0:00:20.789,0:00:23.980 Ladies and gentlemen, Zote the Mighty. 0:00:23.980,0:00:27.699 Arguably one of the most complex and developed[br]characters in all of Hollow Knight. 0:00:27.699,0:00:34.710 In fact, Zote has more dialogue than any character[br]in the game with over 2600 words of dialogue, 0:00:34.710,0:00:37.870 much more than Seer, Lemm or Elderbug. 0:00:37.870,0:00:42.690 But despite all of this dialogue, Zote is[br]still one of the biggest mysteries in Hallownest. 0:00:42.690,0:00:47.899 Debates over his origins and impact on the[br]story have torn apart friends, families and 0:00:47.899,0:00:48.990 redditors alike. 0:00:48.990,0:00:51.280 There are so many questions. 0:00:51.280,0:00:52.900 Where did Zote come from? 0:00:52.900,0:00:53.900 Where is he going? 0:00:53.900,0:00:55.729 Who are his parents? 0:00:55.729,0:00:57.770 Where was Zote on 9/11? 0:00:57.770,0:00:59.790 Why won’t he submit to a polygraph test? 0:00:59.790,0:01:00.790 Is he hittin’ thank? 0:01:00.790,0:01:04.430 Well, today, we’re going to get to the bottom[br]of these mysteries. 0:01:04.430,0:01:08.290 Because what the fuck else would we be doing[br]with our lives? 0:01:08.290,0:01:10.360 Zote shows up in the game pretty early. 0:01:10.360,0:01:14.690 He is established as a comic relief character,[br]constantly needing the Knight’s help to 0:01:14.690,0:01:18.810 save him while also proclaiming that he is[br]a Knight of great renown. 0:01:18.810,0:01:23.240 Eventually the Knight fights Zote in the Coliseum[br]of Fools and it’s fucking pathetic. 0:01:23.240,0:01:26.010 It’s like shooting a fucking dog, jesus[br]christ. 0:01:26.010,0:01:31.490 So yeah, Zote’s a joke, and yet there’s[br]one thing about him that causes a total shit 0:01:31.490,0:01:34.330 storm for those of us trying to understand[br]the game’s lore. 0:01:34.330,0:01:39.010 Zote looks an awful lot like the Knight, more[br]so than any other NPC in the game. 0:01:39.010,0:01:40.160 This is kind of a big deal. 0:01:40.160,0:01:44.060 If you don’t know why this is important,[br]I’ll give you a quick run down. 0:01:44.060,0:01:48.370 The Knight is basically one of several hundred[br]failed test tube babies created by the King 0:01:48.370,0:01:52.240 and Queen of Hallownest in order to stop Mothra[br]from taking over the world, who were then 0:01:52.240,0:01:55.150 locked away in the basement because they had[br]too much thought. 0:01:55.150,0:02:00.240 So the fact that the Knight has several siblings[br]mixed with its uncanny resemblance to Zote, 0:02:00.240,0:02:02.120 has led to some interesting theories. 0:02:02.120,0:02:07.080 And the idea that Zote is one of these failed[br]Vessels has been posited by some. 0:02:07.080,0:02:10.860 If you go to the Hollow Knight Wiki page,[br]which is where all Hollow Knight lore whores 0:02:10.860,0:02:14.760 go to get their information, you can see that[br]a few users have posted the idea. 0:02:14.760,0:02:16.680 So I’m not making this shit up. 0:02:16.680,0:02:19.390 So yeah, that’s the big question. 0:02:19.390,0:02:23.250 Some people think that Zote is one of the[br]Pale King’s failed Vessels who escaped. 0:02:23.250,0:02:27.490 And the others say that Zote is completely[br]unrelated to the Pale King’s experiments. 0:02:27.490,0:02:28.900 So what’s my shitty opinion? 0:02:28.900,0:02:33.669 Well, I think that Zote is probably unrelated[br]to anything involving the Pale King. 0:02:33.669,0:02:37.040 The idea that Zote came from the Abyss just[br]doesn’t hold water when we look at all of 0:02:37.040,0:02:38.040 his dialogue. 