Summary
ThePoppy Playtimecommunity is nothing if not dedicated and creative. They sift through every crumb of information Mob Entertainment throws their way to determine if it contains clues tothe many mysteriesof thePoppy Playtimeuniverse. These theories range from massive feats of collaborative deduction to wild ideas that are posted to Reddit or Wiki at 3 am after someone has had an epiphany.
Fan theorieshave been known to shape the course of a beloved series or predict its final chapters flawlessly, so it is always worth diving into the discourse to see what interesting theories are being thrown around. This is in no way a comprehensive list of theories or the arguments for or against them, but simply a compilation of some of the most interesting ideas that players have come up with. Thanks as always to the brilliantPoppy Playtimefan community onReddit, theFandom Wiki, and YouTube for their knowledge and enthusiasm.
Arguments For:
Arguments Against:
This one has been going around for years. In fact, there aren’t many characters whose fates are yet undetermined whohaven’tbeen posited as being the unnamed player character. As the Head of Innovation of Playtime Co. Leith Pierre would be a recognizable face to the toys in Playcare.
The key facts about the player character are that they were working at Playtime Co. in 1995 but did not show up to work on the day that the toys revolted and killed most of the workers; an event known as “The Hour Of Joy.” Most recently, in Chapter 4,Doctor Harley Sawyerdoesn’t recognize the player, and he would have likely recognized Leith Pierre.
Argument Against:
Stella’s conflicted stance on the Bigger Bodies Initiative would certainly fit what is known about the player. It has been hinted that the player is both complicit in what happened in Playtime Co. and a former employee.
It’s been established that, for whatever reason, the player was not at Playtime Co. at the time of the “Hour of Joy,.” That said, why would Stella not have been on-site during the “Hour of Joy?” There is somewhat of a consensus that Stella has been established as acharacter of importance,so whatever happened to her is bound to be significant.
It is unknown if Doctor Sawyer would recognize Rich, as his highest-known role at the company to date was Shipping Supervisor. He would have been unlikely to spend time in the labs or in the depths of the factory with the doctor.
However, could Rich be enticed back to the factory ten years later? Possibly. He certainly seems to have the strong sense of justice and stubbornness that would be required to persist through the events of the series so far. That’s not to discount other theories about Rich, including that he might be Huggy Wuggy himself.
Argument For:
In one of thefound VHS tapesin Chapter 4, Rich can be heard giving a young worker a similar talk to the one Rich’s supervisor gave to him many years ago. This indicates a level of mentorship and kindness Rich’s part.
The younger character, simply referred to by Rich as “kid”, may have gone looking for the only person who supported him in his time at Playtime Co. Someone he looked up to and admired. That said, if he is looking for Rich, then what happened to Rich himself? This theory asks more questions than it answers.
This theory is interesting because it is a carryover from Chapter 1 that refuses to go away, despite evidence to the contrary. While Nola Klop voices both Poppy and Stella, there are a fewvoice actorswho play more than one character in the series, so as evidence of Poppy and Stella being the same person it is not terribly convincing.
Stella is an interesting character though. Apart from being a high-level employee, it is unknown what happened to her and what the significance of her character is in the broader plot. While it cannot be completely ruled out that she is Poppy, there would probably need to be additional complications, like multiple personalities in one toy like Doey, for it to fit.
The bones incorporated into the arm of the main antagonist of the series, The Prototype, indicate that he was once human (or part human). The Prototype is an amalgam of toys and humans consumed or incorporated into itself somehow. Playtime Co. is not beyond killing or otherwise disposing of their employees if they become difficult, and Rich certainly had the potential to be difficult.
While The Prototype’s drive to help the children is similar to Rich’s, it is not clear if the timelines add up. The Prototype is thought to be one of the very first successful experiments, which means that Rich would have worked at Playtime Co. around the same time that Elliot Ludwig was in charge (pre-1990), rather than in the immediate lead-up to the Hour of Joy in 1995.
Elliot Ludwig, the CEO of Playtime Co., died suddenly sometime before the Hour of Joy. This makes the timing fit for him to be The Prototype, or rather, part of The Prototype. If Elliot Ludwig is The Prototype, he would be able to stay in his beloved factory. But why would he encourage the toys to rise up and kill the workers, even the innocent ones who didn’t know about the Bigger Bodies Initiative?
It’s unclear how much Ludwig knew about the Bigger Bodies Initiative. However, it is theorized that the experiments were an effort on his part to bring his daughter back to life. But if she was already dead, how could the transfer to Poppy happen?
It’s one of the oldest cop-outs in narrative history. The protagonist wakes up, in this case perhaps on the factory floor, maybe in the year 2005 or maybe decades before. They look around them to find that they have incorporated elements of the real world into a bizarre fantasy, resulting in some deep psychological dream.
The dreamer has a profound revelation based on the contents of their dream and goes about their life as a changed person. Hopefully not, because the lazy use of this narrative trope would upset quite a few fans. Unless, in a bizarre twist, the dreamer is one of the sleeping children.
Poor Pianosaurus. He never got to realize his full villain potential as he was unceremoniously eaten by Doey mere moments after players meet him. The Reddit and Wiki forums have been filled with outpourings of disappointment and grief for what could have been.
Mob Entertainment even included Pianosaurus in their marketing equipment, so it seems a waste to do away with him so quickly. Will this adorable little music boy make a less ill-fated appearance in Chapter 5? Probably not, but let people dream.
