Patrick McHale’s 2014 animated mini-series is the best work on the medium, not only among animation, but on all film canvas to portray autumnal nostalgia. Through this fantastical almost fairytale like setting and story we contemplate a period of decadence which reminds us of the inevitable nature of change and death.
This is achieved not only by the practically flawless storytelling, which I’ll be addressing later, but also thanks to McHale’s artistic sensibilities. In fact, the environment of this series is its own character. The art style reminds me more of a Studio Ghibli production than the typical western cartoon, with its exquisitely detailed backgrounds contrasting its rather cartoonish characters.
The Appeal of Nostalgia
McHale declared he took inspiration of old postcards and 19th and 20th century Americana, the aesthetic of the series is a throwback to a time forgotten and the craftsmanship behind it can be evidenced in every shot. Each scene looks exactly like early Victorian paintings of the woods and idyllic scenes from nature which makes the setting fell so cozy yet ominous.
Autumnal Forest with Houses by Walter Moras (1856 - 1925)
It is also interesting to see how some historical references are thrown in. For example, the fifth episode of the series titled Mad Love features Quincy Endicott who is clearly British and whose wealth comes from selling tea. Marguerite Grey is also presented on the same episode, a Frenchwoman whose mansion was so close to Endicott’s they were actually connected, this could be seen as a nod to America before they had their independence with French and English colonies spreading in the North of the continent. This episode contrasts with the rest of the settings we see through the show, from taverns to mills and farms which feel more familiar for the the townspeople. It is as if though this, McHale reminds a country so fixated with progress that their beginnings were humble and harrowing, something that cannot be whitewashed nor easily ignored.
Of course McHale doesn’t solely rely on this conceptualization of the 19th - 20th Century Americana, throughout the series his love towards the medium can be clearly evidenced. From homaging classic Disney cartoons (like Alice in Wonderland) to Betty Boop or Yuri Nortein’s works.
There is also some likeness with 1930’s comedies, musicals and series which help to light up the tone of these otherwise completely unsettling scenarios and bring part of that childlike joy into the mix. For example, episode 3 “Schooltown Follies” resembles the tone of Hal Roach’s The Little Rascals or the charm of the songs in Curly Top (1935).
Despite the “Highway Man” sequence looking as if it is rotoscoped, it actually isn’t. Nick Cross (the art director) stated that instead of using rotoscope, he deliberately avoided maintaining volumes and proportions. This was done to evoke the style of Fleischer and also works as a love letter to Calloway.
The whole episode of Babes in the Woods is also quite evocative and interesting from a visual perspective. Greg’s ascension to Cloud City is directly inspired from Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy (a 1954 stop-motion animation) and the Silly Symphony. The whole episode feels like a cartoon from the 1930s, a thing that really helps to establish this aesthetic is the color palette. Back then, there were two types of color film in use for animation: Technicolor which was a four-color separation technique (thus is also more expensive), and Cinecolor which was a three-strip process, preferred by studios as it was cheaper. As a result, several cartoons from that time period leaned towards blue and red-orange colors. That is the reason of why when you watch the sequence of Cloud City, 1930s cartoons like Betty Boop’s Poor Cinderella pop to your mind.
Betty Boop in Poor Cinderella (1934)
Even on the ninth episode when we are translated to a more contemporary setting, McHale deliberately stated that this story does not take place in the 2010s (when the series was released). Mixtapes, T. Rex (the band), the clothing fashion, the cars or the absolute lack of smartphones hint towards an epoch, that if I had to guess is around the 80s or early 90s (this is important, I will elaborate soon).
My point with these examples is that Patrick McHale has clearly some devotion towards the classic period of animation, Americana and what we now consider to be “retro”. It should not come as a surprise then that Wirt (who as McHale declared was also in part based on himself), is this nostalgic, cultured and geeky teenager, who is longing for an epoch he didn’t even live in. The setting of a Colonial America, before the Civil War and the Second Industrial Revolution reminds us the humble origins of what is nowadays a world power, and also makes us long for those “simpler times”. It is important to note however, that McHale is not asking us to long for that period of history but rather for what it evokes, that feeling of peacefulness.
