Aight so this is a headcanon I have developed about the ending of Danny Phantom. Behold.

My theory: Phantom Planet was actually a dream all along.

I have my reasons. For one thing, I felt like the whole thing was wayyy too rushed…

• The reveal of both Vlad and Danny’s secret identities – Vlad’s was revealed in a rather pompous way– he seemed to almost take joy in revealing this to the world. Now, we all know Vlad is one for attention, but not this much attention. Revealing himself messes up all sorts of future plans he has had. Yes, at the moment he knew he would be promised the whole planet to rule over but he must have known that eventually anti-ghost weapons would be made and he would be defeated. Vlad would not have revealed this, he didn’t need to. He could still be Masters to the crowd’s face, take over the world, and then turn around and help out as Plasmius. Then there is Danny’s reveal. It is smooth and flawless, not even his parents are weirded out by it. not even for a moment. They seem rather jovial about it, actually. Yes, they love him lots, and yes, they just faced a potential apocalypse together, but there was little to no indication of a reaction to this news. I believe that this is the most utopian reaction Danny could ask for– what he could only dream to have happen to him.
• The ill-timed and totally-scripted development between Danny and Sam– I don’t care who you ship, I am only looking at the canon relationship. Danny and Sam have come a long way. Yes, they were so totally going to get together at some point, and they were total teases at times… but with all that happened and the way that it happened, I don’t think the timing was right. It was too rushed, again, too smooth. Danny and Sam had a gradual and rather realistic portrayal of a friendship growing into more. It was obvious they cared for each other. But to confess the way they did? With rings and all? sharing a kiss before a big moment? It all seemed a little out of this world… especially when you consider that Sam was so mad at Danny before for getting rid of his powers. It was like she was Danny’s dream version of a conscience. He got to live out in his mind what it would be like to not have powers, only to have Sam, an influential figure in his waking life, turn around and say: “hey get off your bum and do something, you know what you should be doing!” Anyways, the whole thing seemed insincere and sped-up. Could be just poor writing, but to me, Danny is still in a dream…because hey, who HASN’T had at least one dream where you impressed your crush with some heroics before you proceeded to kiss in the soft, receding glow of the sunset?
• The world being in danger– This would be Danny’s dream-way of releasing all the stress he has gathered over the years of being half-ghost. He constantly feels like the world rests on his shoulders, or at least his world. Good god, if he’s not battling a ghost he’s trying to finish his book report that counts for 40% of his final grade. If he isn’t trying to figure stuff out with his awkward teenage self, he’s trying to stop Vlad from taking over the tri-state area. I believe this to be an exaggerated form of what Danny feels all the time projected into the dream world.
• The over-glorification of Danny– That’s right, you heard me. Danny is basically heralded as the second christ or something after saving the planet… and while this is no small feat (though it was not single-handed), the fact that the special spent so long praising Danny at the end leads me to believe that this is Danny’s stressed out mind seeking some gratitude. To be fair, he isn’t thanked directly that much in the show, and as I said, it would seem like his world is constantly on the brink of falling apart between beating ghosts, living a human life, and keeping his secret. Just once he would like to receive some recognition for all of his hard work! Look! Look, it was him the whole time! Not Vlad, not his parents… and these baddies certainly did not dissipate on their own and leave their evil schemes incomplete! It was him!!!
• Tucker becoming mayor– I call bullshit. no. In no way is Tucker ready to be mayor. I’m not denying the boy is pretty much one of the brightest bulbs in his school and a tech wiz, but really? Being good with computers and leading a team of experts to build a giant ghost-device to cover the globe does not qualify you to take care of Amity Park. He is still in high school holy crap. I think this is Danny’s mind trying to put Tucker in a position that he think would be cool to see him in. Don’t you ever have those dreams where you’re like: “Yeah, my friend would TOTALLY make a great president ahah they’d be so cool…” even though it is highly unlikely that such a thing will ever occur. I think this is also a means for Danny to feel like some control is back in his life: by putting one of his most trusted friends in the head position of the city, Danny feels that someone in an influential position will indefinitely be on his side.
