Okay, I need to finally talk about my dumb theory I've been thinking about every time it's crossed my mind.
In basic terms, this is all a metaphor for the teenage mental health struggles.
Let me explain.......studios (I had to). Fair warning that none of this is going to make sense because I can't explain things in an organized manner when I'm trying to write down 50 things spiraling around in my brain.
For starters, I feel like the severity of each person's injuries and how long it took for them to heal reflects their own traumas from the past. Maybe it reflects how long it took for them to heal from their pasts.
When he was young, potentially 8 or 9, his dad had passed away. It might have been sudden, it might have been a slowburn, but regardless of how long it took, Ethan had passed away, leaving his wife and children alone to fend for themselves. Mariana didn't take this well, and grieved heavily, resulting in her being unable to care for her kids. Seeing that she wasn't going to be able to care for him and Taylor, Tyler took it upon himself to care for the both of them, become the new man of the house.
He learned to cook, do the laundry, fix things up, cut hair, everything. For years, he had been taking care of the house. He potentially lost his sense of self, his sense of childhood joy. At 8, he lost his childhood, and became a man.
So having a chance to actually have fun with this group he's stuck with potentially helped him heal. Even if it was just a little bit. But it'll take a while for him to heal properly.
Just like how when he got impaled in the stomach, it took him a lot longer to heal. Heavy and lasting pain equals an as big injury in the phantom dimension. This trauma correlates with his emotional state.
For all of his childhood, Aiden had been alone. His parents traveled often, and he spent very little of his free time with either of them. It was sad, lonely, and depressing. However, when he was at his lowest, he discovered a new way to live life...on the edge. Suddenly, he found the adrenaline he had been desperately craving. He had never felt so close to death...he could almost taste the end of the rope.
Who knew whether or not he was aware that he was secretly craving death. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
But his mind did. It always knew.
When he had died in the phantom dimension, he healed quickly because he was used to the feeling of death. He was used to wanting the sweet relief of it.
His mind recovered quickly, because it never actually recovered at all.
It just adjusted to the new situation. Like it had always been doing.
Not much to say here, but we can work with what we know about his past. Logan's grandparents were a part of a huge crime group, and possibly taught Logan something about guns as well before they fully retired. Who knows what else there is to the story, of if Logan's parents are involved.
Using what we know about his parents (based off of what Barron said), we'll assume Logan's parents left him young, and this affected him badly since he was most likely young and confused, wondering why his mom and dad left him alone.
It correlates to his injury because while it was pretty bad and hurt him, he soon got over it eventually, and was able to somewhat heal...but the scar still remains, reminding him that he still has some trauma relating to the issue.
Just like Logan, but slightly different, we just have to base this off of what we've seen so far.
Of course, Ashlyn doesn't actually have a traumatizing backstory, but that doesn't mean she's affected by her past mentally. Considering that she has hypersensitive hearing, this might have caused issues for her growing up. Especially with hearing phantom noises, which definitely can't be something pleasant for a little kid to hear. Though because it wasn't too affecting, her scar also healed pretty quick, but still lingers because of the affects it had on her at a vulnerable age.
That's kind of the main topic for this theory. Other ideas I've formed are just kind of what I've observed and tried to apply to mental health.
Honestly, the phantoms are seen as parasitic since they require a host to make it to the real world. But you know what else is parasitic (at least metaphorically)? Mental illnesses.
Like a parasite, it usually never benefits the person. Usually, it's negative or at least affects one's life. So, you could say the phantoms are a symbol of mental illnesses. I don't know how else to really explain it, nor back it up with evidence, but there is the small resemblance.
The phantoms attack the kids and anyone who is living, and when they are able to get their way, they crawl into the person, using it as their host. I guess that could represent letting a mental illness take over your mind, resulting in harm to yourself.
However, the phantoms had only been able to harm the kids temporarily, never permanently. This could mean that the kids aren't succumbing to their "demons" just yet; they still have some fight in them to battle their traumas. Or something idk.
Also I remember rambling to myself about this concept
I think the regular phantoms represent more "minor" mental illnesses (not comparing how bad each one is, it's just separating from "It's manageable day to day" to "I'm on the verge of ending it all or harming others") while the centipedes are representative of more severe illnesses (Such as extreme depression, selfharming and and that, bi-polar, etc).
