Deltarune's 4th chapter treated us to direct excerpts of the prophecy that foretells the game's events. Of the various panels shown to us, only two pertained to Chapter 5, and one—Jockington grows the beard—was obviously a joke. One of the cornerstones of Chapter 3+4-era theories was the above panel, labeled "boss3" in the files, which is, as far as we know, the only real mention of Chapter 5's plot in the prophecy. The Flower Man, trapped in asylum.
Most people assumed, rightfully so, that the "Flower Man" would be Asgore, given he is very prominently displayed in the accompanying image and could be described as a "Flower Man", what with him running his flower shop, Flower King. However, now that Chapter 5 is out... this prophecy doesn't line up with what actually happened. Asgore doesn't spend the chapter "trapped in asylum"—he's calling the shots, playing along with Flowery and the other plantners while seeking answers for his own goal. For that matter, the whole "inferno of jealousy" thing described by Gerson doesn't line up, either. It was easy to assume Asgore would become jealous of Sans's relationship with Toriel, and that he, known for wielding fire magic in Undertale, would literally create an inferno of jealousy, but that never happens.
Neither of these things line up... with the Asgore interpretation, anyways. He isn't the only character depicted in that prophecy panel, after all. I've seen many members of the community continue to believe that both this prophecy panel and the lyrics of "Flower Man" are about Asgore, but is that really the case? Would the literal flower-man, Flowery, be a better fit? I intend to find out. Let's begin.
Mission Statement
To make my intentions here, my goal is to analyze Deltarune's references to the Flower Man to determine whether this individual is Asgore, Flowery, or... both, depending on context. I intend to make fair arguments for all possibilities.
There are three main mentions of the Flower Man that I want to analyze here. The prophecy panel shown above, the song "Flower Man", and Gerson's description of Chapter 5 of Lord of the Hammer. The latter doesn't actually mention the Flower Man directly, but I think it's a fair assumption to say it is either about or at least strongly relates to the Flower Man.
Lord of the Hammer is an adaptation of the prophecy, after all, and the only mention of Chapter 5 in said prophecy is about the Flower Man; even if there are more, unseen passages of the prophecy, I think it's safe to assume that the Flower Man is the central figure of this segment of the story, and therefore what Chapter 5 of Lord of the Hammer would primarily be about.
Prophecy Panel
THE FLOWER MAN,
TRAPPED IN ASYLUM
I already went over some of my thoughts regarding this panel in the intro, but let's go into it in more detail. There are two main things we need to consider here: is each character trapped, and are they conceivably in asylum?
As already discussed, Asgore is definitively not trapped. Though the flowers want him to remain in the perfect world they've made for him, they do ultimately go along with his desires. He's even able to step out of the Dark World briefly in order to kick Kris and Susie out.
When it comes to "in asylum", there is actually a bit more support there. The word 'asylum' could have one of two different meanings here: A, a place of inviolable protection, such as for a refugee, or B, an institution to care for the mentally ill. Both meanings could actually work for Asgore; the flowers try to make the Dark World a perfect place for him to escape from his problems in the Light World, and yet it is also while within the Dark World that his obsession with vindicating himself and solving Dess's disappearance takes the strongest hold—as well as where he learns to finally settle down.
What about Flowery? Well, he's trapped in multiple senses of the word. He and the other plantners are incapable of leaving the Flower Kingdom, unlike normal Darkners; this is the primary reason he comes into conflict with us. He's also trapped by the prophecy. This largely holds true for every character, but it is of particular note in Flowery's case, as it is implied he knows the prophecy, and he is characterized as actively trying to rebel against it throughout the entire chapter.
When it comes to asylum, Flowery's ties are a bit weaker than Asgore's. From the safe place angle, Flowery is the person creating the safe place, though he is also trapped in it. The mental asylum angle doesn't really work at all for him, on the other hand; fun character quirks aside, he's a pretty confident, well-adjusted person who doesn't really get (or need) much emotional development during the story.
