What is The Unknown? (Over the Garden Wall Theory) 

Gregory's burden to bear has to be that he stole that rock from a garden, and he was cursed to wander purgatory forever because he felt guilty about it AND THAT'S A ROCK FACT

I also thought that them ending up in the Unknown had something to do with them nearly drowning on Halloween. According to folklore, Halloween is supposed to be when the veil between the living world and the spirit world are the thinnest.

I think that the woodsman's daughter ascended to heaven way earlier than her father. She came out from the house like she was crying for a long time, crying for her father's soul. It seemed like she was waiting for him. Over the Garden was a great show to watch. By the way, great theories. :)

Actually, in a comic, it's explained that the beast never took the woodsman's daughter. He tricked him into thinking he did in order to gain control over the woodsman. the woodsman never went home and thus never realized that she was never taken at all.

Another reference to how the Unknown might be a symbol for death is for when Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice were on the ferry boat to Adelaide, it had only cost them two cents. In Greek mythology, if one was to venture into the afterlife [Underworld], they would have to travel by boat. And the cost of that boat ride: two cents.

The Unknown is very clearly meant to represent Limbo, and is one of the best depictions of it I've seen.

For those who are saying: But how did the frog drown and die? The frog probably was knocked unconscious, crushed by Greg, and maybe "killed"when it fell down the cliff. Maybe, It wasn't the drowning that killed it , it was the fall. OR: Its just an over-site made by the creators. You need to remember its animated mini series, I highly doubt Patrick Mchale thought about this in that great of detail.

the "i wish i had nine lives like that one" is referring to her wishing that she had nine lives *like the one she had with her love interest*

OH POTATOES AND MOLASSES

And when it turns all snowy, thats represents them drawing closer to death, instead of life.

Also, a frog is a symbol for rebirth, cleansing, and water. Water - Greg and Wirt drowning. Cleansing - like Trey said in the video, the Unknown is a place where people bear with their burden, therefore cleansing. Rebirth - the rebirth is more complicated, because what does it even mean? going to heaven? returning back to life? going back to reality? OTGW's creator had said in an interview that, I'll quote " But maybe it's not only about life and death, maybe it's also about reality versus fantasy, and about dreams versus wakefulness. The Unknown is literally the unknown. There are stories that were once told, and are gone forever. Words that have been spoken and forgotten. Ideas that have been thought, but lost. And there's plenty of stuff mankind has never thought of, and will never think of. The Unknown is all that stuff." And to be honest, the first thought I had when I finished the series was "so everything was in their imagination". The scene which made me think that was the scene in beatrice's house when her family was mocking her "you'll turn us to bluebird like you did before". One of the songs even had a part which said " If dreams can't come true, so why not pretend?" Also, in the intro you can see 2 children playing with the boat which the charecters been to in the frogs episode. All of the above made me think that the Unknown is everything that we can't precive.. our imagination, afterlife, words that we said, stories (which explain the amount of folklore you can see in the show), and basically the unknown. It's a place to bear your burdens, take respobsibility on things you've done, and rebirth as a better person.. It's a place when you probably can only go if you are dead or close to, like what Trey said, and you've got to have faith to "win". I wish I could explain it better, but I've tried my best.

I love this show SO MUCH. It's funny, beautiful and strangely really dark. Greg just stole my heart, he is the cutest kid ever!

I'm 26 but I actually like shows as Gravity falls. I'll watch this show :) seems that plot, characters, art and ambientation are really cool

Oh my God I just rewatched the first episode and realized Greg's unfinished business and thing that he had to complete in the unknown was naming the frog. What a pure little child.

The Unknown (the space in between life and death) takes place in fall. Fall is between Summer (life) and winter (death). As the story progresses and fall turns to winter and becomes a raging snowstorm in the Unknown, this may reflect Greg and Wirt drowning and coming closer and closer to death. Right?

