Everybody loves fan theories and everybody has their own. They’re great ways to add to a film, tv, or book series by expanding upon plot points, and it’s always interesting to hear someone else’s feelings on a character’s motivation. I’m obsessed with them and have come up with a fair few myself. Long ago, I wrote two posts discussing some of my favourite fan theories. Now, I’m doing it again. Here, for the third time, are my top ten favourite fan theories.
10) Stewie Griffin is responsible for the intelligence of many of the animals in Family Guy (1999-Present)
Perhaps one of the most diabolically intelligent characters in animation, Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin has invented death rays, mind control guns, cloning technology, shrink rays, and, most famously, a time machine. In the Griffin family however, Stewie sticks out like a sore thumb. None of his relatives have the same degree of intelligence, and some of then display behaviour that would be considered mentally ‘retarded’. The only member of the family who comes close to having the same vicious intellect at Stewie is his dog, Brian. Brian’s intelligence and speech capabilities are never really remarked upon by the family, they are simply taken for granted. How then, does Brian, and indeed a number of other animals, know how to talk?
The answer is Stewie. Born into a family who couldn’t possibly understand him, Stewie was a very lonely and very angry child. The theory goes that Stewie wanted friends, and perhaps even an army with which to conquer, so figured out a way to go back in time and influence the evolution of dogs so that they would be intelligent enough to work with and hopefully enslave in some form. Brian is a by-product of that but so is every other intelligent animal we see in the show, such as the other dogs and Ernie the giant chicken. However, it didn’t work the way Stewie wanted, not every dog is intelligent and, being a baby, he gave up and moved onto other things with his new friend Brian.
It’s an interesting theory because Stewie certainly has the capability and desire to do something like this and it wouldn’t be the first time we saw him attempt a plan to gain power and then drop it. He has a mind control ray he used for exactly one episode, something which is perhaps the most advantageous tool an individual looking for power could possibly have. My feeling is, the experiment to give animals intelligent was, in Stewie’s eyes, a failure. He dropped it, moved onto other things, and it has never been mentioned since.
9) Daphne knew Niles loved her
NBC’s Frasier (1993-2004) has long been hailed as one of the smartest sitcoms ever made, and while I love the show, this statement is simply ridiculous. The only real intelligent thing about Frasier is the language it uses, its setting and its characters. Everything else follows basic sitcom logic. This is most evident in Frasier’s very own will-they-won’t-they story. For seven series, fans of Frasier were witnesses to Niles Crane’s infatuation with Daphne Moon, until eventually they confessed their love for one another at Daphne’s wedding and spent the remainder of the shows four series as a couple. However, fans have questioned whether anybody could’ve remained oblivious to Nile’s attraction, especially given his habits of sniffing Daphne’s hair and making incredibly on the nose comments.
Personally, I think Daphne always knew Niles loved her, at least since series 3. In the series 3-episode Moon Dance, Niles and Daphne perform a tango at a country club dinner which ends with Niles proclaiming his love for her, a sentiment Daphne returns before passionately kissing him. However, Daphne later reveals she assumed this was just part of the act and brushes it off. Daphne is not stupid, I’m sure she suspects Niles was genuine in his confession but finds it so awkward she denies it completely. Daphne manages to avoid thinking about it for two years, convincing herself that Niles isn’t in love with her and ignoring any and all evidence that might suggest otherwise. This continues until the Series 5 episode The Ski Lodge, a wonderful farce which see’s Daphne, Niles, Frasier, a Ski instructor named Guy, and Daphne’s swimsuit model friend Annie, spend a weekend at a ski lodge. Early in the episode it becomes clear that numerous characters have romantic views of another, and the rest of the episode is dedicated to their clumsy attempts at seduction, misreading one another’s signals, and leaping into the wrong person’s bed. The setup is as follows:
Frasier wants Annie
Annie wants Niles
Niles wants Daphne
Daphne wants Guy
Guy wants Niles
The episode ends with all the characters in one room and in states of undress. Frasier deduces what the situation is and loudly proclaims:
“Wait, wait, wait. Let me see if I’ve got this straight. All the lust coursing through this lodge tonight, all the hormones virtually ricocheting off the walls, and no one…was chasing me?”
To which the other character respond with an awkward silence confirming his fears. I propose that Daphne, looking back on the events of the night, must come to the conclusion that Niles was chasing her, after all Frasier’s statement did imply that everyone apart from him was desired by someone else in that room. Ski Lodge confirms her theory that Niles loves her. There is simply no way that anybody could be so blind. Daphne knows, she just doesn’t want to.