In reality, the Americana represents the “simpler times” McHale (and thus Wirt) is longing for, he yearns his childhood, that is why he puts us in this cozy time capsule of the 80s-90s, the same period he grew up in. He asks us to remember our childhood, our own “simpler times”, this is why his appeal to nostalgia works so well, because by doing so, he also says to us that (like Wirt in his story) we shouldn’t completely lose that sense of child-like innocence that makes us see the world in a brighter way.
Finding Meaning Through the Unknown
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H.P. Lovecraft
From now on I’ll try to analyze and deepen into the series themes and some of its symbology which I find it particularly challenging to do so as I believe there is not a single “correct” interpretation of the tale. I have fathom on it ever since its release when I first watched it as a teenager, I remember I used to considered it more of a fable at first or, like Alice in Wonderland, I would see it as a fantastical dream-sequence. However, after rewatching it over the years, growing up and getting to see things with a different perspective, I feel like that would be barely scratching the surface.
Many have already commented how Over the Garden Wall is basically an adaptation of Dante’s Inferno and while I think the parallels and similarities between the two works can’t be easily ignored (like Wirt’s resemblance to Dante, some chapters depicting a circle of Hell, etc.), I believe these similarities serve more to emphasize the thematic and symbolism of the series than just making it a retelling of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Personally I see the Unknown not only as a depiction of death or as many have referred to it as a “limbo”. I mean, if we go into a literal sense and just consider it in context of the story then I can agree all the adventures of Wirt and Greg took place when they were struggling between death and life. In a more symbolic sense however, I see the Unknown as a depiction of our own personal torment and how challenging, even scary, facing such could be. It is also, undeniably, a story linked to death, trauma and grief.
For unraveling the meaning behind all I mentioned I think that the first question to answer should be who or rather what exactly does the Beast represent. While many argue he represents death as he wants to drag the brothers to their demise, I personally don’t think that way because death is something natural and inevitable, unlike the Beast who is a supernatural creature which Wirt was able to get rid of. The Woodsman calls it the “lost of hope” for a very good reason, it feels even poetic how the Beast feeds itself by the hopelessness of others, like a parasite who lives on the body of an animal and is capable of surviving by infringing damage where it inhibits.
When looking at how Over The Garden Wall references Dante’s Inferno the meaning of the Beast becomes even more clear and disturbing. In Dante’s tale, the seventh circle of hell (violence) is divided into three rings, the second one being violence against self in which the soul of people who committed suicide are transformed into trees.
Suicide is tied to helplessness, despair, self-hatred, depression. In OTGW it is both implied and stated that the Elderwood trees are the souls of kids who lost hope and the Beast targets Wirt as he is the most vulnerable of the brothers in this regard. We can also conclude that the story is perceived through Wirt’s point of view not Greg’s so the fight against the Beast is Wirt’s fight against his own self-hatred and insecurities.
This makes absolute sense considering how the character of Wirt is constructed, he is the opposite to his naive, excessively optimistic and unwavering brother. And this crucial difference between our two protagonists is also a statement about growing up and leaving childhood behind. Wirt is a teenager on his path to adulthood, spoiled by grief and aware of the dangers of the outside world as well as the cruelty of life but he is also excessively pessimistic which ends up clouding his judgement. Growing up can be daunting because we leave that bliss most of us had as kids, we start to see things differently, in a more realistic but also pessimistic manner, this can be due to trauma, losing a beloved one or just starting to become aware of the external world.
And it is not only that Wirt is pessimistic but he also feels contempt against himself, he is a really insecure and mournful character. And here is where the brilliance of the storytelling plays a huge role, McHale said that he originally intended to make episode 9 “Into the Unknown” the first of the series but ultimately decided to leave it at the end, as a flashback, because he believed that would make the journey more interesting to follow, and he was absolutely right. Not only this seemingly small change does make the twist all the most impactful but it also does a lot to show (and don’t tell) Wirt’s character.
Up to that point in the series we barely know anything about Wirt and Greg’s backstory, and the scarce things we know about them comes from Wirt’s point of view. In the fifth episode of the series, while him and Beatrice were locked up in a closet we learn a bit more of each character. Beatrice tells Wirt that she used to be a human but she and her family were turned into bluebirds because of her fault, as a response Wirt also opens up and tells her what he considers to be his “darkest secret”, he acknowledges that he has a crush on a girl, likes to play clarinet and write poetry. Beatrice (like us) questions him why would he even consider such things a secret since these are normal character traits. I think this exchange is fairly significant as it displays how Wirt feels ashamed about who he is and what he likes, there is nothing wrong on the preferences he has but he feels as if he has to hide them from others.