0:02:38.040,0:02:42.029 But, in case you didn’t know, I’m the[br]kind of person who pretends to hear both sides 0:02:42.029,0:02:46.190 of an argument before continuing to cling[br]to their biased decision, so let’s hear 0:02:46.190,0:02:49.090 the evidence for why Zote is a sibling. 0:02:49.090,0:02:53.439 Now remember when I said that Zote has the[br]most dialogue out of any NPC in the game? 0:02:53.439,0:02:59.050 Well, while that is true, most of his dialogue[br]is completely irrelevant to anything important. 0:02:59.050,0:03:03.239 After finishing his sidequests, Zote winds[br]up in Dirtmouth teaching Bretta his Fifty-seven 0:03:03.239,0:03:04.499 Precepts. 0:03:04.499,0:03:09.220 And most of these Precepts are either common[br]sense or just plain bad advice. 0:03:09.220,0:03:13.029 Like Precept Forty-four that says you can’t[br]breathe water. 0:03:13.029,0:03:17.439 Or Precept Nineteen that says only to attempt[br]something if you know you will succeed. 0:03:17.440,0:03:22.300 Or Precept Thirty-eight that talks about a[br]mysterious force. 0:03:22.680,0:03:23.180 Wait, what?! 0:03:23.480,0:03:25.360 [X-Files theme intensifies] 0:03:30.040,0:03:33.540 But within Zote’s dialogue, we do see a[br]theme begin to emerge. 0:03:33.540,0:03:36.080 Basically, Zote has daddy issues. 0:03:36.080,0:03:40.320 During the fight in the Colosseum, Zote has[br]Dream Nail dialogue that reads as follows. 0:03:40.329,0:03:43.969 “I’ll kill a thousand more...Will that[br]be enough, father?”. 0:03:43.969,0:03:46.900 Zote mentions the word “Father” again[br]in Precept Fifty-Two. 0:03:46.900,0:03:51.010 The precept is titled “Beware the Jealousy[br]of Fathers”. 0:03:51.010,0:03:55.069 Zote explains in the precept that fathers[br]believe that their children must “serve” 0:03:55.069,0:03:58.629 them, and that fathers should be either vanquished[br]or abandoned. 0:03:58.629,0:04:01.719 The use of the word “serve” here is interesting. 0:04:01.719,0:04:05.469 This word appears when the Knight dream nails[br]the molds that were used to make the Pale 0:04:05.469,0:04:07.920 King’s void constructs. 0:04:07.920,0:04:13.099 Zote also mentions that mothers will always[br]betray you, in Precept Eleven, which is titled 0:04:13.099,0:04:15.430 “Mothers Will Always Betray You”. 0:04:15.430,0:04:19.549 And we know that the White Lady isn’t exactly[br]proud of her participation in the creation 0:04:19.549,0:04:23.740 of the Vessels, maybe because she also views[br]it as a betrayal. 0:04:23.740,0:04:26.960 Geez, sounds like Zote had a really bad father. 0:04:26.960,0:04:29.280 Hey, you know who was a bad father? 0:04:29.280,0:04:30.280 The Pale King! 0:04:30.280,0:04:32.620 Zote is the Pale King’s son confirmed! 0:04:32.620,0:04:35.070 Well, not so fast. 0:04:35.070,0:04:37.410 What about the fact that Zote has a personality? 0:04:37.410,0:04:40.910 Aren’t vessels supposed to be completely[br]void of mind or thought? 0:04:40.910,0:04:42.290 Isn’t that the whole point? 0:04:42.290,0:04:45.230 There are two explanations for this. 0:04:45.230,0:04:49.490 The first is that it is possible for siblings[br]to have personalities and voices, since we 0:04:49.490,0:04:51.530 know that Hornet is a sibling. 0:04:51.530,0:04:55.880 The second argument is that maybe Zote was[br]one of the really early experiments, so the 0:04:55.880,0:04:58.520 Pale King didn’t know how to make Vessels[br]that were empty. 0:04:58.520,0:05:02.740 So in other words, Zote is just a really fucked[br]up experiment. 0:05:02.740,0:05:06.110 Since we don’t know much about the finer[br]details of the Pale King’s experiments, 0:05:06.110,0:05:11.300 it’s hard to argue the second point, but[br]the Hornet explanation is on shaky ground. 0:05:11.300,0:05:14.970 Hornet was not created with the intention[br]to be used as a Vessel. 