🔗 Share this article

Team Cherry's Silksong continues the unique narrative style from the first game, dispersing historical fragments and character development throughout the world. Once everything is connected, the transformation from a seemingly simple beginning to a deeply significant conclusion is striking. Much like the rest of the game, the plot is more ambitious and better executed than its forerunner, centered around a strong central idea and a significant revelation.

However, the word "Almost" is key. There is a significant problem: the development team seem uncertain about whether the protagonist is Hornet or the person controlling her.

Editor's Note: The following discussion contains major plot reveals for both the standard and true endings of Silksong.

The Pilgrimage of Hornet

The quest starts with Hornet captured and caged. The Weavers of Pharloom took her prisoner on the bidding of the deity Mother Silk, from whom Hornet is partly descended. After escaping, she encounters a group of pilgrims and embarks on a journey. Her path takes her from the hellish depths filled with remains of the fallen up towards the fortress, home to Pharloom's decadent priesthood. Along the way, she witnesses the cruelty and suffering endured by the exploited masses in the name of faith—laborers who toil unto death, dissenters imprisoned for their beliefs, and more.

The Rival Weaver Lace

Another Weaver, also created by Grand Mother Silk's essence, is likewise ascending to the stronghold. Her plan is to revive the deity, seek vengeance on the corrupt clergy, and seize control. Hornet's arrival changes everything. In the regular conclusion, Hornet takes over from Mother Silk. In the secret finale, she imprisons the deity, confronts the dark entity, rescues her rival, and witnesses a sacrifice so both can escape.

Thematic Foundations

Silksong is, at its heart, a pilgrimage story. It is inspired by ancient spiritual journeys and morality plays, with a critical look at institutional faith. Hornet's journey—descending into darkness, through a middle realm of struggle, and rising toward revelation—directly parallels the classic epic poem. That literary work follows a protagonist through hell, purgatory, and heaven on a quest for spiritual transformation, which is the essence of Silksong.

One can even draw connections to the Christian ritual, albeit rearranged. Hornet is arrested and stripped, stands trial, suffers a grueling climb, and is briefly imprisoned in the void. In essence, the game encourages reflection on faith, the soul, and change, all of which are vital for understanding the finale.

The Weaver Lore

Delving into the mythology of the ancient race reveals that the belief system and culture once championed by Mother Silk has become corrupt. Her children forsook her path, and a group of power-hungry clergy seized control the Citadel, perverting the faith for their own gain.

Hornet, as a blood relative of the deity, was destined to follow her will, willingly or not. Thanks to her upbringing by Herrah, she was kept away from the internal conflicts and taught to live for herself, which is why the deity captures her at the beginning—to force her to fulfill her inherited duties.

Conclusions and Interpretations

If the heroine defeats Mother Silk in the regular finale, she takes her power and ascends to divinity. The fact that this is not the good outcome indicates that the kingdom's problems would persist—Hornet would have merely replaced one corrupt deity for another. By solving everyone's problems, players access the final chapter and the ideal conclusion.

Like any meaningful pilgrimage, this one ends with revelation. Hornet's discovery is that she can now exist independently of the hereditary burden in her lineage and choose her own path. Her rival, recalling that love triumphs, liberated from her single-mindedness, will likely rebuild Pharloom in a better image. In the true ending, faith is abolished, and everyone is free.

As a end of the journey, it is an exceptional piece of meta-storytelling that perfectly aligns with the traditions it references. It communicates players that the only way to improve the world is to show compassion. Few games use interactivity to convey this theme so effectively, and the creators deserve praise for this thoughtful use of the medium.

A Central Dilemma

Despite the power of its conclusion, the development team had difficulty reinforcing this message consistently and, crucially, to connect it to the main character: the heroine.

The moral might be for the audience, but the narrative is about Hornet. When a narrative features a protagonist with her own agency, she must be the central focus, and her decisions and development should communicate the ideas. Even in symbolic stories, the protagonist's identity and role are usually clearly defined to avoid confusion.

Yet, Hornet does not grow or evolve on her journey. Her only goal is to return home. The struggle of destiny versus choice only appears in the climactic battle and some hidden lore. If players tick every box to unlock Act 3, an supporting figure comments on her kindness, but he is addressing the player, not her.

Lack of Character Development

This approach would have been fine in the first Hollow Knight, where the protagonist is a blank slate. Hornet, however, is a defined character, a driven hunter with a clear purpose. If she is made to choose uncharacteristic deeds—such as aiding the helpless—there should be some resistance. One would anticipate her to grumble, act gruff, or at least react. A simple grumble when initially assisting, later expressing concern that her aid might help, would work.

When initially requested to help the oppressed citizens, Hornet responds with apathy, treating it as a low priority. Even if the user decides to assist, she develops no attachment with any of them. There is no transformation, no shift in perspective. It is notable that the user would show such care, but not Hornet. The game provides no reason to think she would.

Wasted Character Potential

Hornet's interactions with characters like the Caretaker were the ideal chance to develop her personality and strengthen the message without heavy-handed exposition. Most of these end up being purely decorative, just padding the runtime. This problem stems from both the characterization of the heroine and the random placement of the supporting cast.

One character is essentially a lovable, doddering old fool—present for flavor but having no real impact. Others, like the Moss Druid and Huntress, represent different ideologies outside the Citadel's norms, a concept that fits the themes but goes unexplored.

Aside from Lace and Sherma, one of the only characters with a thread through the entire game is The Green Prince, thanks to a tale of lost love. While emotionally powerful, it leans heavily on a troubling trope and feels disconnected from the central plot. Removing it would have no effect on the protagonist's arc or the core message.

A Passive Protagonist

The apparently arbitrary allocation of attention makes subplots feel incomplete and tacked on. The biggest misstep, however, is that Hornet is portrayed as a passive participant in almost every situation. The few times she speaks up, her remarks are uninspiring, such as stating the obvious to another character. Even more direct remarks on oppression and free will would have linked her more closely to the game's concepts. Instead, she is merely a passenger—in the backseat of her narrative.

Acknowledging the Achievement

Despite these problems in storytelling, there is still great admiration for what the team accomplished. Rare titles blend so many inspirations into a set of themes so strong and layered that they are built directly into the in-game world. If the next project from the developers is larger and improved, one can only wish that those improvements include the fundamentals of storytelling as well.