Mono is a Resident + The True Origin of The Thin Man
The main claim of this theory, one that I will not just support, but prove in this document, is that Mono is not a child who was kidnapped and taken to the Nowhere like Noone, Low, Six, etc. (Visitors). Mono is a Resident: a supernatural product of the Nowhere. And with the information we now have about the real world of Little Nightmares, I believe we finally have enough evidence to solve the mystery of who the Thin Man was before becoming a Resident.
What are Residents?
There are many official definitions and descriptions of Residents across interviews, guidebooks, and websites, but the most compact and clear explanation, and the jumping-off point for this theory, comes from the Little Nightmares II guidebook (cite):
“The game takes place somewhere born out of people’s worst impulses and desires, where manipulation, conformity, consumption, evil and death thrive. A place where the worst from the real world are reborn as a grotesque version of themselves, continuing their descent into the darkness.”
This definition has not been retconned or altered. Instead, post-Little Nightmares 2 material has only brought this part of Resident lore further into focus through characters like Otto/The Counselor and The Jailer/Homer Downes. The recent Little Nightmares comic, Descent to Nowhere (which is great and everyone should read it now please), confirms that in the Counties, the real world of Little Nightmares, adults who have spent their lives spreading misery and pain are eventually afflicted with a mysterious disease called The Sleep. They fall into comas, and are essentially locked into their nightmare where they are reborn as Residents.
Think of it like Noone in the early episodes of The Sound of Nightmares: Her physical body remains in the Counties, but her consciousness is transported into the Nowhere. For Visitors, this state is temporary. But for Residents, this “in-between” purgatory-like existence becomes permanent once they have fallen into comas. The nature of Residents’ existence makes the logic for Mono/Thin Man’s human self straightforward. If The Thin Man is a Resident, and Residents are the worst of the real world reborn, then it must follow that The Thin Man was originally one of the worst people from the real world of Little Nightmares –The Counties.
Which came first? Mono or The Thin Man
Before continuing, I want to address a major counterargument: Visitors can become or age into Residents, so doesn’t that mean Residents do not necessarily originate from human adults in the Counties?
Yes, this is possible. However, Mono’s situation specifically is not that simple. The Thin Man’s existence cannot be explained through a bootstrap paradox, as he was not created when Mono aged at the end of Little Nightmares II. The Thin Man undeniably existed before the events of the game. I know this is one of the more debated points in the fandom (as someone who spends too much time debating in it), so I want to establish this clearly with evidence.
The Thin Man Already Existed Before Little Nightmares II
In episode 3 of the Little Nightmares II digital comics, the Thin Man kidnaps a child outside the timeline of the main game. While someone could argue that he just left the Signal Tower during the events of Little Nightmares 2 to do this, there is even more evidence supporting the Thin Man’s existence beforehand. In episode 6 of the digital comics, once the “mysterious figure” enters the room, a loud frequency can be heard. This figure is the Thin Man. This is proven by the fact that the same children in overalls that the Thin Man kidnaps in the sixth episode are later seen trapped inside the Signal Tower and connected to the Transmission in Altered Echoes.
Altered Echoes also confirms that the Thin Man’s actions are not limited to simply standing inside the Signal Tower. He actively captures children and uses them as part of the Transmission, matching his character description.
Mono’s official goal in Little Nightmares II is to stop the Transmission, and by extension, stop the Thin Man, the person broadcasting it. For Mono to have this goal, he must already be aware of the Thin Man’s existence before any time loop begins.
The final proof is Very Little Nightmares. It takes place before Little Nightmares II, yet the Transmission and the Thin Man already exist. The Nest contains multiple connections to Little Nightmares 2:
a room filled with televisions,
a framed painting of a television,
a secret room connected to the Transmission (which was posted as a Little Nightmares II hint on the official social media shortly before its announcement),
perhaps the most significant detail: in her playroom, the Pretender has drawn a picture of the Thin Man.
Case in point, The Thin Man existed before Mono became him. Therefore, Mono aging into the Thin Man cannot be what created the Thin Man. His origin has to be different.
Time in the Nowhere
With The Lonely Ones and Descent to Nowhere, we know that children and Residents from different time periods can exist simultaneously and even encounter each other in the Nowhere.. This is cool as hell, but it has led to the belief that time in the Nowhere has no rules, that anything can happen because “Nowhere time is weird.” While the Nowhere is surreal, it is not completely without logic. The Nowhere and its Residents have their own history and chronological, irreversible events.
