I've thought this for several episodes but as time goes on I'm becoming more and more certain that TADC is a virtual reality television show starring a cast of fans who voluntarily agreed to have digital copies made of themselves to be tortured for the entertainment of an audience in the real world. I feel like it explains why they remember their lives from before becoming trapped but not their real names, since the producers want to protect the identities of their IRL counterparts. It also explains why nobody has been looking for or found any of these people. Additionally, Caine seems to be more concerned with making the adventures dramatic than the actual enjoyment of the people participating, which would make sense if they aren't the ones he's trying to make the experience enjoyable for. The mental state of the cast members almost certainly plays a role in abstraction, but I wouldn't be surprised if Caine could also just force someone to abstract for learning too much or not behaving in a way that viewers find compelling. As a matter of fact, I think it's entirely possible that Kinger isn't actually as insane as he lets on and is only pretending to be so that Caine will keep him around longer. All of the scenes where he appears lucid are when he's alone with another cast member and Caine isn't watching. Caine finally caught him acting out of character this episode, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets abstracted in the next one. However, Kinger's computer science background and ability to alter the circus' code may also imply that he is a developer of the show who exists to make sure it keeps running smoothly. Also, I don't think it's a coincidence that Kaufmo, who looked like a clown, abstracted right before Pomni showed up, who also looks like a clown. If this is a show, there's probably a limit to the number of cast members that are allowed to share screentime. I think that Pomni was brought to the circus to replace Kaufmo. In the latest episode, Jax spends a lot of time talking about the cast's archetypes, which is probably foreshadowing to the true nature of their imprisonment. To introduce a new one, somebody needs to get disposed of. This is what I think happened to Ribbit, the last cast member to have abstracted before Kaufmo, as well. Their avatar seems to have been an animal rendered in a rubberhose animation style similar to Jax, and they may have been abstracted for having too much overlap in archetypes with him. This would explain why Jax claims that he feels like everyone blames him for it happening.
Just watched the new episode.