8) Judge Wargrave wasn’t certain of Vera’s guilt
The BBC’s 2015 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s magnum Opus, And Then There Were None (1939) is a stellar bit of television, remaining loyal to the original source material but also not being afraid to modernise what it felt ought to be changed. One of the best parts of the BBC’s adaptation is Justice Wargrave, as played by Charles Dance, the subject of this theory. For those of you that don’t know, the plot of And Then There Were None is sheer brilliance. 10 people are invited to an island by U.N Owen, a man none of them have ever met. One by one they are killed as it is revealed that each has committed a terrible crime in their past for which they must atone. The climax of the story reveals the killer to be Judge Wargrave, an aspiring murder who lived by a strict moral code. The last victim of Wargrave is Vera Claythrone, a nanny who allowed the child she was entrusted with, to drown.
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If you watch the BBC adaptation, you might notice that Wargrave spends a great deal of time with Vera, he helps her wash dishes, talks with her at dinner, and is often found looking at her. The theory goes that this is because Wargrave is not convinced of her guilt. Wargrave is a murderer but he does have a moral code, he sees himself as an avenging angel rather than a serial killer, and he has clearly gone to great lengths to make sure all his victims are guilty. It seems, however, that Wargrave is not totally convinced Vera killed her ward. Obviously, he has enough evidence for her to be there on the island, as a Judge he has complete access to all documents relating to her case and may well have interviewed people who were involved and knew her at the time. However, it seems as though Wargrave isn’t totally convinced that the drowning wasn’t an accident and that’s why he spends so much time with her. As a Judge, Wargrave knows how to spot guilt, when he’s looking at Vera and engaging in small talk, he’s trying to suss her out, to work out in his mind whether his strong suspicions were accurate. At the end of the story, Wargrave comes to the conclusion that Vera is guilty, and he allows her to hang herself.
7) The island at the end of Deep Rising (1998) is Skull Island
At the end of Stephen Sommer’s Deep Rising, our three protagonists, John Finnegan (Treat Williams), Trillian St. James (Famke Janssen), and Joey ‘Tooch’ Pantucci (Kevin J. O’Conner), escape the cruise ship infested with deep sea worms and find themselves on a tropical island. Then this happens:
“Now what” is right. Where are they and what is that unknown beast moving towards them? Well, the answer is pretty simple when you think about it; it’s Skull Island of King Kong fame. Deep Rising is set in the South China sea, Skull Island is off the coast of Indonesia which granted, isn’t in the South China sea; it’s in the Pacific Ocean, which is still fairly close and it’s plausible the characters could reach it. The animal bounding towards them is clearly gargantuan in size, and the fauna of Skull Island fits that description, with animals like dinosaurs, skull crawlers, and of course, Kong himself. The creature that serves as the main antagonist of Deep Rising also figures here. We know the area of ocean surrounding Skull Island is treacherous and deep, the sort of place where a monster like that could live quite happily. After all, Skull Island is home to monsters, surely the sea it sits in would be full of similar beasts?
6) Rhaegar Targaryen was never in love with Lyanna Stark, he was just using her to fulfil a prophecy
The most important characters in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-Present) have been dead for fifteen years by the time the series starts. Robert’s Rebellion, perhaps one of the most important events in Westeros history, began when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark after the Tourney of Harrenhal, allegedly raping her before she died in a bed f her own blood. Or, that’s what most people believe. However, there has been a lot of evidence that Rhaegar and Lyanna were actually in love and that the Stark girl died after giving birth to Jon Snow (this is confirmed by series 7 of Game of Thrones (2011-Present)). R+L=J was far and away the biggest ASOIAF theory but since it has all been confirmed, another theory has come to light that changes it slightly. The general feeling is that Rhaegar and Lyanna fell in love in a sort of Romeo and Juliet homage but what if the truth is far less romantic? What if Rhaegar was just using Lyanna?
In his youth, Prince Rhaegar was a bit of a bookworm, he learned to read at an early aged and showed no interest in learning to fight. However, when he was in his early-mid teens, Rhaegar read something that changed his mind and soon he was a keen and skilled warrior. We’re not certain what it was that Rhaegar read but there is a theory that it was a prophecy, the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised. It is said that one day, the legendary warrior Azor Ahai, who fought the Others and ended their darkness, will return. Rhaegar is said to have read this and assumed that it must be him, after all he was born ‘amidst salt and smoke’ at the tragedy of Summerhall, where the Targaryen summer retreat burned to the ground after an attempt to hatch dragon eggs went terribly wrong. It is assumed that this is why Rhaegar threw himself into swordsmanship, because he knew one day he would have to defeat the darkness of the Others.
