Wild Theory About the West Patch/Angel Hare Universe
Spoiler warning for Angel Hare and The West Patch.
East Patch Productions, headed by the Mangan sisters, has produced several engaging animated stories on YouTube, marked by high production values and tense storytelling. Two of these, Angel Hare and The West Patch, are set in the same meta-universe. Having watched both series, theories about their shared universe are bubbling in my imagination.
Angel Hare follows a man named Jonah who discovers a VHS tape of his favorite childhood cartoon in a thrift shop. When he compares the VHS tape to his own childhood VCR recordings of the cartoon, he notices glaring differences. During his childhood, the main character of the Angel Hare cartoon (Angel Gabby) spoke directly to him, teaching him about morality and helping him cope with his father's abuse. The series strongly implies that Angel Gabby is the Archangel Gabriel, and reveals that she and the Angel Zagzagel guide children by inhabiting cartoons.
A now defunct company called Wreath of Life previously held the rights to Angel Hare. A company called Kieth Publishing currently owns the rights to the cartoon, but has buried it. Kieth Publishing also owns the rights to another cartoon, The West Patch.
The West Patch depicts a much colder, crueler world than Angel Gabby's comforting forest. Its website and trailer suggest that Kieth Publishing is heavily marketing the newer cartoon, but it isn't marketing Angel Hare like Wreath of Life did. What if this is on purpose? What if Kieth Publishing has a more sinister reason for hyping The West Patch and burying Angel Hare?
Something clicked into place when I rewatched Case 5 of Angel Hare when Francis refers to a room full of television screens as "demon hare boxes". What if demons have been using television shows to corrupt viewers?
My theory is that in this metauniverse, angels are trying to help humanity by teaching children virtue through cartoon shows. Demon are trying to counter their efforts by teaching people immorality through shows. Angel Hare and Wylde Hare are examples of the former, while The West Patch is an example of the latter. Giles Kieth, acting on behalf of demonic masters, bought the rights to Angel Hare and refused to air it, thereby preventing the Angel Gabriel from doing her holy work (until Jonah comes along). Giles Kieth also secured the rights a popular property guaranteed to attract a large viewership, The West Patch, and warped it into a medium for evil values. The characters in The West Patch cartoon are actually demons, intent on corrupting the children who watch the show.
An Introduction to The West Patch
The West Patch was a series of children's books written by the late Julia Padilly. After her passing, her daughter Maurgerite Padilly sold the rights to The West Patch to Kieth Publishing. With those rights, Kieth Publishing produced a children's cartoon based on unpublished books by Julia that Maurgerite found, not Julia's published works. Maurgerite later had reservations about the cartoon, which deviated considerably from the published books.
And she wasn't the only one. Episode 2 is interrupted by an interview between Giles Kieth, the head of Kieth Publishing, and Dr. Euleila B. Whitman, a child psychologist and the mother of Jonah from the Angel Hare story. Tape 5 of the Angel Hare series reveals that Dr. Whitman's area of research was aggression in children, and that she went to great lengths to uncover the truth about Angel Hare and Kieth Publishing.
Did Dr. Whitman see aggression in young Jonah, thanks to his late father's abuse, and incorrectly attribute his anger to watching his favorite cartoon? Through this misdirection, did she stumble on a actual conspiracy involving Kieth Publishing, The West Patch, and their plan to impart evil and aggressive values to children?
Giles Kieth does not take kindly to any criticism of The West Patch. When Dr. Whitman points out that "some of the aesthetics have gone in a different direction", Kieth can barely contain his rage. In episode 3, in another clip from the interview with Dr. Whitman, Kieth's composure cracks. "All we did was give it a new coat of paint!" he shouts, angry that the cartoon is receiving so much criticism.
Is Kieth Giles angry that people are looking too closely? Does their scrutiny risk revealing the show's true purpose?
Evil Values in The West Patch
In sharp contrast to the Angel Hare cartoon, which teaches children lessons about good morals and piety, The West Patch cartoon normalizes immoral behavior. I suspect that the demonic troupe inhabiting The West Patch seeks to teach children wickedness by acting out evil values. The children are casually cruel and callous to each other, especially to Pogey, who is physically handicapped. A grievous example is when Pumpkin Kid falls into the beach tower. None of the other children ask him if he's all right or seem concerned that he might be injured, as they're more focused on the tower's hidden relics. Afterwards, Pumpkin Kid drops to the bottom of the children's social hierarchy.
The cartoon's immoral messages don't stop with the children's antics. Mommy Zelle's parents were thieves and kidnappers. The family hordes stolen treasure, some of it cursed with occult properties. Pogey and the Tamber hide Cupper Dup's corpse after Pogey finds it in the woodshed, mysteriously encased in ice or blue crystal. Afterwards, the two keep Cupper Dup's fate a secret. None of the other children seem alarmed at Cupper Dup's absence. In short, the cartoon promotes theft, deceit, greed, pride, callousness, and contempt for the weak.
Are They Demons?
I suspect that The West Patch gang serve as demonic counterparts to the heavenly hosts of Angel Hare. First, just as the physical features of Angel Gabby and Angel Zag in Angel Hare are angelic, the physical features of the characters in The West Patch are subtly demonic. Gale Ponytail has a pointy red tail. Your Dad, Pogey and Leveret have horns. The Tamber has a grim, unsettling demeanor. Like the angels in Angel Hare, Mommy Zelle and Leveret are anthropomorphic rabbits, hinting that they might be fallen angels.
Second, The West Patch gang has an aversion to some very interesting items. Recall that Angel Hare devotes an episode to the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-17 likens the virtues that believers must practice to weapons and armor, which will assist believers "so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:12 explains that "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
The cursed items in the beach tower and the house's treasure room -- a broken helmet, a belt, swords -- evoke the armor of God. Tellingly, the children are either afraid to wear/use the items, lest they be cursed, or in Pumpkin Kid's case, they equip the item only to find that they can't speak and can't remove the item. Perhaps the West Patch children can't equip the armor of God without negative consequences because they're demons?
Third, supplemental material suggests that the character's personalities are rooted in vices. The character descriptions on The West Patch website describe the cast as unsavory people, driven by pride, envy, greed, and sloth. Their personalities don't line up perfectly with the Seven Deadly Sins, but they come close!
Is There More to Come?
If my theory is true, and the characters of The West Patch are demons vis-Γ -vis Angel Hare's angels, will we learn more about them? Are there other angels and demons trying to reach children through entertainment? How long has this cosmic competition for human souls raged on? What will happen if Kieth Publishing learns about Jonah's livestreams? Were Julia's unpublished stories really hers, or forgeries created by Giles Kieth? What does Marguerite know? If my theory is true, the stakes of the story are high, with both angels and demons vying for human souls across screen-based battlefields.
