The identity of Martin, The Entity, Boy in White, The Spider, and origin of The Talismans - An evidence based theory on what may come next.
Hello and welcome to my theory. To start, I want to say that if you have not yet caught up on all of the episodes, definitely do that first, as this will otherwise be very spoiler-heavy. In the title, I mentioned that this is an evidence-based theory; by that, I mean that a large chunk of my reasoning will refer to Victor’s drawings, Miranda’s paintings, and screenshots from the show. To help you follow along, all reference images will be placed alongside their corresponding text. While I claim none of what is written below as absolute fact, my goal in writing this was to unmask the identity of Martin, The Entity, The Boy in White, and explore the significance of The Spider along with the origin of The Talismans. It may be a bit long, but I hope you’ll give it a chance. No generative tools whatsoever were used during the research or writing process. I have way too much time on my hands and spent over a week writing this.
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Martin
In the introduction, I explained that Miranda’s paintings will play a large part in my reasoning and explanation throughout this theory. I understand that they come off as very frightening and vivid, and it’s reasonable to assume the horrifying depictions displayed in her art room are exaggerated. I also want you to remember, however, that what she saw were visions brought upon by the same drug taken by Jade during his acid trip in season 4. Because of this, we can assume that both were viewed through a similar lens, and for that reason, I am considering everything painted by Miranda as a literal or one-to-one depiction of what she saw. The first of these paintings I’d like to dive into is that of a Civil War-era soldier, a soldier that I believe to be Martin.
Significance of names:
To understand who Martin is as a whole, we must first understand how he came to be an immortal prisoner. Like colors, names are very important to this story. While not every name is significant in meaning, there are certainly some that we should pay close attention to; here are a few examples. The name Donna roughly translates to “Lady of the House”, and the meaning of the name Sophia is “Knowledge”. My favorite example of this relates to Kenny, as it was incorporated very cleverly. In the Chinese language, words are spoken in tones. If you take Kenny’s Chinese name “Fu-Hen” and attempt to translate it directly, you get “Immutable”. When translating just the first part of his name, Fu, with a falling tone, however, you get Fù, which means deputy. Looking at these translations or meanings, we can see that all describe their respective character literally; Donna is the leader of Colony House, Sophia arrived in town at the beginning of season 4, and Kenny is deputy to sheriff Boyd. When The Man in Yellow stated that, “Knowledge comes at a cost,” he was being literal in more ways than one. As the knowledge of the townspeople grows, so does the threat to their well-being; the threat in season 4 is Sophia.
Tip of the spear:
Before going into the significance of his name, I want to look back on his interaction with Boyd. While Boyd was attempting to free Martin from his chains, he tells him that they have to hurry before the monsters show up. Martin, in response, tells him that the monsters are just “The tip of the spear.” At first, I never really thought much of this statement; its meaning was clear, and it let us, the viewers, know that there are much more frightening things to worry about outside of town. But in the same way the phrase, “Knowledge comes at a cost,” has a dual meaning, so does “The tip of the spear.” During Jade’s acid trip, we learn that the man crushed by the boulder, the settler impaled to the tree by his eye, and the Civil War soldier with a missing eye are previous reincarnations of Jade’s original self. During this explanation, young Jade explains that the way that they died is important; they were all killed by the townspeople. Anghkooey means remember; memory is one of the most important keys to solving the mystery because to remember means to know how to break the curse. When looking at the mortal wounds of these past reincarnations, the only one that I found myself confused by was that of the Civil War soldier. It was obvious that the man in the cellar was crushed by a boulder, and that the villager was impaled to a tree through his eye, but when looking at the soldier, he appeared unharmed. Every vision of a reincarnation besides Christopher revealed themselves to Jade with death as the focal point of their appearance. So how did the Civil War soldier appear to Jade? By chasing him through the woods and stabbing him through the chest with a bayonet, and what is a bayonet? A blade that is attached to a rifle to aid in close-quarters combat by stabbing or spearing. If we now look back at this painting of a man with a bayonet, a close look at the blade of the weapon shows that it’s covered in blood and that a large congealed glob rests firmly at the tip. What I’m going to say next may not make much sense at first, but as we move further along, everything will hopefully make a bit more sense. This man painted alongside the Civil War-era reincarnation was not only a member of the town during this cycle, but specifically, the townsperson who murdered the male reincarnation. The Civil War era reincarnation could not show Jade the way he died in the same way the others did because the instrument of his demise was not left at the scene. So in order to help Jade remember how this version of himself was murdered, his only choice was to reenact the event.