I know I'm extremely late, but I have some thoughts on this. I do like the theory that The Unknown is a sort of in-between place, set right in the middle of life and death. That's basically canon, too, considering The Unknown was originally going to be called The In-Between. But that doesn't explain something - why are Wirt and Greg allowed to return to life? Why are they even in The Unknown at all if they're not truly dead? One of the pumpkin-headed denizens of Pottsfield looks at Wirt and tells him that he is 'too early' to be there. We later discover that all the townsfolk are skeletons; therefore, that girl telling Wirt he was 'too early' means that he isn't dead yet. And why are there even skeletons in The Unknown at all? If _everyone_ there is dead, and it's clear they've been dead for many years based on their clothing styles, why are they not all skeletons? What's so different about the skeletons? Why is their death any different than the others'? Why do they not have flesh on their bones but all the others do? We know for sure that The Unknown _is_ some sort of place where the dead go, based on the fact that we see Quincy Endicott's gravestone, but here's another question - what would happen if someone died in The Unknown? If they're already dead, how would it make sense at all for them to die again? Is The Unknown _truly_ a place where the dead go, or is it something more? Are we missing something here? Sorry for this long ramble. I just find myself really fascinated by this show.

Never heard Over the Garden wall but honesty, I would going watch it.

I believe the unknown is purgatory. Not only is it a space between Heaven and hell, It's also a place between life and death. I don't think Wirt and Greg drowned, I think that they would have if they'd become trees. The trees represent death. Some people died with unfinished business and stayed there too. It's kind of multi purpose, being purgatory and gauging weather you live or die.

There is a bit more to it things in the unknown are lost, dead or not, or even if they never lived, notice how those in the tavern appear to be simple caricatures, toys even, the simple characters created by a lonely toymaker wirt and greg where lost too, swept away by a river, only to be found as bones swept ashore, if at all, but are found when they complete their journey

I know this was posted three years ago, but that symbol on the headstone is called a winged death’s head. It was used by the Puritans in the early days of the US because they didn’t want to use anything that could be worshipped, such as an angel or something. Quincy is dressed pretty close to how people did during that time period. Just a fun fact.

I think that the "Unknown" is the decision if a soul is going to Heven,Hell, or back to life.

This totally makes sense! I also noticed that turtles seem to roam around the forest quite often throughout the series. Found out that turtles are known as symbols for this "purgatory," and they can represent God, or the citizens of hell. Seems purty legit to me. This video just made it all click!

This especially makes sense since when you think about it, "Over the Garden Wall," can be seen as a metaphor for death, like being on the other side, and in this case that must be what they meant because the garden wall Greg and Wirt jumped over was the cemetery's garden wall.

Also the big pumpkin in Potsfeild says ''You will join us someday'' when Greg and Wirt left Potsfeild, as if to say that even thought they weren't going to say in the unknown but they would come back someday. Your video had really thoughtful evidence and you explained each and every one them very well!

Funny how Dipper says to Mabel: "Are you ready to head into the "unknown" which she responds: "No. But let's do this!" Perhaps Alex Hirsch knew Pat Mchale from the California Art School.

So the woodsman’s daughter was all along in heaven, and the beast tricked him into thinking he has her. But when he stood up to the beast he finished his burden, and got sent to heaven, to reunite with his daughter who was waiting for him there. That’s just so beautiful

In the title cards of the show, the skull with wings is actually symbol for the after life. It was commonly used on gravestones and was very popular in the Victorian era

Now the only question is why wirt and greg went back to life while everyone else went back to heaven?

i half agree with you. it is clear that the unknown is some kind of alternate realm in between life and death, but that is the key. in between. not only dead people can enter the unknown. to make this simple lets refer to the unknown as the limbo, the first circle of hell. in my opinion there are rather 3 ways to enter it: 1. Dying and having unfinished business (lets call that ghost-limbo) 2. Being in a physical near death state (physical limbo) 3. Still being alive and active in the real world but having lost your will to live (spiritual limbo) This is why in the end, quincy isnt there anymore while all the other people greg and wirt helped still are. he was (except for the pumpkinpeople) the only actual dead person / ghost they met. they helped him and he moved on to the next circle. about all the others, we cant be sure whether they are still stuck in limbo or if they actually made it back into real life. me and two friends are currently working on a theory that is supposed to explain it all. literally, including how exactly this representation of limbo works and how each and every character might fit in there

