphys is a good person. She truly cares about people and wants to help. She loves them and just wants to be loved in return. And when she keeps hurting people, it hurts her like hell. It makes her feel like she isn't worth it, that everyone's better off without her.

I know this feeling. I fucking KNOW this feeling. It's a shitty, awful feeling and anybody who calls it "being weak" can go fuck themselves.

Alphys isn't weak. Everyone needs support. I get it, you can't just lay around wallowing in your own self-pity. But Alphys is trying. That's what her whole arc is about: finding the courage to keep going with the help of her friends. She WANTS to be a better person. She doesn't want to hurt or be hurt anymore. To me, there's nothing wrong with that.

Look, I'm not trying to convince everyone that they have to like Alphys. Trust me, the constant messaging and "I LIKE ANIME LOL" schtick gets old quick. But all I'm saying is that compared to other characters, it's fucking ridiculous to give her the title of "horrible, irredeemable monster who deserves no forgiveness".