Meaning of the name Martin:
As I mentioned earlier, names are important, and the name Martin loosely translates to God of War. So we have this soldier, a Marine from the era of the Civil War, chained to a wall. Why on earth would an old, decrepit man be chained to a wall and forced to live forever if he wasn’t some sort of threat? We can even see firsthand just how menacing he actually is when he proceeds to rip from the fabric of Boyd’s coat all the way down to his flesh while still chained to a wall. Still though, how does this prove that Martin and the man in Miranda’s paintings are the same person? To potentially answer this, we can do a bit of research on Mars, the God of War. When looking into his mythology, one of the first things we learn about is his symbols, two objects that are integral to his identity. What are the two objects exactly? A shield and a spear. When Martin explained to Boyd that the monsters were the tip of the spear, his words were not only a warning, but a threat. Regardless of the side he’s fighting for, he was chained up in the dungeon for a reason.
Foreshadowing of Jim's death:
Jade had his vision of being stabbed by the Civil War soldier while helping Jim test the radio for the first time, and what’s important about this scene is how it starts. Jade looks around frantically as blood steadily drips down the tree bark before the camera pans up to display a grotesque set of mangled bodies hanging from the same tree. I want you to pay close attention to the way one of these bodies is displayed because it’s important. While Jade is experiencing this vision, Jim is fumbling around at the top of the tree trying to get a signal. One of the bodies displayed is zoomed in on and hangs upside down from the tree in the same way that Jim was left in the barn with the message, “Knowledge comes at a cost.”
The body was shown this way to not only foreshadow Jim’s eventual death, but also hint to those rewatching that the one who murdered these men was The Man in Yellow. There are three paintings from this time period. One is of the reincarnation with a shocked expression, aiming his gun upwards; one of a soldier pointing a gun at the reincarnation from behind; and one of the soldier holding a bloody bayonet. Let’s compare the events depicted in these paintings to scenes from Jade’s vision.
Comparing the paintings with the vision:
The first painting and vision pair I'd like to look at is of Jade and the Civil War-era reincarnation, both looking upwards, horrified.
Next, I'd like to show you a painting of the reincarnation being aimed at from behind, alongside a scene of the reincarnation aiming his gun at Jade during his vision.
The last scene + painting pair should be viewed as a continuation rather than a comparison. Jade is stabbed by the reincarnation with a bayonet in his vision, and the painting that depicts the man I believe to be Martin holding the murder weapon is what comes right after. Now, paying close attention to this painting of the man I believe to be Martin, do you notice anything else interesting about the way he’s depicted? He is in the present arms stance, a position that is commanded of a soldier when showing respect to an authority. The person he is showing respect to is likely The Man in Yellow. I believe that Martin was a townsperson who made a bargain with The Man in Yellow, and as part of their agreement, he was ordered to kill the male reincarnation.
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The Entity
Memory from the original Tabitha's childhood:
At the end of season 3, we learned that the townspeople made a bargain with some sort of entity. Up until recently, I’ve been under the impression that once the children are saved and this bargain is undone, that would be the end of it and the residents would be able to go home. It was then that I thought back to the moment when Tabitha remembers how to harm the dolls at The Settlement. This memory in particular belonged to the original Tabitha when she was just a little girl. Before I go into why this is important, I want to explain why I’m relatively confident this little girl we see is, in fact, the original. With everything we learned in season 4 regarding how to actually get everyone home, it would make no sense for the female reincarnation to be called to save the children if she herself was only a child at the time. How would someone that age comprehend the idea that they’ve been reincarnated and must save sacrificed youth, one of which was her own in a previous life? Thinking back to everything Tabitha had to endure alone in season 3, for example, it just doesn’t sound feasible. With this information in mind, it would be reasonable to assume that the flashback we see of this little girl depicts the original Tabitha during her childhood.