Moving on to the next chapter we hear Wirt’s version over what happened with the girl he is romantically interested with. He tells Beatrice that he was going to talk to her but a guy called Jason Funderberker got in the way and that besides “Greg was around which would have embarrassed him” to which Beatrice responds “sound like you are a real looser back home”. This exchange is important for two reasons, first we are seeing the situation from Wirt’s point of view which led us to believe that Sara had no interest in him and that Jason is a threat and secondly we hear how Wirt blames Greg for him being unable to talk to Sara (an important point of his character which I will analyze later on).
So when episode 9 comes out, and we finally get to see what Wirt’s reality is like all our expectations are subverted as what McHale does is nothing short of brilliant. In almost all media the protagonist’s romantic interest is depicted as the “prettiest most popular girl in high school” who shows no interest in the main character, and seeing how Wirt saw Jason Funderberker as a threat and in his own words as someone “he can’t compete with”, we all were expecting Jason to be the stereotypical hunky jock type of high school which every girl wants to date and whom Wirt can’t hold a candle to.
Literally everyone was expecting that the storyline would fall under these cliches, but it didn’t. It was surprising and even hilarious to see Jason is just this awkward teen and besides Sara shows no interest in him or whatsoever. Also, Sara is not this unreachable popular girl, she is rather accessible and sweet, additionally, she already has romantic feelings for Wirt (he is just completely oblivious). Wirt is not this social outcast as his perception tricked us to believe, he is appreciated by his friends, Jason represents no threat to him and his romantic interest already reciprocates his feelings, it is just Wirt’s messed up perception of reality and his self-esteem that is buried under the crust of earth what makes the situation in his head seem hopeless.
This twist is not only important from a character stand-point (because if this episode were to be the first in the series, Wirt’s insecurities would have fell flat), but above all we are taking the same journey of self-realization next to the protagonist. We start believing his lies, his false perception of his reality and along him we realize how mistaken he is. This clever use of in media res invites us to directly reflect on Wirt’s character and extrapolate the morals of the fable directly to our lives.
We, as an audience, can judge that in fact Wirt’s “problems” aren’t a big deal, however they are pretty much real and overwhelming for him. Like Wirt, it is easy for us to look at things worse than they actually are, by this I am not saying that we exaggerate all of our problems but rather that unconsciously we can make them worse by letting hopelessness seize us. Wirt doesn’t realizes that the only obstacle between achieving his goal (asking Sara out) is himself. I particularly like how the following shot depicts his state at this point of the story, he is figuratively caged by his own insecurities.
The brothers’ journey through the Unknown can then be seen as Wirt’s struggle between giving up to despair and avoid reality or facing his insecurities and actions. All the story begins by Wirt’s initial choice in this matter, after being chased by the cops and climbing over the wall, he sees that Sara found the tape he made for her (which he was really scared of her finding it out), in that moment he had two options: to go down and face reality (meaning talk to Sara) or go to the other side of the wall to try to “escape”. Wirt jumps over the garden wall (literally), meaning he decided to run away instead of facing his problem.
In this point of the story he figuratively gave up, is not a coincidence (from a thematic perspective) that after jumping the two brothers almost get run over a black train (used to represent death), just listen to the lyrics that play during the sequence:
“There's an old black train a-comin' Scraping 'long the iron You don't need no ticket, boys It'll take you when it's time”
The use of a black train is also interesting considering that the original plot of the series was for the brothers to embark on a train which was leading them to their death, so their journey consisted in them trying to jump off the train.
This states several ideas. Firstly, that their journey through the Unknown can indeed be seen as their attempt to escape death. Secondly it depicts death as something natural and inescapable, like a train reaching its destination, however what is utterly tragic about it is that they are just kids who are beginning their course through life. And lastly, this is a statement to what despair can lead to (this subtly implies suicide), as I said Wirt’s initial choice was to jump to the other side and give up.