The Vault of Curiosities in Little Nightmares 3 is officially described as a “ sprawling museum that seems to be a collection of trinkets and history from all across the Nowhere.” (x)
It has the personal belongings of every main Resident from the first two games excluding the Thin Man and the Teacher, who are still alive or questionably alive. Thus, when Residents die they stay dead going forward. We know that the Maw used to be entirely different, with no Guests or Lady, the Necropolis used to be a functioning society, and that Pale City used to not be distorted by the Transmission.
(Very Short interview from Mervik on this)
Together, these examples prove that the Nowhere does have a timeline. Therefore, the Thin Man existing before the ending of Little Nightmares II cannot simply be dismissed as “Nowhere time weirdness.” It implies that the Thin Man has a source beyond Mono.
The Time Loop
The time loop mechanics of Little Nightmares 2 events have been debated at length, but in this theory it's more of a necessary footnote to explain everything else that is going on, so I will be brief.
Mono is in an isolated, self imposed time loop. His core character trait is that he is “uncommonly single minded child”, and he rarely gives up once he has committed to a task. After he gains control of the Transmission in chapter 4, he uses it at the end of the game to go back to the same point in time over and over, as it's capable of doing this in Altered Echoes. This is why the ending of Little Nightmares 2 flashes on the screen when he wakes up, with all the burnt out TV husks being previous attempts.
With this established, next I will prove something that is very important to this theory: Mono is not normal.
Mono is Weird
This is where the theory originally started for me in 2021. The more familiar you become with Little Nightmares lore, the clearer it becomes that Mono does not follow the same rules as the other children we have met. While we watch Six gain her abilities in Little Nightmares, Mono is the only protagonist who begins the story already possessing supernatural powers. The only other kid who is similar to this is The Pretender, who is a Resident. While some fans may think Low has powers, it has been stated that all children in the Spiral can travel through the mirrors, Low & Alone simply figured this out.
“They’ve discovered a way to travel through certain mirrors that send them to different areas, but each one is far apart and there’s no going back once they’ve tumbled out.” (x)
“The mirrors found in the Spiral differ in many ways from mirrors elsewhere in the Nowhere, because they’re used to traverse between the Spiral’s locations… One hallmark (of the Spiral) is the mirrors children can pass through." (x)
Thus, Mono remains the only protagonist with mysterious powers that he is already familiar with.
And that leads into the next point: Mono understands the Nowhere far better than other children do. Throughout Little Nightmares 2 and transmedia, Mono demonstrates a familiarity with the Nowhere, the Transmission, and his own powers that other children do not have.
In the door/boat cutscene at the beginning of Little Nightmares II, Mono watches the televisions floating in the water until they disappear from view. His attention is immediately drawn to them, establishing his connection with TVs before the player even understands their importance. Later, when Pale City comes into view, Mono reacts differently from Six. Before Pale City is even visible to Six or the player, Mono is already standing, seemingly aware that they have arrived. He does not need to see the city to recognize where they are… because Mono has been there before—- in the sixth episode of the Little Nightmares II digital comics. hile we don’t know the exact building he is in, the Little Nightmares 2 comics are prequel comics that are all stated to take place in Pale City.
Descent to Nowhere confirms that Mono was aware of his “TV abilities” before the events of Little Nightmares 2. In the first issue of Descent to Nowhere, Mono immediately attempts to abandon the Stone Giant by teleporting through a TV.. and is confused when it shatters instead, proceeding to change the channels as if attempting to reconnect with the Transmission.
He is not discovering his abilities, he is just frustrated that they are not working the way he expects them to. The description of Descent of Nowhere’s first issue also directly confirms what is observable in Little Nightmares 2 and its digital comics - Mono understands the Nowhere well.
“Mono, who understands this world and thus abandons the girl every chance he gets.”
He has even been to The Signal Tower already. The “you” is Mono, the only one who has the unique power set needed to stop the Thin Man and the Transmission as per the earlier Little Nightmares 2’s steam page.
When Mono fights the Thin Man in Chapter 4, he acts as if he already understands what he is capable of. Mono officially wears his mask as a means to hide from the world, and to conceal his true personality. Him discarding it before fighting the Thin Man shows that he is aware of his abilities. He is consciously choosing to reveal himself and face the world.
