Welcome all to Part 1 of today's Mother 3 double feature. In this post, we will see if Flint's doorknob from Mother 3 was really meant to be a metaphor for happiness. Flint's doorknob is seen by most as a running gag, appearing a few times throughout the game. I'm going to explain the doorknob's journey, pointing out where this might be true. I'm sure you'll be able to see why people believe this. Possible spoilers ahoy.
The doorknob begins, of course, with Flint. This is before anything bad happens whatsoever in the perfect utopia known as Tazmily Village. Then, Thomas bangs at Flint's door bearing bad news. Sunshine Forest is on fire! Thomas tugs on the doorknob, and it eventually breaks off and is lost. At the SAME TIME that things start to turn dire for Flint. Then we don't see the doorknob again until the LAST Chapter in the game, nor does pretty much anything go right. We later see it in Porky's lair. Near the very end of the game. Lucas sees it and, inadvertently, kicks it off a cliff. Now, this is the only part where it may be confusing. However, it probably means that, being so close to the last needle, you feel you're nearing the happiness of the end. However, you find that it is actually a ways away. Almost as if the happiness that were right there went a long distance away, say, a cliff. Finally, at the end, you find that you can walk around the end screen. If you walk around enough, you will find that everyone is alright and happy! And at the same time you find happiness, you also find the doorknob. That's right, if you walk around enough, you get a message saying: "You found the Doorknob!"
It looks like Epileptic Trees are probably right this time.
If you love Mother 3, don't mind mildly scary images, and are wondering, "What else could have happened in Mother 3?", stay tuned for the next episode.