This last idea I mentioned is complemented in the lyrics of a previous scene:
“The angels have gone
Songs have gone silent
You're sinking like a stone
Before
The tide.
The river runs cold
The fight is over
Still the haunted ruins of night call your name.”
Notice that the lyrics allude to Wirt and Greg sinking in the river, followed by stating that “the fight is over”. Then again giving the idea of Wirt’s initial choice to lose hope and give up on life, to stop trying and rely on denial.
The second episode “Hard Times at the Huskin’ Bee” also brings some interesting parallelisms and statements regarding this. Pottsfield takes direct inspiration of a potter’s field (a common grave of unknown or indigent people), it is not a coincidence that when digging Greg discovers a skeleton.
As we find out that the pumpkins are actually skeletons wearing a disguise who all have been buried in Pottsfield, we can fill in the gaps of what we previously saw in this episode. Wirt being told that he wasn’t ready to join Pottsfield or Enoch telling him that he will eventually join them is referring to Wirt's young age which makes his situation all the most tragic, it is not his natural time to die.
This also refers to the idea of death being something both natural and unavoidable, the sequence of “Patience is the Night” is yet another statement about this.
However, after seeing how dejected Wirt is, it let me wondering, what could possibly have fostered his insecurities, hopelessness and self-contempt to such an extent? Previously I referred to Wirt as a character who is spoiled by grief and I really meant it as he is in fact a character who is constantly mourning. The very first scene in which we are introduced to him, he is, through his poetry, reflecting his anguish.
Wirt constantly (especially during the beginning of the story and thus character arc) shows a resentment with his younger brother Greg. Him being constantly annoyed by Greg not only adds a layer of realism to their dynamic as siblings but also subtly tells us a lot about his character. In the fourth episode “Songs of the Dark Lantern”, after being pushed by the people of the tavern to sing, Wirt attempts to make up a song describing who they are so that they can get some directions. What is peculiar is how Wirt in his song emphasizes that Greg is not actually his brother but his half-brother, giving in details like his mother re-marrying or that he has a step-dad.
In the ninth episode, this point is addressed once again. After Sara finds out the tape he made to her, Wirt blames Greg and his step dad for “ruining his life”, showing a palpable contempt especially towards his step-father. We learn that both Greg and his father were encouraging Wirt to join the school’s marching band so that he could spend more time with Sara, if anything it shows that both his brother and step-father support and care for him so why does he reject them?
Wirt’s real father is never seen or mentioned, we know Wirt lives with Greg, his mother and step-father and seeing how heavily the show implies death through all its runtime, it is safe to assume that Wirt’s father died. If he didn’t though, then is evident that he is completely absent from his son’s life, either of these two options can leave a profound emotional scar, especially on a kid.
Considering this, I believe that the series also depicts how Wirt overcomes the stages of grief which helps him to slowly become the more confident and mature version of himself we saw at the ending. In the first two episodes, despite that is evident that there was something off-putting and unnatural about the forest, Wirt refuses to see it. For example, when they reach Pottsfield he makes up his own version of what is happening (saying that the pumpkins are just people under a disguise) instead of realizing that they are indeed lost in this unnatural forest, Beatrice calls out Wirt saying he is in denial, which quite summarizes this initial phase we evidence in him.
His anger and frustration is even more evident through the series, he is frequently annoyed and angry at Greg, going as far as blaming him for his problems. Wirt really struggles with accepting the outcome of his actions and taking responsibility, so he takes this frustration and reflects it on his younger brother. It is really touching to see how, as the series goes on, Wirt starts to display more his affection for Greg, as he starts to accept his responsibility as the older brother and face the consequences of his actions instead of trying to avoid them by blaming others of his problems. Beatrice plays a key role in this, when the two brothers met her, Wirt was skeptical about trusting her which can be read as how he constantly isolated himself from others, in order to prevent him from being emotionally hurt.
Wirt and Beatrice have an extraordinary chemistry, starting from mutual distrust (even disdain from Beatrice’s part) going to empathy and friendship. Beatrice is constantly teasing Wirt, challenging his ego, and forcing him to take action, pushing him to become a more confident version of himself. For example in the fourth episode it was Beatrice who made Wirt enter the tavern and get directions or later on, in the sixth episode, as she motivated him to play the bassoon to distract the guards.
