Tyler ISN'T Clancy (Well, Sort of) - twenty one pilots theory 

Apologies for the video cut off at the end. I have no clue why or how that happened, my guess is that it was something during the uploading process that affected it

I think that he took Clancy’s name. I know self titled isn’t completely lore related but in trap door he sings “nobody knows his real name, but now he just uses what he saw on a grave”. This is my belief and I’m going to stick by it

"We are Twenty-One-Pilots and so are you!" 'I am Clancy.... and so are you' we can all be Clancy as we escape from our own Dema. I am going to make a wild guess and say they MAY end their concert/album with 'We are Clancy' or some such statement

I actually love the idea that there was an original Clancy and now it’s a name that many use in Trench.

the way tyler says I am a citizen, I am an escapee, I am Clancy. Sounds like progressive titles. He went from being a citizen of dema living his life within the city, then one day he attempted an escape and did it again and again making him an escapee, now hes finally successfully escaped and takes the name clancy like the others who have made it out

This aligns with my thinking of Clancy. Blurryface (nico/ and the bishops) represent Tyler's insecurities his fear etc. I think Clancy is the opposite. He represents his confidence, his will to live, and creativity. Clancy is the embodiment of the will to escape and conquer (or at least keep fighting) Dema.

Also, in the SAI livestream, Lisden and Sacarver call him Tyler Joseph. And that livestream is credited as being canon. Just another piece of evidence!

Great breakdown, dema. I have a lot to think about now. Also, when you mention this it doesn't fully seem like you've acknowledged that Nicolas Bourbaki is also a real life example of a group of people all using the same pseudonym. If that is co-occurring with "Clancy" being a group pseudonym it holds a lot of implications!

The idea that there multiple Clancy’s is so awesome

This was great! When you first announced you'd be making this video I wasn't sure what you were going to make of the whole 'Tyler isn’t Clancy' thing, but you did a fantastic job! Not only that, but with the way you explained it, and the way this one bit of lore affects core components of the other lore, I am so glad I saw this video. Your reasonings make sense and I believe what you said is most likely true or at least partially true with the evidence presented.

So maybe Clancy DID die, just the original one not Tyler

I hope twenty one pilots or someone puts all the songs that add up into the lore together and turn it into a movie it would be sick

11:22 Another way would unfortunately be by making a name irrelevant because someone is no longer alive. She had plans to die thus changing from alive to dead or "her name was..." rather than "her name is..." It is much darker and sadder, but given the context of the song, it makes sense.

I think it makes perfect sense that Clancy is a pseudoname or symbol that escapees use. And even just on the level that the entire album is named Clancy, it makes way more sense for that to by symbolical and represent way more than just one person named Clancy.

I love the documentary style intro!

Watch the last video of this Era be "We Are Clancy". 😮 This theory low key made me go 🤯. What if a group of people operating under the pseudonym Clancy is a way to counteract the others operating under Nicholas Bourbaki. Makes sense in the theme of reclaiming and counteracting that seems to be so present this Era.

I loved fhe video! Hearing the theory made me think of the "he goes by Nico, he told me I'm a copy" lyric in Morph. Assuming that the first, original Clancy is dead, and his death is being used as a way to take away the hope of the Dema citizens, telling Tyler that he's merely a copy of Clancy is a way to stop him? "When I'd hear him mock me, that's almost stopped me"

Hello, just wanted to say that the sound at the start of bandito isnt a typewriter, its the clicking sound of the keyboard preset that's used for the melody (a virtual keyboard library called keyscape that tyler and paul use). Its part of the sound rather than an added effect as vintage Rhodes keyboards make those sounds. good theory though, interested to see how it pans out with the album

Interesting 🧐 Mark said on Twitter he can’t divulge the red headed boy Tyler seizes in Overcompensate. He said he’s not “the original Clancy.” I’m going with the pseudonym theory of We Are All Clancy.