With this evidence, it could still be argued that Mono is a human Visitor who simply has been in the Nowhere for a long enough time to adapt and inherit/take powers, like Six. But here’s the thing - Mono doesn’t just have an advanced understanding of the Nowhere and his abilities… he has many other supernatural qualities that set him apart from the human children.
Whenever Mono is tuning the Transmission or is caught by the Thin Man, we can see that he is made out of glitchy static. Altered Echoes confirms that the Glitch Remains truly are remnants of children.. And Mono has the ability to absorb them. In Descent to Nowhere’s fourth issue, Mono at one point says something that is completely unintelligible to Hush. This line is written in the same way a Resident’s speech bubble is in the first issue. Mono emits pure static sound from his mouth when he falls through the Stone Giant. This is not something we see from other protagonists, these are supernatural traits. Therefore, Mono is not simply a child who learned to survive in the Nowhere – He is something fundamentally different.
Now let's talk about character design.
Mono’s Design is Great and also is proof for this theory because character designs are made with intention and to visually communicate important information about a character instead of just popping into existence -The section
In Little Nightmares, the designs are constructed to visually communicate information about a character or setting. Let’s start with Six. Six's angular, bright yellow raincoat visually communicates to the player that Six does not belong in the game’s world, so they need to help her get out of it. She does not blend into her environment.
Her design stands out amidst the muted, dreary grays and browns of the Nowhere…Knowing this is the intention behind her bright design.. Mono’s becomes interesting. Mono's design consists of a beige button up, tan trench-coat, and tan pants: A monochrome, muted outfit that blends in perfectly with the environment of The Nowhere. Mono even has a key ring on his trenchcoat, showing that he is prepared for the never ending key-finding puzzles in the Nowhere. Because Six's simple, bright design communicates that she does not belong in the Nowhere, we can assume Mono's muted, practical design communicates that he does. This contrast also applies to Descent to Nowhere, where Mono is the deuteragonist to Hush – a Visitor who contrasts him with a bright red oversized button up. Mono visually belongs in the Nowhere in a way that Visitors do not.
Coffin Nail: Suspended In-Between
While comic covers can absolutely contain thematic symbolism and can be analyzed in relation to the story, they are not literal canon events. Mono appearing on a milk carton stylistically is not the same as a missing poster of Mono appearing within the actual story. In fact, in the second issue, our protagonists look through the case files of milk carton children in order to find one to link to Hush, including old ones. Narratively, if Mono is a missing Visitor from the past, this would be a perfect opportunity to bring him into the Counties plot as the second missing child on Myra’s radar… but this doesn’t happen. Because it can't. Mono never went missing - and ironically, this cover supports this. The nesting bunny on Mono’s side being halved demonstrates how Mono is technically two entities - one that originates from the Counties (Thin Man) and one that originates from the Nowhere (Mono).
The bunny nesting dolls, narratively, are used to symbolize different realities. This is NOT the only time Mono has been given a “half” motif in connection to Nowhere and the Counties either.
It’s a holiday render, sure, but every other character is on a side that makes sense for their lore. Visitors are able to physically enter and exit the Nowhere, so they are all firmly on one side only. All of the characters who either died or remained in the Nowhere are on the right, Low escaped so he is on the left, and Mono is… both. He is in between. The fourth issue of Descent to Nowhere proves that this is a reference to Mono’s Residency - as this is how Myra describes “The Sleep,” the illness that humans succumb to when they are reborn as Residents. Not dead, not alive. Perpetually suspended between two worlds.
Mono occupies a place no other protagonist does, one reserved for Residents: between the Counties and the Nowhere.
At this point, the evidence points in one direction. Mono isn't a Visitor, and the Thin Man predates him– therefore the Thin Man must have had a human source in the Counties. So…
Who Was He?
Residents are grotesque versions of their former selves, according to Mervik, they are “people whose inner life has shaped their outer form.” (x) While whispers of their humanity echo in some fleeting moments, they do not think or behave in ways that are sane or logical. “All of the residents of Little Nightmares…they don’t really have motivations, it's like the id- it’s the base instinct of people… They don’t have a goal in life that they want to achieve, it's just this urge.” (x)
I believe that the more power a Resident holds within the Nowhere is directly linked to how much influence they had in the Counties. Every location in the Nowhere is shaped off of “a system that acts in accordance with a basic principle or concept.” (x) so naturally, the people chosen to maintain and reside in these areas must be those who upheld these systems when they were human.