Beatrice is also the first person that we see Wirt opens up to, and knowing how insecure and suspicious he is not only about himself but of others as well, this is quite relevant. From the start of the story we see how Wirt constantly questions everyone’s intentions, like the Woodsman, the “people” of Pottsfield and of course Beatrice herself. Is not only that, eventually, he accepted Beatrice’s help but that he placed his trust on her as well.
During the first sitting of the series, Beatrice’s roughness towards Wirt could be seen as a response to his untrustworthy attitude towards her, on a rewatch however, her interactions gain another meaning. She is cold, rude even, because she is also protecting herself from getting emotionally attached to the brothers as she knows that she will eventually double cross them. It is nothing short of devastating to see how Wirt builds up his confidence, and for once even has a merrier attitude, only for it to completely shattered after Beatrice’s betrayal.
Undeniably the people we put our trust on the most, can also end up hurting us deeply. For Wirt everything seems to go downhill from this point and onwards, and I want to make a pause here to highlight how the visual section states this, as we subtly shift from autumn to winter, the cruelty of it overtaking the remains of a spring that is now long gone.
The events that occur on the seventh episode titled “The Ringing of the Bell” are the straw that broke the camel's back. As Wirt and Greg find shelter from the rain on a seemingly abandoned house, they meet Lorna a sweet but also afflicted and lonely young girl who is about the same age as Wirt. She lives with Auntie Whispers, an elderly woman who takes care of her, her resemblance to Yubaba (from Spirited Away) as well as her intimidating presence and the way she treats Lorna tricks Wirt and Greg (and us as an audience) to believe she is dangerous.
The empathy (and also infatuation) Wirt has towards Lorna motivates him to pull out a plan so that she can escape from her seemingly oppressive and cruel care keeper. After spending the afternoon together, singing and cleaning up the house with her, we see Wirt far more optimistic as, apparently, they found a new companion for their journey who also shares a flirtatious tone with him. It turns out however, that the real danger was Lorna as she was possessed by an evil spirit, and Auntie Whispers was trying to save the boys from the very beginning. Eventually Wirt manages to ban the demon from Lorna, “healing” her condition and thus highly improving her life.
Due to the affection she has towards her aunt, Lorna decides to stay with her despite not needing her anymore and tells Wirt that she hopes to see him again. Greg praises his brother for his heroic and selfless actions, as he realizes all the positive impact they left in the life of others. However the only problem is that Wirt still doesn’t see this, he is too engrossed on the negative that is blind to all they achieved.
Lorna’s role in all of this is interesting to contemplate from a thematic standpoint, in some ways she mirrors Wirt and his situation back home. Consider the lyrics of “Like Ships”, not only it alludes to their brief and innocent infatuation and their inevitable farewell but also echoes Wirt’s words at the first episode.
“Here we are The two of us Like ships (like ships) upon a winding river And yet (and yet) somehow We found each other Like strangers You and I”
Wirt isolates himself from others as he is “possessed” and driven by his insecurities in the same way that Lorna is trapped, alone in that old cottage, governed by an evil spirit. This situation also reveals another persistent theme of the story, that is, the emotional vulnerability which is indisputably linked with love. Wirt fears he will be rejected by the girl he likes back home which makes him reluctant of talking to her, just like he thought the woodsman was going to hurt him and his brother, he constantly assumes the worst of people so he emotionally distances himself from others, believing that it is the only way of protection.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
— C.S. Lewis
Wirt’s progress into becoming a more open and confident person crumble as he was seemingly betrayed by Beatrice and his kindness was taken advantage of by Lorna, he is vulnerable, so he seeks refuge once again in isolation, he is back to where he was at the beginning and starts to (again) take a passive approach to their dilemmas by simply avoiding any course of action. At this point the only one doing any effort to return back home is Greg, his optimism keeps being unwavering. I like how this idea is reflected by some clever use of shading, with Wirt casted out towards the shadows and Greg trying to pull him out of it.
This episode titled “Babes in the Woods” takes direct inspiration from the traditional English children’s tale with the same name. In the original tale two children wander alone in the woods until they fall asleep and die covered by leaves. And while in Over the Garden Wall, Greg and Wirt’s fate is different, this parallel depicts the grim situation these two brothers find themselves in.