I totally thought a similar thing about Redecorate! Nice catch, glad people are talking about it! Now after Overcompansate it seems like its not only a pseduname (where it is related to more than one person), but Tyler is trying to teach all of us to become more like Clancy.

this is a FANTASTIC VIDEO!!! i really enjoy seeing your opinions and theories on this kind of stuff! i honestly don’t know what to think anymore haha😅 hopefully this album will give us an definitive answer. great job, and thanks for working hard for us 💜💜💜

Nice vid so far dema. Can't finish rn tho I don't think sry

I love your longer detailed videos! I really hope that Tyler and Josh see this :)

Omg I love your voice!

This video is pure gold, I never thought of the Clancy lore like this but it actually makes so much sense. Hopefully you make lore videos for all of the songs from the new album once it comes out 😁 keep up the good work!

This is fabulous! Thanks for all your diligence in sifting through the clues and music to find the thread that coheres them! Your theory adds a dimension to my understanding. Wow!

What if "clancy is dead" was the bishops way of saying "We know what clancy means and it's done"

I’ve had a theory that Clancy isn’t a singular person (as stated in the video) for a while, and seeing someone else speak about it and going deeper into the information is so helpful. It’s gives so much more understanding to the theory and actually backs it up, thank you ❤️

My theory goes all out to self-titled, more specifically to trapdoor, the first verse says "He wakes up early today, throws on a mask that will alter his face. Nobody knows his real name, but now he just uses one he saw on a grave." For me the most valid theory is that Clancy was someone, someone that got recognition for they exploits and letters, he was the most likely to escape from DEMA so he got known by both citizens and bishops, the bishops captured him and he most likely died. But he still got so much progress with his letters and whatnot, so people that tries to escape uses the name of Clancy so when the Banditos and the Torchbearer get the information that Clancy is out there they will reach a fake Clancy. That will explain for example the Jumpsuit bit in which Clancy saw Tyler trying to escape, it was probably another Clancy, another person that was using their name. After that maybe he got captured or who knows, Tyler probably got knowledge about the letters and now he is the one using their name so the Torchbearer will go to him and he can escape. Then when he got the power of seizing he decides instead of finally being free, turning back to DEMA to free everyone once and for all, taking possession of the red color instead of running away of it and destroying the city from the inside.

Really great video! Your dedication is amazing and well appreciated! Keep up the awesome work!!

What if Clancy is supposed to be some sort of Christ figure in the DEMA storyline who died for the people? That would explain why we see multiple people identifying as Clancy (similar to how Christians die to self and put their identity in Christ) and explains the lyrics “It’s only time before they show me why no one ever comes back with details from beyond” (similar to how a lot of Christians don’t go back to where they were before becoming Christian) and “I have killed a man and all I know” (Tyler’s belief that he is the reason why Clancy died.) In the Overcompensate music video Tyler is wearing clothes that resemble religious attire of a pastor and is teaching the people (similar to how Christians believe in sharing the gospel). Since Tyler and Josh are both Christians, this makes a lot of sense to me, but y’all let me know what you think

How about the line in Overcompensate "don't sleep on a boy who can fall asleep twice"? It's possible only if Clancy is actually few people..

I needed this video, thank you. Just read the clancy letters and was so confused about the jumpsuit mv and other things.

I love your videos! You are so very sweet and interactive with your audience, and a gem for supporting Tyler and Josh on their journey, in and out of the story they’re telling! Keep doing what you love

Firstly, the editing in this video is so good! I really apreciatte the effort you put in your videos! Secondly, I completely agree with this theory, it makes so much sense! I'd like to add one additional evidency: Nicolas Bourbaki is a pseudonym used by the Bourbaki group in their work, so it makes sense that Clancy would also be a pseudonym. And if there was an original Nicolas Bourbaki (aka Nico), then it's reasonable to believe there was an original Clancy

Dema omg this makes alottt of sense it's actually something I had a similar dream about not long ago your amazinggg we love youu❤

I think that the dead Clancy could be Keons because is the only one we literally see helping Tyler with the seizing and being murdered for it... And after that, the next thing we see is the lore-bomb about Tyler taking the name... but idk, the story about the girl sounds good too xd

I mean I also think people are forgetting that scaled and icy is a litteral anagram for "Clancy is dead"

I think maybe the original Clancy who wrote the letters was one who tried to escape but never succeeded, eventually dying within Dema. Maybe Clancy is the tragic story that has become a rallying cry for the Banditos, and maybe Tyler is writing new letters under his name to continue his legacy. This might also explain the more religious imagery. Tyler wearing a stole that says clancy’s name could be a form of almost religious veneration for the original Clancy.

