The Kid's True Nature Was Revealed On 'Castle Rock' And It's Mind Blowing

Is he the Devil? Is he an angel? Fans have been questioning The Kid’s (Bill Skarsgård) identity since the very first episode of Castle Rock, and most internet theories clocked him as a supernatural being. But in Episode 9, fans are finally discovering the truth about his nature and origins, along with his connection to the Deaver family. The mystery of The Kid is finally revealed on Castle Rock, and it looks like he wasn’t the villain he was made out to be.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Castle Rock Season 1, Episode 9.

In the ninth, and most telling episode of Castle Rock so far, The Kid is revealed to be Henry Deaver from another reality. While his gazes might have looked sinister, his disposition was the result of decades of desperately wanting to go back to his own dimension. The episode takes you into that alternate reality, one in which The Kid aka Henry Deaver is the son of Ruth (Sissy Spacek) and Reverend Matthew Deaver (Adam Rothenberg), and is a successful doctor researching a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

In the episode, The Kid is just a normal guy living his normal life, with a wife and baby on the way. However, in this reality, Rev. Deaver has just committed suicide in the Deaver home, with Ruth having left him years prior to live with Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn) in Florida. He comes back to his childhood home in Castle Rock to take care of his now dead father’s affairs, but finds the child, Henry Deaver (Caleel Harris), locked in a cage in the basement. The Kid goes through Rev. Deaver’s audio tapes to discover that his father found the boy — who claims to be Henry Deaver — at his doorstep and then locked him in the basement believing he was the Devil.

The boy continues to claim that he is Henry Deaver, insisting to be taken back to the woods. The alternate reality’s Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey) touches the boy, and through her psychic connection she thinks he may be telling the truth. Molly and The Kid end up in the woods with the boy, where they find all kinds of realities overlapping each other. The Kid ends up in the boy’s reality with him, which is where he was found by Warden Lacy 27 years ago. That boy has grown up to be the Henry Deaver (Andre Holland) viewers know, and The Kid (also Henry Deaver) has been trapped here ever since. Head spinning yet?

Castle Rock was inspired by the fictional world of Stephen King, so fans have been speculating that The Kid’s character was inspired by some supernatural forces from his works. But a few Redditors were theorizing his origins as Henry Deaver weeks ago. “I bet he's also named Henry Deaver, like when he showed up in the beginning and he was asked his name and he said ‘Henry Deaver’ and the cop said ‘That's not Henry Deaver’,” wrote Reddit user CoffeeAndCanCon, adding “But it is alternate timeline Henry Deaver, which is why we still don't know his name and everyone just calls him The Kid. It was foreshadowing to this plot line.”

After watching The Kid’s interactions in Ruth’s home during Episode 6, Redditor Spooky Bandage Priest also theorized his origins from an alternate reality. “I think this might be evidence that The Kid is from an alternate present in which he (the Deavers' son) lived and grew up in the Deaver household,” Spooky Bandage Priest wrote. “Maybe his memories came back when he was playing the piano because he had played that exact same one in the alternate timeline? Maybe Ruth realized that he looks like her husband, but also like her, and the implications of that?”

Now that these theories have proven to be true, it will be interesting to see how or if The Kid’s presence in the town has anything to do with all the murderous mayhem taking place. With just one episode left in Season 1, Castle Rock fans are hoping to see the mysteries of the town unravel and finally get answers to the burning questions they’ve had all season long.