Why The Dolls proving that nightmares became a part of The Forest well before the events of the cycle is an issue:
The reason why this is so important is that along with her explanation of how to harm the dolls, she also goes on to explain their origin. She states that the dolls belonged to her, but a man nearby said they gave him nightmares, so he threw them into the lake. When the man died, his nightmare of the dolls became a part of the forest, rising from the lake every night to look for victims. Since these dolls belonged to the original Tabitha, that would mean that the entity and concept of nightmares becoming a part of the forest existed well before the sacrifice. This same little girl grew up to meet a man and eventually have children of her own, so at some point in time, Fromville was a much safer place to live than it is for the current townspeople. The problem with this is that, with the knowledge of the entity existing well before the events that created the loop, saving the children now becomes a band-aid fix instead of the answer to getting everyone home. Marielle, after her experience with the cicadas, states that something ancient lives in Fromville, and that it’s feeding on the suffering of not only the living, but also the dead that reside there. The loop created by the sacrifice may unfortunately be nothing more than a well-placed trap providing the entity an infinite supply of food. Even if the children are saved, the Entity will still exist, and it'll only be a matter of time before it works to restore what it has lost.
The Forest:
What do the talismans, nightmares, faraway trees, and the monsters all have in common? They’re found in the forest. I want you to look at this painting Miranda did of the gas station in town. Do you notice anything uncomfortably eerie?
Hovering above the gasoline sign is a giant red eye.
Now take a look at the next drawing created by Victor of what appears to be a giant hand with trees as fingers, followed by another of a tree that resembles a giant hand emerging from the ground and a little white figure, which I assume to be The Boy in White.
Victor has stated several times that trees in Fromville are moving very slowly; I’ve always wondered why that is, and I believe that it’s because the Entity is the forest itself.
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The Boy in White
An odd depiction:
During the intro, we're shown a painting of The Boy in White, the painting done by Miranda, to be exact. When observing this painting, I wondered to myself: why is The Boy in White portrayed as being larger than the trees here? I then realized that he was portrayed this way not once, but in several pieces of artwork that depict him. The first we see is the painting done by Miranda,
the second and third crayon drawings done by Victor, and a potential fourth by Eloise. The first of Victor’s crayon drawings is a seemingly harmless depiction of The Boy in White standing between some trees,
and the second is this incredibly eerie, completely white stick figure form with empty eye sockets and a gaping mouth found on the map of the forest in his bedroom.
Before I continue further, I want to clarify that I understand it may seem odd to assume that the figure drawn on the map is also The Boy in White. As we progress, I will not only explain why I believe them to be the same, but also show that Miranda may have depicted the same eerie figure in one of her paintings. The fourth drawing I originally believed to be Ethan because of the cane-like object depicted, but the longer I looked at it, the less that idea made sense. For one, it’s once again a boy in white clothing depicted as a giant; we can see that Eloise used colors for other characters in her drawing, so why not for the large boy figure as well? Second, Ethan recovered very quickly from his injury. By the end of season 2, he’s fully healed. Lastly, even if this were to be Ethan drawn gigantic for some strange reason, why is he angrily yelling at a crowd of people? There are several moments throughout the show where we can see Ethan upset, but none matching the context of this drawing or with a cane.
If we compare the painting of The Boy in White done by Miranda to Victor’s first crayon drawing, we can see they are practically identical in portrayal, with the main difference between the two being art style. Miranda painted what she saw during her visions, and Victor draws with crayon to remember. Miranda’s paintings are very important; even though their contents are confusing and nightmarish, I again want to remind you that Jade’s experience on the same drug gave him only crucial information. It’s also important to acknowledge that Victor is an unreliable narrator; he may sometimes forget and mix up important details, but he will only draw something to remember it. What scares him the most, he willingly chooses to forget. I think a great example of this is when he pees himself after finding a buried drawing of The Man in Yellow. One last interesting observation about the figure on the map is that it’s painted, not crayon. Yes, the map is a crayon drawing, but the giant figure is white paint. While the show has not yet answered the question of when Victor began work on his map, we do know that he and Eloise both drew during their time in the cycle. Of these drawings, however, Victor only uses crayon or marker to illustrate his memories, so is it possible that when Miranda left him and his sister in the cellar the day of the massacre, she learned something horrifying about The Boy in White and quickly painted this on his map to warn him? With how hard it is for him to remember everything he experienced in his past, this memory in particular would prove to be a challenge if the depiction of the giant white figure was indeed painted by his mother.
The Cyclops:
Let’s now take a look at a few more of Miranda’s paintings. The first painting I want to take a look at is what appears to be a cyclops with a yellow tongue.
