While I’m firmly a Dess-Knight denier.
Dess cannot be the Knight, Dess is almost certainly the one trapped in the code. Which means she physically cannot be going in the Light World opening fountains.
But even if we assume Dess is somehow NOT UNUSED, it still makes zero sense. Because come on. Dess Knight has you believe Dess, the one always friendly and protective to Noelle, just abandoned the Holiday family without saying a word, spent years in the bunker pretending to be missing, then started trying to cause the Roaring? Like, what
I believe Dess is even more impossible than Asriel Knight (Kris and Asriel could have just lied about Asriel being at college, way more plausible than Dess being missing being one giant fakery that lasted for years. What, people would know he wasn’t at college if he was hanging around Hometown opening fountains? Yes, you’re right, Asriel isn’t the Knight. That same argument applies for Dess as well and for a much bigger timeframe too)
“Ralsei is piles of Asriel’s dust!” I believe is unironically more plausible (says more about Dess Knight than it does about “piles of Asriel’s dust”)
The only Knight theory that would be worse is still calling Kris the Knight, calling Susie the Knight, calling Undyne or Toriel the Knight, or calling a Darkner the Knight. Kris, Susie, Undyne, and Toriel because we see them and the Knight at the same time, and Darkners because Darkners can’t open fountains. Literally every single other Lightner is a better candidate.
Here’s my response to most of the “evidence” for Dess Knight
- The bat was still in Dess’ room, so Dess can’t be holding the bat. Carol on the other hand could’ve taken it
- The Black Knife looks more like a katana in the fight itself. Who is known to have MULTIPLE Katanas? And is probably the one who started the Holiday family ninja style? Carol. (Though Amalgam Knight is also feasible and my true main candidate, I’m split between that and Carol)
- Lost Girl is the theme of the Holiday Family itself. Toby once referred to it as Noelle’s theme, then later corrected himself that it’s more than that. “It’s actually the kind of song that gets used repeatedly all over the game, even when she’s not around”.
- 1225 refers to the Holiday family itself, not Dess (Also while the gacha room is probably about Dess, the triangle is not a Shadow Crystal, it works the exact opposite a Shadow Crystal. Seeing through your hand only happens in the Light World with Shadow Crystals, you should see the TV if it was a Shadow Crystal)
- Carol was done talking to Noelle before we leave. Otherwise she wouldn’t have known we were leaving, and stepped out to say goodbye. She could have just followed us to the church Holiday-family ninja style. Also, we still have Amalgam Knight as a candidate so even if Carol is 100% not the Knight it doesn’t suddenly mean Dess is the Knight
- The Knight could have kidnapped Undyne NOT to get the code… (The Knight probably already knows all three codes, Kris definitely does since they opened the shelter at the end of Chapter 3, so even if the Knight isn’t Carol they’d know the codes, Kris would have TOLD THEM. I suspect though the Knight already knew and instead was the one that told Kris, making them likely either the mayor (who would know all three codes since she’s in charge of the whole town and would have had the shelter built in the first place) or working with Gaster (Amalgam Knight?)) The Knight instead probably wanted to keep US from getting Undyne’s code. Remember, the Knight also didn’t want us getting the Holiday family code in the guitar.
- Carol took away Dess’ guitar from Susie. She was the last person seen with Dess’ guitar. Carol was the one that blocked us.