0:05:14.970,0:05:19.130 She was a gift to Herrah from the Pale King[br]in exchange for her help with combating the 0:05:19.130,0:05:20.570 infection. 0:05:20.570,0:05:24.070 And no reason is given to explain why Zote[br]would have been created differently from the 0:05:24.070,0:05:26.160 rest of the Siblings. 0:05:26.160,0:05:29.280 Precept Twenty-Two also fits in nicely with[br]narrative. 0:05:29.280,0:05:32.500 Zote mentions that he left his birthplace[br]as soon as he could. 0:05:32.500,0:05:36.270 He says not to linger there, since there’s[br]nothing worth staying for. 0:05:36.270,0:05:40.030 And I’ll admit, the Abyss doesn’t sound[br]like a very nice place to stay. 0:05:40.030,0:05:42.400 There’s also this dialogue from Zote. 0:05:42.400,0:05:47.260 He mentions that Dirtmouth is dreary and ghastly,[br]and that it reminds him of “home”. 0:05:47.260,0:05:51.260 I think you could interpret this dialogue[br]either way, but I’ll share it here since 0:05:51.260,0:05:52.850 it seems relevant. 0:05:52.850,0:05:57.010 If this was all the information we had to[br]decide if Zote was a child of the Pale King, 0:05:57.010,0:06:00.530 then this theory would actually be pretty[br]plausible. 0:06:00.530,0:06:04.480 But once we look at some of Zote’s other[br]dialogue, it becomes difficult to justify 0:06:04.480,0:06:05.810 this theory. 0:06:05.810,0:06:09.860 Before I get into what I think the biggest[br]issue here is, I’d like to mention a few 0:06:09.860,0:06:10.920 things. 0:06:10.920,0:06:15.010 The Hunter’s Journal entry for the Broken[br]Vessel mentions that it looks similar to the 0:06:15.010,0:06:16.010 bugs of Hallownest. 0:06:16.010,0:06:20.210 So, it sounds like the Vessels themselves[br]might not be very unique in terms of their 0:06:20.210,0:06:21.300 appearance. 0:06:21.300,0:06:24.890 Bugs like Elderbug are probably what the Hunter[br]is referring to. 0:06:24.890,0:06:30.510 Elderbug has a shell with features similar[br]to Zote, the most notable one being his mouth. 0:06:30.510,0:06:35.480 The Knight, Hornet and the other siblings[br]don’t have mouths, even though Hornet can 0:06:35.480,0:06:37.220 still talk? 0:06:37.220,0:06:38.020 [X-Files theme intensifies as mossbag realizes that calling Hornet a Vessel doesn’t actually make sense] 0:06:38.030,0:06:42.430 So maybe Zote and Elderbug are the same species,[br]and their resemblance to the Siblings is just 0:06:42.430,0:06:43.480 a coincidence. 0:06:43.480,0:06:47.850 Anyways, here’s the one big problem with[br]Zote being a Sibling who was made from the 0:06:47.850,0:06:48.850 Void. 0:06:48.850,0:06:52.940 If the player character dream nails Zote once[br]he moves back to Dirtmouth, Zote mentions 0:06:52.940,0:06:55.240 that he “came to this kingdom”. 0:06:55.240,0:06:59.930 So Zote is not originally from Hallownest,[br]or at least he doesn’t remember being from 0:06:59.930,0:07:01.340 Hallownest. 0:07:01.340,0:07:04.780 At this point, we’re going to have to talk[br]about the lands beyond Hallownest. 0:07:04.780,0:07:10.180 The problem is, we basically know jackshit[br]about the lands beyond Hallownest. 0:07:10.180,0:07:13.960 While the player is never able to leave Hallownest[br]during the game, we do get a glimpse into 0:07:13.960,0:07:18.020 the outside world, thanks to the Quirrel comic[br]that Team Cherry released to their Kickstarter 0:07:18.020,0:07:19.170 backers. 0:07:19.170,0:07:23.710 This comic follows Quirrel as he makes his[br]way from the wilderness back into Hallownest. 0:07:23.710,0:07:28.330 The comic starts off by establishing that[br]the bugs of the wilderness do not have minds. 