South Park Theory: It's All A Dream (And Kenny Is In A Coma)

The world of "South Park" is full of pop culture references, insane antics, and absolutely wild stories. Premiering in the late '90s, "South Park" has well over 20 seasons, and audiences have seen Cartman (Trey Parker), Stan (Parker), Kyle (Matt Stone), and Kenny (Stone) become superheroes, ninjas, army generals in Heaven, and even detectives. More often than not, the boys of "South Park" can shape the very world around them, and considering the sheer wealth of episodes, their adventures get increasingly bizarre, topical, and downright hilarious.

Considering the length of time "South Park" has been airing, it is only natural that a few fan theories pop up. Though there are certainly many different theories involving "South Park," the character Kenny has quite a few, mainly because of his constant resurrections and apparent immortality. Some theories about Kenny are that his deaths create a time loop, his parents are poor because of all of his funerals, and that the four main characters of "South Park" are actually the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, one fan theory states that the entire breadth of "South Park" is actually a fever dream within Kenny's coma, and that he actually fell into the medical condition before the events of the show.

This particular theory has its origin over on Reddit, where u/admadguy noted that this thought isn't exactly the most original, since it tends to pop up with other shows like "The Simpsons," but they still went on to explain that they think that Kenny has been in a coma the entire time, which helps to explain why his character constantly dies and comes back. They added, "In his hospital room there is a television. He is able to hear everything that is played on it, which explains how he kept up with the latest world events and pop culture. But his knowledge is superficial and his imagination sometimes substitutes real world people and events with stuff he knows. Which explains why Mr. Garrison is the President of USA, or why Randy is Lorde."

Although a bit far-fetched, this theory involving Kenny does seem like it can make sense, though there has never really been any direct evidence to support it, only coincidences and tenuous conclusions. Still, the theory certainly helps to explain many of the more weird elements of the show, and Kenny has been known to somehow exist outside of the normal rules of the show.

Kenny has long been a fixture and reoccurring joke on "South Park" that has allowed series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to play around with concepts like mortality and even more contemporary topics like the British Petroleum oil spill or issues surrounding the "right to die." In the early seasons of "South Park," Kenny would simply be killed in whatever manner the episode calls for, but by the next episode, Kenny would be back and nobody would ever mention his death. When Kenny's death was actually addressed in multiple episodes, his soul lived on in the body of Cartman. Even this plot was eventually brushed away, but Kenny's constant resurrections were later explained by an eldritch ritual that his parents engaged in for free beer.

As absurd as all of this sounds, Kenny being in a coma would certainly explain a lot of it, though for something like "South Park," no rhyme or reason is really needed. Still, it is an interesting thought experiment to consider the entire run of "South Park" as merely a dream within a coma, though ultimately this revelation would do little to the overall plot or story of the immensely popular cartoon.