Overall, while Flowery's ties to the concept of "asylum" are weaker, I think he's a better fit for the subject of this panel simply because Asgore isn't actually trapped anywhere. It's also worth noting that the panel itself is labeled "boss3" in the files, and it is the reason that most people assumed Asgore would be the final boss of Chapter 5. Flowery, whom one could argue also appears in the panel, is the actual boss of Chapter 5.
Lord of the Hammer
Chapter 5, The Field of Pink and Gold.
The vast garden is charred in an inferno of jealousy.
As described before, we can reasonably assume that the Flower Man is the central character of the section of the prophecy that Chapter 5, as well as the 5th chapter of Lord of the Hammer, are based on. Based on that, it's reasonable to think the "inferno of jealousy" would either be about or related to the Flower Man. In that light, how do our options hold up?
Asgore doesn't. He never really expresses any jealousy throughout the chapter, instead being focused on his desperate quest to vindicate himself. If anything, his arc at the end of the chapter is the exact opposite of what Gerson's summary entails, with Asgore learning how suffocating his actions thus far must have been for Toriel.
Flowery, on the other hand, fits this line perfectly. Jealousy is a significant theme throughout Chapter 5, and it's primarily explored through Flowery and the other plantners. They're jealous of Lightners, who are free to go where they please and live full lives with higher consciousness; the flowers, on the other hand, only get to be people for a short time, and are confined purely to the Flower Kingdom. Flowery in particular leads the flowers to fight us and attempt to keep Flower Kingdom open instead of Castle Town.
Flowery wins again, and while things were a bit iffy when it came to the prophecy panel, this line is pretty much undeniably about Flowery. It's notable, however, that the 'inferno' part of Gerson's retelling never occurs in Chapter 5, unless you count Ralsei blasting one (1) projectile with his magic. This could indicate that the prophecy has already been altered (perhaps by Flowery, since trying to defy the prophecy is kinda his whole thing), or just that Gerson's version of events was a lot more fiery than the original prophecy.
Flower Man
The previous sections were important to go over, but this is the real meat of this analysis. Almost everyone I've seen discuss this song assumes it's sung by Flowery about Asgore, the Flower Man; our above analysis, however, indicates that Flowery is the more likely candidate. Can the song's lyrics finally settle the score? Let's go through them line-by-line.
Ten feet twenty the Flower Man
This first line already establishes something important: this song is being sung from Flowery's perspective, or was at least written by him. "Ten feet twenty" is an example of a speech quirk he exhibit's throughout Chapter 5 where he will use common phrases slightly incorrectly, perhaps because he's a flower and doesn't actually know what the words mean. In this case, Flowery seemingly knows that height is expressed in the format of "__ feet __", and he also knows that being taller is considered more impressive. What he doesn't know is how tall people actually are or that there are only twelve inches in a foot, so he just picks two big, impressive-sound numbers, thus giving us the impossible 10'20 measurement.
The other notable thing here is that the titular Flower Man is the person being described as tall here. This line works well with both interpretations. It could be Flowery gassing himself up, or he could be expressing his admiration for Asgore.
Is waiting for the touch of his hand
This line consists only of a predicate—in case you don't remember from English class, that's the part of a sentence that usually comes after a verb and informs you of what the subject is doing. In this case, the line is clearly meant to be the second half of the previous line, with the Flower Man being the subject. The Flower Man is waiting for the touch of his hand. The question is, who is the "he" referenced here?
I can't think of any context in which this line makes sense for Asgore. The only significant men in his life are Rudy and his son, but he isn't waiting for the touch of their hands. On the other hand, the Flowery interpretation here is very straightforward. He's waiting for the touch of Asgore's hand—the person he admires and is building a perfect world for.
Straightening petals out without a plan
Like the every daily
First of all, "every daily" is another potential example of Flowery's speech quirk, further indicating that this song is likely sung/written by him. Like the previous line, the first one here lacks a subject, leaving us to assume it is still referring to the Flower Man from the first line. Grammatically, that would make this line support Flowery by default, but let's look deeper as if that isn't the case.
