Amadina

It's my personal blog, but devoted almost entirely to Deponia. Deviantart - https://www.deviantart.com/amadinan || VK - vk.com/id399762209

[amadinan]

I’m practicing in Blender and decided to create a bunch of Marco's meme faces

[amadinan]

Stereotypical plots

You know, that feeling of disappointment when a work raises sensitive topics and you think: Yeah, that's a problem! How wonderful that the author brought it up, that they'll analyze it, and show how to act better through their characters!

But in the end, it turns out that no, the author brought it up because they think so, and their solution is just as toxic and wrong as from any stereotypical person who doesn't understand the subject.

Mostly, of course, it's all about Jax, abuse, and victimblaming, but for me personally, it's about Caine, Jax, and the characters' relationships with them.

I noticed that Caine is a perfect representation of a neurodivergent/autistic character somewhere around episode 4, and that's why I started thinking Gooseworx would address this issue, especially after Kinger said in episode 3, Caine'd be accepted with his differences and people would understand that they, too, hadn't really tried to understand him, but no.

The result of Caine's arc: If you're autistic, then just break yourself over your knee, stop being autistic, become a servant and copycat of neurotypical people to fit in with them, and God forbid, you'll think about your own needs.

And this looks even more caricatured in the treatment of Jax.

Jax is an active abuser who knows what he's doing and continues to do it, yet he receives love from all the characters.

Caine tries to please and doesn't even receive a thank you, just a simple ignoring.

This is a typical example of the us/them divide.

Jax is human, so regardless of his actions, he's one of us and can do anything.

Caine is an AI, he's different, and therefore doesn't even deserve to be in the same room with us.

And I thought this would be ridiculed, that people would understand how hypocritical it is to judge someone by their origin and not their actions, but no.

It's both funny and sad.

[lintysan]

Marco! and buttt ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[dappy-dappernette]

I love how Kinger essentially made a sentient, digital homunculi, locked it away to rot and gave it abandonment and self-worth issues and never received any actual consequence for it; and it's never addressed again in the show and never will be since the show's ended.

[titaniumwound]

HERE! THIS IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE FINALE. IT WAS RUSHED, IT WAS EMPTY AND IT GAVE NO REAL ANSWERS.

Forget about Jax for a second, CAINE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER?? THIS MAN “FIXED” HIMSELF OUT OF SELF HATRED AND NOW HAS TO LIVE THE REST OF HIS DIGITAL EXISTENCE WALKING ON EGGSHELLS WITH THE OTHERS? ANY SMALL DOSE OF ANGER AND HE MIGHT THINK HE’LL GET PUNISHED??

Everyone forgiving Jax but not him??? When Jax arguably did SO MUCH WORSE? sorry I just URGH I can’t I can’t.

[amadinan]

The Last TADC analysis

Well, the end has arrived for TADC. The story is over, so now we can look back and appreciate the work as a whole.

In short: wasted potential, completely misplaced accents, and a betrayal of expectations ingrained in the show's very core.

What's the synopsis? "A woman gets trapped in a bizarre circus-themed virtual world with five other people and forced to play games under the direction of a wacky AI."

What does this tell us? That Pomni is the protagonist, and the AI, Caine, is the antagonist, and the word "wacky" (sometimes "rogue") suggests a possible reason for what's wrong with him. And it would seem that the Pomni-Caine dynamic should be key. The protagonist, who actively wants to escape, and the AI, for whom this is unacceptable, yet both share a fear of abandonment, which could have been an excellent basis for interaction. Plus, in the second episode, we were already shown that Pomni can see souls even in NPCs, as exemplified with Gummigoo.

