man thought about a toh theory for a little too long. Anyway, Phillip 100% burnt down this building, but it gets worse! We can’t trust Masha’s story
Local man thought too hard about one aspect of toh and is now convinced about something entirely different, luckily also within toh.
But yeah, Phillip burned down this fucking building. He’s also a lying little cunt, and he’s tricked more people than just Luz with a journal. All under the cut, because this one got LONG.
please do not leave your suspension of disbelief at the door, youre gonna need it.
So, This Fucking Statue:
Up until recently, it was logically assumed within fandom that, oh! The Wittebanes must have founded Gravesfield, cool! The statue is one of the only landmarks we see after all, so wouldn’t it make sense to assume they founded it? But in Thanks to Them (even if it does fuck the timeline to all hell and back with the 1613 debacle) the episode makes it clear that the Wittebanes did Not found Gravesfield, and no one in the town actually believes this.
So the thought occurred to me, why the fuck does this statue even exist?
I’d argue tourism, for the main part. Tourism and a bit of history. Masha refers to the disappearance of the Wittebanes as “the eeriest unsolved mystery of Gravesfield.” Famous mystery! Local history! All decent reasons for a statue.
In addition, Masha also says also says, “[the Wittebanes] became witch hunters. Local lore suggests that the brothers Wittebane met a real witch...” and yeah, this all fits the idea of a famous local mystery! The way Masha refers to the story as well, “the tale of the brothers Wittebane.” Sounds pretty colloquial, right?
And of course, why wouldn’t the town memorialise what is probably its only tourist attraction and the brave, brave witch hunters of the past?
“[Caleb and Evelyn] used a secret code to travel between worlds.”
Then the story starts to fall apart a bit, because for one, that does not look like a secret code. For two, when the fuck have we seen a secret code before with the portals? Ever?
And sure, you could definitely argue that oh, he’s sinking down to hell. Fire = hell = witchcraft = boiling isles, easy!
But then there’s another piece of fire imagery just after this just as Masha talks about Phillip trying to seek out his brother:
But that still technically fits the theme. Fire = hell = witchcraft = boiling isles. Makes sense! They both ended up in the boiling isles, case closed.
But then, why is Phillip being burned by the same torches that the witch hunters were holding just a few seconds earlier?
Maybe its just some teenagers who made a hay ride reusing assets?
We’ll diverge for a second to our only other source of Gravesfield history within the human realm:
This bitch.
As Jacob tells it from “the secret history of Gravesfield” (assuming this is the title of the book in his hands):
“in the 1600s, [Gravesfield] was a peaceful colony until tragedy struck. Two brothers were lured into a realm of evil by a real witch, never to be seen again.”
Contrast this with Masha’s seemingly colloquial, local history:
“They tried to fit in with this town and its unsavoury practices... local lore suggests that the brothers Wittebane met a real witch from another world... and the older brother was spirited away. She dazzled him with magic and visions... they used a secret code to travel between worlds. Phillip set off to save his brother and bring the witch to justice, but neither were ever seen again.”
In one of these stories, both of the Wittebanes are victims of one magnanimous evil. This is only found in the secret history. In the other, Phillip is a man on a noble mission, a story with no known conclusion. Since Masha’s story is seemingly not the “secret one”, it would make sense that this is the Gravesfield accepted one! It even makes sense when you look at the statue, Phillip is behind Caleb, seemingly in pursuit.
Oh, but wait a minute-
In the forgotten history, one of the brothers is holding a torch. Said brother is holding a glyph (Phillip activity) while the other one has a bird on his shoulder (Caleb activity). And what do we see on the page beforehand?
This building, on fire.
Since in the forgotten history they both succumb to the “real witch,” maybe Phillip is just another victim in this narrative? He set the town hall or whatever on fire because oh! A witch!
But that still doesn’t explain why Phillip is being burned by the witch hunters???
But then, what the fuck? There is clearly some truth in Masha’s story- Evelyn’s name, Caleb and Phillip’s names, but they doesn’t say shit about Phillip burning down a fucking building, maybe we should just discredit Gravesfield’s forgotten history as inaccurate? But it clearly displays flapjack, and a glyph! Masha and their visuals don’t have that.