0:07:28.330,0:07:32.710 They shed their thoughts and chose to rely[br]on instincts as a way to survive. 0:07:32.710,0:07:35.940 This jives pretty nicely with the lore tablet[br]that can be found at Howling Cliffs. 0:07:35.940,0:07:41.410 During his journey, Quirrel comes across Boon[br]another bug who is able to communicate through 0:07:41.410,0:07:42.410 speech. 0:07:42.410,0:07:44.731 Quirrel eventually makes it to Hallownest[br]where he is confronted by Hornet. 0:07:44.731,0:07:50.000 Hornet tried to murder his ass, but discovers[br]that Quirrel has some pretty serious plot 0:07:50.000,0:07:53.390 armor and decides to let him pass into Hallownest. 0:07:53.390,0:07:58.720 So what’s going on with this guy? Quirrel[br]was once an assistant to Monomon the Teacher. 0:07:58.720,0:08:03.090 Quirrel lived in Hallownest, but eventually[br]left the kingdom for unknown reasons. 0:08:03.090,0:08:07.110 But in this comic, as well as during most[br]of the game, Quirrel shows no recollection 0:08:07.110,0:08:09.520 of his previous time within the kingdom. 0:08:09.520,0:08:11.710 Why was Quirrel’s memory forgotten? 0:08:11.710,0:08:15.620 Is it because the sands of the wilderness[br]clouded his mind for so long that it took 0:08:15.620,0:08:17.300 him a while to remember? 0:08:17.300,0:08:21.470 Does leaving Hallownest cause bugs to lose[br]any memories of life inside the kingdom? 0:08:21.470,0:08:25.060 Is Quirrel’s memory loss entirely unrelated[br]to leaving Hallownest? 0:08:25.060,0:08:29.010 Well, to better understand this, let’s look[br]at the other bugs who travel to Hallownest 0:08:29.010,0:08:30.230 during the game. 0:08:30.230,0:08:34.990 Aside from Quirrel and Zote, Tiso, Cloth,[br]Cornifer and Iselda all seem to have ventured 0:08:34.990,0:08:37.440 to Hallownest from some other location. 0:08:37.440,0:08:40.539 All of these characters seem to have all of[br]their memories intact. 0:08:40.539,0:08:44.930 They never suddenly remember things long forgotten,[br]and what they do remember seems to imply that 0:08:44.930,0:08:48.480 they have never lost their memories the same[br]way that Quirrel did. 0:08:48.480,0:08:52.510 Cloth and Tiso are two other Kickstarter backer[br]characters that the player can interact with 0:08:52.510,0:08:53.730 during the game. 0:08:53.730,0:08:57.149 Admitly neither character outright claims[br]that they are from beyond Hallownest, but 0:08:57.149,0:08:59.189 it’s heavily implied. 0:08:59.189,0:09:04.390 Cloth is a cicada-type warrior with a big[br]club who is on a quest to find Nola, a character 0:09:04.390,0:09:06.500 that she mentions throughout the game. 0:09:06.500,0:09:10.200 Cloth was designed by a Kickstarter backer[br]named Noah Sturtridge. 0:09:10.200,0:09:15.160 She was originally a male character named[br]Burlap, who wore a burlap sack on his head. 0:09:15.160,0:09:19.069 Team Cherry changed Burlap’s name after[br]they realized that burlap doesn’t exist 0:09:19.069,0:09:20.750 in Hallownest. 0:09:20.750,0:09:22.290 Not sure why they changed his gender though. 0:09:22.290,0:09:25.850 I guess it’s just Team Cherry trying to[br]shove more of their progressive agenda down 0:09:25.850,0:09:26.850 our throats. 0:09:26.850,0:09:31.540 Tiso was created by Tiso Spencer, and his[br]design is pretty close to what made it into 0:09:31.540,0:09:33.120 the final game. 0:09:33.120,0:09:36.879 In the Team Cherry post that revealed Tiso,[br]it was mentioned that his story would have 0:09:36.879,0:09:42.050 an interesting conclusion, and well… he[br]dies offscreen. 0:09:42.050,0:09:46.019 Tiso travels to Hallownest because he wants[br]to fight in the Colosseum of Fools, which 0:09:46.019,0:09:47.570 he has heard rumors about. 