User blog:Nacho1804/The Problematic TAWoG Timeline

The Introduction
First of all, Happy Halloween! Complying to my strict refusal to adhere to a schedule, this theory is ten days separated from its predecessor. (Less of a theory, really, this one's more of an evidence-based conclusion. There's a suttle difference in there somewhere, but I can't find it. Nor do I try.)

So, anyway, this evidence-based conclusion is based on the assumption that the events of TAWoG can be given a definite timeline. Anyone foolish enough to attempt to procure said timeline will inevitably hit a few roadblocks: First, that only three characters in the series have a definite, completely sure, unchangeable age. These are the Watterson siblings, whose ages have been concretely stated to be 12, 10, and 4. Everyone else's ages seem to exist in a nebulous blob of assumptions and educated guesses, subject to change at the writers' whim.

Second, that we're not really given many dates to work with here. The entire show has an 80s aesthetic, but then we have the internet, social media, and of course the dates we do recieve seem to place the events of the show in the modern day.

And finally, there's the simple fact that the characters just don't age. It's not a Groundhog Day scenario, in which the characters live the same day several times. No, time progresses in Elmore, seasons change, characters even celebrate their birthdays, but everyone stays the same. How? Why? At this point, moving into the final season of the show, the answer is simple: we just don't know. We may never know.

Enough with the poetry, we've got a timeline to write. If we need to create this timeline, with actual dates, we need to know two things: And guess what? I've found both.
 * 1) An actual date, preferably before the events of the main show, because a date in which Gumball, for example, is twelve as he is now would be uncertain, as he himself states he's been twelve for "forever." (More on that later.)
 * 2) The age a Watterson child was at that date. Again, a date within the events of the show would be unreliable.

The Evidence
This information is provided in The Treasure, which made me skeptical at first. I've grown to be doubtful of The Treasure's canonicity, as Gumball's deformity is nowhere to be found in the recent flashbacks we've been provided, nor is definitive indication that Nicole and/or Richard were well-off at any point before the events of the show. Moreover, the date is provided in a tiny detail that could easily pass as a non-canon easter egg or an oversight by the animators. However, it makes sense given what I've concluded about Elmore and its unusual relationship with time.

At this point, I'm sure you're all getting angry at me for stalling, so I'll just spit it out. If you look closely at the bank statements found in The Treasure, you can see they're from 1976. We're also told later that Gumball was "just born," so it's not unreasonable to assume that according to The Treasure's canon, at least, Gumball was born in 1976. (An exciting detail also provided by the bank statements - the month and day - gives us a ballpark (no pun intended) range of dates for Gumball's birthday. It can be estimated to early October, at the absolute latest Oct. 13th.) Using this one peice of evidence, we can create a general timeline for the events leading up to TAWoG. Here it is.

The TAWoG Timeline (As I Understand It)
November 1, 1975: Nicole and Richard get married while Nicole is pregnant with Gumball.

October, 1976: Gumball is born. Richard spends tons of money on a star because that's what happens when you let a character whose defining traits are laziness and dumbness on the internet. (Which, in 1976, he technically shouldn't be able to use. More on that later.)

1978: Darwin is born somewhere to some goldfishes. We don't really know what's up with that yet, but now at least we know when.

1980: Darwin is adopted by the Wattersons. I don't really feel like explaining the plots of two episodes, so here's a link to both parts of The Origins. Also, the Rainbow Factory is under construction, and after Darwin's adoption the boys play with Grady, Frank, and Howdy.

Christmas, 1981: The brothers get their first videogame console. Grady, Frank, and Howdy are abandoned.

Summer, 1983: Richard defeats Larry in a lazy contest.

1984: Anais is born.

1988: This is where the events of TAWoG would go... except they don't. And here come all the problems.

The Problems
I have to admit, I'm not completely convinced of this timeline myself (I'd actually bet it's not even remotely close to the truth.) But before you all punch holes in my timeline, I'll punch some myself.

Firstly, Darwin has talked about the 20th century as if he has never heard of it, much less lived in it ("There was a nineteen?") never mind the fact that other dates we are given firmly place the events of the show in the present.

Other discrepancies are less obvious, but still there. In The Treasure, ironically the very same episode that gave me my evidence, Richard is seen using a 90s-style internet that simply shouldn't be available to him. The lazy contest from... one bad episode... is presented as if it took place a long time ago, but my timeline places it only five years before when the events of the show should take place. And then, as recently as The Line : Nicole says that the first Stellar Odyssey movie was her and Richard's first date. But, if these movies are really a parody of the Star Wars franchise, coming out in-universe at the same time as their real-life counterparts, the first Stellar Odyssey movie would have debuted in 1977, a year after Gumball's birth.

So what gives?

The Conclusion
While it's impossible to rationally explain some of these issues, the overarching problem with this timeline can be. As I've said several times before, the show as we know it should have been set in 1988, which fits with the 80s aesthetic of the show, but it's been proven that the show just doesn't take place then.

My explaination is thus: Elmore (a sentient being, some people think) froze the ages of everyone in it and shut itself out from the world. Why it did so is uncertain - perhaps it was the consequence of an unusually unstable society collapsing one too many times - but this explains why Elmore has its own social media and why other locations in the world have been talked about but never actually shown close-up. Technology and time still advance, but the people of Elmore are stuck in limbo of a sort, unable to age or even make a signifigant change to their lives. And when Elmore falls into chaos, all it takes is an end credits sequence and everything is back to normal (There's even substantial evidence that Elmore has sent, and has tried to send, the whole town into the Void before. It is likely that the end credits sequence is nothing more than a curtain behind which Elmore can clean up its mistakes, but that's a theory for another day.)

Another thing about this timeline that I find odd is its implications. Put briefly, following this timeline Gumball should be 41, Darwin should be 39, and Anais should be 33. Yep.

With so many holes, I don't think this timeline has any hope of being anywhere near true, but I think it's an interesting concept to think about. I'll see you all at another random intreval in time, but until then, know that I'm as excited for Season 6 as everyone else.