I love these "cartoon" videos. A lot if stuff has hidden meanings that people miss or don't understand

"our bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring" spring symbolises life, which means "our bygone burdens, mere echoes of our lives before we died"

And honestly, I like your theories about cartoons more than the paleontology. That's why I've subscribed c:

I can't help but imagine the creators watching video theories and thinking "oh well I didn't think of that. That's clever"

No, Ms. Langtree is referring to the life she had with Jimmy Brown, and she wishes she had nine more like it because she would be able to be with Jimmy brown for a long time- instead of Jimmy getting stuck in a gorilla costume. In no way does she make reference to being dead. Also, it s not always fall- it is winter in the last two/three episodes. Wyrt is expecting to die, and has all but accepted his fate- it is obvious that the brothers never really understand where they are in time or life. It is also very obvious that his daughter never died at all- she got lost in the woods, but found her way home. While searching for her, The Beast told the Woodsman that her soul was in the lantern- when it is his soul inside it instead- The Beast needs someone to be burning the lantern at all times, and since The Woodsman moved to the Grist Mill, he never returned home to find his daughter safe and waiting. Winter is actually more often associated with a time of hunger and death, not heaven or cleansing. The way the show uses winter to represent the loss of hope, like cold or hunger setting in, is very purposeful. This show makes it very clear what winter means, and that ain't it, chief. I agree with most of your interpretations of The Beast's role and motives, but comparing him to the Devil is not at all apt. He would rather keep you in than let you go to hell- he is a shadow who steals hope- he is winter. He uses fear and trickery to keep himself alive, and tries to steal hope so that more Edelwood trees may grow, and his lantern may continue to burn. The Unknown is purgatory. It also has connections to the past, things that are forgotten or, well, unknown! In the pilot, it is described as a place within the clouded anals of history- a place spread across time, but neither in life nor death. It is a place between life and death, but also a place between past and present.

I really hope this blows up in relation to... Recent events.

Sounds like something existentialist philosophy, which is pretty interesting.

But then, what is the Beast? I think the Beast is the supernatural being that represents the "burden" or perhaps "death" itself. Greg and Wirt escaped the Beast by overcoming their fears and keeping hope. Remember, the Beast preys on the "lost and the meek", or the hopeless. So, Greg and Wirt, by staying hopeful, and staying strong, defeated the Beast, and won back their young lives. So why didn't the others get reborn? They had excepted their "lot in life", or "burdens", and had stayed in the afterlife as they had submitted to the fear of the Beast. This is seen by how SO many of the characters already know and fear the Beast, and some have even chosen to align with the Beast, like Adelaide and initially the Woodsman. Thus, it can be seen that the Unknown is indeed the afterlife, and the Beast is some form of Demon, or Hell-based being, who feeds off the hopeless souls who haven't made their way to acceptance and Heaven. Anyway, though, AMAZING VIDEO. You have made such a great theory

When he says "I was never any good to him alive either" I believe he knows he used to be no good to him but is changing and is being good to him, not that he thinks or knows hes dead

4:53 The preceding line of "I remember life with you around." I think indicates that "I wish I had 9 lives like that one", means that Langtree wished she had 9x as long to be with her lover.

I had no idea this series existed. I have to watch it now. I love little videos like this and I'm really starting to get into some other series you do too.

Does that mean that greg's unfinished business was to name his frog?

The symbol on Quincey's headstone is actually a pretty popular design for a certain time period. Early settlers in the Americas I believe? I could be wrong. There is another RU-vidr that goes over that design specifically, as well as the evolution of the design and why it was so popular. "Ask A Mortician" is her channel I believe.

