u/venusinspired

Was looking through some images to support another theory post when I noticed this painting in the bottom left hand corner.

We see the stones representing the children going sideways as if they’re being dropped into a lake, presumably The Lake of Tears.

I personally don’t think the lake exists, yet, I think there needs to be a ritual to create it given that drawings.

But this painting demonstrates how the answers have been there all along, we just didn’t have enough context.

We still don’t know for certain what dragged Boyd and Sara through the woods. It’s interesting though that it didn’t attack them as soon as the talisman was down. We’ve also seen monsters burst through walls, so it would have been able to get to the tent if it wanted to harm them.

We also still don’t know for certain what Jim and Kenny hear bumping around at night at the cabins. We do know the scarecrows were still in the lake and we didn’t hear any voices trying to convince people to come outside.

The excerpt from the book states that Storywalker Fred is a distant cousin of the Gooligog.

Finally, there are a few paintings that show a tall figure and of course, the one painting of a face in the dark holding a talisman during an eclipse.

So, what if the Gooligog is real? What if it’s been around since the beginning and Storywalkers are somehow related to it? What if it’s something trying to help them?

Is that the giant white figure in Victor’s painting covering the map? We’ve seen white associated with the BiW and children.

We also know the talisman hut was small enough for one or two people… maybe one Gooligog?

Idk could be a metaphor, the giant figure could very well be the “spider”, but just wanted to throw this theory out there.

So I noticed that one of the latest posts on Instagram was taking us back to Martin, specifically saying “The monsters were never the worst part.”

The show also was pretty heavy on watching Music Box Monster focused episodes in season 2, the most compared to other seasons.

I’ve posted a few times that I think the MiY is not the big bad and it’s something akin to the Music Box Monster, if not the Music Box Monster, who is the big bad. It’s why we still see Randall dealing with Cicadas in season 3, why Julie has a connection to the ruins, and why we saw Marielle have a vision in the ambulance with all of the screams over the radio.

It was unearthed when the tree fell, but rally gained full power with the children’s sacrifice. That’s why we see the exposed tree roots with the sky in the background. The tree had already fell releasing this entity, but it possibly needed a blood sacrifice to reach its full power, thus creating a pocket universe and time loop. Maybe it’s this dark shadowy figure we see in Miranda’s paintings? (I’m convinced this is the “spider”)

I am really excited to see if this theory is true and seeing this post got me excited. I think MiY is a heavy boss, but not the final one.

We literally see the drawings in the background and can kind of make them out, but those combined with the toys and the record on the wall, I really believe this is the story, especially with my theory that this story is about Victor’s character arc, but we can’t see any details and it’s driving me crazy!

This last episode confirmed to me with Marielle’s scene that the MiY is a messenger, he’s not the ancient entity. My theory is that he was a priest who offered himself to this entity thinking it was god.

The MiY is not the “voices” in Sarah’s head. He is able to summon it, but he is not “they”.

I think this is a real important distinction. Martin refers to “they” and is so afraid of it, he panics and seeks to kill himself immediately when the music stops.

Sarah also always refers to “the voices” as “they”. She doesn’t mention a singular pronoun unless it’s tied to someone specifically, like Abby’s voice or the Boy in White.

At the original bottle tree, when Boyd starts touching the bottles with a stick, Sarah starts screaming and we can hear the bottles clinking all at once, with a guttural scream that occurs before she goes into a seizure.

To me, Sara has a unique connection with this entity. And this entity is beyond human comprehension, when it speaks, you hear many voices at once because of all the people trapped there.

I really do not believe there is a giant spider. I really think the spider is meant to be symbolic of this entity that was released with the sacrifice. I think that’s why we see the drawing of the spider in a circle of blood. It’s the closest thing to representing the entity.

This would also explain Marielle’s encounter in the ambulance. The monster has “touched” her, Julie, and Randall. It can communicate directly with them. Marielle is unique as she understands exactly what this entity is.

When we hear the MiY communicate, it’s usually in one voice. I believe he has a special connection with this entity, a physical form that can act on its behalf during the daylight, not like the other monsters. I have another post on how I believe he was a priest who is like Abraham, committing himself to this “god”.

So when we see Sophia at Sara’s house, I think she was casting some type of spell or prayer to have the entity speak to Sarah. I also think that’s why Marielle heard all of the voices in the ambulance and it wasn’t until the MiY/Sophia touched her that Sophia was able to summon the hallucination she just had. He can channel the big bad, but he is not the big bad.