• Vlad and the anti-ghost space rock– Again, another bullshit move in my opinion. In the beginning we see him personally coming to check up on his progress on mining the soon-to-be-meteorite. So we know he is no stranger to this hunk of rock. In fact, he and his Maddie holograms explicitly state that the mineral that the rock is made out of is perfect for hunting ghosts and that ghosts have no effect on it. Then we later find out that after a series of actions, a giant space rock has been pushed towards earth. And, what do you know, Vlad and Danny confirm it to be the same rock as the one they were battling near just a few days ago. It is after this that we see Vlad reveal himself and basically say: “I am Plasmius, I am a ghost, I will fix our problem, now give me the earth.” Okay. Look. Vlad is a genius. He is an extremely intelligent man. there is no way he forgot about which rock he was dealing with before he confessed his secret identity and made those demands. Vlad has been effected by this mineral before; as a halfa, he is susceptible to ghost weapons, just like Danny. If this situation had happened in the waking world, Vlad would not have volunteered to go touch the rock, rather, it would be more plausible that HE would be the one to come up with Danny’s plan to turn the world intangible. I believe this is Danny’s head’s way of summing up his interpretation of Vlad in its most simplest form. Here, Danny is trying to show that Vlad can’t be right, because he’s evil. He can’t win. He won’t come up with a good idea to save everyone because that’s what Danny does. Vlad would totally try to turn the whole situation into a “get rich quick” scheme or something, and he would still try to take Maddie to boot! The frootloop wouldn’t stand a chance as a hero, right? Because he’s way too crazy, obsessed, arrogant, and just plain greedy as hell. Right. Because the man who literally can have all the money he wants, who has already claimed to be the richest man on the planet (due to his manipulation of the world’s millionaires), needs more dough. Yes the guy who has been been fighting less and less for Maddie Fenton and more and more for Danny’s DNA (and companionship? understanding??? respect? possible co-ruler? idk he’s a frootloop) wants nothing more than to rule the world and get with Danny’s mom. And CLEARLY when the Maddie holograms stated that he wanted to rule the Ghost Zone, they were mistaken. No, the richest man in the world wants to reside over the human world and get even richer. Yeah, that’s it. Because he doesn’t already have power, influence, and wealth already. Nice try, Daniel.
• Vlad being stuck up in space– I’m not going to point out the fact that Vlad suddenly does not have his helmet on in his last scene, since we presume he is just so powerful that he could survive without it. I’m not going to ponder what the effects of taking a whole anti-ghost space rock to the face would be on a halfa, since I think he logically would be immediately drained of all his power and forced into his human form whilst in the unforgiving vacuum of space. (Ew, that could be messy) No, I’m just going to drabble on the idea that this is Danny’s best solution to getting rid of Vlad once and for all. That rock-to-the-face bit was just the cherry on top for him. Think about it: Danny is an aspiring astronaut. He knows all too well about the depths of space and how it essentially would go on and expand forever. Vlad would never return then! Vlad would be gone! Oh thank you, space. I knew I liked something about you. And thanks for taking care of that frootloop for me! Anyways, all I’m saying is that Danny likes space, and Danny knows that space would be a great place to put Vlad since he would have no one to indulge his ego or his skills in manipulation. He would be all alone.
• Just another quick reminder of Danny’s space-boner– In this dream, Danny would have it all: he is in outer space, he is fighting is arch nemesis, and the primary conflict is a combination of the two. Not only is he dealing with something space and tech-related (like he would love to see since he wants to become an astronaut), but he is fighting Vlad as well. The dream ultimately allows for him to become recognized for his actions, reveal himself with little to no problem or awkwardness, and “get the girl”…all in one flawless, rather bump-free swoop. He defeats his nemesis (yay hero!), he saves the planet (yay space!), and he is set up for life (yay recognition and perks!) Basically, this all appears to be a really awesome dream for Danny, since he got all he has ever wanted since becoming a halfa within a dream’s-week.

TL;DR: Unless it was truly just poor writing, Phantom Planet might just be a dream Danny had.

(Anyone else thinking Nocturne is taking his revenge?)