There's a theory that claims Brown was only a doll all along. This casts Wendy's actions in a somewhat more sympathetic light.
Some fans believe that adult Jennifer is just a projection, and that she is still a child in current time. The theory is that, after the incident at the orphanage, Jennifer wanted to become a grown-up so that she could be strong, brave, and capable of protecting those she cared about.
One forum moderator staunchly refused the idea that Stray Dog (a.k.a. Gregory) killed any of the missing children, insisting that Wendy only blamed him for it while committing the murders directly.
Some theories posit that the imps are really the other children, and Jennifer only sees them as monsters because she can't cope with the idea of children doing what the imps do, hence the Animal Motifs linking them to the rest of the Red Crayon Aristocrats. Which would mean the children killed Martha, and Hoffman ran like hell so he wouldn't be next.
Speaking of the imps, were they representing the children during Martha's death or did Martha fall down the stairs and die in front of Jennifer and her mind simply added imps in while she was reliving that memory?
Did Hoffman leave the orphanage because he was afraid that the Aristocrats would try to kill him or did he have a My God, What Have I Done? moment concerning his molestation of Clara and Diana and wanted to leave before he caused any more damage? One of the storybooks seems to imply the latter, but most fans prefer the former. There is also the split second during "The Funeral" where lightning shows the shadow of what looks like a hanging corpse at the staircase. Since that still aligns with the story of "Sir Peter", it's probably him, but it would leave the question: Driven to Suicide or the Aristocat's Club Creepy Souvenir?
There's also the questions of whether or not he sexually abused Jennifer as well (if he tackles you during his boss fight, his movements look rather suggestive), and if the rabbit (Peter) represented him. If it does, than one can argue that the entirety of the "Sir Peter" chapter was the Aristocrats hunting down and killing Hoffman.
Some fans believe the Bucket Knight is a stand-in for a therapist who is trying to help Jennifer sort through her memories.
What exactly happened to Clara? Did she just simply leave at some point? Was she killed with the rest during the massacre? Was she Driven to Suicide as the markings on her arms during her boss battle may indicate?
Also, was Clara raped or - more specifically - did she have an abortion? The Sick Room and the slash across the Mermaid Princess' stomach point towards this, but it's never made fully clear.
For all characters: Is what can be seen in the epilogue false or how everyone actually was? If it is the latter, then it could easily be that Jennifer's bullying wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, there had never been any sexual attacks from Hoffman and Gregory was a friendly, if shy and confused man before getting manipulated.
The question of what the epilogue actually is. Is it the memory of a day before the massacre or is it all in her head, the way Jennifer wants to remember the orphanage and her friends? If one believes the theory that the Bucket Knight is a therapist working through her trauma, it could be the latter.
In the penultimate chapter, are Eleanor, Meg, and Diana all actually sorry for all the things they helped put Jennifer through, or are they desperately seeking leadership after Wendy got dethroned. Amanda certainly seems to desire leadership, but Susan and Olivia seem to be just going along with whatever the older girls are doing. Diana, for her part, actually does apologize for her actions, while Meg and Eleanor don't. So it would seem the latter two just want leadership while Diana is genuinely sorry... or it could be Diana attempting to get on Jennifer's good side.
Complete Monster: Mr. Hoffman, the cruel headmaster of the Rose Garden Orphanage, has the dubious honor of being the only irredemeable character in this dark tale. An egotistical teacher whose incompetence allows the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club to torture other orphans with impunity, the sheer depths of Hoffman's perversion are brought to light with the revelation that he's a Serial Rapist, having sexually assaulted both Clara and Diana. Proving himself to be a Dirty Coward who would rather flee than assume his responsibilities, Hoffman ultimately abandoned the children when they needed him the most, leaving them defenseless when the Stray Dog eventually came for them.
Cry for the Devil: After playing the epilogue, you'll feel deeply sorry for the two people largely responsible for all the bad things that happened in the story - Wendy and Gregory. It's utterly heart-wrenching to watch Wendy plead for you to stay when you know it's impossible, and listen to Gregory trying to put together a happy story to read to his dead son.
The main four Aristocrats in general can be this depending on how sympathetic you are to them. Amanda is suffering at the bottom of an abusive hierarchy, fears she'll be rejected for her looks, and is generally treated badly by the other characters. Eleanor has trouble expressing her emotions causing the others to view her as creepy, and her pet bird gets killed in one chapter. Meg has Undying Loyalty towards Diana, but the other girl talks about her behind her back and Meg's feelings aren't returned in the slightest. Diana meanwhile is clearly using what little power she has in the world as the Number Two of the Aristocrats to lash out against and control others in a self-destructive attempt to cope with the fact that she’s being sexually abused by one of her caretakers.