The Counties are Pale
Before I delve into this, I’ll establish something super quickly. Pale City draws heavily from the Counties. It has frequent drizzling rain. Noone describes her experiences with a corrupt Celebrity Doctor, bullies, and “telly people” (Viewers are called TV people internally in some places.) The Counties has a mass suicide bridge with imagery similar to the Viewers falling towards the Signal Tower. In The Sound of Nightmares, Otto notes that the broadcast (trust me we will get into this) announces a unique weather pattern in the Counties that it calls “the swirling mist.” In Little Nightmares 2, you can see that the Signal Tower is surrounded by swirling mist. As such, we should expect the human counterpart of Pale City's media system to occupy a similar role in the Counties. And there is exactly one character who does, a character that influences the thoughts of the population and promotes a system of escapism: The host of the most popular radio channel in the Counties - REMs FM, the “voice of counties,” is Mono/The Thin Man’s human form.
(also yes lore from all throughout the franchise is present in Descent to Nowhere - here’s a quote from the #awesome writer Lonnie Nadler regarding this:
Here is a break down of every REMS fm appearance in Descent to Nowhere
In the first issue of Descent to Nowhere, when Myra, the protagonist is about to jump off the bridge, she recalls negative advice from the broadcast as justification for her imminent suicide. This communicates a link between the broadcast’s influence, and Myra (literally) descending. However, instead of mentioning that these words came from the host as she will later, Myra cites a quack. A quack is someone who pretends to be a( typically) medical professional, when they don’t truly have the skill/qualifications. For us, this would be someone like Doctor Phil. Someone who would be giving crude love advice with a medical spin on a popular broadcast, comparing love to an infection. Someone like… a celebrity doctor. A celebrity doctor we know exists in this timeline due to The Sound of Nightmares, and a celebrity doctor that perfectly fits what we know about Little Nightmares 2’s Doctor.
When asked about the connection between Six, the Lady, and the mysterious paintings in Little Nightmares 1 - Mervik had this to say:
“If you think in terms of a dream or nightmare, maybe there’s a character in there pulled directly from your real life. But maybe there’s a character in there who just has one element of something from your real life, and that’s colored how they look there so yeah maybe you see a picture of a kid in a yellow dress or coat ... you still don’t know how that fits, in the logic of this place it could be very literal or it could be something… influenced by another.“ (x)
I believe the second part is the case with Six and the Residents of The Maw - given the fact that Mervik has described The Lady & Six as “ two characters that have been thrown together by forces beyond their control.” (x) The first one, about the characters being pulled from your real life, pertains to Mono. The Residents in Little Nightmares 2 all connect to the “real” Mono’s life in some way, which is why he fits in and is familiar with Pale City. The human version of The Doctor, in the Counties, is directly linked to the broadcast…. connecting him to the host/Mono.
This next one is the least suspect, but establishes a few important details. REMS FM considers itself to be the voice of the Counties, our protagonist, Myra Wan, listens to it in the mornings, and its dialogue is a little ominous in tone. “We’ll be here, in your ear, as we always have been.”
(the image quality here is dead but I quote the important bits.)
In the second issue, we see that Myra, in order to shut out the couple in the neighboring room, tells Marion to turn the radio on. This is a direct thematic connection between REMS FM and escapism. Myra effectively shuts out unpleasant stimuli by turning to familiar entertainment that distracts from it. The lyrics of the song themselves are ominous and negative, stating that their minds are unraveled, and warmth can only be found in “the black below.” It’s these lyrics from the broadcast that push Myra deeper into her investigation of The Nowhere. It’s “like that song said”, she has to keep falling. She’s “descending to Nowhere” in her investigation… and words from REMS FM directly influence her to continue.
In the third issue, we find out that Myra listens to REMS FM at night as well. This radio station is a constant part of her life. Myra always specifies who said what on the broadcast, implying importance. There’s music, there’s a host, and there are guests. At night, the host of REMS FM openly speculates about the nature of the Counties and the Nowhere. Either he knows something about this link, or he has been catching on. This is also where Myra opens up the bunny nesting doll while talking about this peripheral unreality that surrounds them- linking the bunnies to the concept of *realities*.
