South Park Theory: Kyle's Maturity Stems From Being Aware That Time Stands Still
Imagine some twisted hellscape of trapped time where one is forever stuck in a child's body. Not only is one a child for several decades but also still in elementary school. Having initially premiered in 1997, "South Park" has seen Kyle (Matt Stone), Kenny (also Stone), Stan (Trey Parker), and Cartman (also Parker) go on all sorts of adventures that have seen them engage in a world war with Canada, wrangle with eldritch horrors, go into space on multiple occasions, and even visit a land of pure imagination where some theorize only Butters made it out alive.
Of course, the "South Park" boys have still been in elementary school this entire time, and an interesting theory speculates that Kyle is the only one who realizes it. Over on Reddit, u/softcoreface wondered if Kyle knows that "South Park" is stuck in a time loop. They back the theory with mention of adult-like thoughts and actions that Kyle has been defined by so far on the show — such as forming a group of millennials against Canada and saying he grew up watching the in-universe "Terrance and Phillip" show, even though when the boys run into the group later, the comedic duo is aged and the kids have not.
Other fans have offered supporting evidence to this theory
The Reddit poster continued and gave an example from the episode involving the boys pretending to be the Tooth Fairy when Kyle somehow can perceive all of time. They added that they believe the town of South Park is stuck in a permanent time loop where only Kyle and Kenny (because of his resurrection powers) can actually understand what is happening. So Kyle pretends to be a child most of the time to spare his friends from the torment of knowing their timeless prison.
u/le-fez somewhat agreed with this statement and wrote, "Kenny's death and resurrection abilities/curse cause both the temporal loop and the amnesia. Perhaps to some degree Kyle is immune to it." Others also had their own takes on the theory, like u/Illier1, who thinks that Kyle and Stan are creator self-inserts, which explains Kyle's self-awareness. U/Lanetrain747 wrote, "There is also the matrix episode where all stan hears and sees is s*** to him, unless he was to drink which makes everything tolerable." U/Lanetrain747 describes the ailment as a possible sign of Kyle's age and growing jaded over time.
Kyle has broken the fourth wall previously and predicted the end of an episode
U/bypatrickcmoore offered some supporting evidence to the theory, saying, "Kyle was a much more a****** kid in the earlier seasons. Since season 3 or 4 four did Kyle become the voice of reason and morality." This statement backs up the reference to the Tooth Fairy episode since that was the premier episode of Season 4.
Another Reddit user shared two "South Park" clips involving Cartman referring to the Scott Tenorman (Toby Morton) chili and PC Principal (Trey Parker) commenting about how "South Park" is stuck in a time warp. In other words, others seem to be acutely aware of the passage of time — at least based on these comments.
Taking matters even further, in the Season 7 episode "Butt-Out," Kyle goes so far as even to predict how things will end, which he laments will result in the town being divided and the "South Park" boys will once again make a big speech about what they have learned to disarm the situation. When the episode culminates in said event, Kyle knowingly looks back at Stan and says he told him so before launching into his speech.
At the end of the episode, Stan says that they have finally learned something, and Kyle curtly brushes off the comment, noting that they haven't learned anything. This means that Kyle at least has a fourth-wall-breaking perception, and his cynical response highlights that the character is somewhat aware that similar events have happened before.