Or ig the more severe side of these mental issues.
Logan and Ashlyn got attacked by the regular phantoms, signaling that their traumas aren't as severe and probably healed over time. Aiden, on the other hand, got indirectly attacked by a centipede phantom. We already know this guy is probably suicidal, so....
Other things I should mention are probably the parents and cranes (Y'all should know I can never go a day without at least mentioning the cranes once). Seeing that the parents are in the phantom dimension permanently, but have yet to become infected could conclude that despite being like other typical cases, they're actually still fighting off whatever traumas they have. They're adults, so it's probably likely that the older you are, the less likely you are to get out of the PD. But this idea gets shot down since Lily is in the picture. I guess I could argue that maybe it's the severity of trauma. Banners were in the military, Fields were in a mafia and probably killed people, Mariana literally has a severe mental illness where she believes her husband is still alive to cope, idk bout the Clarks, but they probably got something, and Lily is a little girl, which means she's most likely heavily traumatized from the events.
The cranes? Uh, Ryan lost three kids under his watch and got blamed for it, Charlie....he quite literally said he's mentally ill and beat up people just for the fun of it, Jasmine's related to Maverick, and idk bout Hudson, but I have a theory/hc that he had a wife and kid, but lost them to a tragic event, and the police did nothing to help him, hence why he joined Maverick's cult (I'm also assuming he's in the cult since he got a name drop, and actually told Charlie what was happening). He also has eyes (I've noticed for the most part that unimportant characters aren't given eyes? Even when they're up close, like those guards who were trying to get the kids back during the train jump scene). There were probably times when a bg character was given eyes in the recent episodes, but the point still stands. Anyways, back to the theory...
Also, the Cranes are in a cult. Gasp, really??
Cults are already traumatizing as is. So....
Imma now just list off random miscellaneous things I've thought of just now or earlier on
-Infected symbolize those who had fallen to their mental struggles
-The phantom dimension is the physical version of the mental state
-Maverick probably wants control of this so he could combine the mental dimension with the real dimension, causing a possible paradox, ending the world??
-If we're going down the "it's just symbolism" path, then this is a representation of teenagerhood struggles. Notice how the only characters who are able to leave the PD are teenagers?? Hmmmm....
-when the kids started taking care of themselves in the phantom dimension, they started to heal physically in the real world. Representation of giving yourself mental breaks to heal??
-Jasmine has a centipede tattoo, could that mean that her issues are severe?? Most likely considering she's brainwashed and being manipulated by her own brother. Also there's smoke (or fire...could be smoke though) behind the centipede. Possibly signaling that she's hiding her issues....behind A MASK. THAT'S WHY I CALLED IT HEALINGMASK--
-Charlie could probably hear the phantom noises? Who knows whether or not he was mocking the parents because he knew about Ash's super hearing or not...but this applies to the theory because again, mentally unwell. Maybe a select few are more connected to their mental consciousness than others? Who knows.
-It's the fact that their injuries only showing up in the PD but not the real world is basically just another way of saying how mental scars may not be physical, but they are just as hurtful as any real scar. (highlighting this one because it's actually more important than I realized....)
🍀Quick edit i forgot to put in but Crayfree made a post in regards to how everything was so fast paced, and that was what inspired me to finally make this post...and I forgot to mention it...
But basically, the quick pace of all these events could also represent how so sudden these types of things happen in life. You don't expect something horrible to happen to you, but it is very much possible. It's literally what happened in the comic. The kids went into a haunted tourist place, not thinking anything about it...and the effect of that situation is that they are now fighting for their lives in a dimension of hell. It happened suddenly, quickly, and mainly quietly.
And it's also just like how them getting kidnapped after two PD deaths was so sudden as well. One minute you're crying, the next you're yelling to be freed. 🍀
Alright, I guess that's all I have for now...I don't know how else to explain this theory, but it's actually pretty fun. I've been thinking about this idea for a while now, and I'm so glad to finally share it omg </3
if you actually read this mess of a post, thank you so much 🙏💖 it's rare for me to actually make serious posts like this that involve the literal main characters (I still like the cranes more....🤑🤑)
lemme know if y'all have any questions about this theory. I'd also like to hear what y'all think about it in general.
okay i need to go work on that animatic now 🚶➡️