All of the Aristocrats are getting something that would be otherwise missing from the Club. Diana, who's close to growing up, gets to be a leader. Meg, who we see doodling torture devices, gets an excuse to use the more realistic ones. Eleanor, who's a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, gets a distraction from the reality of the orphanage. And Amanda, who feels rejected and out of place, gets the hope if not being so if she does well enough.
Damsel Scrappy: If YouTube comments are anything to go by, fans get annoyed by Jennifer's submissive behavior by the time the third chapter rolls along.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Some fans have taken to interpreting Eleanor's extreme introversion and stoicism, combined with her overwhelming obsession with birds and odd rationale thereof (wanting to "sprout wings [like a bird] and fly away") as indicative of an autism spectrum disorder. This is also said of Thomas' obsession with trains, and of his making his toy train's route an eternal loop without a final destination, for - according to Jennifer - reaching the end of the line "would've broken his heart." Some of the other girls' behaviors certainly seem to point at various mental illnesses: Diana may be a narcissist (or possibly a borderliner); Clara has very obvious PTSD; and Wendy is a textbook sociopath.
Draco in Leather Pants: All the Aristocrats get a bit of this, though Diana's the most frequent. She's attractive, has the most tragic backstory (her current life isn't much better) and Jennifer notes that when away from the others, she occasionally showed kindness and empathy towards her. This doesn't, of course, excuse the fact that she's normally their ringleader in tormenting Jennifer, and that she's horrible even to her friends.
Enjoy the Story, Skip the Game: The story is among the closest games come to literature in terms of critical regard, but the gameplay is repetitive, the combat is downright awful, and the level design is confusing. There's a quote from Jennifer that perfectly describes why people still like it: "I came to this room every day to do laundry... The water was so cold, and the soap would sting my eyes, but I didn't hate it, because clean laundry is so refreshing."
It Was His Sled: Due to The Reveal being one of the two signature scenes as mentioned below; the event of Brown's death and that Wendy, the only nice person in the game, is the main antagonist and the fact that Jennifer was actually just a little girl all along are all well known facts to people who actually know of the game. If walkthroughs are anything to go by, then this isn't nearly as bad as other examples due to the genuine reactions of surprise gamers have during their first playthrough. It probably helps that people who have already played the game genuinely try not to spoil The Reveal for the people they recommend the game to.
Jerkass Woobie: Most of Aristocrats due to being (A) orphans, and (B) getting brutally killed by the end of the game. Diana in particular is viewed as such by the Fandom do to the fact that she’s also being sexually abused by one of her caretakers.
Martha is viewed as this by some of the fandom. She's very rude to Jennifer but various pieces of dialogue as well as a set of letters reveals that she did care for the orphans, such as her trying to figure out what's going on with Clara and her attempt to at least get police involved when she saw Wendy and Gregory having some strange interactions. However, she not only fails to protect the children she cares for, but is seemingly murdered by those same children (depending on how you interpret her death scene).
Les Yay: A bunch. And all those involved are children. Although, unlike the infamous trailer would hint, the examples are quite non-sexual in nature.
LGBT Fanbase: Has a minor one due to the mutual crushes between Wendy and Young!Jennifer as well as Meg's Unrequited Love for Diana. See Values Resonance for more information.
Memetic Loser: Anthony Dolittle, a character only present in-game via an exchange of letters between him and Martha, is often treated as this due to him being an example of Adults Are Useless and Police Are Useless at the same time due to him brushing off Martha's concerns, thus contributing to the circumstances that lead to the massacre.
Moment of Awesome: When the Princess of the Red Rose finally reveals herself to Jennifer, Jennifer immediately slapping the living daylights out of her usually draws applause and fist-pumps from even the most disengaged player.
Moral Event Horizon: Wendy orchestrating the execution of Brown out of petty jealousy. And if that wasn’t enough, then her emotionally manipulating Gregory into killing most of the orphans by dressing as his dead son definitely was.
Even if you know the twist, that Jennifer is merely metaphorically reliving her traumatic childhood and is thus actually a child when all those scenes take place, it's still hard to take Jennifer being bullied by a bunch children seriously.
While the Mermaid's appearance and implications are quite horrifying, the sounds she makes can make the fight hard to take seriously: "Hooooo! Wheeee!!~ Hiiii-ya!”
The reveal of Stray Dog can be hard to take seriously too. We see Gregory crawling on all fours, wearing nothing but white boxer shorts.
Nightmare Fuel: Any of the monsters in the game, even the lowliest imp, can be pretty terrifying.