0:09:47.570,0:09:51.620 Tiso’s knowledge of the Colosseum of Fools[br]and Cloth’s memory of her friend shows that 0:09:51.620,0:09:54.670 these characters still have their memories. 0:09:54.670,0:09:56.809 Then there’s Iselda and Cornifer. 0:09:56.809,0:10:00.449 Cornifer mentions that he moved to Dirtmouth[br]as soon as he could, after he had heard about 0:10:00.449,0:10:02.279 the Kingdom of Hallownest. 0:10:02.279,0:10:06.339 You know, this being Cornifer’s kingdom[br]to map does explain why the map of Hallownest 0:10:06.339,0:10:09.769 he draws is so fucking shitty, but that’s[br]beside the point. 0:10:09.769,0:10:14.940 Iselda also mentions that she used to be a[br]fighter, but gave it up to be with Corny. 0:10:14.940,0:10:18.199 But this dialogue might be hinting at a future[br]Iselda boss fight. 0:10:18.199,0:10:22.999 But anyway, the point is, these two bugs must[br]have lived somewhere beyond Hallownest before 0:10:22.999,0:10:23.999 the start of the game 0:10:23.999,0:10:27.579 So yeah, there are examples of intelligent[br]bugs beyond Hallownest. 0:10:27.579,0:10:33.259 As for Quirrel, the best we can say is that[br]he originated from Hallownest, lost his memory 0:10:33.259,0:10:36.850 and his time back in Hallownest helped him[br]recover his memory. 0:10:36.850,0:10:38.709 So, where does that leave Zote? 0:10:38.709,0:10:41.930 Is he like Quirrel, or is he like the others? 0:10:41.930,0:10:46.399 If he was from Hallownest before and lost[br]his memory, why does he not remember anything 0:10:46.399,0:10:48.449 about Hallownest during his quest? 0:10:48.449,0:10:51.449 Is it because he’s not as inquisitive as[br]Quirrel? 0:10:51.449,0:10:55.689 Maybe, but doesn’t it seem more likely that[br]Zote is just from a different part of the 0:10:55.689,0:10:56.689 world? 0:10:56.689,0:11:00.899 Zote has specific memories about his past,[br]just like Iselda and the other travelers. 0:11:00.899,0:11:05.810 There isn’t any evidence that Zote has lost[br]his memories, and he doesn’t act like he 0:11:05.810,0:11:08.100 has ever been to Hallownest before. 0:11:08.100,0:11:13.490 So yeah, this “I came to this kingdom”[br]comment is the nail in the coffin for me. 0:11:13.490,0:11:17.839 So why include all this dialogue about Zote’s[br]father if there’s no connection between 0:11:17.839,0:11:18.839 Zote and the Pale King? 0:11:18.839,0:11:22.439 Does Team Cherry just like getting their jimmies[br]off to pissing of their fans and making them 0:11:22.439,0:11:23.730 confused as hell? 0:11:23.730,0:11:28.279 Well, it might have been included as just[br]another way to contrast Zote and the Knight. 0:11:28.279,0:11:31.300 While they both have fathers who probably[br]aren’t going to be getting any “World’s 0:11:31.300,0:11:36.470 Best Dad” mugs at Christmas,the Knight continues[br]with its quest regardless, while Zote rejects 0:11:36.470,0:11:39.089 his family and lives a life of self absorption. 0:11:39.089,0:11:43.199 So yeah, I think that pretty much sums up[br]what we know about Zote. 0:11:43.199,0:11:47.559 If I missed anything, which I definitely did,[br]someone will eventually come along and set 0:11:47.559,0:11:50.379 the record straight in the comments, so go[br]check those out. 0:11:50.379,0:11:53.869 And like I said before this is just my interpretation[br]of the evidence. 0:11:53.869,0:11:57.329 It’s definitely one of those things in the[br]Hollow Knight lore that Team Cherry could 0:11:57.329,0:12:01.120 definitely change by adding more stuff in[br]through a content pack. 0:12:01.120,0:12:05.800 And who knows, maybe one day we’ll get a[br]Zote DLC, and my life will finally have meaning 0:12:05.800,0:12:06.300 again.