Thinking of how the Shadow Crystal Bosses relate and compare to the Fun Gang, and to the themes of connections and fears and hopes. I think you can argue that the Shadow Crystal Bosses of the first three Chapters mirror the three members of the Fun Gang, and specifically mirror their fears and the idea of them becoming the worst versions of themselves via isolation.
Jevil and Susie are both violence-happy forces of chaos who love to Fight, and manage to become ‘free’ of the limitations the World places on them by simply denying they exist…
But Susie found new sources of joy and fun via her connections, as well as a desire for a Freedom that involves a true Happily Ever After with her friends, that’s harder to achieve than Jevil’s idea of ‘Freedom’. And Jevil himself…Well, he literally says that he ‘grows lonely in his little freedom’, and his backstory is based around him being betrayed and tricked by his only friend, Seam. When being betrayed and tricked by her friends was then established to be one of Susie’s biggest fears and most hated things.
I mean, Susie being locked up in prison after being betrayed by a close friend because her violence-happy attitude made her a danger to Card Kingdom and to King is literally a thing that happened in Chapter 1. Jevil is simply a reflection of what would’ve happened to Susie if she never managed to escape, and never managed to reconcile with Lancer, and just gave into her worst urges, as she was left with nothing except FIGHTing.
The Spamton-Kris parallels have been some of the most talked-about aspects of the game since Chapter 2 first dropped. Y’know, he’s controlled by both metaphysical puppet-strings and a Mysterious Voice on the Phone, he’s Ontologically Doomed to be a dishonest scam-artist (while Kris feels forced to participate in the Knight Conspiracy and thus also forced to lie and trick their closest friends) and he’s profoundly lonely because all of this shit ended up driving away every friend he ever had. And then Kris, as part of moving along Spamton’s Shadow Crystal quest, ends up isolating themself further from their friends…
Probably because they need to keep certain Secrets safe, for the sake of their own Mysterious Voice on the Phone…
By the end of the Battle, Spamton NEO stops obsessing over and projecting on Kris individually and comes to respect all three Delta Warriors and the strength they possess together. But I feel like Kris must still fear they are still the most like Spamton in this situation, a lonely puppet that will drive away anyone that has ever cared for them and cannot survive without their puppet-strings.
Then for Chapter 3… well, determining who should count as The Shadow Crystal Boss is kinda complicated (and the Knight specifically is so Mysterious at the moment, it’s hard to draw a lot of parallels), but I think that if we’re looking for a Ralsei parallel that has fallen into their worst impulses and fears due to isolation, than the obvious candidate should be Ramb. A Darkner with a smartass streak, dedicated to his ‘purpose’ of making Kris Happy above all else, to the point of becoming a Literal Pushover for them…
Only Ramb’s so dedicated to Kris above all else that it drove away any other connection he could’ve made (unlike Ralsei, who learns to live for themself and the true nature of friendship via the other connections they make, most notably with Susie) Ramb ended up lonely and rejected by even the world he lived in…. And by all accounts Kris didn’t even care for him that much.
Now with Gerson and Pink, I think this theme of paralleling the Fun Gang continues, but now with a more hopeful, positive twist. This round of Shadow Crystal Bosses instead represent the Delta Warriors’ hopes and the positive potential for growth they could have via connections with others.
Gerson, like Susie, is a hopeful Rude-Buster-using reptilian Monster Warrior that calls to mind Undyne Undertale to some degree, and he both represents the potential Susie could have if she was accepted and supported by the people of Hometown instead of being treated like an outsider and a pariah, and an important connection that could’ve allowed Susie to reach that potential earlier, if only he was still part of Hometown when she moved in.
And Pink is, much like Spamton, clearly meant as a parallel to Kris' situation. Not a direct one-to-one to their situation, again, like Spamton wasn't a one-to-one either, but where the salesman interpret the situation in the worst, most negative, most pessimistic way possible - Pink serves as the most optimistic possible lens on Kris' situation. You can say that if Gerson represents a 'What If' for Susie if she was accepted into Hometown's community, Pink represents a 'What If' where the SOUL and Kris got to choose each other, rather than being forced together.
But the most important part here is how Pink managed to resolve the issues and disagreements between her Body and her Ghost, by having a conversation, developing an actual connection. Another thing the SOUL and Kris never had a chance to do. And then also Pink being a non-Flower accepted as a 'big sister' among the Flowers is another Kris-parallel, a Darkner/Ghost adopted by Flowers and a Human adopted by Monsters. And Pink seems to actually explain the situation with her Body and her Ghost to Orange, at least (alongside obviously the Fun Gang knowing about it).
Kris has been so isolated through the fact nobody knows what they're going through (much like Spamton has become isolated from the whole of Cyber Society by being made aware of the Incomprehensible Horrors), but Pink also represents the hope of how reaching out to their loved ones, explaining what they are now, could make them feel so much less alone. It's just a question of whatever Kris will take the hint, if they even can take this advice in their current circumstances.
Then, if this is the pattern for this round of Shadow Crystal Bosses... I know it's said that Pink is going to be the last one...
But, like, seeing how there's two more Chapters left, my guess is that we have at least one more fight to look forward to with this side-quest. Probably against Seam, to earn that hinted-at 'Pure Crystal'.
And Seam would make sense as another Ralsei parallel, both are Mages, Ralsei is (probably) not literally a plush toy like Seam is but they certainly have Plush Toy Vibes, both grew from a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness to gaining a sense of hope again…
And Seam also seems to have some connection with Asriel, maybe they used to be his plush toy or something?
But… while I can see post-Shadow-Crystal-Quest Seam being maybe the more positive and optimistic counterpart to where Ralsei is right now, I dunno if there’s necessarily the angle of connections vs. isolation being the important factor. Like, I’d say that right it seems Ralsei is less isolated than Seam, that outside of a few interactions they have with the Fun Gang and a few mentions of fucking around with other Castle Town Residents and the like, their only real friend is still the one they locked away all these years ago.
(Hell, you can argue that we try to think up what sort of character would be the more Hopeful and Positive version of Ralsei due to having made stronger connections, that character already exists and this is Flowery. Another Flowey/Asriel analogue with Meta Knowledge who has all the confidence Ralsei lacks and breaks all the rules Ralsei is afraid to… for the sake of protecting his Family).
It’s possible that’s part of the point, that if Gerson and Pink exist to show what Susie and Kris could achieve through the power of connections, that Seam counterbalances it by showing what Ralsei can be if they’re able to stand on their own. That becoming too isolated is dangerous to Ralsei, as Ramb’s story demonstrates, but as much as they need connections, they also need to learn how to be independent, and that is what Seam’s story will represent to Ralsei.
Or maybe Seam’s newfound sense of hope will motivate them to try to reunite with their old Chaos-loving friend…
Or maybe I’m just totally wrong about all of this lol
We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess…
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