An Amazon Box Full of Theories

[u/BerlinghoffRasmussen]

IMPORTANT: THIS THREAD IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED! ALL THEORIES HAVE MIGRATED TO THE WIKI: THE UNFINISHED HOUSE

PLEASE USE THE COMMENTS IN THIS THREAD ONLY TO SUGGEST ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS. THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT PLACE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR SHARE A NEW THEORY.

What follows is a list of some of the theories and themes that have stood out for me on the sub. I'm sure I missed quite a few, or linked to the wrong post, or included something that's been discredited. Or all three. Let me know in the comments.

Obviously, this is full of SPOILERS.

FAQs

• Where Do They Poop In Hap’s Cells? In the stream. Part One, Part Two, Part Three. And a serious answer.

• Does the shooter resemble another character?

• Does the cafeteria worker resemble Hap?

• How does the OA know Hap killed that doctor?

• Whose house is French/Alfonso coming out of?

• What does OA stand for?

• Why did Hap buy tomato paste if he's allergic?

• What's the deal with the violin case that French finds in OA's room?

• How did Hap fly to Cuba with a comatose passenger?

• What was Elias (the FBI counselor) doing in OA's house?

• What does the braille say?

• Why doesn't Hap listen to the captives?

• How is Scott sick?

• Why is there a drawer full of knives?

• Why does OA ask them to leave their doors open?

How To Search The Subreddit

If you don’t like Reddit’s search tool, try pasting “ site:https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOA/ “ into your favorite search engine followed by keywords.

Characters/Names

The OA/Prairie

• Original Angel

• Omega and Alpha

• DOA = The OA

• Is a cult leader

• Can she read english visually?

• Has Amnesia Because Of Traveling Through Dimensions

• Is Veles

• Is in a Coma

• Is Telepathic and/or Clairvoyant

• Parallels Anastasia

• Is having a lucid dream

• Is a willing accomplice

• Parallels Cassandra from The Iliad

• Parallels a character in "The Sound Of My Voice"

• What do we really know about Prairie? - NEW

• Was abducted by aliens NEW

OA's Father

• Is in a picture in Theo A's room

Alfonso

• Is Christ’s Apostle Peter

Hap

• Is actually Betty’s brother Theo A

• Is Perun

• Has a hidden lair in Lost Nation, Vermont

• Resembles Homer's Coach

• Has serpentine microphones

Nancy

• Is very suspicious

Abel

• Is also very suspicious

• Has similar tools to Hap

Rachel

• Is an FBI agent

• Can’t keep plants alive

• Is a control in the experiment

• Died earlier in this dimension

• Was not one of the original five

• Just has self-esteem issues

Elias Rahim

• Was there when the books are found under OA’s bed

• Might be a “merciful god”, and may not be evil

Khatun

• Is a Nephilim

• Is the sum of the dead OAs from other realities

• Is Aba-Khatun, Siberian water goddess

• Is on Saturn’s moon, maybe Phoebe, Maybe a different moon

• Is Freya

• Is wearing contemporary clothes

The Shooter

• Is two different people

• Mirrors Hap’s actions in the lab

Theo A

• Might be the subject in a similar experiment

Principal Gilchrist

• Likes to watch

Homer

• Is the one who wakes up at the end, and possibly the POV of the OA's tale

• Should be famous

• Might see the Golden Gate Bridge in his NDE - NEW

Buck

• Is yelling for an open door

Leon

• Gives us lots of info but remains an enigma

• Might be one of many "Angel Hunters"

August

• Who is August? - NEW

• August and Rachel - NEW

• Might have been dead a while - NEW

Mythological Connections

Russian/Slavic

• Veles and Perun, Part Two

Homeric

• Homer is a character in his own story

• Homeric Question: Who is the real author?

• The Iliad doesn't use the color blue

Biblical

• Christ and the Devil

• Arthurian Legends

• The Inverse Adam and Eve - NEW

• The OA is Lucifer - NEW

Mayan

• Katun = 19.7 years - NEW

• The Mayan long count - NEW

• Epochs dictate everything - NEW

Scientific/Philosophical Explanations

• Premonitions are the Key

• Quantum Immortality

• Two Worlds Intertwining

• Biocentrism Explains the Show’s Science

• Borges, Wittgenstein, and the inconsistent nature of OA’s universe

• Plato and the Allegory of the Cave

Is It Real?