In Descent to Nowhere’s final issue, we get confirmation that the broadcast, and by proxy, its host, are connected to the Nowhere via linguistics. Whenever something in the Counties is connected to the Nowhere, the syntax lets us know by using the same structure- that being a capitalized definite article: “The”- followed by a capitalized title. Examples of this include Otto always being referred to as The Counselor, Homer as The Sheriff, and The Sleep (“The Sleepers” for Residents). In Descent to Nowhere’s “real world” plot, Myra teams up with fellow police officer Marion Guy. Marion shows no signs of being connected to the Nowhere, advancing through the case based on tangible leads, not buying into Myra’s supernatural theory. Because Marion is a good Guy, (lol) when we see his title – its just Sergeant.. Not “The Sergeant.” Compare this to Otto’s business card.
In issues 1-3, the broadcast is referred to in lowercase, and sometimes is just referred to as “the FM broadcast.” But in its final appearance in the fourth issue, we get a reveal. It follows the syntax of things that are/will eventually be a part of the Nowhere: it is The Broadcast. By the way – wanna guess one of the ways the Transmission has officially been referred to by the Little Nightmares account?
We then get to see the host, human Thin Man, talking about the swirling mist again - just like he did in The Sound of Nightmares. The same swirling mist that we see around the top of the Signal Tower in Little Nightmares 2, and the same swirling mist inside the Transmission during Altered Echoes.
The broadcast clearly influences Myra’s mental state and her beliefs, but how does that pertain to Mono’s human self being the host?
In the first issue, Myra gives us this critical line, “Entering someone’s home is like entering their brain. Everything’s laid out bare.” We know from The Lonely Ones, The Sound of Nightmares, and descriptions of the Maw and its guests that The Nowhere puts similar things together. It puts people, places, and objects where they “belong.” Thus, our cast of characters in the Stone Giant are all connected by something that makes them similar… and I believe it is the influence they have on Myra’s mental state. Hush and Mono are the protagonists because in Myra’s brain, they are the two major forces pulling her down to Nowhere. Mono is one such influence, because his human self is the host of the broadcast that repeatedly encourages her to embrace escapism and sink deeper, to the black below.
Before I get into more direct evidence/lore talk, I’ll address an elephant in the room: If Mono is a radio host in the Counties, why is he connected to televisions in the Nowhere?
The short answer is that the Nowhere exaggerates aspects of The Counties, meaning they can change and manifest in different forms than their “originals.” As per Mervik, “this is a world that takes real experiences and twists them into unfamiliar shapes, so what they have become here is as important as what they were.” (x)
If this alone isn’t satisfying, note this cool parallel in the second issue, where the Counties’ radio station is directly linked to the televisions in the Nowhere.
Another connection here is that Mono’s name links to a type of audio signal used on radio broadcasts. Monaural sound, typically always shortened to just “Mono.” He more specifically reminds me of a specific audio configuration known as “dual mono.” - an audio configuration featuring two entirely separate, independent signal paths for the left and right channels, from input to output. Two independent signals, when played at once - get amplified reach… and when two frequencies clash against each other – one of them wins over and silences the other. This concept is extremely fitting for Mono and the Thin Man. Two entities, one source. Two signals with one eventually overthrowing the other.
So what's up with Mono & Thin Man exactly
Otto has this wonderful quote at the top of The Sound of Nightmares 4.
Within the context of the episode, Otto is talking about Noone (and Kin + Mini-Kin)... but this notion of duality being shown through two parts of a person being physically separate entities is CONSTANT throughout Little Nightmares and applies to many characters… A big, glaring one being Mono and The Thin Man. If The Thin Man is the host of the broadcast as a Resident, then Mono is essentially a supernatural clone of The Thin Man as a child. This is why prior to Little Nightmares 2, both are able to exist at the same time and technically be the same person, but different characters. No bootstrap paradox. Whether Mono has the memories of his human self at that age or has only ever known the Nowhere, this theory explains a lot of the factors that have made fans raise eyebrows about Mono being a Visitor who got taken to the Nowhere by the Ferryman at some point. It explains why he is intentionally designed to belong in that world, why he understands the Nowhere better than every other kid we have met so far, and why he has TV powers, connection to Thin Man, and familiarity with the Signal Tower and Pale City before the loop even started. His existence began in the Nowhere.
(x)
This theory makes perfect sense of Mervik’s response here: He isn’t being coy or vague, it really is all of that. Mono and the Thin Man are the same person in that they are both entities that come from the same source, making it so that Mono is always doomed to become the Thin Man.
