This video was months in the making, so if you can like, leave a comment, and share, it'd mean so much to me! Also, don't forget to check out my two theory vids on Deltarune Sans and Papyrus, starting here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVzdARAAbX5FX-Sl0wNJg1ttKKymLodO6 If you want to see how work is going and help support me, my patreon is at https://patreon.com/dorked.  Feel free to comment to suggest other video topics and/or Inverted Fate tracks! You can read IF at https://invertedfate.com/chapters and also support me on Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/invertedfate. Also, let me know how often is cool for OST uploads because I Don't wanna alienate the folks here for video essays. Maybe one a week?
Check out my other Analysis vids here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VfHhBh1c8c&list=PLVzdARAAbX5EbeSqLALxWuHAwby8CYzEC
Read Inverted Fate at: https://invertedfate.com/chapters
Inverted Fate OST: https://soundcloud.com/megaflamehedge/sets/inverted-fate-ost
Sewer Fundraiser: https://gofund.me/6989ad02
Read my Kingdom Hearts fic, Antipode at: https://archiveofourown.org/series/18376

People be like “We want messy, morally gray female characters!” but can’t even handle Alphys.

One thing I'm happy you clarified in this video is the fact that Alphys is canonically bi, not lesbian. Like the way I've seen people get actually mad at her initially having a crush on Asgore instead of Undyne in Deltarune is certainly frustrating when if you actually pay attention outside of fanon content, she clearly has a crush on both Asgore and Undyne, but Undyne just happens to be who she ends up with. I'm not even a bi person but I know many people who would probably consider that bi erasure, and it sucks to see in a fandom that's typically pretty good at handling LGBTQIA+ issues. I get headcanoning a character as something else, that's fine. But when you push your headcanon onto others, that's when it becomes a problem.

People also tend to misunderstand... she didn't experiment on people. They were fallen down. In a comatose state. She was basically shooting determination into corpses hoping they'd be able to house it. They weren't SUPPOSED to come back to life.

I once saw someone say Alphys was the most relatable character in the game, followed by someone saying "you experimented on people and made them die???" or, at least, basically that. Which, even as someone who's not the biggest fan of hers, I knew that was the stupidest possible takeaway. But she's grown on me through the years, and this video definitely made me appreciate her as a character more.

I’m surprised how Flowey never mentions Alphys, considering she is responsible for his existence. I imagine he doesn’t like her very much.

So glad you made this character analysis. The fandom has largely done her dirty, so it's good to see some appreciation for her.

Whilst I fall into the category of finding her text messages really annoying during gameplay, in terms of her character in story she is painfully underrated. From the small bits such as the mentioned interest in alternative universes to the true lab and its experiments in its entirety, she is full of really cool character plots which I'm extremely surprised not many people explore in depth unlike other characters.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Alphys is WAY more important to Undertale's story than Sans. Then again, most characters are, his biggest scenes are either optional encounters or hidden at the end of a route the game discourages you from playing.

And sure, the Gaster Followers imply that the old doctor's genius far surpassed Alphys, but I think they're biased. There's a decent chance that's literally Gaster (or pieces of him) stroking his own ego.

It just boggles my mind that I never realized how important Alphys is in Undertale until recently. Without her, Flowey would've never existed. Asriel would've been dead forever (I mean he still is in Undertale, but you probably get it). Flowey would've never absorbed the souls, became Asriel, and broke the barrier. Monsters would still be trapped Underground. If anything, Alphys freed monsterkind. Technically. Not without the casualties.

Also, is it me or does the fandom completely neglect the neutral endings? There's so much potential in them, yet I rarely see any fanworks exploring those timelines or what might happen if a new human fell into one of them.

My theory to Alphys saying Kris is normal is because she looked over at Kris with a giant pile of games/random stuff on their head so she just nervously told their own mother that they’re normal

I think a lot of Alphys hate is because people see their own tendencies in her. It wounds the ego to realize that sometimes we lie to make ourselves sound cooler, or go off on unsolicited rants about our hobbies, or have various intense crushes complete with elaborate fantasies, or suffer from an anxiety disorder, or suffer from imposter syndrome, etc. etc. I know that's the case with me; so often when I cringe at Alphys or characters like her, I'm cringing at myself. It's really funny how human a character she is. She's complicated, flawed, and like most of us is just kind of fumbling through and trying to do her best. I didn't exactly love her on my first playthrough but I definitely have an appreciation for her now.

30:22
It just hit me that Alphys is into "powerful" monsters, be it through literal strength or positions of authority. Every one of her crushes plays into that.

I’ll be honest, I sort of crushed on Alphys when I first encountered her. She’s cute, awkward and a massive nerd. Those are traits I tend to latch onto with girls since those are traits I also share. I know she tends to be unpopular due to her behavior during most of Hotland and what she did in the True Lab but… She never struck me as a truly bad person. Just someone who was lost, confused, wanted to be liked and appreciated and was afraid of letting others down. But now that she’s found peace within herself, she’s able to move forward and keep going despite everything. That may not be determination in the literal sense of this universe but that’s determination from within if I’ve ever seen it.

God, I love Alphys. Wish more people did instead of just writing her off as an annoying nerd with a dark side. Thank you for making this analysis, Dorked. 🙂

it's funny that you did an alphys voice for the entires because your normal speaking voice is like 100% my canon alphys voice lmao

just a funny thing i noticed. alphys says the garbage is her element. deltarune uses elements for certain attacks, like cat. i hope we find a garbage element.

One moment that makes me happy is that Alphys claims "You may never hear from me" after Undyne's date. Papyrus even calls you with a hint of urgency and concern. This makes me assume that she was planning to do the worst after "owning up to her own mistakes". But if you ignore Papyrus and head to Asgore, in contrast of all this context, she seems very happy in this neutral ending. One of two where she pops up to talk to the player. This implies that after "owning up to her mistakes", which might mean she was going to send the Amalgamates back to their families, maybe with the acceptance from those families and the support she experienced from her friends (including the player during the date sequence), she decided to go against it, looking to a brighter future instead of disappearing. I find this very wholesome.

It seriously baffles me that in a game where kindness and forgiveness are preached, Alphys is where people draw the line.

Honestly Alphys probably has one of the most tragic backstories of all Undertale characters and everyone just kinda forgets about it because of that other Royal Scientist and how she interrupts the flow of Hotland. Really nice video bringing this to light!