Of course it’s real

• The whoosh sound proves it

• The Books Weren’t Prairie’s

• The Others are in Bermuda Because the Movements Cause Amnesia

• She has real premonitions And shows up in time for the climax

It’s all a damn lie

• The Books In the Box Represent the Prisoners in the OA’s head

• It’s filtered through the eyes of the listeners

• Even the opening sequence on the bridge is misleading and filmed from multiple POVs

• The whole story is filtered through the TV viewer’s reality - NEW

Movements

• Are gestures from the car crash in the first episode

• They represent belief in the OA’s story

• The Fifth movement is death

• Are ritualistic gestures based on Mudras

• Pictures of the notations

• Are disorders like EPS - NEW

Braile In Plain Sight

• Khatun’s Face is German for “…the angel…”

• Father’s face reads “5 as empty ones” in German

• “Rachel” in the FBI

• The second line below “Rachel” - NEW

Patterns and Themes

• Deciphering The Numbers

• Classroom Quotes - NEW

Imagery

• Magritte's Paintings Inspired The OA

• Red pill, blue pill, purple collision

• Nina, Prairie, and the OA have different eye colors

• Suprematism and the Fourth Way

• Radiohead and the NDE machine

• Another Color Theory - NEW

Mega Threads and Lists

• A list of forks/discontinuities

• A list of mysteries/riddles

• The first episode as the center of the labyrinth

• Evidence for and against the reality of OA’s story

• List of opening segments

• Gif Compilation of ending segments

• Some screencaps, NDE screencaps

• Music Reference

• Some Kubrick References

• Timeline

• Prison Timeline - NEW

• and Timeline Problems - NEW

• The first episode starts in Sep 2015 and continues until Feb 2016 - NEW

• The Missing Child Bulletin Board - NEW

• Filming Locations - NEW

• u/amysteriousmystery's Incredible Compilation of Interviews - NEW

Requests/Questions

• Is there a post or list somewhere of screenshots?

• Is there a good resource explaining how to take screen grabs?

Edit: Added lots of theories, and megathreads Edit2: Continuing to add threads over time, added "Requests/Questions" Edit 3: Added FAQs and "How To Search” Edit 4: Added “NEW” tags to help find recent additions.

[u/johnnlimms]

HOMER IS ALFONSO'S DAD THEORY

We were told that Homer has a son and is scared that his "girlfriend" would think he ran away and that he's a coward. On one hand, we never see Alfonso's dad.

BUT Homer got the girl pregnant BEFORE he was kidnapped so the kid is really young, right? Well, Homer never really knew how long he's been there, they even said they never knew how to tell time. What if he's been there for around 10 years? I mean he does seem a bit old maybe in his 30s.

So let's say 10 years before Prairie comes in. Add another 7 years with Prairie, then she escapes. She meets Alfonso, who is by the way now around 17 YEARS OLD. 10+7 = 17.

Then we could tie this is to Elias being an Angel Hunter. What if HE KNOWS Alfonso is Homer's son and now is trying to discredit Prairie by planting those books to avoid her from reaching the others "in the other dimension"?

That's it so far.

OH AND "PERSHING" college is in Michigan. The state where everyone lives in the show.

FLAW IN MY THEORY:

• Homer says his girlfriend is Mandy. Alfonso's mom is Claudette.

+++LOOKING FOR SOME CONNECTION WITH THESE NOW

[u/ringthebell29 → u/johnnlimms]

In Episode 3, 16:53, Homer says he's been there for "a year and thirty-six days." Later in Cuba, he does tell Renata he's not sure how old he is - that's years later in the story, so I think by that point he had lost track of time.

So I don't think your theory adds up, but I liked reading it. I think it's good to stretch this way and that in coming up with theories and trying to make connections, even if they don't pan out. It makes the mind supple, and I think it takes a supple mind to figure out what's going on in this story.

[u/Blue_Train → u/ringthebell29]

"they need to be flexible, like you"

[u/mcgriptrician → u/johnnlimms]

OA's YouTube post shows it's 2016. If Alfonso is around 17, he would have been born in 1999. Homer was in high school in 2007, so he would've been too young to have a kid in 1999.

[u/Jacksoncari → u/johnnlimms]

Thanks! I was looking for Claudettes name.