Between the literal flower and the gardener, both have reason to be straightening petals. I believe the important part here is "without a plan". In the Asgore interpretation, this could potentially apply to how his attempts to vindicate himself using the Dark World don't work out, but that's a bit messy given that he does have a plan, it just isn't working. For Flowery, this could refer to how he's trying to defy the prophecy despite knowing that should be impossible. He has no plan because there's nothing he could come up with that would actually help him.
Wish that bothers the Flower Man
Could I do something to make him laugh
I believe this part is single-handedly responsible for the general assumption that Asgore is the Flower Man. Grammatically, the "him" in the second line refers to the Flower Man, and it's quite clear that the "I" is Flowery and the "him is Asgore". Flowery spends a significant portion of Chapter 5 doing exactly what this line describes, trying to make Asgore laugh and give him fun distractions from the goal that's driving him insane.
So, what's the explanation here? The first verse contains a line that grammatically implies that the Flower Man must be Flowery, but this verse contains one that grammatically implies that it must be Asgore. How did that happen? I have three possible theories.
- Flowery is a bad songwriter and mixed up the pronouns in a confusing way.
- Toby Fox is a good songwriter and intentionally wanted the identity of the Flower Man to be somewhat ambiguous, so he mixed up the pronouns here in a way that makes it impossible to definitely determine which person it is.
- The "him" in the second line isn't meant to refer to the "Flower Man" in the previous line, but is instead meant to refer back to the "he" from the previous verse.
For those keeping a tally, theories 1 and 2 would indicate these lines are useless for our analysis, while theory 3 would make these lines support the Flowery agenda.
Inside my little chamber made of glass
So he lived the
Flower Man, Flower Man
The first line here clearly refers to Flowery, who is confined inside of a glass chamber in the Light World. There are two ways to interpret how the following lines apply to it. "So he lived the" acts as a transition, informing us that a previous subject is the Flower Man. The question is: is the subject who lives as such Flowery, or is it the "he" (Asgore) that's already been referenced?
Neither of these options work cleanly. If the subject here is Flowery, why does he switch from referring to himself in first-person "my" to third-person in the next line? That doesn't make sense, but the alternative might be even more confusing. If this "he" is referring back to the first "he" (Asgore) like the previous "he" was in theory 3 (is this sentence confusing enough for you?), that would create another paradox. If this "he" is Asgore, that grammatically implies he's the Flower Man. But if this "he" is Asgore, theory 3 must be true and the previous "he" must also be Asgore, in which case the previous "Could I do something to make him laugh" line is proof that Flowery is the Flower Man; this piece of evidence would be simultaneously supporting both theories.
Perhaps it's best we move on...
With his heart in the sand
So he stands
To watch the whole wide world
From a can
This is a big chunk, since the "heart in the sand" thing isn't actually very helpful for us. It's important to note that all of these lines are following after "Flower Man, Flower Man", meaning all of these hims and hes grammatically refer to him. This section supports Flowery. "From a can" could be referring to the same glass chamber from the previous verse. Meanwhile, there's no logical explanation for what this section could mean for Asgore.
Way up high in the sky
With the sun in his eyes
This section also supports Flowery. The song we're analyzing plays during our battle with Flowery, which literally takes place high in the sky with sun in the background. It's very likely that these lines are meant to refer to what's actively taking place as they're sung. Unlike most of the pro-Flowery evidence, though, this isn't strictly anti-Asgore; it could reasonably be just a generic way of describing him in a cool way, or it could refer to him just looking out at the sun from a high place.
Ain't it nice
The life forever for
Flowers
Another piece of Fowery evidence. This pair of verses that make up the chorus are all still referring to the Flower Man from the first line. If the Flower Man is Flowery, this line makes perfect sense; it's sarcastically lamenting his inevitable fate as a flower, or perhaps reveling in his determination to dedicate his life to Asgore. If the Flower Man is Asgore, on the other hand, this section is a non-sequitor that doesn't really mean much; why would the whole rest of the chorus be about him only to abruptly talk about the plantners here?
