Monsters


"Ya know my doctor used to say the word monster is not a noun...that to be a monster you gotta do something monstrous."
-David, S1:EP3

That line really came into play by the end of the episode for me after Melanie flips through that most cheery of children's books. If you think about what David said and follow it you can trace through all the things he may have done before we meet him on the show.

So far, I think there are hints at him doing the following....
- killing his dog
- killing his mom
- hurting or possibly killing Dr. Poole
- maaaybe killing Philly, even? I've seen some make the case for this, though I think it's the most tenuous of them so far since we've seen her the least. I mean, she's not even had any lines. I can get the implication though, so I'll include it.
- all culminating in the biggest one of all....did David set Red Hook ablaze and kill/injure most of its residents?

The drawing Melanie saw definitely made it seem that way, when you consider the Angry Boy is a proxy (or personality if you'd prefer) for David. It also seems like TDWYE is perhaps the grown up version of the Angry Boy? They seemed linked somehow...maybe as David grew so did he, into, well this massive monster.

On a more realistic level, I think it could be a good representation of mental illness in general as well. Something that starts out somewhat small inside of you, not understood as a young person and as you repress it or mistreat it as you get older and older it can grow and amass itself into something even worse or uglier.

Back to my main point. David said you have to do monstrous things to be a monster. He potentially has a fairly substantial laundry list of murders, I believe, unbeknownst to him. It seems to me that outburst in his kitchen was the first time he was fully aware of his abilities, but looking further back into his childhood it seems to have manifested itself without him realizing...and in really scary, darker ways. And I think, those words stuck in his brain about monsters because deep down that's the way David sees himself or wonders about himself.

So, what about you? Do you see him that way? Do you think he's done those things? Has he done more and I just missed something? Don't think he's done any of that, why not? Am I making this all too literal? What observations did you make or take away from all that?

Grades will be handed out at the end...kidding, of course ;) I just like trying to bolstering some discussion! Please, PLEASE feel free to join in.

reply

bumpity bumper bumps!

reply

He surely killed his dog and his mom. Dude's obviously angry, but he's been covering all of it with tons of maryjane for a while and now he can't even remember what he did. Otherwise, why would Syd kill Lenny?

Hope I'm right. We'll see.

reply

I'm with you on the dog and the mom. I think the Angry Boy just took the hell over and he's been blocking it from him ever since....till now. I think adult David is pretty oblivious to the things he did, Amy doesn't even seem to know so...whatever he did, however he did it he was good about covering it up, unless he had help. Like the dad that liked to read such horrible stories to his kid/step-kid?

I'm still of the belief TDWYE is an amalgamation of his worst, his complete darkness, that lies within him begging and fighting to get out. He started out as the Angry Boy, and grew and grew and now maybe wants to take over or something. Pulling David's strings like some kind of daemon.

The town on fire is surely an interesting development.....

reply

That seems about right. It would make sense TDWYE wants to get out now that it's in danger because of the treatment. The part of the dad, though... lol, that's a little too far-fetched, don't you think? Albeit it would clearly add an extra layer of darkness to the issue, so I like it.

reply

Well, wouldn't it be more far-fetched for a boy to be able to do that all on his own (if he did)? Though I suppose if he was that powerful and to him, wasn't alone. But this show is quite fantastical, so I'm trying to keep an open mind ;)

I'm not beholden to my spouting or theories, I just like tossing them up in the air and seeing what others may think or how they read it.

reply

So do I. The story is just evolving, we'll see what happens.

Can't wait for the next cap already.

reply

Not so sure about him killing so much. Maybe the dog, but thats bad enough to see oneself as a huge monster and create traumas and blocked off memories by itself, for someone like David. Sure, maybe he manifests these other personalities that "take over", but the David (or real) persona is not a killer, so other personalities shouldn't be unless there is deep horrible stuff in his past making him want to be. A shadowy dad figure reading a scary children's book is not enough for that.

reply

Yeah, like I said above, I'm not trying to be definitive about any of those. Just, those are the ones I think could be somewhat argued as to the hints we've been given or that I've seen others bring up. I wouldn't want David to be a killer either, because anti-heroes are fun, but it gets a bit hard to invest when they seem more villainous than anything.

However, I do think David when pushed in a corner or to the edge, powers full forced, and the worst personality/personalities emerging could very well be capable of killing. I am also of the belief that he will end up being less good and more rogue-ish. I won't say a straight up villain, but he could become more of an antagonist down the road and I wouldn't at all be surprised.

So, what do you think happened in his childhood? What have you grasped from the scenes we've been given so far?

reply

Not so much really. Apart from his childhood nightmare visions it's mainly the dad in shadows reading that horrible book that sticks out as something real and hinting at bad things happening. Otherwise we see memories where he seems like a normal kid growing up in a normal home in safe surroundings. It's all a bit confusing. I guess I will have to rewatch the second episode again where I think there was some more from him as a kid. That episode was hard for me to make a lot of sense of. Maybe now with a bit more clarity it will tell me more.

reply

Rewatches are a must for this type of show, at least to me! You can glean so much more once you already know the basic plot and structure of the episode.

If ya pick up on anything interesting, next time around, feel free to share!

reply

What if the book it's an allegory?

reply

An allegory for what? I'm asking that in a sincere way, by the way!

I was also wondering if it's a real book or just something his mind made up.

reply

I... I have no idea. Just something that crossed my mind.

The book has been shown inside David's mind only, so I thought it could be a product of it, you know, like a metaphoric element and not just a real book. Same with the faceless father. Anyways, let's keep talking in the chapter thread.

reply

I did just that ;)

reply