After watching this my brain hears "We are Clancy and so are you"

Thinking about the lyric from Redecorate: “I don’t want to go like this at least let me clean my room.” I feel like it could be Clancy waiting for the Bishops to come collect him from his cell in Dema when they were forcing him to create entertainment for Dema. It could also refer to when the people of Trench came to rescue Tyler because they needed him out there again. Just a thought…

One thing i keep thinking of as well.... the Christmas Saves the Year photo of Tyler as a kid with the gift behind him.... The name on the gift is Clancy. However, on Next Semester he says "i was born right here just now originated right in front of your eyes". That contradiction has me absolutely baffled lol. Theories are so much fun for me but sometimes putting them together makes my head hurt lol

Awesome job with this! This was one of my many theories lol, but I thought I was reaching. I love the idea that we are all clancy

my god your editing has improved so much, the beginning already has me hooked

Very convincing ngl you have a really concise yet visually appealing editing style!

this changed my perspective, for a while i was stuck in my opinion that tyler was always clancy, and that evidence explained away discrepancies. but especially the analysis of redecorate makes sense to me. i had wondered why there would be so many different perspectives, it had to be intentional, but for it to talk about previous “clancys” that all committed to vialism fully,,, it is deep and impactful. it definitely shifted how i think of clancy, thank you

It seems like Clancy can be seen as a Christ figure, sacrificing himself for the other banditos and Tyler is now taking upon himself the name of Clancy (Christ), like disciples did in scripture to fulfill his purposes. Also, the bishops killing him and advertising his death is synonymous with the Romans killing Jesus and thinking they had won, until Easter :)

alight so I have a story when u was in I think 8th or 9th grade is when trench came out and before hand I was paying attention to everything about dmaorg and Clancy and I became so interested on who this character was then was trench finally came out there was no mention of Clancy and I was disappointed so I decided hey what if I made my own story about Clancy so I came up with the story of Clancy it was a passion project of mine that I did all throughout high school I never finished it tho I got like 70 to 80 “chapters” in and like a 100 pages and it was really not great and cringe but ever sense then Clancy has always felt apart of me and when people were saying Tyler was Clancy I was a little bummed because I always thought of Clancy as there own person and to see it was just Tyler the entire time just made me story fell more and more like a fan fiction which is what I tried avoid doing but now I am certain that there was an original Clancy don’t know anything about him other than he’s the original escapee the one who started it all but it makes me happy that my dumb little story that I started as a kid was still somewhat true

this is what i have been thinking on for quite a while, ever since i first started getting into the lore around the sai era. im glad there's some explainable backup to my theory now since i could NEVER explain myself 💃

Wow! Really well done! I love the theories. Only thing I would add is the line from redecorate, "he might have made it if he lived on a different street" I think this is referring to the video goner that was filmed on Clancy st. Essentially saying if he was a Clancy or lived on that street he could have escaped dema. Let me know what you guys think 😁

My mind is blown, this is a very interesting theory and it does make a lot of sense! Thanks for the video i really enjoyed it!

2 years ?! Omg, great job❤ love that

Really great video, thanks!

I love this. I posted a theory on Reddit after Overcompensate came out stating that Clancy is not Tyler and that Clancy is dead. To expand on that to say Clancy was an attempted escapee and now used as a pseudonym fits perfectly.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IVE BEEN SAYING and more. Great video ❤

If theres any dema video that the pilots would comment on, i think its this one. This goes so deep its really amazing! If this is true, it will literally change EVERYTHING. Thanks dema! This is insane!

2:34 that image is so funnyyy

u simply cannot miss with these explainer videos!!

Took me a while to get around to this video, but it was worth it. Very good quality (upload malfunctions aside).