Many aspects of this painting catch my eye, but what I want to focus on the most are its shirt, eye, tongue, hair, and neck. Earlier I stated that I found it odd that The Boy in White was portrayed as being larger than the trees in not one, but potentially four pieces of art depicting him. One would be understandable because of the nature of this show and how vague the clues provided by the writers can be, but after seeing a fourth and remembering the many mentions of The Boy in White growing throughout the show, I felt like there might be something important here. I believe that this giant cyclops-like creature painted by Miranda is The Boy in White, and there are several reasons why I think they are the same. The shirt is the first similarity between the two; there’s not much else to talk about when it comes to the shirt, but the fact that both are depicted as wearing a white shirt means that we now have more than just size as a characteristic held by both. Next is the eye; remember the painting depicting a giant red eyeball above the gas station? We find that same thing here. What I want to look at next is the tongue. While there is no actual evidence of the color yellow having any significance to The Boy in White, one of the main functions of the tongue is to help you eat. We learned in season 4 that The Man in Yellow eats the organs of the townspeople, and the tongue shown on this cyclops is interestingly yellow. Looking past the appearance of this creature and observing its actions, it looks as if it's preparing itself to eat four kids, which is really something to think about considering we learned in season 3 that the original townspeople sacrificed their children for immortality. We know that The Man in Yellow eats; we also know that the Entity of Fromville feeds on suffering. Would it not be a reasonable assumption that The Boy in White is also hungry and must feed? Now, let’s talk about the hair and the neck of the cyclops.
The strange similarity between the two paintings:
At first glance, neither of these elements seems to have any significance whatsoever to The Boy in White, that is, until we look at another painting of him done by Miranda. In this depiction, there are a few things that I believe are important. For one, he looks much older and appears to be covered in blood from head to toe. What confused me for the longest time about this painting, though, is that the hair on his head is dark colored, his eyebrows are white, and the color of his neck is a solid black color completely distinct from the rest of his complexion.
It was then that I realized that the only other visual we’re shown of something having this weird black neck is the cyclops. This weird neck is not the only odd resemblance between the two, though; the cyclops also has that same strange dark and white hair pattern, but fully on the top of its head. Looking back at Victor’s second drawing, I get the impression that this cyclops-like creature is the same figure drawn in white crayon on Victor’s map. It would be traumatizing to see something so horrifying and know that you must remember it, and the reason why I believe that, if it was in fact Victor who painted this figure on his map, it was portrayed this way because he wanted to forget it immediately. A large white figure with eerie gaping holes for its eyes and mouth would be an easy reminder for him that when the time comes, he must remember this giant beast is connected to The Boy in White.
Why he's covered in blood:
A question that remains, though, is why this older version of The Boy in White is covered in blood. I believe the answer to this question is that the painting we see of this depiction is The Boy in White post-feeding, specifically, something between the form of a human and the cyclops, which is also why his size rivals but does not exceed that of the trees. It is my opinion that when the cycle nears its end, The Boy in White eventually grows into this gigantic, horrifying creature. Now remember how I stated that I believe the forest itself is the entity? There’s one more element of this painting that I want to draw attention to: its teeth. At first glance, green teeth just seemed like a design choice, but then I wondered to myself: are those trees, and even if they aren’t, why is every element of this creature so distinct?
Distinct elements:
A giant red eye, dark hair, grey hair, sharp claws, white clothing, a yellow tongue, an odd black neck, green teeth that could be considered trees? It’s like this creature is a mashup of The Boy in White, The Man in Yellow, nightmares, and the forest. But if this creature embodies the concept of nightmares and the forest, and the painting of The Boy in White covered in blood and this creature do turn out to be the same, would this not imply that The Boy in White is not related to, but literally the forest itself, thereby making him The Entity?
Selective communication:
There’s something I really want you to think about here: why does The Boy in White seem to mainly reveal himself to those who may be more prone to manipulation? Let’s give some examples. Besides Tabitha, the only other characters The Boy in White interacts with are Sara, Ethan, Victor, Henry, and Elgin. Sara tries to kill Ethan and unintentionally ends up killing her brother. Elgin kidnaps Fatima and coordinates with The Woman in The Kimono, leading to the rebirth of Smiley. Henry falls under the deception of The Man in Yellow and tries to kill Victor. Ethan and Victor were approached as children. You would think that with all of the information The Boy in White has to provide, at least one of these people would prove to be helpful, right? But the reality of the situation seems to be the opposite; setting Ethan and Victor to the side, all of these people instead fall under the manipulation of The Man in Yellow and do something to cause the townspeople harm. When it comes to Ethan and Victor, the reason I believe The Boy in White appears to them specifically is because of their innocence. If The Boy in White is seen as safe by the most childlike, the level of suspicion surrounding his existence will be kept to a minimum, considering everything else the townspeople have to worry about. This is especially important when it comes to Victor, and I will explain why as we progress.