Rewatching this show again and have had lots of revelations rewatching this episode, especially in the context of the latest episode. I have so many things buzzing around my head.

But here’s one theory:

Victor is a reincarnation and I think that original version of Victor was created the talisman as a way of remembering. The author of the story. The main protagonist that will eventually be brave enough to save his family.

Given how often we see a family of four, I think he was originally the boy in a family of four. I think is mother, father, and sister were the original three in the lullaby. “They touch, they break, they steal”. It could have also been before that. Whatever happened, it was the beginning of this story.

He survived on his own by hiding in the hut. His drawings (i.e. the talismans) are what helped him “remember”, similar to how Victor draws to remember.

That’s why we trees are drawn the same way on the talismans, in the tunnels, and in Victor’s drawings are the same. Similar to how Jade plays the same song in every version of himself.

Given the age and size of the hut, with the markings on the talismans, I believe that’s the oldest version of the story. The hut is OLD, older than the settlement. And the talismans don’t have a lot of the story defined. We see trees surrounding two people, light and dark. We don’t see three, we don’t see seven, we really just see a map of the forest.

Victor’s drawings show how the story progresses. The talismans, the cave paintings, and Victor’s drawing are all the same story, but as far as it got at that point in time. Now we’re continuing the story.

I bravery is a key part of this story and ultimately I think it’s the main reason they go home. We obviously don’t know how, but I think his forgetting Eloise and then remembering her is a key part of the core overall story. He forgot about her because he wasn’t brave enough to leave the cellar to protect her. He wasn’t brave in the cellar with his mom and sister. Will he be able to save Henry? I don’t think so.

But I think losing his father will be his tipping point. I think he’ll have nothing to lose and he’ll be brave enough eventually to save his other family, the Matthews.

Final note: I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in the last series of drawings, it starts with the boy in a container that’s light surrounded by darkness.

When Tabitha climbs up the stairs to the lighthouse, I think all of the answers to the overarching story are there.

Let’s break it down.

**Trucks & Cards**
We have a few different symbols representing the characters, specifically the cards and the trucks. The ambulance are those to help the children, the dump truck are the monsters.

Near the dump truck, we see a 7 representing the children and a 4 representing the ones who tried to save them. (We actually see four and seven crows flying in white in the cave drawings, different from the others). The 8 of clubs represent 8 trees which represent the forest all around them trapping them (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW).

Near the ambulance, we see a four of hearts and a four of diamonds. I think the “four” are a man, woman, boy, and girl. There’s Jade, Tabitha, Julie, and Ethan representing the four of hearts, the Man in Yellow, Woman in a Kimono, and the Scarecrow kids that are the four of diamonds. The card flipped is representing the big bad entity controlling everything OR is the future they cannot see.

We also see a painting eating four people: two boys, two girls. These are dressed the same as the people with the children in one painting.

**The ball**
The ball (sun and moon) represent the day and night of this bubble they’re in and the opposing forces fighting. Specifically, the evil entity that is from the tunnels and Boy in White, who is the physical manifestation of the children’s hope.

We see a sun and moon on the talismans, but we also see them on Victor’s drawings of the town. The circle represents the pocket universe they are in. The dark entity has its power at night, the good entity has power during the day. We can think of the good entity as the sky (and the crows are part of it) and the tunnels are related to the evil entity, including the trees. That’s why the lighthouse is a tall tower, the light in a dark place, and Tabitha must go up to find answers.

I also think these are the two hooded figures we see in some drawings.

**The books and finger puppets**
Then there’s the finger puppets and two books. They’re key, we’ve seen them from one of the opening scenes.

In the cave drawings, we see an infinity loop and then we also see three triangles at the bottom. I think the infinity loop represent Jade and Tabitha and the three triangles represent Ethan, Julie, and Victor.

We also see a drawing of three kids, surrounded by rocks (the ruins?) and a figure in the background. I actually think this is Jim, helping them, OR the Boy in White. The figure is hooded and smiling. If the two opposing forces are the hooded figures, then we can assume one is to help.

All are doing their part to solve the story, but Victor is the key. All cycles have been the same except for Victor. I don’t think it’s coincidence that Victor is the one standing right in front of the entity, at the same height.

Victor survived not through bravery, but through avoidance. He stopped seeking answers, and the entity fed on his suffering for an entire cycle. “Knowledge comes at a cost.” Victor has learned that through the loss of his mother and others. He’s the missing piece precisely because he’s seen a cycle before. His bravery is what will break the loop. He will “save the children”: Julie and Ethan.

