Golden Flowers are a type of flower that is a recurring symbol in Undertale.
Description[]
Golden Flowers have corollas with five to six yellow petals. They grow on individual stems and appear to grow in patches as well. Golden Flowers are indigenous to the Surface[1] and can easily adapt to new environments, such as the Garbage Dump. Their sticky seeds helped them to be brought to and spread throughout the Underground.[2] They can be used to make tea.[3]
Main Story[]
The protagonist's first moments in the Underground
Golden Flowers can be seen throughout the game, mainly in the Ruins, the Garbage Dump, and New Home. They are first seen when the protagonist falls on them at the beginning of the game. Toriel tends to the flowerbed at the beginning of the Ruins during her routinely visits and, if spared, she can be found doing so after her battle.[4]
In Waterfall, another patch of Golden Flowers cushions the protagonist's fall after Undyne destroys the bridge above the Garbage Dump. While they are unconscious, they receive a memory of Asriel finding and speaking to the first human.
A prominent Golden Flower is Flowey. In the True Lab, Alphys experimented by injecting determination into many vessels, Golden Flowers being one of them.[1] Alphys considered the vessels to be a failure.[2] After the monsters that were injected with determination woke up, Alphys sent the Golden Flower vessel back to Asgore, who most likely replanted it in his garden.[5] Once the monsters began to melt together, Alphys rushed to find the vessel only to find that it had disappeared.[6] The vessel, which was filled with determination, absorbed Asriel's essence from his dust in the flowerbed and became sentient. This is implied to be Flowey, as Flowey mentions how he woke up as a flower in the same garden where that flower grew.[7]
In a Neutral Route, monsters narrate the story of the first human and Asriel that occurred before the start of Undertale. A trio of Vegetoids state that the first human's last wish was to see the flowers from their village;[8] these flowers are implied to have been Golden Flowers. A trio of Woshuas describe Asriel carrying the first human to a bed of Golden Flowers.[9]
During the epilogue of the True Pacifist Route, Asriel can be found at the flowerbed where the protagonist fell. Upon first interaction, he gives a similar response as Toriel.[10]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The flavor text for the Ruins's bed of Golden Flowers becomes available after encountering Flowey.[11]
- Golden Flower tea is Asgore's favorite kind of tea.[3]
- The bookshelf in the living room of Asgore's Home has a book on how to make tea, further implying that Asgore uses Golden Flowers to make tea.[12]
- If the protagonist has befriended Papyrus or Undyne and uses their Cell Phone while in the Garbage Dump area with the Golden Flowers, they have different comments:
- Papyrus wonders if any of them talk, and for the protagonist to greet them for him. If called again, he states that the flowers are "OUR BEST FRIENDS!!"
- Undyne informs that the flowers had grown there one day, and believes that "they have a mind of their own." If called again, she disregards the idea.
- A common misconception is that Golden Flowers are buttercups, like the ones the first human and Asriel mistakenly put in a butterscotch pie. This is impossible since Golden Flowers were brought to the Underground after the first human's death.
- Another common misconception is that Flowey is a buttercup. This is also impossible, as Alphys described the flower that would become him as the first golden flower to grow in the Underground, and that it appeared just before Toriel left, whereas buttercups had been previously used in a pie for Asgore and to poison Chara.
- Some have theorized that Golden Flowers are a reference to the real-life flower called the Gorse, which is an extremely resilient flower that blooms and thrives in harsh conditions, similar to how the Golden Flowers can survive in the Garbage Dump. However, the Golden Flowers shown in the game hardly resemble Gorse.
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 I've chosen a candidate.
I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it...
In the center of his garden, there's something special.
The first golden flower, that grew before all the others.
The flower from the outside world.
It appeared just before the queen left.
I wonder...
What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live? - Entry number 8, True Lab - ↑ 2.0 2.1 experiments on the vessel are a failure.
it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases.
whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway.
the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go... - Entry Number 10, True Lab - ↑ 3.0 3.1 You know... It's kind of strange you chose THAT tea.
Golden flower tea...
That's ASGORE's favorite kind. - Undyne - ↑ Do not worry about me.
Someone has to take care of these flowers. - Toriel - ↑ Seems like this research was a dead end...
But at least we got a happy ending out of it...?
I sent the SOULS back to ASGORE, returned the vessel to his garden....
And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive.
I'll send everyone back tomorrow. :) - Entry number 15, True Lab - ↑ the flower's gone. - Entry number 18, True Lab
- ↑ I remember when I first woke up here, in the garden.
I was so scared.
I couldn't feel my arms or my legs...
My entire body had turned into a flower! - Flowey - ↑ Vegetoid A: The sick human had only one request.
Vegetoid B: To see the flowers from their village.
Vegetoid C: But there was nothing we could do. - Vegetoid - ↑ Woshua A: ASRIEL reached the center of the village.
Woshua B: There, he found a bed of golden flowers.
Woshua C: He carried the human onto it. - Woshua - ↑ Don't worry about me.
Someone has to take care of these flowers. - Asriel - ↑ (Golden flowers.) (They must have broken your fall.) - Narration
- ↑ (There are photo albums...) (Scrapbooks...) (Books on how to make tea...) - Narration for the bookshelf in Asgore's Home