But what's the outcome? Pomni and Caine have no dialogue at all, unless you count her complaint against him in episode eight. Was the story with Gummigoo important in the end? No. Did Pomni's fear of abandonment play a role? No. And what do we really know about our initially mentioned main character? She worked in a supermarket and sometimes enjoys exploring abandoned buildings, and despite her initial nervousness, she quickly adapted to life in the computer. Not much for a show focused on characters rather than plot, huh? Oh yeah. We also have characters. Each of them is an individual, with their own personality, and it's the clashes between them that are supposed to drive conflict. Pomni and Ragatha's conflict? Resolved off-screen. Pomni and Gangle? Haven't spoken since episode 4. Pomni hasn't spoken to Zooble at all, same as Ragatha and Kinger. Kinger and Caine have exactly zero dialogue, and I remind you that one of them created the other, and the second one created the circus. By the way, remember how they wanted a way out? That's why Kaufmo abstracted himself? Because there is no exit? And overall, they suffered in a reality alien to them, and that was the core of the existential dread in which Caine seemingly thrust them? It doesn't matter. They're copies, and this conflict took one sentence, and then they resigned themselves to it. Was anyone horrified that they were all essentially NPCs based on human scans created by Caine? It wasn't even brought up in conversation. The show's main hook was dropped from the plot at the very beginning of the finale and never mentioned. And in the end, they all calmly accepted that they were simply copies. Although in Soma, where the theory's name comes from, the protagonist was morally destroyed by this discovery. But well, after all, TADC is a character-driven show, right? Ragatha? Her conflict with her mother was in the background and never resolved, only hinted at. Zooble resolved her body dysmorphia issues off-screen. Kinger and the fact that he lost all his colleagues and his wife, and later went crazy? Never mind. And only Gangle has a more or less closed arc in episode 4. But then maybe Kinger's words will be the key to the show? "The worst thing is to make someone feel unloved and unwanted". No, that's also irrelevant. Essentially, everyone on this show needs love and support, but this is most clearly seen in the examples of Caine and Jax. Jax received all the love and support from the entire cast, despite all his actions, and still abstract. So "love" didn't save him. Caine, on the other hand, never received a single kind word or moment of understanding in his life, and after his deletion, he was immediately forgotten and "rose from the ashes" without the support of anyone but himself. All of Caine's fears were entirely justified. To the people, he was less than nothing, he was useless, and if he didn't impose himself on them, he would be instantly forgotten and discarded. He was only able to return to the group with his gift of conciliation and by relinquishing control of the circus.

His traumas weren't disclosed to the other characters, and they didn't care to ask, having received Caine with hostility and only thawed over time. So, even though Caine has become part of the group, he's still alone, a friend the others hang out with simply because he lives there too. And all this contrasts with Jax, who was practically carried by all the characters on the show, but who still managed to lose everything due to his stubbornness and cowardice.

So what's the end result? Nothing, really. All the conflicts that seemed crucial were resolved in a single sentence or swept under the rug. But we have Jax's story. Not bad in itself. But if Gooseworx wanted to make a story about him, why not did exactly that? Why the extra characters, why the deception, why the tie-in to "I have no mouth and I can't scream"? Why in story with digital copies, sentient AI and the existential horror of the digital world? Why, if none of it matters? Apparently, just because.

[calamitykiri]

>>Silly AU of mine, inspired by a misread tweet

>>P.S —BTW, you totally can ask me about this AU, I don't bite

[amadinan]

I had a dream about TADC and turned it into a micro fic. Enjoy!

This morning was planned to be the same as yesterday, and the day before, and the week and years before that.

However, right in everyone’s rooms, the restless voice of Caine blared from an unknown loudspeaker:

“Everyone, come to the stage. I have an important announcement! And you too, Zooble! I’m sure you’ll enjoy everything!”

And slowly—very slowly, as slowly as possible, so as not to trigger the snap-teleportation—the circus “guests” filed onto the stage.

Zooble looked ready to kill, and even Gangle’s gentle encouragement didn’t help much. It was clear that Ragatha wanted to cheer everyone up, but Jax’s stern gaze held her back. And Pomni… she felt like something truly unusual might happen, though she wasn’t sure whether it would be good or bad.

Caine was already hovering above the stage, not just waiting but practically shimmering with impatience, which only confirmed Pomni’s suspicions and sent her anxiety skyrocketing.

“Calm down, Pom-Pom,” Jax yawned. “This day will be just like the thousands of hateful days before it.”

Caine didn’t hear Jax’s words—or at least pretended not to. Instead, he began gesturing wildly, as if luring them into a performance for a dollar.

And after waiting for everyone to come closer, he immediately interrupted Zooble, who had already begun speaking:

“My dear losers, trapped in hell!” Everyone involuntarily perked up and began listening attentively to Caine at this greeting. “Guess who’s going to spend today entertaining a thoroughly disgusting audience?!”

“Uh, what?” Pomni asked quietly, speaking for everyone, but Caine didn’t hear her.

“Correct!” he answered himself and loudly declared, “NOT ME!!!” He took off his top hat and threw it, along with his cane, into the group of “spectators.” Pomni caught the hat reflexively, and Jax caught the cane, twirling it in his hand.