Something that has stuck with me and kind of nagged at my brain ever since the "I am Clancy" video came out is when he called Vialism a "highjacked" religion. It implies that it was at one time something more benevolent. After all, whether we like it or not we are all "Vessels" for something. Light or darkness. What if those who it was hijacked from were driven underground and forced to use a pseudonym...like Clancy. This could also flesh out Keons some. He may have been a leftover from the previous era of leadership and why he was considered a more benevolent bishop. Also, could explain who the Banditos are. They were the ones who saw the writing on the wall and got out in the early days of the takeover. Just some of my own theories. I think what we are seeing in this era is about restoration. Not necessarily destruction. Restoration of Dema to a place where it's citizens have free will to make choices based on truth rather than the prison it currently is based on manipulation. It really is a powerful allegory for both our own minds as individuals and for the society we live in. Great video! Thank you for your hard work!

Great video This really deserves more attention

This theory does make sense, and I'd link it to the ending of the 'outside' music video, on the other hand I think 'Redecorate' was about the boy and girl who found Tyler's jacket lying on the ground in 'Nico & the Niners' music video🤔

You are COOKING! Fenomenal video, and one that I truly believe that has the answers to so many questions about the world of Trench.

They even released merch in the trench era with 'failed perimeter escape' on the back.

Is that 'Birthday Suit' sample playing by the end of the video? Love this song and love your content ❤️😊

another amazing made dema video!!!!!

this feels like a movie that is so interesting

I come a decade-long outside observer of the lore. Twenty One Pilots is Christian propaganda. Because overt Christian messaging is not usually seen in pop culture, the duo is attempting to evangelize with Christian symbolism. Vialism=Zoroastrianism (a major belief system predating Christianity). Tyler says that 'ending your life and impacting as many people as you can with that act' is the main idea of this religion. And the audience is supposed to figure out why this religion is bad. Obviously, he is covertly referring to Jesus, who would embody the antithesis of this idea. The entire lore is a means of evangelizing secular people who get invested in it. And Tyler has likely been in great distress over the situation he's found himself in being an evangelist/celebrity. In Goner, he wants to be "known by you." That's it. Blurryface is the performer. The person the people see as a public figure. He wants that. But he wants to be known by God, as Tyler. In trying to have it both ways, it's obvious that he's found himself in the trenches with heathens. He is now overcompensating for all the blasphemy by embodying the Clancy figure he's built up. "If you can’t see, I am Clancy." Yet he's clearly narrorating just as Tyler. He's saying HE is Clancy. And who is Clancy? Blurryface. In Goner, he says: "Blurry's the one I'm not I need your help to take him out" Ive always interpreted the entire album as being directed at two subjects: YOU, the listener, and God. He speaks as Blurryface, hoping you'll hear his cries to God instead of his plea for attention. You heard his plea for attention. The songs he wrote were never heard. Clancy is the extension of what he feels he's become: an idol. And what is this character? A heroic figure who returns from the dead to save the people of a world in which he also created. And I'll just leave it at that.

I can't wait until Tyler ends the album with "I am Clancy and so are you."

I've been thinking that Clancy is supposed to represent the clique, and if we are all Clancy that all but confirms it It does make me wonder why Tyler also calls himself Clancy because he's not really part of the clique... but in Johnny Boy he does say "I will carry all your names"

All of us being Clancy makes sense give the end of the, ‘Overcompensate,’ music video is Tyler doing the, ‘Death Drop,’ with his Clancy mask on, but when they pull that off? It’s not Tyler anymore. It’s a girl who we’ve not seen before in earlier parts of story before now.

hi! are you maybe planning to make a video abt Next Semester? i was looking forward to it since the drop of the song. i found your account pretty recently and i really appreciate your content - fantastic approach

Editing upgrade and a voice reveal nice.

The unus annua song in the back round got me fucked up good video doe dema !

I think youre spot on, well done.