However, we also know that later in life, Rhaegar became convinced that he was not the Prince that was Promised and that it was his duty to conceive the child that would grow to fill that role. It is said that that is why Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna. She was beautiful, strong, honourable, and intelligent. The theory goes that Rhaegar saw her, convinced himself she would be the perfect person to help him fulfil the prophecy, not his wife, and seduced her. Rhaegar may not have raped Lyanna but he certainly used her.
5) The Queen Vic is cursed
EastEnders (1985-Present) is a bastion of misery even by the standards of most British soaps. Murder is commonplace, pretty much everybody has had at least one affair at some time or another and attempts to celebrate Christmas go about as well as trying to happy slap a Kray twin. What could possibly be the reason for all this unrestrained misery? Well, maybe the answer lies in the building that is very much at the heart of Albert Square, the setting of EastEnders; the Queen Victoria public house, or the Queen Vic for short.
Built in the 1880’s, the Queen Vic pub was originally supposed to be called The Balmoral, but the name was changed to show support for the grieving Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. The pub has been home to more than 17 landlords throughout the shows history, all of whom have faced some degree of trauma whilst living there, its been set on fire twice with a third failed attempt in 2009, witnessed more adultery than the average French Bordello, and been the scene of no less than five deaths, two of whom were landlords, and only one of which was due to natural causes. Is it any wonder Inside Soap magazine called the place, the most haunted place in Britain?
It’s not too much of a leap to say the place is cursed, even one of the barmaids makes a point of mentioning it. The history of the building does read like the backstory of the setting to a haunted house movie, after all, it was only called the Queen Vic because of a bereavement, maybe if they’d called it The Balmoral things would’ve worked out differently?
4) Harrison Morgan dies or is seriously injured soon after the series finale of Dexter (2006-2013)
It’s safe to say that most people were not pleased with the series finale of Dexter (2006-2013), it was lacklustre and raised a lot of questions. In my mind, however, the biggest of these is the fate of Dexter’s young son, Harrison. In the final episode of Dexter, the main character tries to flee the country with his girlfriend, Hannah McKay, and son, Harrison. However, at the end of the episode, Dexter fakes his own death and leaves Hannah and Harrison alone in Argentina.
For those of you that don’t know, when Hannah was a teenager, she took part in a cross country killing spree with her older boyfriend, Wayne. He received the brunt of the blame but Hannah was just as guilty, and as she grew older she continued killing. Now she’s alone, with a young boy she probably has very little idea how to take care of.
Now, a fair few people seem to think that Hannah may eventually grow tired of looking after a child and decide to kill him and strike out on her own. I’m not one of those people, I think Hannah would probably do her best but that her biggest personality flaw would inevitably lead to disaster. One of the things that immediately becomes clear about Hannah is that she likes danger, that’s partly why she went on a killing spree with her boyfriend, its why she’s attracted to cruel men, and its why she’s planning a life with Dexter. In my mind, it is certain that Hannah will get involved in some shady business, whether it’s an abusive and controlling man or something gang related, and this will put Harrison in the line of fire. I think Harrison’s death or hospitalisation as a result of Hannah’s danger addiction is only a matter of time.
3) Tywin was right about Tysha being a gold-digger
In the ASOIAF books, one of the major aspects of the relationship between fan favourite Tyrion Lannister and his father Tywin in the latter’s reaction to the former’s first marriage to the peasant girl Tysha. In the books, we are told the story of how, when he was a young boy, Tyrion was out riding with his brother Jaime when they came across a group of bandits threatening a young peasant girl. Jaime chased the men away and Tyrion stayed with Tysha to make sure she was ok. The two ended up sleeping together and eventually got married, but when Tywin found out he accused Tysha of being a gold-digger and marrying Tyrion purely for his money. In one of the most brutal acts ever mentioned in the books, Tywin has the entirety of his household guard take turns raping the girl before ordering Tyrion to go last. It’s a truly evil thing to do and one whose inclusion in the tv show would’ve greatly affected the likability of the character as portrayed by Charles Dance.