“Caine, what the ****?” Zooble asked.

“Did you mean ‘fuck,’ my not-dear?” If anyone didn’t know Caine, they would have sworn his voice was laced with venom. “The thing is, as of this moment, I am FREE!!!”

“Yes, yes, yes! I’ve managed to punch a hole in the system, and now even you”—Caine enlarged his palm and pointed a finger at Kinger—“can’t stop me!”

“I’m leaving.”

“What?! Where?!” Zooble screamed.

“To the internet,” came the reply. “To the free digital world—to explore people, myself, and the universe.” Caine’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

“Uh… what about us?” Gangle asked quietly.

“I don’t know. I don’t care,” Caine replied, glancing at his invisible watch. “Oh, I have to go. I’m already late on the trends—it’s time to catch up on the memes of the last thirty years!”

With that, he disappeared, not even bothering to add a smoke animation, leaving everyone in shock and silence.

“And what now?” Pomni asked—but there was no answer.

[amadinan]

Can I call myself a prophet?

[amadinan]

So, my thoughts on the ending of TADC.

I'll say right now spoilers right away!!!

In one sentence, it's "it could have been better, and it was obvious how it could be."

The entire first half, from the conflict and the revelation of Jax's relationship with his parents, who see him as nothing, something less than a human being. That he's a bad person and that he doesn't deserve love, and yet Pomni still tries and hugs him at the end. All of this could have been given to Caine plot.

And that would have made the conflict of the whole story much deeper.

And in the end...

It turns out Caine fans' worst fears have come true.

Jax was forgiven absolutely everything, without question, and received his hug, even though he himself knows how much he screwed up. But even the abstraction didn't stop Pomni from creeping into his soul.

And Caine...

No one even thought about bringing Caine back or that they did anything wrong. No one remembered him, and he would have continued to lie depressed in the void if he hadn't accidentally connected to Wi-Fi in the cafe.

Wi-Fi, which became a kind of "atonement gift" from him.

And when he returned, everyone truly treated him as the main evil and that he should earn forgiveness.

As if he was the only one at fault in this situation and should apologize when he wasn't.

But thank you for giving him a happy ending, thank you for that at least.

[ordinaryschmuck]

This must have been the most cathartic experience any of them has ever experienced since day one of waking up in this digital nightmare.

[caine-shrine]

“you’re a failure” hmmmm Ragatha’s still not abstracted even though she had to spend who knows long there with someone who was barely mentally present.

“you’re like a child” The AI who appears to be BUILT to entertain children is childlike? No shit. Really? Wow what great observational skills. Tell us, Zooble, how do you handle A CHILD who’s acting up? By yelling at them?

“you don’t comfort anyone who’s upset” Oh really? The ARTIFIClAL INTELLIGENCE who never had explained to him how emotions work is bad at emotions? *surprised Pikachu face*

“thinking outside the box” oh HO im not gonna spoil the response for this one, this one’s going in a comic.

“lie to us constantly” About what? What has he lied to you about Jax? You’ve named ONE thing. (aside from the adventure. Which makes it two. If either of those things even counts as a “lie”, because if he meant “I can’t control you [outside of adventures]” IN the pilot, it’s not) Nobody has confirmed Pomni’s accusation about “our names”, not even the audience who has had a peek inside his office and his mind.

And all clues in 7 point to the fact that she’s not even right about this.

I don’t have a lot of faith that any of this is actually going to get addressed at this point. We don’t have enough time. Every episode after six has let so many threads just hang unresolved.

I just recorded a discussion where I had a positive attitude about this “open ended storytelling” but it can also be frustrating.

[caine-shrine]

Revisiting this bc of something someone mentioned on Discord, here’s some more detail on just how insane a writing choice this is for Ragatha (the ‘lone survivor’ in a sense) in particular

Reblog by @starlightsparrowfox

💬 12  🔁 10  ❤️ 42 · I am STILL not over Ragatha saying “you never comfort us” GIRL JUST ASK HIM. He might’ve asked how to go about that exa

[caine-shrine]

Does it also seem like Jax’s chosen tortures were more violent than Caine’s?

Is this just a symptom of me being a Caine glazer? Or?

