One thing that I think gets kind of…overlooked, I suppose, is that ultimately, all-inclusive forgiveness is not required for achieving the best ending.
I mean, a lot of us probably do forgive Asriel at the end! I certainly did. But it’s still explicitly a choice, a choice that does not determine whether you get the True Pacifist ending or not, and a choice separate from the “Comfort him” choice (in other words, you can choose to extend compassion to him without necessarily forgiving him).
Like, yes, the game is absolutely about mercy and compassion and forgiveness and understanding and everything else that goes along with that. But I also appreciate this (what I think is) a very important nuance–that when someone hurts you or hurts your loved ones, you are not required nor expected to forgive them. You are not forced into it. You are not coerced into it (Asriel even lays out everything he did wrong right before the choice comes up). It is your right, and your right alone, to decide whether you want to forgive someone or not.
I dont want bethesda to ever get rid of how fo4 does cutscenes because there is just something special about talking to someone and having a vertibird kill you both in the middle of it