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: An attempt was made at this, but it completely backfired. The developers hired a publicist to hype up the game in the Italian press by significantly overstating its graphic and sexual content in an effort to cause controversy, alleging that the game had scenes of "children buried alive underground, in-game sadomasochism, and underage eroticism" (which it didn't). It worked a little too well with the game garnering infamy and becoming the center of a moral panic in Europe before it was even released, even triggering a hearing in the EU Parlament on whether the game should be banned from sale and distribution in member countries. Its release in UK, Australia, and New Zealand was eventually canceled due to the ensuing controversy and the game went on to outright bomb in the countries it was released in. It should be noted that the public officials suggesting the game that should banned had not played the game, only having read about its alleged content or seen the trailer, and the EU's own internal content rating board, the Video Standards Council, would eventually officially debunk all of the allegations levelled against the game, and ended up giving it a +16 rating.
Overshadowed by Controversy: See above. Years after the game's release, the game is still remembered by many gamers as "the pedophilia game", as well as the moral panic that ensued, even though such content was largely exaggerated or wasn't in the game at all.
Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: If you got annoyed by Jennifer's submissive behavior, chances are you'll forgive her by the end of chapter 9.
Signature Scene: The infamous opening due to its ability to either mindfuck or disturb first time players.
The cutscene at the end of chapter 9 that acts as both The Reveal and a Wham Episode at the same time. After defeating all the imps, you end up out in the courtyard you were in during the ending of chapter 1 where your sickly friend Wendy gets to meet Brown. Suddenly, both Wendy and Brown disappear. Once you travel to the attic (encountering several torn-apart toy dogs as you go) you activate a cutscene. It opens with imps sweeping a limp, dead Brown into the corner just before Jennifer walks in. As Jennifer approaches the Aristocrats, she falls to her knees upon seeing yet another torn-apart toy dog. Then you suddenly hear a childish giggle. Jennifer looks up and watches as a young girl, the princess, descends towards her with a bouquet of roses obscuring her face. Once the princess makes it down to Jennifer, she tilts the bouquet to reveal that she's Wendy. Amanda then gleefully informs Jennifer of Brown's death, leading to Jennifer to begin hyperventilating. Then Jennifer's child self appears in place of the Jennifer we've known the entire game, stands abruptly and demands that she be "given back her friend" as she takes slow confident strides towards Wendy. Upon reaching Wendy, Jennifer slaps her hard enough to knock her to the ground and proceeds to give Wendy a truly epic beat-down. Once done, she stands and gives a scathing speech to the rest of the Aristocrats, telling them that she hates them and that they're scum. She then admits that she hates herself for allowing things to escalate as far as they have and throws the brooch Wendy had given her to the ground. The scene (and chapter) ends with Wendy running out of the room in tears and the Aristocrats sufficiently frightened of Jennifer.
Also one to Haunting Ground, another horror game with a female protagonist who relies on her dog to help fight.
That One Boss: Any boss can become this, as it's possible to get stuck in a perpetual stun-lock due to the wonky combat mechanics from nearly every enemy. The above boss is just the most notorious.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Susan, Olivia and the boy orphans get very little content in the game. Susan is particularly noticeable, given her close relationship to Meg. The boys and Olivia, meanwhile, are just sort of... there.
Toy Ship: Diana/Meg is quite popular. Meanwhile, it's not uncommon for Young!Jennifer and Wendy to be shipped in aus.
Visual Effects of Awesome: For a game released in 2006, the cutscenes are nothing short of beautifully animated and detailed.
Values Dissonance: Unfortunately, the plot of the game hinges on the actions of a Psycho Lesbian and two of the three wlw characters get hit with the Bury Your Gays trope. However...
Values Resonance: The reason why the above is often ignored is because the game is one of the few pieces of media prior to the late 2010's (which is still extremely rare even then) to actually acknowledge that minors, including pre pubescent children, are capable of same-sex crushes, with no less than three of the girls in-game, including the main protagonist, being wlw. Added to this, the act of same-sex romance itself is not demonized, it is simply that the aforementioned Psycho Lesbian is very mentally unwell due to her implied fear of being alone.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: The whole game is rife with a bizarre, surrealist aesthetic that involves, among other things, roses, butterflies, mermaids, stick figure drawings, imps and dead fish floating in mid-air. Not quite all of it makes sense. There are entire websites dedicated to finding and analyzing everything from the order of beds to clutter on a table to deciphering the low-res letters.
Jennifer because she loses her parents to a plane crash, gets taken in by Gregory as a Replacement Goldfish for his dead son, is rescued but put into an Orphanage of Fear, gets bullied by other kids, briefly gets a friend in the form of a puppy named Brown, and then Brown is beaten to death by the other kids on the orders of Wendy, someone she really considered her friend.
Clara because, from what's implied, she was being sexually abused by Hoffman and may have killed herself as a result.
due to its ability to either mindfuck or disturb first time players.