Mabuse:
Let’s go back to the night that Tabitha returned to town in an ambulance with Henry. Inside the vehicle, there is equipment with the branding “Mabuse”.
Mabuse is the main antagonist of an early 1900s crime novel, and he’s described as being a master of disguise who commits crimes through a network of agents. It’s stated that he rarely commits any of these crimes himself and accomplishes these tasks through body transference, utilizing technologies such as phones and televisions, and telepathic hypnosis. He is said to be so cunning and manipulative that those under his influence never even realize they’re doing exactly what he wants them to. It’s a popular theory that this is a direct reference to The Man in Yellow because of the similarities between the two. If you compare the depiction of him on the front cover of the novel to The Man in Yellow, they even look the same.
I want you to pay close attention to two important traits about Mabuse, however: he rarely commits crimes himself, and his victims never even realize they’re being manipulated. The Man in Yellow eagerly killed both Jim and the priest he appeared to be as Sophia. In addition to these murders, The Man in Yellow, under the disguise of Sophia, also caused mayhem throughout town for the entirety of season 4; this immediately breaks the first rule. It could be argued that the fact that a disguise was used satisfies the condition of not committing the crime himself, but that is cycle-specific. In the previous cycle, Victor explained that he did, in fact, come to town as The Man in Yellow. When it comes to manipulation, not a single one of his victims was unaware of the existence of an outside influence; his agents of chaos were scared and consistently felt backed into a corner, feeling as if they had no choice but to obey. When you think of an ambulance, you think of rescue, especially when that ambulance brings someone back to a place thought to be possibly inescapable. So why does this white medical rescue vehicle, thought to be a beacon of hope, have equipment referencing such a sinister man? Mabuse isn’t a reference to The Man in Yellow, but The Boy in White. Without the actions of the townspeople, The Man in Yellow, the crows, the monsters, Martin, Faraway Trees, or any other force existing there, the story will not progress. Everyone and everything in some way, shape, or form is connected to this “Network of Agents”.
Manipulation:
Think back to when Boyd and Sara were lost in the forest, and The Boy in White explained telepathically that they must go through The Faraway Tree to get to safety. While there is currently no evidence suggesting that The Boy in White can choose where a Faraway Tree will send someone, there is some evidence to suggest that he knows where it will send them, with the example being his decision to suggest Tabitha not enter the tree that sent her to the lighthouse a second time in season 4. So if this is the case, why did he wait to provide help to Sara and Boyd until The Faraway Tree was their only option? As we know, Boyd going through The Lighthouse resulted in his meeting with Martin, the introduction of The Music Box, and the transfer of The Worms. After the transfer of the worms and the destruction of The Music Box, however, there’s a small detail included in both that can seem easy to dismiss: the appearance of the dog. Boyd’s first meeting with the dog is outside The Ruins after the transfer of the worms. This dog, which he refers to as “Gus”, sniffs him, and then runs off into the forest, leading to a short chase where Boyd follows closely behind the animal. What’s important about this interaction is the sniffing. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, so what was so interesting about his scent that prompted the dog to wait outside The Ruins and investigate Boyd’s scent?
His next meeting with the dog was after the destruction of The Music Box; keep this part in mind because it’s important for understanding my rationale for the following example. Victor mentions that the Boy in White told Christopher that he must go through the faraway trees to rescue the children locked in the tower; but there are no children locked in the tower. He didn’t expect Christopher to go, but he knew Victor would overhear. What did Victor overhearing this conversation result in? The return of Henry Kavanaugh in season 4. This is what it means to be manipulated by Mabuse. The Boy in White did not even need to mention the concept of children locked in the tower to Tabitha because he knew Victor would eventually relay this information to her. Their meeting in the tower was not one of surprise; he expected to see her, stating that he was sorry and that “This is the only way,” before then pushing her out of the lighthouse. The plan to return Henry was put into place well before the current cycle even began. Now, I know that this may seem far-fetched, but Victor was kept alive for a reason. Recall Victor’s original meeting with The Boy in White; alongside him was a dog, the same dog that interacted with Boyd at The Ruins.
