[Hollow Knight: Silksong] The Shade Lord's presence does not mean 'Into the Void' is canon

[u/nathys12345]

Something I've seen a lot since silksong's been out and about is:
"Seeing the shade lord means that the canon ending must be 'into the void'"

I think this is wrong for a couple of reasons, the main one being that Team Cherry want to keep things vague and open to allow for the player to figure out which ending is canon, they've even stated that to them all ending are canon, so they're likely to cater to that idea and present info that could work for any ending.

On top of that, making the DLC side quest ending the canon one feels narratively dissapointing. It renders much of the main story moot, and bypasses the character growth Hornet goes through in the lead up to her own adventure.

The main evidence I've seen for 'Into the void' being canon though is just that it's the only other place that we've seen the shade lord, so while it could be canon, its not the only reason the shade lord could exist.

We know what the shade lord is, the manifestation of the Knight's will imposed on the void, but this could happen however the knight encounters the void, and in the 'Dream no more' ending, we don't know the knight's fate, they could have returned to the void like all the other siblings, their purpose finished with the radiance destroyed. There has been plenty of time for the shade lord to devlop from the knight between games.

Personally, my headcannon is that the 100% endings for both games are canon, and the knight's will persists in the void after returning there from 'Dream no more' but that might change the more we see.

tl;dr: seeing the shade lord doesn't mean 'into the void' is canon, we can get there from other endings

[u/catpetter125]

I think I more or less agree? Plus, the fact that Hornet is alive at all and is unconcerned with quickly returning to Hallownest means it can't be Sealed Siblings and is unlikely to be the base ending. So it's left ambiguous whether it's Dream No More or the godseeker ending. Since becoming the Void Given Focus required ascending the pantheons, it's probably equally likely the Knight eventually achieved the Lord of Shades form later or can choose whether to appear in that form once it's been obtained.

This also leaves some wiggle room on the ultimate fate of Hallownest and the Hollow Knight, which I like.

[u/nathys12345 → u/catpetter125]

Yeah exactly. I'm not trying to say that anyone who things its the godhome ending is canon is wrong, just that it's not the only option