The two books represent the two stories that Julie and Ethan are leading. Both are essential to the overarching story: Julie with the Grand Gooligog and Ethan with the Flight of the Cromenockle.

I think it’s also of note that both have a companion: Ethan and Victor, Julie and Randall. Both Ethan and Julie have their “Norman” on their journey. I think Julie will lose Randall, foreshadowed by her telling the story.

I even think we can think of the next series of monsters, the MiY and the Scarecrows as monsters they have to fight in order to progress the main story. Ethan fighting the scarecrow at the lake and Julie traveling the story to stop the MiY (hence why we see her watch him kill her dad).

**The bottle**
To me, this represents the messages from the children, but also the “sea” or flood that needs to happen to leave home. Bottles hold liquid and my mind immediately goes to messages in a bottle that cross the sea.

Edit:
Actually, I think the bottle represents the pocket universe they’re in! It’s also possible that the flipped card may be a “wild card” that represents Victor.

I believe that the MiY is not the most evil entity, but rather, I believe he was one of the original settlers. I think he was a priest who thought the entity was god and proved his faith to the entity (like Abraham) which is why he has special powers that the other monsters do not have.

Evidence:
- The church is one of the oldest buildings in town, similar to the settlement, the ruins, and the “house” that the MiY discards his clothes in.
- We also see paintings of settlers and one painting in particular of the church and a major event happening.
- When looking at the cave drawings, we see a building in red under what we can assume are the original settlers. I think that represents the ruins.

I think that the evil entity was already there when the settlers arrived. Whether the ruins were already there, or the Settlers built them, the ruins was how they made contact with the evil that was living underground. It was surfaced when they built the well (the one that Boyd was trapped in).

Then the evil entity was so powerful, the MiY believed it was god. Gotta remember how religious the Puritans were, it would make sense that a priest would be part of a new settlement. This is why we see so many biblical references to him, why he’s so knowledgeable on the bible (and possibly why there are no bibles in town). Maybe he had a belief like Father Khatri that there was a new book being written

I think he’s the one who convinced the monsters to sacrifice their children OR brought out the monster that caused the monsters to sacrifice their children, releasing the entity. He might have even been the one who killed the man that Jade sees at the settlement with a rod in his eye on the tree (he’s wearing clothes that looks like he’s from the settlement). Maybe him drinking the blood was to signify an original sacrifice. Maybe he is the original MiY. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in one of the last images we see, there’s a monster with a damaged eye wearing yellow.

All this to say, I do not think that the MiY is the big bad, I think it’s a larger entity (see my master theory post on who I think is the real villain).

I think they’re going to take him down through a physical item, similar to the Music Box Monster in S02. There’s too many references to “stuff” this season: Sophia walking through the storage room, Acosta being tasked to organize things, and then there’s the tooth he pulled from the priest. There’s also the Boy in White who told Victor to bury physical items of the dead instead of bodies. The items somehow give him power.

I have been going down the rabbit hole since s04 started and I think one of the biggest clues are these symbols that no one has talked about. I think they explain the tree falling unleashing “It”.

A common theory is that the tree was fallen, but I don’t think that’s true. I think the tree is upright and is a symbolic tree. I think the tree fell and unleashed whatever entity on the town. The entity was always in the dark/underground and couldn’t get out of the earth without a human sacrifice. Or maybe it “got out” when the settlers visited the tower. Did someone get infected at the ruins and bring it back to town? Did the monster/voices convince them to sacrifice their children to give it more blood to reach full power?

Either way, the tree fell BEFORE the sacrifice and I think that’s ultimately what released “it”/them”.

That’s why we see the exposed roots against the sky as the children are looking up. Every fallen tree is completely turned over, by the roots.

I think it’s one entity, but many forms that are connected. The entity is the large figure we see with a watchful eye, but I think it has four monsters: spiders, scarecrow, bogeyman. TBH I’m still not sure if the MIY is a bogeyman or a separate entity, but it’s clear the kimono lady is tied to the monsters. I think they’re all tied to the same thing, which is why Martin knew about Abby’s dream.

I also think that there are good entities and bad entities that can be heard by both Sarah and Elgin, they are unique in that way.

All this to say, WHAT are those red symbols by the tree? Why are there two at the top, but the ones at the bottom have the fallen tree symbols added? This is very intentional and I think explains a pivotal moment (hence why it is such a hard line in the story).

I also think the tree at the bottom and four crows is significant, although, I’m not sure what though.