Do you remember what Boyd said immediately after destroying The Music Box? “You can’t break me!” This line in particular is important because it was repeated back to him by The Monsters when they cornered him and Tian-Chen inside the barn. At the time of The Music Box’s destruction, it was daylight, which means that it would be impossible for The Monsters to have heard him speak these words originally. So if that’s the case, who told them? We’ve seen firsthand that The Man in Yellow can shapeshift into residents that have died in town; who’s to say that he cannot also do the same with animals? Since it’s only possible for either The Boy in White or The Man in Yellow to have conveyed the words that Boyd spoke, we have an issue regardless of who relayed this information. If it was The Boy in White, then we have definitive proof that he communicates with The Monsters. But if it were instead The Man in Yellow, that would then prove that The Boy in White introduced himself to Victor while knowingly bringing along The Man in Yellow as a disguised companion. It was not the sole effort of The Boy in White keeping Victor alive throughout all of those years, but instead common knowledge among everything in Fromville, malevolent or otherwise, that he was not to be touched, imperative that he survive to play a role in what came next.
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The Spider, and the origin of The Talismans
The answers to the end are at the beginning:
With the number of people that have fallen prey to the evils of Fromville, why does it seem like The Forest is relatively empty of nightmares? I now want to reference the statement, “The answers to the end are at the beginning.” Everyone assumes that this means we need to pay more attention to episode one, and the writers/directors have even admitted themselves that there’s probably way more in episode one than we realize; let’s explore this idea from a different angle, though. Episode one is the beginning from the point of view of the viewer, but when it comes to the story, the beginning was shown to us with the introduction of The Dolls at The Settlement.
The Cycle:
The existence of The Dolls during the original Tabitha’s childhood means that the Entity has existed well before the events leading up to the sacrifice. The bargain made between the original townspeople and The Entity resulted in the creation of the cycle. The Entity feeds on suffering, and as long as the reincarnations continuously fail to save the children, this food source will be never-ending. This left me wondering: if this ancient entity has been around for so long, why would it feel the need to conjure up a plan to secure itself a guaranteed supply of food? We can assume that since Tabitha eventually went on to grow up and have children of her own, Fromville was a safer place than it is for the current townspeople. In a way, an environment that allows the population to grow would actually work out for The Entity because more people means more nightmares, and more nightmares means more food. So I ask once more, why the need to limit itself to a single but guaranteed source of food? To answer this question, we need to look back at Sara and Boyd’s journey into The Forest at the end of season 1.
Nightmare caught in a web:
As Boyd and Sara explore The Forest for clues, they eventually find themselves in an unfamiliar place covered in spider webs. As they explore, Boyd hears a voice calling for help in the distance that appears to him in the form of his wife Abby, wrapped in a spider web.
As he approaches this apparition, it screams and latches onto his arm, causing him to stumble onto a pile of webs and be bitten by a spider. There are multiple components to what makes this scene important, but what I want to start with is what was tangled in the web: a nightmare.
The Dreamcatcher:
This story deals heavily with themes of hopes, dreams, and nightmares, and one of my favorite examples of this is the gift given to Fatima during her anniversary party: a dreamcatcher. A dreamcatcher is a hoop with a woven net that is decorated and hung over a bed and is said to catch bad dreams or nightmares. Something very interesting about the dreamcatcher, though, is its origin. The dreamcatcher originates as a legend from the Native American tribe known as the Ojibwe. The legend tells of a spider woman named Asibikaashi who took care of the people and the children of the land. But as the Ojibwe grew and eventually spread out, it became harder for her to reach and protect the children of her tribe. To counter this, mothers and grandmothers would weave webs around wooden hoops and hang them above their children’s beds to continue to protect them from harm.
The Spider:
I think we’ve been looking at The Spider the wrong way this entire time. The Spider isn’t a nightmare creature hunting for victims in The Forest, but instead an opposing force to The Entity, helping the townspeople by catching and feeding on the nightmares brought to life by the magic of The Forest. The reason The Entity bargained with the townspeople and orchestrated the events leading to the creation of the cycle is that it was being starved. Now I know some of you are going to immediately dismiss this idea for a very specific reason: if The Spider is hunting and catching nightmares, how did The Cicadas manage to make it to town? An even better question, though, is: if The Dolls have been here since the beginning, that would mean they evaded The Spider for hundreds of years; how could this possibly be true if they attacked the townspeople that one night at The Settlement? Believe it or not, the answer to both of these questions may have been right in front of our faces the entire time.