But then… would you be the same person if you were thrown into an entirely different environment during your adolescence? Or would you have different goals, feelings, and views on the world?
Mono and Thin Man
Little Nightmares is heavy with critique towards the wealthy - with Mono vs Thin Man being one of many examples. Mono is a scrappy nomad who “takes refuge where he can” and does not wear shoes (as to not have loud footsteps and also to symbolize the vulnerability of kids in the Nowhere on a character design level.) To contrast this, the Thin Man is dressed in a suit and fedora, controlling media from his ginormous tower that overlooks the City. A vulnerable child versus a powerful adult, a scrappy survivor versus someone who controls an entire system.
This continues one of the franchise’s recurring messages; power corrupts.
Musically, Mono’s theme is possibly at its clearest and purest in Togetherness 2. One of the Thin Man’s leitmotifs is this same theme, but in the minor key. Good vs. Evil.
While these are neat details, the most concrete evidence here is the Thin Man’s behavior. As we established earlier, Residents are not sane - they don’t have “motivations” but rather a compulsion they must follow - the Thin Man’s actions do not line up with a character who wants revenge, nor do they line up with the theory that he is trying to save Mono. If Thin Man wanted revenge on Six and to prevent the ending of Little Nightmares 2, then taking Six to the very tower where he was betrayed and taunting Mono by broadcasting her music box on the TVs actively goes AGAINST that goal. This is because The Thin Man’s true goal is naturally, that of a Resident. His compulsion is to broadcast the Transmission, and spread its distortion through the Nowhere. In Altered Echoes, Dark Six is not special to him at all. Instead, Thin Man has many children jailed in the tower. A room in AE that further backs up his impulse being to spread the Transmission is this one, where the overalls children he kidnapped all have their minds hooked up to televisions … their imagination is being suctioned away, and used to fuel the Transmission. The Thin Man has more to his character than just being Mono but older, he does not share or remember Mono’s contradictory behavior and feelings… he just wants to maintain and spread the Transmission.
Thus, while they are one in the same - they are also two separate characters, and Mono is his successor. Two of an (un)kind. One more key example of this is how Mono is officially described as a threat to Pale City’s systems of escapism” (x)—systems that the Thin Man controls. Of course he is capable of being a threat, since it is a system “he” manages in the first place, but there’s a purposeful divide between the characters here. Is a “bad person” inherently bad? Was Mono just evil to begin with in the “real world?” No. That’s the tragedy. The Nowhere, deeply unfair child-hating lovecraftian world that it is, forces it to be an inevitability. No matter how different Mono is from the Thin Man, no matter how much his character progresses, his future is set. He is held accountable for the actions of another version of himself. He can’t escape it. This fits perfectly with this overarching narrative thread in Little Nightmares - that of the odds being severely stacked against these children, of the world hating them, and wanting them to fail.
“It came when we decided it was going to be about a child in this oversized world filled with terrible people and terrible things… the core of the game is this word that hates these children in so many ways that literally makes them feel small, powerless, and vulnerable. Of course it’s like… just look around at what we demand of kids. That’s where it all comes from. Every character comes from a terrible behavior or a terrible story you’ve heard or something you’ve seen… just this trend you see in society. These kids have to grow up around that. I could talk about this forever because it’s such an integral part why LN is so important to us, and why it speaks to people as well. There’s this thing when people grow up, they pull the ladder up.. and they forget how they felt as kids. How terrifying life could be, how unfair. But it’s like… YOU made it out so you’re fine. You’re on the side of the bullies, you don’t have to fear anymore. For us it’s so important that you reconnect with that. How does it feel? What are we asking of these kids? Look around at what we allow in every corner of the globe… the things that we fund and cause. The kids that pay the price of it grow up amongst that and become that terribleness as well in a lot of cases and then they’re PUNISHED for that as well… it’s like a sick joke how that goes. So it comes from this place of anger and disgust and shame and all these wonderful emotions, where we try to turn it into something that still speaks to people in a way that isn’t just chastising and isn’t just … relentlessly bleak. There’s got to be some hope there, and the hope is in the presence of the kids in that world ... .There's this terrible world on one side, and these kids who represent hope. However they have to do it, they cope with it.” (x)
It is canonically the Nowhere’s goal to get children to succumb to their monstrous impulses - and it sabotages positive qualities such as (-----.) How much can we blame them when everything is against them?