Bro the music in the start is so great, gives me good memories and it’s so chill

Or maybe the nine lives could also mean she wishes that she had more chances with him

this show is one of my favorite things , be it books, shows or movies, this trumps them all as my favorite. it just gives me a feeling of contentment, but it always left me wondering, and your videos make it even more amazing by showing more of the lore and opening up this story a little more , so thanks! :)

OMG this explained everything :). My sister desperately wanted me to watch this. Now I have finished all ten chapters in one day. This wrapped it all in a neat, tight bow. Thanks so much:D

2022 and counting towards a true Halloween classic.

Another slight detail involving submitting to the beast in The Unknown, in the track "Come Wayward Souls" Greg sings "And submit, to the fire..." Fits in nicely with Trey's ideas. Trey, absolutely amazing work, love these videos further analyzing my favorite show out there. Thank you.

Love this man. Keep up your amazing work

"Old Scratch" is a named that's been used to describe the devil.

Thanks for the video! We've waiting for this so long. :-D

Thoroughly explained fan theory with plenty of evidence to back it up. It's heightened my appreciation for the miniseries and the work put into it. Thank you so much for making this video! :D

Wow, incredibly compelling!! You really helped me understand the show better, and the idea that all the characters are now resting peacefully with their loved ones warms my heart. I also loved the design of the beast, always cloaked in darkness with a pair of antlers - kinda like a wendigo.

I like the science videos, but these ones are really cool too. Keep up the good work :)

one thing that a lot of people look over - the last song that plays mentions the 'loveliest lies of all'. i feel that the happy ending never happened. wirt and greg died in that lake. the narrator mentions "so there, you have your story and your happy ending." i think theyre still stuck there, or they moved on to the afterlife. your burdens to bear part i think is spot on. once their burden us lifted, they move on. only thing is that it goes against "the loveliest lies of all". another commenter mentioned that they went into limbo due to Halloween being the "day where spirits and the living are the closest".

Thank you so much for this video! I love over the garden wall so much!

The last time you made an OTGW video, you said you'd follow up on it. I subscribed to see this. I have been waiting for this moment.

AHHHHHHHHH MY FAVORITE SHOW IS 5 YEARS OLD

I love this! Great video dude!!

Amazing videos, smooth voice, nice editing, a MatPat reference, I could not have asked for more !

So then is the Cloud Town that Greg "dreamed" of in episode 8 is Heaven and thus the Cloud Queen (or whatever her title was) is God? I think I'm down with that, cool.

i love this series it pulled at my heart strings to the point to where i cried at the very last chapter it was a beautiful master piece with a great story line and a lesson to learn which is to never lose hope.

I've watched mostly all videos on over the garden wall but this video filled my soul.!!

i love shows like this with secret meanings and cool animation. I've found the whole series online, gonna watch it tonight. thanks for bringing this show to light man.

YAS YOU DID COME BACK TO IT I LOVE YOU

I love your videos and more. keep up

Over the garden wall will always easily be in my top 5 favourite cartoons of all time, it will never drop out of the top five.

you have inspired me so much over the past year, i finally know what i know what i want to do with my life, paleontology. thank you so much for the amazing videos, keep it up! :)

I just have one question, great theory, but if the unknown is really purgatory how are there antagonistic characters like dog or Adelaide, or even Lorna. Purgatory is a place of waiting it really isn't a place of evil.

Nice work man. It would be nice if you did more videos on animation more often, though of course science and paleontology are great as well!

Dude, this is the first video of your's I'm watching aaaaand I learn your regular videos are about Paleontology?! HELL YEAH BRO!!!

This was a pretty cool theory for this animation. Thanks a lot for studying this series and sharing your thoughts!

I first saw this show randomly at Legoland, this show made me obsessed with it. I wonder why they don't make it anymore. I love this show and I totally agree with you!

