u/WNP88

I was thinking about what the MIY said about things needing to be done the right way, and having the bones not being enough.

Then I remembered a conversation in season 1 episode 4 between Julie and Trudy about a pillow. Trudy says “The things that matter to you should always have names”.

It got me thinking, maybe that was a hint that they need to remember the children’s names before they can complete whatever ritual it is they need to do to escape. Or Maybe Julie will story walk and learn the names.

Spoiler alert (just in case) for anyone that’s not up to date (s4e9).

So I’ve been trying to piece it together, and I’ve not got everything straight in my head but here’s what I think is going on:

Original Jade and Tabitha tried to save the kids. They failed to save them all, but Tabitha escaped with one of the kids, which is why the cave drawings showed only 2 people fleeing.

Jade was caught and killed (maybe buried alive) by the townsfolk, before they became monsters, and they buried him with the kids as a replacement for the missing kid (which is why each cycle since he’s been killed by the towns folk and why in his mushroom trip he saw himself being buried with the children). This is what made the ritual go wrong and why the townsfolk turned into monsters.

Tabitha took the boy she saved, and created the talismans, telling him that they would keep them safe to make him feel better. The boy believed her, which combined with the hope of the dying children/bottle tree, made the talismans work.

The boy eventually becomes the BiW, the eighth (unsacrificed) ankhooey kid.

The bottle tree is important because it holds the hope of the children and is what calls people into Fromville and keeps the talismans working. Without it, the children can’t call anyone else in, which means that this will be the last chance to save the children and save all the trapped souls.

I think for the MiY to win, he needs to get Tabitha to kill/sacrifice one of Ethan or Julie, which is what was meant by ‘it’ll be worse for Tabitha’.

What the win condition for the people in town is, I don’t know. I think it’s obvious that just getting the bones out isn’t going to be enough.

Annoyingly I’m in the UK so have to wait til Thursday for the season 4 finale.