(Warning: Only major plot developments from Season 1 are marked as spoilers. It is recommended that you at least watch Season 1 of Harmony and Horror before viewing the contents of this page).
- Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Did the Ice Cream Man really choose to attack Martin because he knew his brother had to be stopped at all costs…or was Arthur being manipulated by a certain demon who was very unhappy with Martin?
- During the episode "ReSt_As5ure", does Martin see images of his family while watching a “relaxation exercise” tape because he subconsciously feels guilty over his actions? Or are the ghosts of his family literally haunting him, to constantly remind him of his sins?
- Is the Arthur who opened up Harmony Arcadia really Arthur…or is it Martin in disguise?
- Oh that note, are the victims from the "Eight Missing Persons case" really alive and well…or are they something sinister in disguise?
- Angst? What Angst?:
- Played straight with Henry. He seems to be in complete denial of what a monster his father has become and what he’s subjected Thomas and the rest of his family to. Even though Henry is in pain, he believes it’s his own fault for “making his father angry”. Also, when he tells Martin that everyone is “mad at him”, it doesn’t sound like he’s including himself in that group.Henry (to Martin): "Dad?...Dad, I can't see. I can't see you...He's mad at you. Everyone is...I'm sorry I made you mad...I'm sorry, I won't ask again. Just please fix my eyes. Please, everything hurts...Daddy?"
- Throughout "Are_Y0u_HappY?", Markus and Andrew experience several terrifying events (such as discovering the maimed corpse of Amy Willson during their search for a needle and thread, or Gloria’s ghost appearing behind the Toymaker) that should produce a scared or distraught response from them. But instead, it’s like they can’t see these dead people at all, because they continue on as though nothing had happened. It’s a different story later on when the Toymaker turns their pet dog into a monster, which finally elicits an appropriately-horrified response from the boys.
- Played straight with Henry. He seems to be in complete denial of what a monster his father has become and what he’s subjected Thomas and the rest of his family to. Even though Henry is in pain, he believes it’s his own fault for “making his father angry”. Also, when he tells Martin that everyone is “mad at him”, it doesn’t sound like he’s including himself in that group.
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: During one of the earliest episodes of H&H (Go0d_By3_ArThur”), there's a scene of Gloria floating in a hallway. But instead of the creepy, disproportionate face that fans both love and fear her for, she instead appears as a completely black (save for two eyes), flat 2D image that looks like it was cut out of paper by a kindergartener. To be fair to Battington, he likely hadn’t decided by that point what Gloria’s final design was going to be. Still, it's incredibly jarring to see Gloria look like that when re-watching the episode.
- Bizarro Episode:
- "L0cal_13" could count as one, seeing as it uses a song that came out in 2014, in a series that takes place in the 1980’s. While it does a good job of setting the somber atmosphere of the episode, the song’s inclusion caught a lot of viewers off-guard.
- "FaMily_ReUnion", a non-canon episode released on April Fools Day, definitely counts as one.
- Captain Obvious Reveal:
- In the episode "D0n'T_CrY", a faint creaking noise can be heard right before Martin is attacked offscreen. In the previous episode, the Ice Cream Man made the exact same noise as he opened up his jaws to attack Thomas on his bed. Ergo, a lot of fans were not surprised when, many episodes later, it’s revealed that the Ice Cream Man was the one who attacked Martin.
- Many people were also not surprised that choosing the “No I Shall Not Sing” ending of “D0n’T_CrY” immediately resulted in the viewer’s “death” at Sofia’s hands. Or tongue, in this case.
- Anyone could’ve guessed that helping the Toymaker create his “perfect toy” would end badly, seeing as his true personality peeks out a couple of times throughout “Are_Y0u_HappY?”. Unlike the viewers, Markus and Andrew are completely oblivious.
- In the episode "D0n'T_CrY", a faint creaking noise can be heard right before Martin is attacked offscreen. In the previous episode, the Ice Cream Man made the exact same noise as he opened up his jaws to attack Thomas on his bed. Ergo, a lot of fans were not surprised when, many episodes later, it’s revealed that the Ice Cream Man was the one who attacked Martin.
- Complete Monster: Martin Greywhinder is the depraved co-founder of M&H Harmony Toys. Once a loving husband, he grew hateful, abusive, and cruel when he learned that his wife had children with his brother. Martin allied with demonic forces and aired a haunted TV program that horribly mangled the children who watched it. He also murdered his young intern, ripping her spine out. Martin kills his wife Gloria and shoots his brother, fusing him with an animatronic and forcing him to help murder Gloria's children, using Satanic rituals to force them into agonizing toy bodies. In his obsession with control, he turns his dog into a monster and tries to force him to kill the infant Ava. Martin continues to kidnap, mutilate, and kill swaths of children, using their souls to make them into living toys unable to die.