But here is where I’m going to ask you to not take the Wittebros reveal from Thanks to Them at face value. Not even in the slightest. I’d ask you to instead think: “if I were an animator trying to imply that what is being said is false, what options are available to me?” TOH at this point doesn’t have enough run time to waste visual imagery nor to wrap up every single plot point they introduced in season 1+2A (truncation was announced in October 2021, 2A and Yesterday’s Lie finished airing in August). Hell, we don’t even have a fucking intro anymore. Everything the animators are doing- they are doing for a reason. Why the hell would Phillip be burned by torches instead of just average old fire like Caleb? Like Flapjack-
But wait a fucking second, why in God’s fucking name is Flapjack here???
AND WHY IS HE ON FIRE?
“...she dazzled him with magic...” yeah yeah sure why the fuck not, fire = magic whoop-de-doo, but think with me here. The Clawthornes are palisman carvers, sure, I get that, but why in her right fucking mind would Evelyn just offer Caleb a palisman right off the bat? This is their first meeting in this story, right?
In addition, even though this is in the period before palistrom wood is endangered, throughout the show older characters with palisman typically have theirs custom made in some way!!! Palismen bond on emotion, and in a period with abundant palistrom wood, why Wouldn’t you hand carve a palisman guaranteed to fit you? Or, hell, why would you not get it custom made For You by a skilled carver? Palismen are a very personal thing, so why!!! Why does Evelyn just have Flapjack on hand?
(in addition why do none of the characters LOSE THEIR SHIT OVER THIS, but I digress)
And shit! Just keeps not adding up! Caleb and Evelyn used a “secret code” to travel between worlds. This, outright, sounds like complete bullshit, and we know that its bullshit because we see Evelyn and Caleb’s portal, and its activated by Titan’s Blood, as is literally every other portal. So where the hell did this trivia even come from? It almost sounds like a taunt, “oh yeah the method to do this did exist, but its a big old secret so no one will ever be able to do it again lmao!” It just sounds like a lie.
But at the same time, this blatant lie connotates that travel was possible more than once, because why have a code for a portal you can never return from? This explains why the hell Flapjack is here, I guess. They have met more than once, so she offers him Flapjack, lovely! But this actively goes against Masha’s words which imply Caleb was lured in, the singular and only victim. But seriously, where the fuck is this narrative coming from-?
Met with a Real Witch, their Greatest Enemy, Caleb is holding a pitchfork. Phillip is writing in a book, just like in season 2! Phillip’s journal throughout season 2 opens with an introduction. He’s just started a new journal!
It is also FULL OF FUCKING LIES.
Here’s what I’m proposing: there are three stories going on here.
One: Masha’s spoken story. AKA, Phillip’s that he is WRITING DOWN IN FRONT OF US.
Two: The Real Story. AKA, the one we see as visuals as Masha tells Phillip’s and without the same timing presented in Masha’s
Three: Gravesfields “Forgotten” History. AKA, a blend of the truth and Phillip’s, written years after the actual events.
I cannot explain how Phillip managed to get this journal/fake ass story out to Gravesfield, nor can I explain if I’m even right in interpreting these visuals. I have no fucking clue why the people of Gravesfield would turn on Phillip and Phillip alone!!!
I am, however, 90% certain that the story we have heard from Masha is not the truth, and this will be in some way revealed in our upcoming two episodes. If I’m wrong, then fuck me I guess. If I’m right? I’m never shutting the fuck up again.
There’s some other potentially related evidence thats stuck with me so I’ll just pop it all at the bottom here real quick, but unless this particular worm has already starting digging its way through your brain, then hope you enjoyed!
caleb leaves the spotlight and never reenters it. the yellow light doesn’t leave phillip even as he burns. ???
caleb hold book. why ???
circles light glyphs ???? i also have no idea why the fucking bird is on fire
-In forgotten history they are both victim,,, phillip’s history he is saviour to caleb’s victim,,, real history phillip has knife ??? i can think of potential postives to phillip in both scenarios whether he is a victim or not (oh i Suffered,,,, vs I Saved And Am Strong !!!)