There is a sharp contrast between this and Greg’s whimsical dream sequence that follows, it is a beautiful sequence that goes back to the very annals of animation and homages it. This also serves to accentuate Greg’s optimism and bliss. Seeing how Wirt’s negativity and sorrow has broke his will we could assume then that Greg’s attitude towards their dilemma should be embraced, however that is not entirely true neither.
Greg’s optimism comes from his lack of knowledge of the outside world, he is too young to grasp the grittiness of life and too naive to realize the dangers of outsiders. Unlike Wirt, he assumes that everyone is good and easily puts his trust on strangers. The Beast realizes this and tricks Greg, manipulating him and taking advantage not only of his innocence but also of the love he has towards his older brother. Greg ends up exchanging his fate with Wirt’s, is a really soulful and noble sacrifice which shows the pure and unbreakable love of a brother but at the same time it shows the vulnerability of Greg’s attitude towards life.
Indisputably, if it wasn’t for Greg, Wirt would have died, succumbing to hopelessness and ending up burnt on the Beast’s lantern, this is more symbolical than literal though. Considering the previously mentioned parallel with Dante's Inferno (suicide being depicted through trees) and the grim song of the Beast which says: "Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten when you submit to the soil of the earth", then Wirt's demise can be read as him giving up on life by committing suicide. If Wirt would have ended up succumbing to the Beast, so would have done his brother, there was no salvation for neither of them without the other which depicts how suicide not only is the damnation of ourselves but it also drags the people we love the most.
Then, Wirt's resolution against his own insecurities, are also related with him finding a purpose through his brother. He didn’t realized until that moment but he needed his brother more than he thought and despite all his previous efforts to shelter himself from emotional attachments, this whole time he was already vulnerable as he already loved his brother. Wirt wasn’t as lonely nor emotionally detached or emotionless as he thought he was, and this realization finally pushes him into action.
While previously Wirt did took action by his own (like saving Lorna, which was his decision), in this point of the story, for the very first time he also starts to acknowledge his errors and face the consequences of his actions. This is important because it serves not only as a moral of the story, but it is also a crucial aspect of Wirt’s journey, he is leaving childhood to start adulthood. At the start of the story (which is episode 9) he disguises himself as… I guess a kind of gnome? Not even Wirt can say what his disguise is about exactly and that is the point. He picks a cape and a hat without any conscious thought of what he wants to imitate, his mismatched shoes (he has one grey and one black in case you haven’t noticed) are the cherry on top.
Patrick McHale said about this: “This is what Wirt wishes he looked like in his costume, his cape romantically flowing in the wind […]”
He dressed up like that because he wanted to see himself as a hero, on his own mind the cape and the hat represents that. It is important to notice that the journey towards adulthood for Wirt starts when he decides to go and look out for Greg. In other words, this aspect of his character arc doesn’t end when he faces the Beast but slightly before, it is his choice what turns him into that hero he wanted to become, he is finally the image he was pretending to be.
“We referenced this sketch when Wirt is walking into the snow to find Greg at the end of this episode. He's finally the romantic hero.”
Going back to a point I stated previously about Wirt’s arc being also related with the stages of grief, I think that guilt (bargaining), depression and eventually acceptance are seen in this point of the story. I have already covered his evident stage of depression in detail, so I won’t talk more about it, but I will be analyzing the other two.
As soon as Wirt finds out Greg is missing he rushes to his search as he exclaims “what did I do”, this shows us that in this point of the story Wirt is motivated not only by the love he feels towards his brother but also by the responsibility he has of him, the same responsibility he has been avoiding this whole time. Wirt’s anguish is palpable in the following scene and completely piercing, the way he falls into the river exactly paralleling his reality back home is such an emotionally profound picture as it also reflects how “sinking into despair” brought him into that situation (more on the visual motif of water later).
His guilt is probably evidenced the most as he says that “he was never any good to Greg alive”, is such a heartrending statement that speaks volumes of how much he truly loved his brother but was just too absorbed in his insecurities to display it, and now that it might be too late he can do nothing but put that guilt in his shoulders. After bargaining comes depression (which I have previously analyzed) and finally acceptance, a stage that not everyone might be able to reach. Guilt is a burden that is constantly underestimated on my eyes, few things can gnaw you from the inside like guilt does.
