My Spoiler-free Thoughts on the Amazing Digital Circus Finale and My Experience with the Series as a Whole
I said this before in the quick, initial post I made after seeing the series finale in theaters, but I am so glad I decided to look past the stigma and binge catch up on the full series. In that post, I said I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover, but, with reflection, I think the more accurate phrasing here would be that I shouldn't have judged a book by its fandom.
Though I did enjoy the pilot well enough when it first dropped a few years back, it didn't really linger in my mind, and I found myself without a drive to keep up with the series as the rest of its episodes started releasing. Instead, what I absorbed of the series was through cultural osmosis, primarily from the behavior of fans at conventions, here on Tumblr, and at malls across America. My brain registered it as another FNAF/Poppy Playtime type property. Not to say that there's anything wrong with that inherently; it's just that, through the lens of my incorrect understanding of the series, I personally found myself with no drive to return to it.
As the series finale approached, and news of a theatrical run spread, I knew that, for good or ill, I wanted to be there in that theater for the experience. So I decided to binge the series in full the week before its release. God, I am so glad I did, for what I got was some of the most complex and engaging character writing I've ever seen. I had no idea I'd be going into the Amazing Digital Circus finale with it being a series that now meant so damn much to me, but there I was.
To quote the wise words of Tony Soprano, "It's good to be in something from the ground floor, and I came too late for that, I know. But lately I've been getting a feeling that I came at the end. The best is over."
The toxicity of the fandom aside, I really wish I had been following the series as it released. There were so many little elements, certain shots/imagery, pieces of dialogue, and theories I developed as I watched that would have been so much fun to dissect and discuss with others in the wait between episodes. Having consumed essentially the entire story at once, I'm sad I missed out on that experience, even though the lengthy waiting periods between episodes would have driven me crazy.
In terms of the finale itself, I left the theater both emotionally wrecked and incredibly satisfied. Though there were a few elements I could nitpick and validly criticize, I, overall, had very few issues with the final episode/movie, and felt it did an incredible job finishing up the development of such an incredible cast of characters, while also giving us a satisfying, bittersweet ending for the overall narrative.
People have been criticizing the finale for spending most of its time focusing on Jax, the most hated character. However, from my interpretation of the story, I think that centrality was entirely the point. Without going into much detail to avoid spoilers, the story gives Jax consequences for their awful behavior, while also fully contextualizing it. It gives us such potent sympathy and understanding for them, while by no means justifying their misdeeds. I went into the theater hating Jax, but having faith that fuller understanding of them as a character/person was to come, and my expectation was most definitely met. I now love Jax to death, despite their immense flaws, and I can say the same for the entirety of the ensemble cast of characters.
I've been saying to friends that get it that this show has mane six syndrome. This refers to how, back in my MLP days, I loved all of the main six ponies equally, and just couldn't bring myself to pick one over the others as a favorite. I feel exactly the same way with this crew. From their personalities, to their dynamics with each other, to their sheer depth as characters, Pomni, Jax, Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble, and Gangle all mean so much to me, and hold equally special places in my heart. While I enjoy Caine enough, Toby Fox did him better and as a TV. Bubble is so fucking funny; I need a plush of them now.
Overall, I'm just so grateful to The Amazing Digital Circus for reminding me not to judge media until I've consumed it myself, and that stories and characters that mean the world to me can come from the most unexpected of places.
PS: Due to my newness with the series, this post was written with very little context on its creator Gooseworx, and her struggles with it. From what I have gathered so far, I feel immense gratitude to, and sympathy for her. I hope she's able to get the peace she deserves, and not lose her creative drive.