They're not dead, they went into a parallel dimension

I'm glad you decided to use still images this time, it's much more pleasing to the eye.

Great video. Thanks for the Game Theory joke at the end, it cracked me up.

amazing

A potter's field: Burial of the Unknown. Unknown? Could this be the link to the series?!

Just re-watched it while wrapping!! SO GOOODDDDDDDD

Hey trey thanks for making such great videos keep doing what your doing

I really want to watch Over the Garden Wall, but it's never on

+TREY the Explainer Did you just say that your next scientific video is gonna focus on Godzilla?! AWESOME!

Trey, thank you so much for your videos about OTGW. This is the second video I understood completely (right after your vid 'bout 15 things about OTGW) and it's really cool to me, as English is not my native language. I did it! I feel how my skill increases and you had your role in it. Anyway, this video almost made me cry because I love OGTW as much as you do and you helped me to realize that was actually happen there, in the Unknown. It was kinda sad, but... that's great. Thank you again and sorry for my bad English.

I agree with your theory, but I don't think Wirt saying "I was never any good to him alive either" is his acknowledgement of his death. I think he just said that to counter what Beatrice's mother said.

i disagree with this theory... I believe the unknown is what it is named, the unknown. the woodsman told the kids to escape the unknown, but this advice nearly turned them into trees. The woodsman himself carries an lantern, something that gave him knowledge and hope, the knowledge of sight, and the hope of having his daughter back. The woodsman was trying to escape the unknown, by having the sight of it. Everyone Wirt and Greg met had knowledge of some kind of thing. Beatrice had the knowledge of Adelaide being able to cure her family. Lorna had the knowledge of her being a demon. Aunt Whispers had the knowledge of work and the bell could postpone the demon inside Lorna. The Frogs had the knowledge of going somewhere. Wirt and Greg had the knowledge of where to go (Adelaide's home). Adelaide had the knowledge of darkness and The Beast. Etc. When Wirt and Greg fixed their problems, they had no more knowledge left, so they went blindly further into the unknown, leading to their eternal happiness. Even Adelaide was fixed of her knowledge, and while she appeared to be destroyed, i believe she turned into smoke, the embodiment of physical darkness, this was when she learned that the darkness betrayed her, turned her into smoke (it was night outside, yet the darkness let the little sunshine upon her...). The woodsman was cured of his knowledge by having the lantern put out, destroying his hope and knowledge. This lead them to accept fate and the world, and wander without knowledge, wander with nothing, no knowledge of escape, no knowledge of anything, relieving them of all pain, if you accept the world and everything about it no matter what is happening or will happen, you will always be happy... Now it is the land of the dead, and i feel it was both heaven and Hell. They didn't ascend to heaven, they discovered it, by realizing that the knowledge they had held them back from eternal happiness. That when they let go of it, everything changed for the better. The woodsman (under the influence of the lantern) cut down the trees, the trees of life, the trees of nothing. For the knowledge it would keep the lantern lit, unknowingly he was causing the greatest destruction and pain in the unknown, the destruction of the unknown, for knowledge. When that happened, he was destroying souls, painless souls, being brought back to life, to be crushed into the light, the light of eternal knowledge. This is supported by the song "Come Wayward Souls", with the lyrics "sorrow and fear are easily forgotten when you submit to the soil of the earth" this led them to be turned into the knowledge of the forest, painless, yet they are reawakened from their horrific fate, to be eternally with the light of the lantern... Now let's get to the big question, what is The Beast? I do not believe he is the devil, as when you see his true form, he was created by the hopelessness of the unknown, the lantern's light. His soul is the light everyone sees, the illusion of sight. Everyone who ever used the lantern, relied on it to get around everywhere. The Beast is merely the suffering of the knowledge of the lantern, he only wants to live on. He is the embodiment of knowledge in the unknown, which he would use to lure others to use the knowledge, to eventually feel their knowledge will never let them escape, The Beast was able to feed off that hopelessness by turning them to wood, whom the wielders of the lantern gave their souls to the essence of knowledge, light. Knowledge brings despair and hopelessness. Now my biggest question is why didn't The Beast wield the lantern? I believe he can't. The Beast is seen with glowing eyes, so he knows where he is going, so he has the knowledge of sight, plus he is the embodiment of hopelessness, his soul is the opposite. Knowledge brings hopelessness by hope being destroyed, while The Beast literally is hopelessness embodied. So when hopelessness meets hope, it destroys hopelessness, destroying The Beast's physical form... EDIT: The strangest mystery of the entire mini-series was the line "dancing in a swirl of golden memories, the loveliest lies of all". Now this is not the proof the boys are dead, as the lies were "memories" and that would be the present afterlife. So the boys are alive, and i think this line might mean the journey into the unknown. A recurring theme are lies, here are some copied from reddit... The Woocutter's daughter wasn't dead Beatrice was lying about helping the boys (in the beginning) Autnie Whisper's niece wasn't really as sweet as she first appeared the beast was lying to the woodcutter the entire time, and tried to pull the same act on Wirt These are interesting, another thing is the whole fact that the entire trip in the unknown happened, and didn't happen. They retained memories and physical scars (bell in Greg's Frog's belly) but the entire time they were drowning. This brings up a strange mystery that shows the paranormal side of the unknown. These are the lovely lies, as they happened, didn't happened, and never will happen, yet made Wirt a better man, brought him closer to Greg, taught Greg valuable lessons within life (especially deception), and many other things...