- Creepy Awesome: Gloria is one of the most widely-beloved characters in the H&H fandom despite (or perhaps even because of) her terrifying Nightmare Face. This is because, despite her creepy appearance, she has no malevolent intentions; in fact, she’s trying to bring Martin back from the dark side.
- Crossover Ship: Sofia has been shipped with Ducky from The Walten Files on a few occasions.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: Ironically, Battington’s minor characters tend to become more popular than even his main characters.
- The Toymaker is the biggest example of this. Despite being a cartoon counterpart of Martin Greywhinder, the series’ resident serial killer, the Toymaker became beloved by many after his debut episode “Are_Y0u_HappY?” for his humorous/uncanny mannerisms and charming design. Since then, the Toymaker has only appeared in one other episode (and a trailer), but his popularity still stands. In fact, he is arguably the most popular character Battington has ever created. The amount of fanart will attest to this.
- Markus and Andrew (two characters who premiered in the same episode as the Toymaker) also get quite a bit of love, albeit to a lesser extent.
- Gloria is not far behind the Toymaker in terms of popularity. She only had one episode in Season 1 where she was the focus, and before that she’d only made a few brief appearances. But fans immediately fell in love with her, thanks to her status as one of the series’ Big Good characters who is trying to get Martin to come to his senses and save her family. Ironically, she is also beloved for being what many consider to be the scariest character in the entire series.
- The Toypals were a hit with the fanbase as soon as they made their debut appearance in “THE_PERFECT_PET”. This is likely because one of them was designed to look exactly like the Toymaker, who is already hugely popular to begin with…and now he has friends!
- Commander Henry has become more and more popular since the release of "THE_MIRACLE_CHILD".
- The Toymaker is the biggest example of this. Despite being a cartoon counterpart of Martin Greywhinder, the series’ resident serial killer, the Toymaker became beloved by many after his debut episode “Are_Y0u_HappY?” for his humorous/uncanny mannerisms and charming design. Since then, the Toymaker has only appeared in one other episode (and a trailer), but his popularity still stands. In fact, he is arguably the most popular character Battington has ever created. The amount of fanart will attest to this.
- Fan Nickname:
- Martin's clown persona is known simply as "the Clown" in canon, but some fans prefer to call him "the Jester" instead.
- Some people like to refer to Gloria as simply "the Wraith", due to her appearance as a dark shadow.
- Fridge Brilliance: In the episode "Go0d_By3_ArThur" (the episode in which Arthur is murdered by Martin and transformed into the Ice Cream Man), a long yellow hallway appears that heavily resembles the halls of the Backrooms. Some viewers were confused by this scene and felt that it was too out of place within the story. But turns out, this hallway comes from within the Greywhinders' own home...in fact, it looks like the exact same hallway where the Ice Cream Man attacked and potentially killed Martin.
- Fridge Horror: During "THE_MIRACLE_CHILD", there's an opening scene of a kid finding a massive flesh monstrosity in his living room, getting chased by it when he takes a picture of it, and getting caught in the closet by a Henry puppet. Later, it turns out the monster and the puppet were actually kind, as the kid explains in a note, the kid also made notes in the beginning of the episode...although, there's a drastic difference in the handwriting...
- Funny Moments: Despite being a very dark and horrifying series, there's a bit of humor sprinkled in here and there to alleviate some tension. Even if it's Black Comedy.
- While "Are_Y0u_HappY" is filled to the brim with moments that make you feel uncomfortable, it also has quite a few moments of either intentional or unintentional humor. The way that almost everyone keeps abruptly interrupting each other with great comedic timing has caused quite a few laughs.Andrew: Is there anything we can do to help?Toymaker: (omminously) Why yes there is...(Cue blank stares from the two boys)Andrew: ...Well, what is it-Toymaker: (immediately interrupting him) There are three main ingredients that I need!
- There are also moments in the episode that make use of typical elements from children's TV shows with humorous results. For example, when Markus and Andrew can't find the Toymaker, they directly address the audience and ask them if they can see him...and the next frame reveals that he's standing, in plain sight, only a few feet away from them.
- In the episode "I_WaNt_4_T0y", a sequence of Henry singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" keeps repeating over and over, but the footage gradually becomes creepier with each repeat. During one scene, the audio cuts out entirely and is instead replaced by the American "Emergency Alert System" or "EAS" siren. And the animation of Henry's head and mouth movements almost makes it look like the siren is coming right out of his mouth. Whether this was intentional or not, it takes what's supposed to be an unsettling scene and turns it into something absolutely hilarious.
