South Park Theory: Kenny's Death Loop Is Connected To The Multiverse

When fans first got their initial peek at the Comedy Central hit series "South Park" in August 1997, there were countless reasons to be pleasantly shocked by the show's adult-themed content, which revolved around a group of fourth graders. On top of getting their first taste of what "South Park" was to offer, viewers were also sideswiped by the fact that one of the animated group's close friends, Kenny, was killed. That surprise immediately changed when the following episode premiered, as Kenny was back as if nothing had happened.

This non-permanent occurrence has now happened 126 times without any explanation on how or why this supernatural transition continues to occur. However, many fans have a similar theory involving a multiverse scenario. There really can be an endless list of fan-driven ideas on why poor Kenny on "South Park" has experienced so many deaths and rebirths. U/lolioveniall declared a solid possibility by stating, "Kenny's soul moves between multiple universes."

Throughout the OP's extensive explanation, the basic theory states that each time Kenny dies, he enters another universe where he's the only one with a memory of his death. What viewers see at home, week after week, are continued peeks into each specific universe. One user from a similar discussion, u/bratmobile agreed with the theory and wanted it to be answered on-screen with, "I hope it's explored through a joke on the repetitive uncreativeness of the multiverse in film nowadays." Another interesting aspect of this theory is that it may answer a significant plot hole in the ongoing series.

Throughout the late 90s and beyond, the declaration, "Oh my God they killed Kenny," could be found on the front of many T-shirts. Today, the reasoning and physics behind the character's death and reincarnation cycle have still never been explained by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. However, this theory of Kenny jumping throughout multiple universes after his demise may explain to some fans why none of the characters ever age. If Kenny keeps dying, and appearing in his body in another universe, time resets for the rest of the people who live in the Colorado town. Also agreeing with the fan-posted theory is u/ared38, who added, "Great idea. I think the time flux happens when Kenny dies and is instantly born and grows."

With so many episodes already produced, there are surely some fans that aren't aware that the weekly trend of Kenny kicking the bucket pretty much ended in Season 5, Episode 13 ("Kenny Dies"), when the hooded character seems to truly meet his demise. But this was more of a creative choice than a shocking plot twist. Creators Stone and Parker had said that they were simply sick of the running gag every week.

That still doesn't answer why and how exactly Kenny kept returning to his normal self each episode after he seemed to croak. This discussion of the multiple universe theory is just one that fans continually love to explore, like u/_yeeter_, who wrote, "Maybe there's even an alternate universe where Kenny is a flying spaghetti monster."