So let's talk about Quirrel, huh?
He's easily one of the most loved characters in this game, and for really good reasons. He is a nice friendly face we can find around the kingdom, and he provides good company, advice and some thoughts about the places he visits. But later on, we find out he has a duty with this kingdom, and that he was called back to fulfill it.
One thing I personally always liked about him is that he is often respectful about the places he visits. He isn't there to steal, look for glory, or take advantage of this ruins. He believes he was drawn to Hallownest by the tales of other travellers, and his obsession about uncharted places.
But if you peer into his thoughts, this never feels quite natural. He remembers people he shouldn't he knows of places he should not know of, and this all comes clear once he reaches the Archives and the truth of his journey is revealed to him.
And in a way that changes everything he's ever seen. His thoughts at the Blue Lake are:
"To live an age, yet remember so little… Perhaps I should be thankful?
All tragedy erased. I see only wonders…"
And isn't it painful? Because suddenly, the places in this kingdom aren't just some distant lands to him, they were part of his life, his home. Maybe he passed next to the very place he used to live in and yet he probably didn't even notice. There are people lost in memory, that he used to know and never found out what happened to them.
So now, him going about the guards in the city being in eternal duty, the miners working endlessly, or just any simple wanderer are viewed in a new light. That could have been him, or anyone else. That those were people who had friends, family, vibrant and unique personalities, and yet he and a few others are there to witness Hallownest in its decay.
The Archives are a whole other thing too. Did he remember Uumuu for what it was, or did he just know its weakness like an instinct? Is it worse to know and have the duty to destroy it, or to not know and feel like the decision was robbed from him? In the end, when that is done and he stands in front of Monomon's tank, he knows what he is there to do, and now he knows why. But it still feel overwhelming, because all he has then is hindsight. Yeah, he may remember the wonders of the land, but it is a place that's changed. Whatever led him to take this duty is gone, and the scenario he finds is one where Monomon, the last trace of the world he used to know, is choosing to end her life and what she stood for initially, in order for the Knight to achieve their goal (which at this point is still uncertain).
I just, think of the walk from the Archives towards the resting grounds. Did he pass by the City? Did he go through the Infected Crossroads? Did he, with his gained knowledge, visit the other dreamers in this new light?
And what is there for him to grieve when there is so much there that was lost you don't even know where to start? When it feels so arbitrary that he was even granted this second chance? When he becomes aware that there were definitely parts of his life, significant ones, that he won't be able to pay respects to?
But yeah, at least he got the chance to see this place he cared about once again, as it is shown to him, despite its past history.
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