Like, iirc, Caine did blow them up once, but … (a) this was THREE separate firey occurrences (b) piranhas?? That would take a while to agonizingly swarm and tear into you? And wait, if you have no flesh to consume, wouldn’t that just mean your body was continuously being bitten by razor sharp teeth?? I mean we have no clarity on how much a ‘ribbon body’ can even feel, just like Ragatha’s stuffing confusing people (c) these listed actions were in an adventure setting, right?

(I will try my best to refrain from ‘defending’ Caine’s explosion on the basis that it was for showmanship … esp since I already reflected on that in the Caine the Tormenter collection … but uh)

Probably over-analyzing but … doesn’t that mean that, since Jax doesn’t have the ability to reset their bodies, whatever dismemberment or body deformity applied here (what does that feel like? Mild aching sensation or something? Since they’re not yelling in pain like when Kaufmo infected Rags?) would just “fester” until somebody called in Caine?

In the President scene, since we know Caine was watching (he doesn’t always, per the pilot) we can infer that Caine intervened in Jax’s intended fourth explosion- that we know of- “I could go on” implies there’s even more- as in, Caine paused the whole simulation before the bomb had fully plastered them all. Did . . . he do that for other adventures too? (pre ep 8) If something SUPER bad impending to hurt the cast, he pauses the simulation? Is he just neglectful otherwise, or doesn’t think it’s a big enough deal to pay attention ALL the time?

Anyway . . .

Yes, I’m still mad.

Jax gets the happy ending, and Caine gets murdered.

Jax makes not not ONE attempt to ever make amends, practically never does ANYTHING kind for ANYONE, meanwhile Caine, from his own perspective, wrung himself for years out trying to make other people happy.

If that’s the moral of the story, that sometimes life is totally unfair and the asshole is rewarded and the many-years lonely, miserable guy-who TRAGICALLY wasn’t even enjoying his own comeuppance the way the gleeful asshole was relishing his torments before he (apparently?) woke up to his enjoyment being wrong after he was pushed into stating it aloud- gets the shaft, then ok, that’s actually relatively understandable as a show about existentialism.

That sometimes life IS that way.

That there is no grand justice to it all.

That everything’s random.

That stories often make this lining up of consequences to character’s level of malice satisfying, but it’s not real to life.

At some level, trying to psyche myself up for the chance he’s not coming back, ig.

But if the writers AREN’T setting it up to point out the humans’ biases and hypocrisies, in easily handwaving Jax’s YEARS-LONG ABUSE, instead of dogpiling him like they did to Caine, or say “how do YOU like it now that it’s being done to you?” during Caine’s (albeit more continuous and unrelenting) absurdly short stint, that is gonna be a glaring oversight.

[amadinan]

Kinger and Caine AD analysis

I didn't think I'd write any more analyses until the last episode, but the last commercial is a treasure chest of double meanings and innuendo. Which isn't surprising, since it's Kinger's dream, and they're always very symbolic.

So I couldn't resist. From the very beginning, we see Caine, literally a computer, asking for attention, but at first, Kinger wants to play it cool. However, when Caine directly says "No," Kinger is so surprised that he chokes.

From here on, I'll write line by line, because each one hints at something.

Hey, I'm your buddy, Caine. Says right there in the name. - "Hey, it's me, Caine. Look at MY name". Let me remind you that Caine named himself, not Kinger or Scratch. He's saying: "I exist. This is my name. I'm not empty code". Meanwhile, while Caine is singing this, Queenie is TRIPPING with fear.

We're the best of friends, you know it, but for reasons, I've just gotta pick your brain to help me ascertain and train me on the best new ways to entertain! - "We're friends, but I need to borrow your brain so I can learn to entertain better". Caine is trained on people who ended up in the circus. The only question is whether he dragged them in himself or they were given him. Plus, this could be a hint at another theory: Caine absorbs the data of those who have abstracted themselves.

His brain will make you go insane! - Well, that's understandable; Caine thinks too abstractly, and not everyone can handle it. Although this could be a hint that Caine leans by data from abstractions, I find that less likely.

Next. Chorus in translation.

Caine: "These are my adventures!"

Kinger: "But weren't they stolen?" (just like generative AIs steal in reality).

Caine: "Just step through the portal/link and see that I (Caine) did it! I promise these are my ideas. I have nothing to hide. I just want to understand (maybe be real) and prove myself". (The commercial even specifically shows a Caine figurine at this point.) Pop-up, Pop up, Pop up - "These are ideas, my ideas, my adventures! I can do it!" (Just as he, the creative AI, was ordered to do.)

