The Answer To Who Drew The D*cks On 'American Vandal' Is Right In The Characters' Names
If you're anything like me, you probably went into Netflix's new spoof series American Vandal expecting a light, funny new comedy, only to find yourself getting way too invested in a legitimately challenging mystery that remains unsolved in the season finale. After extensive investigation, in the end, the new show still leaves viewers asking the central question: Who drew the d*cks? Well, what if I told you the answer was right in front of our faces the entire time? Fans have pointed out the American Vandal character names actually reveal a lot more than you may pick up on right away.
Spoiler alert: This post will discuss details from the season finale of American Vandal, so don't read on if you haven't finished the season for yourself yet. So, although the show never truly solves its central mystery for viewers, the finale episode does give us a very convincing primary suspect. After investigating pretty much everyone at Hanover High, our narrator Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) presents the most plausible case of the series for protest-happy class president Christa Carlyle (G. Hannelius) drawing the d*cks. Not only do we find out that she may have a motive for targeting Coach Rafferty after reviewing her football tryout video shows him whispering something foul to her and the official complaint she allegedly filed went unanswered, but Peter and Sam also discover that her alibi of attending CPR training at the time of the incident was most likely false, given that she does not know CPR at the prom afterparty and a call to the training facility reveals her supposed trainer was her boyfriend Van Delorey. This finally leads Peter and Sam with the final theory that Christa and Van worked together to draw the d*cks, but the season ends without Peter getting any proof or solid evidence to prove it.
Well, apparently the show was making it incredibly obvious from right off the bat that Christa and Van were the people behind the graffiti, and I honestly feel like an idiot for not picking up on it sooner. Shoutout to all the American Vandal fans on Reddit for pointing out what probably should have been something I caught way sooner: Van Delorey's name literally has the word "vandal" right there in it. Like, it's comically obvious. The only thing giving me some sort of comfort is that I wasn't the only person to totally miss that.
And it doesn't just stop with Van Delorey. Posters also pointed out that Christa's last name Carlyle is another telling name pun, since all those cars got vandalized. The "car" part definitely stands out, and I'd also like to throw out there that the second part of her name is a near-homophone for "liar" (she lied several times about her alibi and involvement in the incident during Peter's investigation). This may be reading too much into it, but another Redditor also pointed out Carlyle is an anagram for "clearly." Maybe the writers were trying to say how obvious it was Christa was behind the d*ck drawings from the beginning? I know this is a lot of crazy theorizing, but isn't that kind of what this show is all about?
Hopefully these name clues can help provide some closure for American Vandal viewers who were upset the mystery wasn't completely solved and wrapped up in the season finale. I definitely feel kind of dumb for not getting that whole Van Delorey/"vandal" thing until reading some of the fan responses to the show, but now it feels pretty obvious to me Christa and Van were the culprits. Or at least... I think they are? Maybe the show will get a second season to finally answer the question once and for all.
