#as a fellow bg character fan I know the pain

[mayashesfly]

If you think about it, the three Dreamers (as well as their Closest Persons) has their own theme going on. Lurien (and his Butler) with Devotion.

Herrah (and Hornet) with Choice.

And Monomon (and Quirrel) with Change.

With all of them (as well as the Hollow Knight) being burdened by Duty.

Lurien's is pretty self-explanatory in and of itself so I'll ramble about Herrah and Monomon for now. (sorry my short Watcher king. There's just not enough content on you for me to ramble about)

Also, this ramble of mine will definitely be a mess so... be warned.

The reason I think Herrah's theme here is with Choice is because she's the only one of the Dreamers who didn't exactly have a side if the Seals should be broken or kept and instead allowed the Knight to choose for themself. However, it's not that simple. Because unlike the two Dreamers who held onto their beliefs with conviction, Herrah seems to be just.... tired. Exhausted.

The reason why Herrah didn't choose a side is because she was just exhausted from everything, atleast from what we see with her dialogue during the first time the Dreamers appear before the Knight.

>"Let us sleep, little shadow. Return to your darkness. Allow us our peace"

​​​(This is probably Herrah speaking or atleast the first line of it because she's not talking about the Seals, as well as the fact she calls the Knight "little shadow" which is also the same nickname Hornet uses, giving us a small nudge that these two are connected.)

The thing is, in this line Herrah isn't exactly giving us a choice per say. She just allows us to do what we please, not giving us an option we can possibly take. She just says "Allow us our peace" which is ambiguous by itself. So this brings me to my next point, Herrah's theme is Choice because she wasn't Given A Choice.

The reason why Herrah chose to Dream in the first place is because she didn't have a choice. She was in a tight position. Even if she refused the King's offer, her people would've succumbed to the Infection either way. So dreaming really was the only choice at the time to be able to stop the Infection and allow her people to continue striving. This is not to say she is a weak person, in fact she's the complete opposite of a weak person if she was given the title of Herrah the Beast.

Which brings us to Hornet. Herrah chose to dream for Hornet because she loves her. And so now, the choice to what happens to Hallownest lies with her. And in Silksong, possibly Pharloom as well. And she did make a choice of her own, unlike her mother that was forced to choosing one.

Monomon on the other hand is Change. This is even more apparent with Monomon's dreamnail dialogue as well as the fact that she's willing to risk the Infection leaking out without the protection of the Seals in order to bring change and a new age to Hallownest's corpse.

(Breaking the Seals and burdening the Knight with the responsibility of stopping the Infection by finding another way to do it is a risky move after all when none of them are even sure if the Knight can even achieve such a feat. It's not surprising why Lurien would be so against it if it's so risky. He was just being logical and cautious in his own way besides his Devotion to the Pale King. She even acknowledges this in her cut dreamnail dialogue)

Hell, in her cut dreamnail dialogue she even says that "To live forever in an unchanging world... Death, I would fear less"

Similarly to Hornet (especially after the Knight starts going for the Dream No More ending), Monomon wants Hallownest to rest in peace.

And she thinks breaking the Seals is the only way to do this by destroying the everlasting stasis. By allowing change to affect Hallownest's corpse once again.

Sometimes a small sacrifice must be made to give change and a new beginning. Despite how bittersweet it may be.

And now that brings us to Quirrel!! Not only has he changed ever since he took on Monomon's mask and travelled far beyond Hallownest, but after being unburdened of his duty upon release of Monomon's mask, he apparently disappears leaving his nail behind.

Even with the knowledge that Monomon and Quirrel's theme is change, it's still ambiguous whether or not that means he died or left. After all, Monomon (as well as the other Dreamers, and the Knight. And in the worse case scenario, those that remain in Hallownest) died in order for this change to happen

Quirrel's life isn't completely needed to bring change and a new beginning in Hallownest. So maybe, like Hornet who can and will make a choice of her own, Quirrel can have his own change and new beginning in life as well.

If you think about, in a weird sense I suppose the Dreamers' Closest Persons drive home of these themes even further. Whether for the better or for the worse. (Sorry Lurien's Butler, but you do technically do show the worse of the theme Devotion. It's sweet you still watch over Lurien but also unfortunate that it took your life in the process as well)

It also makes alot of sense as to why, out of all the Dreamers' Closest Persons, we only get to see Hornet and Quirrel in game in the Knight's adventure. Because the Knight's journey is about Choice and Change. Not Devotion.

It's why The Hollow Knight ending is the most disappointing ending of all because the Knight going with their existence's devotion to the Pale King isn't what their journey was about. It's not about embracing the very thing that caused their painful existence, it's about making a choice of your own (sometimes even literally) to bring a better change to the worse present.

The reason why Hornet and Quirrel is a big part of the Knight's journey is because they embody it.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TedTalk.