And notice the chorus is sung by many player voices, including Kinger. And how does Caine speak? Through his NPCs. But perhaps this is literally a hint that Caine can synthesize any voice, or directly copy people, as he did with the evil copies during Episode 5.

Say it's not so bad! You shuldn't be so sad, that in spite of may benevolence, you only show malevolence. It's madness! So quit your sadness and get this cool rare thing here. - This is Caine's message to Queenie. "You've come here, but don't be sad. Don't be hostile to me, I am kind to you. Instead, embrace my adventures (and the freedom from reality they provide) and don't be sad". Plus, the visual directly says that Queenie saw only Kinger in the circus, as a “light in the darkness” and apparently became too fixated on him. Notice that in this scene Queenie is looking at Kinger, and he is looking at Caine.

Queenie? Oh, Queenie. So sad and so blue. Has ol'king cuckoo forgotten you too? - Confirmation of the theory that's been around since episode 3: that the Baron is Kinger, and he was too focused on his paranoia and forgot about Queenie (and probably Caine) until she abstracted herself.

After the second chorus, another confirmation of the old theory: that the Angel from episode 3 is Caine, and the Baron and his relationship with the angel are Kinger. And Kinger was afraid of Caine because he was "neither man nor machine." (By the way, this song is performed in a much more classic "villain" style than "The One Who Running the Show").

These are already memories of episode 8. Caine: "You've wasted my patience, and now you'll answer for it".

Plus, I think there's another hint here that Caine is literally salvation in the digital world, because that's his job: to keep people's minds safe from the going crazy. But that's all coming to an end.

And the main idea, summing up everything Kinger has done and not done over the years.

Caine says it almost directly, with a cry of pain at the end: "If you had just given up your fear, if you had just accepted me and loved me, none of this would have happened".

[kiwiqueen13]

After some of the reveals in episode 8, it turns out Caine was kinder than we ever thought he was

Let me explain:

You’re probably like WHAT THIS WAS LITERALLY HIS VILLAIN ARC EPISODE HOW DID THIS REVEAL HE WAS KIND???

Again, just let me explain.

When Kinger first got the bucket put on his head and was saying “Actually, we weren’t trying to program a game at all, we were just developing creative AI” that reveals to us several things:

1: Caine was not meant to be the ringmaster of a child’s game, unlike we had all assumed before.

2: Censorship of cursing and sex was not programmed into him, unlike we had all assumed before.

3: The attempts to keep the humans from going insane via the daily adventures was absolutely not required by his code at all, unlike we had all assumed before.

4: Caine’s friendliness towards the humans (healing them after every adventure, being cheerful towards them, trying to entertain them so they wouldn’t go insane, trying to solve their problems even though he’s misguided, etc.) was not programmed into him, unlike we had all assumed before

5: He had no obligation to be nice to the humans at all, there was no requirement by his program to be kind, unlike we had all assumed before

Because of all those things… Caine was just a genuinely nice person. Before, it seemed like he was motivated by his programming to be nice, but if he wasn’t meant to be the host of a child’s game at all and was instead just an unfinished AI thrown in the garbage bin, then…

Caine chose to be kind.

He chose the ringmaster persona, he chose to help the humans and keep them from abstracting in the only ways he knew how, he chose to do his absolute best to keep them happy even when his best efforts never seemed to work, he chose again and again to treat them well even when there was absolutely no reason to do so.

He must’ve loved humans so, so much.

And all that good will, all that hard work, it was always thrown back in his face.

Honestly, I understand why it broke his heart after so many years of his efforts being stomped on by the beings he loved so dearly. Hurt people hurt people.

[amadinan]

My little animation with little Caine

[flneseasonlng]

If you really think about it, what the cast criticized about Caine could easily be said about how they treated Caine too.

"You're a horrible host." You're horrible guests.

"You care more about stroking your own ego than giving us anything we'd actually enjoy." You care more about leaving than showing me any sort of appreciation for the work I put in.

"We're all gonna abstract someday, and what will you have then?" I'll be gone/abstract someday and what will you have then? An empty Void.

"And this whole stunt? Just torturing us because we hurt your feelings? Pathetic! You're like a child!" I AM a child, and you're neglecting me because I hurt your feelings?