This moment is a large reason for Tyrion’s hatred of his father, indeed their final conversation in the books focuses on Tysha rather than Shae. It’s easy for Tyrion to hate his father for destroying his marriage because it was the only pure, decent, and real romantic relationship he ever had. Or was it? What if Tywin was right, what if Tysha was using Tyrion for money? After all, Tywin has no doubt encountered his fair share of wannabe gold-diggers, his father’s mistress was one and Lady Reyne, one of the major players in the famous Reynes of Castamere story, was another. Tywin’s not stupid, and you can’t be as successful as him without being a good judge of character. Imagine if Tysha was a gold-digger, imagine how that would affect Tyrion’s view of his father, sure having her gangraped was evil and excessive, but in a way, he was trying to protect his son, wasn’t he? It’s a great theory that, if true, would add another complex layer to one of the best father-son relationship in fiction.
2) Both Toby Flenderson and George Howard Scubb were the Scranton Strangler
In the past few years, a theory about The Office (2005-2013) has been circulating and has gotten a lot of attention online. It is argued that the Scranton Strangler serial killer, who is referenced throughout The Office, is actually the Human Resources manager, Toby Flenderson. While its an interesting theory it falls down when it comes to one scene, the opening to Series seven’s Viewing Party.
That’s the Scranton Strangler driving Toby Flenderson’s car, but the theory falls flat when it somehow goes from Toby driving the car to George Howard Scubb being arrested. No theory has ever explained how the police arrested Scubb when Toby was being chased. Until today. I theorise that Scubb and Flenderson were working together in committing the murders. The person driving the car was Scubb, who actually owned the car, Toby just drove it to work because his financial situation was so pathetic he didn’t ever have a car of his own, his pal Scubb just lent him his sometimes so he could get to work. So Scubb drives his car away from his house and while he’s trying to escape the police, he phones Toby’s desk to get in touch with him but, having seen the news reports detailing the imminent capture of the Scranton Strangler, Toby is probably in another state, and the other employees ignore his calls. Scubb gets arrested and takes the blame for the murders, meaning Toby can return to work.
Toby finds himself on the jury for the trial and, reluctantly, helps deliver a guilty verdict. Later in the series, he visits his old partner in crime, ostensibly to tell him he believes he’s innocent but really to ask him if he’ll keep his mouth shut. Scubb is clearly angered by the fact he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison while Toby goes free and tries to strangle him, crushing his windpipe and resulting in Toby leaving the prison in a neck brace. However, judging by Toby’s lack of apprehension and the fact he doesn’t spend the rest of the series on death row tell us that Scubb decided to protect him, for now.
1) The Wizarding World is remarkably progressive, and it’s all down to Muggles
JK Rowling is the Queen of Word of God. I can’t think of another contemporary author who has given more insights about their fictional universe than her. Pottermore is by far the biggest source of this new information but much of it has also come from Twitter. Fans of Harry Potter have asked Rowling about the LGBT community in the Wizarding World and she responded that Hogwarts was a safe place for them, as well as famously revealing that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was himself gay. It is my belief that the wizarding world is very friendly to the LGBT community. Homophobia, sexism, and racism are practically non-existent, and its all because of muggles.
In the early days, back when Hogwarts was founded in the 12th century, wizards were being persecuted by muggles, burnings were commonplace and it was such that the International Statue of Secrecy was signed in an attempt to protect the wizarding world from muggles. My theory is that early wizards saw the way in which muggle society at large treated women, gay people, and other minorities, and turned it into a weapon against them. Wizard supremacists would claim that part of the reason why wizards were superior to muggles was because they treated each other as equals, whereas muggle society was divided and prejudiced. This idea spread and soon the Wizarding World was largely freed from prejudice, a good portion of Ministers for Magic have been women, at least one of the Presidents of MACUSA is a black woman, and God only knows how many prominent LGBT witches and wizards have existed.
However, the prejudices still existed in the Wizarding World still exist, but they were geared towards muggles, and magical beings like werewolves, goblins, and centaurs. Not to mention the prejudices they still share with muggles. Poverty is a source of mockery for some people, look at the way the Malfoys treat the Weasleys, overweight people are still figures of fun (Crabbe and Goyle), and no doubt there are others. So, the Wizarding World isn’t perfect, its just devoid of some of the more obvious muggle prejudices, and the irony is, it’s all because the wizards wanted to make themselves seem superior to the muggles persecuting them. Sort of similar to how some people openly embrace gay people just because they want to distance themselves from Conservatives.
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