Amazing 👌🏻👍🏻👌🏻👍🏻👌🏻👍🏻👌🏻great synopsis my college professor would give you an A

This video did a great job at explaining a theory of what the Unknown really is, thank you TREY the Explainer. Although I agree with most points made, there are two points that i kind of disagree on. One of which is saying that Mrs. Langtree is lamenting after her lover left her, since her to-be husband, Jimmy brown, was only missing for three days before Wirt and Greg find the school. If, however, she is dead with a severe case of heartache, then what task did she have to overcome in order to get to her heaven? Her sadness is healed by Jimmy coming back and explaining his absence. The second point that maybe I'm just being a little picky about but I feel needs mentioning is that when Wirt said that he was "never" good to Greg might just mean that he knows he didnt treat Greg well and intends to change that.

You don't need to explain yourself Trey. It feels like, over the years, I've grown to know enough about you to value your input on such a multitude of subjects that I'm more than happy to follow you into subjects I might never have looked at on my own. Go for it mate! And stuff the moaners! 😎

LIMBO The animated series.

Since Beatrice and her siblings are still young/children, a sad possible fact is that her whole family died of a disease in the early 19th c.

an evil chocolate maker that lives in the walls.

I very much enjoyed that. These types of videos are why I subscribe. :)

also this episode is a lot like the limbo episode of a show called space dandy I recommended its really good

its adulthood/real world. each episode and character represents some part of the real world that might seem scary to children. wirt has to save gregg because he grows up and realizes life isn't that scary. he conquers his fear of growing up and therefor defeats the unknown. once he realises theres nothing to be scared about, he returns to his real life

Tray makes the best videos I've been waiting for this one especially

You really need to do these again they are really good and entertaining. ^^

Can you do Brothers Grimm and other fairy tale story book authors? I wanna know the truth behind our favorite childhood movies and stories. And all the darker details please? Some people like to read, others like research spoon fed on youtube. ;P

This reminds me of Angel Beats;-;

Idk how to spell her name but the teachers song when she says “ I wish I had 9 lives like that one” probably means she wants to go back to that time in her life when he was there. Maybe her burden was trying to get back to that live, she wants to be loved again but can’t because her burden was being lonely and without anyone.

In Potsfield when Wirt is talking to the pumpkin lady she says something like "Arent you early for this" noticing that he's not dead or a skeleton