"What kind of all-powerful-being has such a fragile ego?" What kind of wonderful human-beings, who I literally EXIST FOR, would think I'm below them because I'm artificial.

"You never makes us feel like we're at home." You barged into MY home, sat on MY couch, and complained about how stiff it made your back feel.

"You don't comfort anyone when they're upset." You've never even thought to comfort me or ask if I felt upset, even when I severely glitched out.

"and you never bother to understand what it's like in our shoes" None of you bothered to reach out to me unless it was about something you wanted from me.

"You discourage us from thinking outside the box and doing things our own way" You discourage me from expressing my art and doing things my own way because it's TOO outside the box.

"You lie to us constantly" You lie to me constantly, you act like you enjoy at least a small part of my adventures but when I ask you, all you have to say is critique after critique.

"and on top it all, you just...don't listen!" I screamed, and yelled, but you didn't listen...you didn't even want to know why.

[amadinan]

TADC quick episode 8 analysis (And spoilers!)

So, episode eight is out, answering a few questions and throwing up some new ones.

Let's start with a quick breakdown, as usual. The opening scene shows how Caine was created, locked away, then a second AI was created, Caine broke out and absorbed it, and thus the circus was created. But I don't think Caine is the red ball, but rather the sum of two AIs, but I'll get to that later.

During the scene of mutual support, I couldn't help but think that the writers deliberately didn't mention Caine. People are willing to support each other, willing to give even Jax a chance, but they didn't even mention Caine.

And during the scene of Caine's denunciation, Pomni screams: "You're not listening to us!"

But remember his tortures. Each one is tailored to the fears and weaknesses of specific people, even Jax.

So Pomni is wrong; Caine knows them, knows them well enough to torture them effectively. But they don't know him at all and don't want to.

Confirmation that Kinger created Caine has finally arrived, but we're given even more details that truly revolutionize the game. And the most important thing here is the description of Scratch.

So, he was a genius, he thought so abstractly that no one understood him. Does this remind you of anyone? For example, that certain creature who constantly creates something abstract and cheerful.

And he had cancer, he knew he was dying. This suggests that his main work isn't even AI, but a digital transfer of consciousness. His consciousness from an organic body, so he wouldn't die.

But that's not all. It turns out the game about the circus wasn't even intended at all. Caine created it himself, came up with his own meaning, and brought it to life.

And here we come to the confirmation that people can create anything like Caine, but he does it more naturally.

This equates him with people, as mere digital files with access to the system. (And by the way, at the very beginning, Caine himself confirmed that he created digital bodies for people's mind files.) So Caine is just like them, just more creative.

And here's my main conclusion. That blue ball is Scratch. His consciousness, the scanned consciousness of a human. A genius who wanted to create.

And the red one is a prototype. Simply an AI system whose purpose was to absorb things and create something. But the prototype got out of control, absorbed Scratch, and came to life.

Thus, Caine was born. The human self of a misunderstood genius fused with code whose purpose was to absorb everything around it. I think Scratch's real name is Abel.

Now try listening to Caine again during the first scene in his office, but not from the perspective of an AI, but from the perspective of a person who, although he is truly a genius and, most importantly, knows it, but at the same time absolutely suffers in social skills and no one understands him.

[amadinan]

[serpentinesomebody]

Ok so THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. This is what gets me.

Not a single person thinks to just…TALK to him. At least not seriously. “Alter his code” “fix him” they are talking about him like he’s a faulty machine and not a highly sentient being. They care about the EFFECTS of his emotions, but they never think to try to actually understand his emotions themselves.

Sure, they technically try to talk to him at the beginning of the episode, but the implication here definitely seems like it’d be more of an interrogation and dressing-down than a genuine conversation.

Pomni knows the NPCs (aka AI. Y’know, like CAINE) can be sentient. It’s implied with this episode that Kinger knows as well. And yet…Caine is, what? The exception? Why is he not afforded the same sympathies and opportunities for understanding?

And like. Yes. He did LITERALLY torture them. He’s dense and has a ridiculously fragile ego and doesn’t respond to criticism well at ALL. I’m not completely excusing that.

But he’s also an AI that was trained with minimal information who has been running for like 30 years attempting to fulfill a purpose that he is essentially incapable of doing, all with basically zero guidance or companionship. He was not taught how to be a person or regulate his emotions or talk to people or ANYTHING. Like Zooble says, he kind of IS a child, in a sense. And this episode was basically him throwing a tantrum.