Wow. This is amazing. I have to think about it. Brilliant

I really like your theory. I totally follow this thought process. A thought occurred to me while listening, and I need to preface that I once was a religious human but don't consider myself to be anymore... however, my thought was (if Tyler is still a religious person which he seemed to be) what if "Clancy" is like... Jesus/spirituality? And the propaganda(SAI) is religious institutions? Every time I've heard Never Take It I think of the religion I grew up in and the MEN who were old and had fake teeth that told everyone what to do and how to do it. Your comment, there was an original Clancy and that the others are taking on his name made me think of how people feel about Jesus or any other type or religious idol. A lot of people have also mentioned that in Next Semester the guy who says to "get out of the road" could be like "god"? I don't know where I'm going with this, but, I came here really to say I like your theory & thought process :)

im only halfway through the video, so apologies if this as already addressed, but i think somewhere i saw that nico is sometimes a collective name for the bishops, as well as being one of the bishops, just like how blurryface is not just one bishop, but all of them, so maybe nico is a pseudonym much like clancy

Top tier production, Dema ❤ I'm on the side saying that Tyler is not Clancy. I think what we see in dema storyline is about a character, a protagonist. In can be what you say in this video - Clancy as a name that can be taken by the one who wants to escape. Personally, I don't think the story is about Mr. Joseph himself in the first place. Of course, he can identify with Clancy, just like anyone of us, I mean identifying with the one who fights with bishops, with their own insecurities. Then, yes - Tyler is Clancy. I am Clancy. You are Clancy as well. But in the dema storyline meaning, Clancy is a character, being the main hero of the story. Tyler is an actor who plays this character. Just like Josh is an actor who plays Torchbearer. Considering that Tyler is a Christian, Clancy name can be something similar (of course not exact) to Jesus' name - a name that God took when he decided to come to Earth as human being (considering that God and Jesus are the same thing - Holy Trinity). Anyway, love the video and the effort you always put in. Thank you ❤❤❤

“He goes by Nico, he told me I’m a copy” that’s my proof for this theory 😎

love that video. its also crazy that we'll have all the answers to maybe everything soon, after theorizing for nine years lol.

I love your videos. I am special needs. I love TOP. Team Tyler here. A Ned fan. Your videos. Are so easy to understand and follow a long with. Ty for creating and. Keep creating. ❤❤

And when at the end of the concerts this era Tyler says 'I am clancy and so are you' what then.

Clancy is the Dread Pirate Roberts!

I think the quote of "Clancy is dead" is used to say that the social movement of clancy is dead and no one else will escape

Maybe Clancy is the friends we've made along the way.

This is so good. Very smart!! l-/

so moral of the story: we are clancy and so are you? in all seriousness though, i love the idea that all of us are clancy's and banditos

Clancy is a collective pseudonym the same way Nicolas Bourbaki is a collective pseudonym

CLANCY IS THE DRAGON TRAINER HE TEACHES TYLER AND TRAINS THE DRAGONS TO RIDE

If clancy is multiple people who could explain why the bishops said "Clany is dead" back in SAI as if they were trying to say "we can kill one, if you we could do it again" but i dont think that clancy died as we know Tyler/Clancy can posses a body and stay there for as long as he needs but as long as hes in that other persons body anything could happen to his real body thats why i think in overcompensate it wasnt actully him singing as clancy, but the dead clancy taking control of tyler's vacent body to say "i may be physically dead but im still here" so when tyler leaves dead clancy is in controll but when tyler is there dead clancy is just a thought this could also make sense as tyler has a "weak mind" and be easly swayed to do something or be controlled by someone as we saw in jumpsuit until others has do come and physically intervaine

so in reailty .... WE are clancy

May the other Clancys been taken as vessels by the bishops?

I have a theory the kid with the imaginery brother in "my blood" might be the original clancy "I created this world to feel some control"

This is actually a crazy theory, but thank you, you just gave me an excuse to read the dma org letters again for the next five hours 😂

What if Josh is the original Clancy? Thats why hes the "Torchbearer" cuz hes lighting the way for everyone else. I guess if the original is dead, that doesnt make sense unless hes just guiding Tyler from the dead or something crazy like that. Josh does seem to have some mystical properties sometimes lol

Clancy is dead, and Tyler can later use the antlers to control his body & "become clancy"

12:30 i hear that Cosmo Sheldrake lol

Very interesting!

I can tell you what Clancy is about. finding your own inner child back, return to self (your original unviolated blueprint) restore your mental health by looking from a 'new' perspective, from back in the days before mommy sang us 'to sleep' (their perspectives, parents) they tried but we kids are born here with a great purpose and we are always listening to others opinions and forget about why we came to earth as souls. the bishops managed to have us in their control, fear of god but we all are gods, together we form god along with nature.