TENNA'S SELF-OBJECTIFICATION
Chapter 3 reveals, despite its obviousness, that darkners are objects given form by the dark fountains. And this is present throughout the chapter, but it's especially represented by the chapter's main antagonist, Tenna, who perfectly embodies the problems that come with being an object.
But despite this, it's emphasized that they are people, that is, their pain, feelings, and emotions are real. They are real, they are people, yet what they are in the lightworld continues to influence their history and identity. However, Tenna, as a character, carries this influence to the point where it encompasses almost everything about him, from his personality and design to his motivations and goals.
Tenna is a person, but it seems he's really just trying to be just a TV. He exists in this weird place, where he objectifies himself but at the same time wants to be part of the Dreemurr family, which is itself something more than being an object
And it's very interesting to compare this with the other two bosses from previous chapters. First, regarding their designs, if you told someone who knows nothing about Deltarune that these three characters represent real-life objects, I assure you it would be very difficult for them to say what Queen represents, and to a lesser extent, King. However, they would probably immediately know WHAT Tenna is, since everything about him screams "tv"
Like he is a TV Head, his face is literally TV, TV pin and TV buckle lol
Now, comparing their respective Darkworlds, we also see this: King's Darkworld is a medieval fantasy realm, Cyber City is a futuristic city, while TV World is a television studio. It's worth noting that Tenna built this studio, and TV World is full of televisions or has many allusions to television.
Even their roles in the Darkworld we can see this. Queen, another electronic device like Tenna, is uhh a queen, while Tenna is a TV show host.
And finally, their goals. I've already discussed this in another post, but in short, what King and Queen wanted transcended their nature as Darkners, while all Tenna wanted was to be used again as the object he is and what pacified him was Susie promising him another family to see him.
So we have darkners like Queen and King, whose nature as objects influences their design, personality, and goals; however, they have something more beyond that. And we have a Darkner like Tenna, whose life seems to revolve around what he is in the lightworld. Everything about this character screams "TV" in a way not seen with any other character. And this is probably an intentional decision by Toby, because, as I mentioned before, chapter 3 is the one that introduces the problem of the Darkners' "unreality" and their nature as objects, and what better way to represent this than by having the chapter's antagonist embody it?
And it's not just this, it's as if Tenna himself sees himself more as a television than as a person. In other words, Tenna self-objectifies.
Self-objectification is seeing yourselff as an object to be used instead of as a person. Which is funny to say about literally a television in a living room, but bear with me, even though Darkners are objects, it has been said over time that they are People. And that their nature as objects is an influence on their character, but it's NOT EVERYTHING. However, when one sees oneself primarily as an object, as in Tenna's case, one's value is tied to how useful one can be to others, which often has devastating effects on self-esteem and self-perception. Which is precisely what happened to Tenna.
Tenna is very insecure about what he is: a CRT TV, which is currently considered worthless and obsolete. Tenna has internalized this fact so much that at the end of his battle he calls himself "junk" and throughout the chapter he tries to get you to tell him he has worth in various ways. For example, all the times he asks you to say "I LOVE TV."
You could say that "I LOVE TV" means "I LOVE TENNA" because he is, uh, a TV. However, in this part, during the fight with the Weather Duo, we see that "I LOVE TV" refers to "I LOVE WATCHING TV."
Which is, literally, the function of a television, literally, the sole purpose of a television is to be watched. Saying you love TV doesn't mean you love Tenna as a person, but rather that you love what Tenna can offer you as an object. This purpose and function is what he has invested all his self-worth in. He can't see his own worth, so he desperately needs you to tell him, to confirm that he has it, because he can't see it himself.
And this is worse considering that Tenna can't do anything to change the fact of what he is. Tenna can change as a person; however, absolutely nothing he does will change what he is in the Lightworld, so the fact that he bases so much of his identity on what he is is incredibly damaging to his self-perception and self-esteem.
Other instances where I think Tenna objectifies himself are how sometimes instead of saying "me" he says "TV"
And all of this affects how he interacts and his relationships with other Darkners: if you see your worth in how well you can serve your purpose to superior beings who don't even know you exist, it's a perfect recipe for becoming obsessed with fulfilling that purpose.
We have very little information about Tenna's relationship with the Weather Duo, even though they're supposed to be old friends, and with the Mikes, most of what we know about their relationship is from what they themselves tell us. Tenna, in general, speaks very little about things in the Darkworld; he speaks very little about himself, because when he does talk about himself, it's usually about the "Dreemurr television" and the moments he "spent" with them. Almost everything we know about him, other than this, is because other characters tell us.
The only exception I can think of where Tenna speaks about events in the darkworld is the contract with Spamton.
So his relationship with the darkners closest to him is generally complicated and distant, and his relationship with his employees isn't the best either. It's not surprising that the most important people in his life are probably the Dreemurrs, whom he basically considers family and lives to entertain.
This, I believe, caused a cycle where Tenna prioritizes the Lightners, and this prioritization leads to his estrangement and isolation from other Darkners. This causes Tenna to feel alone and seek comfort in that connection with his family. However, the only way Tenna can connect with them is by being a television. Ultimately, due to his lack of connection with other Darkners and lack of self worth, Tenna feels that his only way to be loved is by the Dreemurrs, by being nothing more than a tv. That is the only way he can be “worthy”
And all of this culminates in Tenna not wanting to be in Castle Town and wanting to be given to someone else, where he will be used as a television again. And again, compared to the other bosses, he is the only one who doesn't want to be there.
In summary, Chapter 3 tells us that darkners are objects, and the main antagonist of that chapter, Tenna, represents this since his life revolves around what he "is" in such a way that his worth is linked to what he is and how well he can serve his lightners, which has had a bad impact on his self-esteem and relationships with others.
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