- There's also something extremely humorous about... just an army of security puppets/bulletproof terminators defending an arcade.
- A darkly humorous moment pops up in "UIFZ BSF JOTJEF UIF CVJMEJOH" ("THEY ARE INSIDE THE BUILDING"), where it appears that the night guard would end up being killed by a Henry dummy. But then said dummy delivers a glorious Oh, Crap! face, as it sees the night guard raise a gun and put a bullet into it's head.
- The entirety of "FaMily_ReUnion", a non-canon episode uploaded on April Fools Day. The entire premise centers around Martin, who has developed amnesia, running into his family while attempting to take out the trash. As the episode progresses, Martin grows increasingly (and hilariously) confused and exasperated since he can't remember any of them or the things he's done to them. It helps that the video reuses assets from previous videos for the characters' faces, and their bodies are drawn in a more simplistic, cartoony style. The video also gives the vibe of feeling completely ad-libbed, akin to some early Adult Swim shows such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
- While "Are_Y0u_HappY" is filled to the brim with moments that make you feel uncomfortable, it also has quite a few moments of either intentional or unintentional humor. The way that almost everyone keeps abruptly interrupting each other with great comedic timing has caused quite a few laughs.
- Growing the Beard: The series went through a notable increase in quality in Season 2. Not only is the animation more fluid than it was in Season 1, there’s also less of a reliance on jumpscares and more focus on suspense and tension-building.
- Harsher in Hindsight: In “THE_MIRACLE_CHILD”, Martin reveals that Arthur had demoted him to “mascot performer” after the events of the Harmony Broadcast Incident. Suddenly, Martin’s decision to turn Arthur into the Ice Cream Man, the mascot of Harmony Toys, carries a lot more weight.
- Jerkass Woobie: Applies to Martin. Has he done unforgivable things? Absolutely. Was it satisfying to see him get taken down by one of his own victims? Oh yeah. But at the same time, there are sympathetic qualities to him as well. It’s implied that Martin was abused as a child, which may have led to the development of a lot of his issues, including his temper. He was betrayed and lied to by two people he was very close to, and he discovered that his children were not biologically his. A lot of people agree that Martin is the worst, but it’s hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him too.
- Love to Hate: Also applies to Martin.
- Moe: Applies to the Greywhinder kids (especially Ava) and Banzo. After everything they’ve been through, who wouldn’t want to give them a hug and protect them at all costs?
- Moment of Awesome:
- Banzo, a dog transformed into a monster by Martin, proved that he has a better moral compass than his own creator by resisting Martin's control and refusing to follow his orders to kill baby Ava. Even though Banzo was unable to protect Ava in the end, his determination to do the right thing despite knowing he would be punished for it won the loyalty of H&H fans everywhere.
- Detective Stewart solidifies himself as the series' Big Good by shooting a Fuzzy Buddy mid-pounce to save a kid. One hell of a way to start off your first on-screen appearance in this series.
- Nausea Fuel:
- Seeing the toys with their human remains displayed – their eyeballs and teeth specifically – is enough to make a lot of viewers feel slightly nauseous, but the Ice Cream Man might be the worst in this field, as his eyeballs are literally drooping out of his sockets.
- The Puppeteer takes it to another level entirely, as a being made out of glistening human meat.
- The fact that police found the severed limbs and empty skins of Martin’s victims in a blocked-off room in his basement.
- Sofia was already scary enough to begin with, but her appearance became even more horrific in Season 2. Not only is her face and body covered in dried blood, it appears as though more flesh has grown inside of her mouth, creating a stretchy “membrane” of sorts that connects the two split pieces of her lower jaw.
- In "THE_PERFECT_PET", there’s a brief scene of Banzo lying on the ground with his stomach split open and his organs displayed….
- There's footage in "THE_MIRACLE_CHILD" of Henry’s “creation”; he’s lying on a medical table, covered in blood, and Martin’s hands insert Thomas’s eyes into Henry’s sockets, accompanied by squelching noises as they’re pushed down into the flesh….
- And then there’s the infamous scene from “My Two Front Teeth” of Sofia’s mangled face after her jaw was torn apart by a demon...
- She Really Can Act: xox_grenade_xox (Battington’s girlfriend) played the role of Sofia in the H&H Christmas special “My Two Front Teeth”. She received a lot of praise for her performance, in particular the scene where Sofia is locked inside a room with her undead/possessed mother and begins screaming and crying while pounding on the door.
- Ugly Cute: Sofia in her “normal” form.
- The Woobie: Applies to all of Martin’s victims.