And here is where the woodsman plays a key thematic role, he is what Wirt could have become if he accepted the “deal” of the Beast. While the woodsman is certainly a good person, he is completely aimless, constantly wandering in search of wood to keep the lantern lit, in a symbolic sense he is feeding his own hopelessness, in his own words it was “his burden”.
Wirt is given the chance to choose between loosing his brother or feeding the lantern, or in other words: between embracing reality, no matter how daunting it might seem, or live in denial and, ironically, keep his hope alive (believing Greg is not dead) by feeding it with hopelessness. This irony hides a tragic truth underneath, when we face grief, an escape route is to ignore the events that caused such, the sorrow seems so overwhelming that we think we won’t be able to face it, so instead we tend to find refuge in a lie. We see the results of this in the woodsman, who ends up alone and without purpose, his denial never brought her daughter back but on the contrary, it kept him far away from her.
As I mentioned previously, Wirt already had a similar choice in his hands before (the events that occurred in the cementery), initially he made the choice of denial, he gave up and fed his hopelessness. Now he is offered the same choice again, he is given another opportunity and it is clear that if Wirt had chosen giving up like he did before he wouldn’t have escaped the Unknown thus he would have remained unconscious in the river, died and in the process bring his brother down with him.
He almost falls in the trap but ends up solving the puzzle and realizes that the lantern actually contained the soul of the Beast not the soul of the woodsman’s daughter. This leads him to fully comprehend that the solution to his problems was way more simple than he realized and was on his hands alone. Before he was scared of what was unknown to him, of uncertainty, he believed that taking chances would make him vulnerable so he isolated himself which only helped to keep feeding his low self-esteem.
Wirt performs the most courageous act during the series not by performing any physical feat but by facing the very uncertainty he feared, he rejected keeping on with the lie and instead he chose to face the reality he was trying to escape this whole time. He realized that the Beast, who encapsulates all his insecurities, could be defeated by taking action and taking chances instead of meditating in the “what ifs”, which only helped to keep fueling his hopelessness.
It is also important to notice that Wirt is not the one that blows off the lantern, instead he hands it over to the Woodsman, the process of acceptance is a personal choice that no one can perform for us. We might have the support needed to realize this is the correct course of action, but at the end of the day is our decision alone whether to embrace it or not.
And I think this point is thematically relevant for the story as a whole, constantly we see throughout the series how thanks to the brothers, the life of all the characters in the Unknown improve. From raising funds for the school, helping Quincy Endicott face his fears or saving Lorna, and even on characters which have more defined character arcs like Beatrice or the Woodsman, the impact they left on everyone is undeniable. It can also be argued, that all the problems of these characters could have been easily solved without Wirt and Greg being part of the story, and I think that is exactly the point. For example (and the plot line which most blatantly displays this), Auntie Whispers could have cured Lorna by using the bell which she had the whole time, yet she didn’t. The solution to the dilemmas of these characters was always at their reach, however they comfortably relied on inaction and expected someone else to solve their issues for them.
This was exactly what Wirt was doing at the beginning of the story and his arc as a character, and actually it was his passive attitude what worsened his situation, he wished his life would change for the better, yet he didn’t even try to do so. It is tempting to fall in self-pity and focus on how external situations can solve our problems that sometimes we don’t realize that the solution we were looking out actually is in our own hands.
Another part of the song “Come Wayward Souls” states: “There is a light for the lost and the meek”. In Over the Garden Wall, the light is not salvation but instead it represents the demise of each character, a false hope through denial and eventually suicide. It is a tempting offer for those hopeless enough to endlessly wander through the woods, lost adrift of time. The Beast is not darkness but rather the fear of darkness, his spirit endures as far as we fuel despair (even if it is disguised as “hope”).
The void that the Beast tentatively offers becomes meaningless as it loveless, hope is not found by lightning the void and bringing light to the darkness but rather by facing such darkness. After all, a lantern endlessly burning that never lights your way home is useless. The meaning of life is not found in answering what is beyond those woods, it’s up to us to take the risk because despite it, love is the reward. One day or another we’ll have to face the grief that love carries due to lost, but the journey makes it worth it.
