These Fan Theories About ‘The Society’ Will Low-key Blow Your Mind

The Society is about a group of teens who return from a field trip to discover everyone in their town has disappeared without a trace. And they can no longer leave the town. And they have no connection with the outside world.

It naturally raises a lot of questions – like, what happened to them? Where the hell are they? What’s with the smell? What’s with the dog?! Luckily, while Season 1 leaves the mystery still, well, mysterious, fans are coming through with some rock-solid theories for what might be happening on the show.

Warning! Spoilers ahead. 

Here are some of the most interesting fan theories about The Society. 

#1. Pfeiffer is the Pied Piper

Remember the story of the Pied Piper from when you were younger? It’s a German tale about a man who was hired by the town of Hamelin to rid them of a rat infestation. He does so, but the town refuses to pay him, and so he lures all their children away as punishment.

Sound familiar? In The Society, the town of West Ham hires Pfeiffer to rid them of a strange smell, but then they refuse to pay his fee. The smell returns, and soon after, Pfeiffer takes the children away. Here’s the kicker: Pfeiffer is German for “piper”.

But what does this tell us about where the show might be headed? Well, in some versions of the original Pied Piper story, the children are drowned or just disappear, never to be seen again. In others, the piper returns them after he’s paid his fee – in one, he doesn’t return them until he’s paid an even higher amount.

Given the scene in the Season 1 finale showing the parents of West Ham dealing with the disappearance of their kids, it suggests they’re going to play a more prominent part in Season 2, and may be the deciding factor in whether the kids ever get home.

#2. The kids are dead

This theory is an extension of the Pied Piper idea, based off the interpretation that the Pied Piper is Death ferrying the children to the afterlife. One Redditor, Mrv3, suggests that the smell in West Ham was actually a gas leak that killed the children during their play rehearsal. The farewell with their parents was actually them experiencing their funeral, and Pfeiffer is Death/the ferryman escorting them to the underworld. New Ham is basically purgatory, and the kids are being weighed in the balance.

This theory is also backed up by the Peter Pan reference in the finale. Peter Pan is another figure who lures children away from their homes with his pan flutes. Some believe he’s also symbolic of death – Neverland is the afterlife, and Peter Pan ferries the children safely there.

On the other hand, the same scene that features Peter Pan shows us that the parents of West Ham are wearing yellow ribbons, which symbolise missing children. So it seems more likely the children disappeared from West Ham without a trace, rather than that their bodies were found and buried.

#3. New Ham is a government experiment

Some fans think the fact the kids had food, electricity and running water supplied to them – but no internet or access to the outside world – is highly suspicious. Why were they given the things they’d need to survive, at least initially? And how are they connected to the electrical grid, for instance, if there’s no outside connection? How are their phones still working, even if the internet isn’t?

There are so many questions, and for some the answer is simple: the kids are in a government experiment. They’re very much in a controlled environment and are being observed on how their society works (or doesn’t) in increasingly challenging circumstances.

This theory still raises a lot of questions – like, do the parents know? How would any of this be legal? Does that even matter? But it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

#4. Death in New Ham isn’t really death

The dog showing up in West Ham at the end of Season 1, after it was supposedly killed by Campbell in New Ham, has led some fans to speculate that the kids are somewhere they can’t actually be killed. Instead, dying means they’re sent back to the real world – which would mean we’ll see Cassandra and Dewey again.

The main issue with this theory is that we Cassandra’s name on the wall of the missing in West Ham, suggesting she hasn’t returned. Unless that plaque was erected before she came back, of course.

Another explanation for the dog’s appearance in West Ham, is that there is a portal between the worlds (they had to get to New Ham somehow right?), and the dog simply found a way through. After all, we never see Campbell kill the dog, we’re just led to believe he did.

#5. Becca’s baby daddy is someone in Sam’s family

One of the mysteries, aside from the big one of what happened to the kids, is who the father of Becca’s baby is. She refuses to tell anyone – Sam in particular. This, combined with the fact that Kelly says the baby has “Sam’s eyes”, is making some fans think the baby is actually related to Sam. Some are speculating that it’s Campbell, while others think it might be Sam’s dad. The latter would fit in with the theme of the adults sinning that is running through the show.

One thing is for sure – we need a Season 2 so we can get the answers to some of these mysteries! In the meantime, let the speculation and theorising continue.