Ten feet twenty the Flower Man
Is waiting for the touch of his hand
Fallen to pieces still without a plan
Yet the every daily
This is mostly a repetition of the song's first verse, with the only difference being the third line. Contrary to the first version, which more strongly favored Flowery, I feel like this one actually fits Asgore better. By the time we fight Flowery, Asgore's plan has "fallen to pieces", and one could say that that is also an accurate description of his mental state at this point. Flowery, on the other hand, seems pretty self-assured and stable. It is, however, possible that he's more shaken up about his inevitable death than he lets show.
Hope that powered the Flower Man
Would never cower off of its path
Even if broken I am more than glass
So he lived the
Flower Man, Flower Man
This is the last unique section, since what follows after is just the chorus again, unchanged from before. The first line could work for either candidate. Flowery is filled with hope and the power of friendship during our battle with him, but once could argue that Asgore is filled with hope that he will vindicate himself and get his old life back.
The second line here is another example of really weird pronoun use in this song, which leads me to believe we maybe ought to disregard the past sections with paradoxical pronoun usage. Here, the subject that is being referred to is the hope from the previous line. What does it mean that "Hope would never cower off of its path"? Methinks it's just gibberish that sounds cool.
The third line doesn't strongly support either candidate, though one could stretch it a bit to make an argument for Flowery. The prophecy panels in Chapter 4 are made of glass, and a major part of Flowery's character is his desire to overcome the prophecy; in that sense, him being "more than glass" could be a way of saying he's above the prophecy. "Even if broken" could also be in reference to his death.
While that's all we've got in English, there is an official Japanese version of these lyrics. The Deltarune Wiki has an English translation of the Japanese translation, and I think it's worth taking a look at some of the differences just to be thorough. I won't comment on every line, just the ones I think are particularly notable.
Ten feet twenty the Flower Man
Touch with that hand
All of these petals
Straighten them out
Woo woo, sorrowful Flower Man
A glass vessel
Inside it, what I wish for is
To see him smile
Immediately after saying I won't comment on every line, I hit you with two entire verses. These grammatically support Asgore being the Flower Man. The first verse has Flowery describing things he wants Asgore to do, while the second verse contains another "him" that is clearly Asgore while grammatically referring to the Flower Man.
Flower Man, Flower Man
Sinking his roots
Deep into the dirt
These lines from the chorus, on the other hand, imply the Flower Man must be Flowery. I don't think I need to explain why.
Ten feet twenty the Flower Man
Touch with that hand
Shattering vessel
Turn it into power
These lines are very weird, I honestly don't know what to make of them. They could be Flowery urging Asgore to seek power, or they could be Flowery describing his own desire for power. In either case, what is the "vessel" being shattered here? I don't think these are of any use to us, just interesting.
Oh oh, fearless Flower Man
On his own path
Even if the glass breaks
So he lived the
This supports Flowery being the Flower Man. Like in the English, the "glass" here could very well refer to the prophecy, so "even if the glass breaks" would refer to Flowery managing to defy fate.
So, who is it?
As I alluded to above, I believe Toby intentionally designed the lyrics of Flower Man to be confusing, particularly when it comes to the identity of the titular man. In a similar vein, the Chapter 4 prophecy panel was clearly meant to make us think Asgore would be both the Chapter 5 boss and the Flower Man, but we know for sure one of those wasn't true.
Overall, after taking everything into consideration, I think Flowery is the much more likely candidate for the Flower Man's identity. He matches the prophecy panel and Gerson's description much better than Asgore. While Flower Man's lyrics are largely inconclusive, there are more lines that definitively support Flowery than there are those that definitively support Asgore. The literal flower man is simply the better fit.
I took a bit long to make this, and it actually seems like a decent chunk of the community has come to the same conclusion as me since I started writing. I'd be interested to hear all of your thoughts. Thanks for reading!
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