So, as Wirt realizes all of this, he steps forwards, towards the stage of acceptance. The ending is truly cathartic and even poetic, as the Woodsman blows off the now feeble flame of the lantern Wirt wakes up in that river and reaches Greg, escaping that slough he was sinking in. The improvement in his life can be evidenced almost immediately, while he is recovering in the hospital, he finally asks Sara out and she obviously accepts, he didn’t have much to worry after all.
It is also important to take into account that when he initially decided to talk to Sara on the Halloween party, he was dressed up in a costume, he wanted her to see him as the image he wanted to be, not who he was at that point in the story. However, in this final scene, he wears normal hospital clothing, no longer does he need to cover himself in a disguise as he already is that "hero", that better, responsible version of himself that he wanted to achieve. He has found his identity and meaning, and he is finally comfortable about who he actually is.
The Loveliest Lies and Other Visual Motifs
For Thales, water was the primary (originating) principle. Brothers Wirt and Greg find themselves in the Unknown after drowning in a river, their journey through this land (if you can even call it that) starts when crossing a river after hearing the advice of the Woodsman. The forlorn soul of Wirt constantly references water in his poetry: “an endless black sea”, “a winding river”, “a boat”. In Franz Schubert’s “Die schöne Müllerin”, a young man comes upon a brook which then follows to a mill, falls in love with a woman that is out of his reach and he is supplanted by another man. This young journeyman fantasizes about his death and eventually drowns in a river. Sound familiar?
A perpetual half moon accompanies the brothers through their journey, despite the passage of days the moon phase never changes and notice that it is overturned.
I don’t know about you, but the only time I’ve seen an overturned moon is when reflected over water. We are always back to water, it is not a coincidence that through its 2 hour runtime references to rivers and drowning are constant. From the obvious “flashback” near the end, to Wirt falling on the stream next to the mill, Greg throwing two pennies to a fountain, Wirt (yes, him again) falling into a frozen lake and of course, the shift from autumn to winter hinting their freezing death.
Water is both the beginning and the end. Nietzsche wrote that “Greek philosophy seems to begin with an absurd notion”. To state that water is the womb of all things is not an empirical observation but rather a philosophical claim of unity. The half moon not only draws us back to water but also to a constant motif throughout the series: limbo. I don’t use this term referring solely to the Christian belief but also as it being a statement of “an intermediate condition”. In fact, this is a fable that exists in between two opposite extremes: death and life, fantasy and reality, dreams and wakefulness, childhood and adulthood, innocence and cynicism, etc.
But even when our protagonists are “at home” the half moon remains overturned. Perhaps this story was never taking place in real time, perhaps it is all a forgotten memory of childhood. What is life if not a compilation of past events and memories? Like Over the Garden Wall, life is a recompilation of seemingly incongruous stories that eventually shape a "one", stories within a story, call it vignettes or chapters or also a reflection of the past. However, if you see yourself at the mirror (or a lake), it is lying to you because your right hand is the left one on your reflection, like the moon being upside down.
“Dancing in a swirl of golden memories, the loveliest lies of all”.
Life, like the Unknown, exists between opposites, as Patrick McHale stated: "maybe all we believe in are lies, but we have to believe in something". While the story and its conclusion is purposefully left ambiguous, there is a constant aspect that is tangible and literal: the characters and their relationships. As I previously analyzed, each character has a concise and well-defined arc, the primal foundation of which is based on human relationships. The philosophy of McHale is that life becomes meaningful when we acknowledge our human condition and that our purpose is intrinsically attached to love, after all our capacity to love is what makes us humans.
Rarely have I encountered a piece of media that grasps and questions our human condition in a way that is not only profound and meaningful but that is also exceedingly compelling as it manages to feel so personal and intimate. Considering the trend in media of never-ending stories with uncountable sequels and seasons of TV shows, it is probably for the better that Over the Garden Wall didn’t got the mainstream appeal but remained as this niche work, that (under my humble opinion) will be seen as a cult classic in a couple of years. For me this is not only a masterclass of animation (and the best work of such medium, if you ask me), but also one of the most thought-provoking pieces of art I have experienced.