What’s the purpose of Mono’s existence/Whats up with the Thin Man:
These are directly linked so they get a conjoined section. If all of this is true, then what is the point? We know that non-traditional children exist in the lore (such as Alone or the Pretender).. but why?
I believe that Mono exists to keep the Thin Man in an eternal loop of escapism (indulging in his impulse), and to make the Transmission stronger. The thing Thin Man is looking for is Mono - but not because of a desire to save him. Mono makes the Transmission stronger. Like with dual Mono, the transmission reach extends if the two independent signals become one. The Thin Man takes kids at random in order to fuel the Transmission with their imagination and fantasies (City of the Lost Children style. Tarsier has said it was a major inspiration for Little Nightmares a few times.)... but his one more “personal” target is Mono, not Six. He’s needed to fulfill Thin Man’s impulse. This is why, in the Little Nightmares 2 comics, Thin Man immediately follows Mono after he leaves the room instead of continuing to murder the kids downstairs. This is why the Signal Tower keeps “calling Mono to come back.” and finally- this is why Six’s theme is intentionally blared on the TVs whenever Mono gets near them in chapter 4. It’s all centered on getting Mono. When Mono and the Thin Man finally come together at the end of Little Nightmares II, the Transmission only becomes stronger; The two parts become one, the cycle completes, and the Transmission expands. This is why Mono is compelled to tune the Transmission. He is a Resident, and that is his impulse. Mono can’t win by defeating the Thin Man, because he is fighting against the same system that created him, and is trying to destroy a part of himself. I believe Thin Man is so ghostly and inanimate in comparison to other Residents because his human self did not have much of an “inner life” to pull from. He’s a puppet for the Signal Tower because The Broadcast was his life. Negatively impacting the people of the Counties and encouraging their bad habit of escapism was the center of his reality, and so he is given a role that reflects that in the Nowhere. Mono’s existence essentially provides the Nowhere with an opportunity to give this Resident an inner life, to tempt him with escapism - the very vice his “original” human self promoted. The official twitter has referred to the time loop as Mono’s escapism (revenge or second chance) - Which could imply that even when they join together, Mono is so single minded that he is still fixated on his own goal.
The tragedy of this is that it actually aids the Thin Man’s impulse too, and only traps them forever. It seems as though each loop strengthens the Transmission and furthers its reach. In Little Nightmares 2, the Transmission barely reached the outskirts of Pale City, but by Little Nightmares 3 - it has spread to the Spiral, as it can be seen in the Factory and the Institute. The only character who has the power set to stop the Thin Man and the Transmission is Mono - and he is already in an eternal loop of attempting that. People’s need for escapism cannot be vanquished by killing one man or stopping the Transmission, so Mono will never win.
Conclusion
Mono doesn't become a Resident, he began the story as one. The Thin Man existed before him via the Broadcaster in the Counties, Mono’s true human source.
As always I am insane and have way more thoughts on individual parts of this theory, but I’m very confident in it. It fits the lore, the narrative of both Little Nightmares 2 and Descent to Nowhere, and makes sense of many long standing mysteries regarding the two characters. Thank you for reading! I will leave off with some miscellaneous links to the theory/analysis that I would’ve had to awkwardly squash in if I included them earlier.
1. They were cut from the final game, but Little Nightmares 2 used to have radios. Including one particular creepy broadcast of a man hanging himself. The Transmission is said to affect the airwaves in general so it does also affect radios in the Nowhere, but since we don’t see this in the final game it wasn’t as relevant to the TV - radio section.
2. REMS FM is so popular and influential in the Counties that no characters ever refer to it by name. This implies that the channel has hegemony over the radio broadcast scene in the Counties. It’s so popular that citizens don’t have to specify what channel it is, just that it is the broadcast.
3. In Little Nightmares 3, in the “past/Counties” view of the Institute - we can see one of the logos associated with the Pale City/transmission. This further implies that the “transmission” has a real world counterpart - or possibly was seeping into the Counties in Low’s timeline.
4. There is unused concept art showing Mono originally having completely blue skin, further emphasizing that his design was always intended to communicate that he was not an ordinary human child.
5. Technically Mono isn’t fully a Resident #sorry im a liar because he is sane and not evil, he’s like a weird Resident adjacent glitch. Calling him a Resident just is easier and more of a hook.
6. The text boxes in DTN for the TV and The Broadcast are the same.
7. The LN2 IDV event’s premise was that Mono and Six’s world was distorted by radio waves.