How The Dolls avoided The Spider:
When Jim and Kenny discover The Settlement, they decide to set up camp and hear something stomping outside the cabin at night. With the introduction of The Dolls in season 4, you would assume that’s what they heard roaming, but it’s actually impossible for this to be true. Out of every trip to The Settlement, only one has been dangerous. But what was different about this trip compared to all the others? The rope was pulled, freeing The Dolls from the lake. Not only were they freed from the lake, but also pulled back to land, and the rocks intended to keep them submerged were removed. The reason why The Dolls avoided The Spider for so long is that the villagers at The Settlement devised a way to deal with them on their own.
How the Cicadas were able to make it to town:
But what about The Cicadas? They’re literally insects; it should be very easy for The Spider to catch them, right? It should be, and it did. The reason the Cicadas were able to come back to town is because of the spider bite. Blood is a common component of the magic in this story. To give some examples, Martin transferred the worms with the words, “My blood is your blood now.” Fatima was turned into a monster through the blood of The Man in Yellow; Elgin’s blood was used as nourishment for Fatima during her pregnancy, etc. If The Spider eats nightmares, the magic that brings these creatures to life has to go somewhere, and I believe it’s transferred to its offspring. What happened to Boyd after being bitten by the offspring of The Spider is akin to a black widow injecting venom into its prey, except the venom in this case is remnants of the magic used to bring nightmares to life. By the time Boyd was given the worms, he at this point had not one, but two afflictions coursing through his blood. By transferring The Worms into Smiley, an immortal creature, he unknowingly transferred the magic that brought Nathan’s nightmare to life alongside them. But wouldn’t that mean that The Spider dragged their tent through the woods so he’d be bitten? This is where The Music Box Entity comes in. Sara mentions to Boyd during their exploration of The Forest that a voice told her to tell Mr. Fish and Loaves to turn back. Besides Ellis, the only person who would know him by this name is his wife Abby. This apparition of Abby appears to him from the time he finds her stuck in the web all the way up to the destruction of The Music Box. As we’ve seen with The Monsters in Town and The Dolls at the Settlement, the nightmares that harm the townspeople attack during the night. When Boyd and Sara are being dragged around inside the tent by The Spider, it wasn’t moving them from one place to another, but capturing the entity posing as Abby. This entity knows that Boyd loves his wife more than anything, so to get him to disturb the spider nest and be bitten, it used itself as bait, being freed immediately after he foolishly came to the rescue, thinking it was somehow his wife.
How the townspeople will fight back, and the origin of The Talismans:
When the children are finally rescued, the townspeople will be in more danger than they’ve ever been. Not only will the cycle be broken, but the Entity’s only source of food will now be gone. With an angry, hungry, malevolent force now hellbent on opposing the people responsible for taking away what it’s worked hundreds of years for, how could the townspeople possibly have any chance of fighting back? The Spider. When the bargain was made and the children were sacrificed, the original Jade and Tabitha needed a plan; saving the children would require magic of equal or greater value to the force that bargained their lives away. So to oppose the force that took away their daughter and the lives of six other children, they made a pact with The Spider. Take a look at this drawing by Victor; it is very similar in depiction to The Talismans.
Two people are standing opposite each other, surrounded by eight trees, and in the center there is a black circle with eight appendages, which I believe to be The Spider. I think the eight trees in a circle are meant not only to symbolize the association with The Spider, but also immortality through reincarnation. Examining the stone slabs used during the sacrifice, you can also see that they are arranged in a circle. The Talismans absolutely work; it’s not a façade. They are physical proof of the promise made to The Spider to come back over and over again until they save the children. Do you want to know why I think The Talismans have to be attached to or hanging from something? Recall back to a line uttered by Sophia at the end of season 4: “This place is built on ritual, and with rituals, how you do something is just as important as what you do.” The dreamcatcher was made to protect the children of the Ojibwe tribe that the Spider Woman could not reach from evil, and it should be hung over their bed or cradle. When night falls, The Talismans are to be hung or placed on the wall to protect those who heard the cries of the children from the evil that bargained away their lives; they’re just like a dreamcatcher.
