The Amazing Digital Circus: A full Introspection, and the Dissection of the series as a whole (Meta analysis)
My, my! A new reader has entered my post!
Did you find this post because you're disappointed with the finale? Or are you just curious of what the narrative means, beyond the text? Well, fret not, dear reader!
I am here to answer most of the questions that may be stuck in your soured mouth after the "wolf in sheep's clothing" clusterfuck of an ending that is The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act!
Or more specifically, I'm here to break down the story elements of the entirety of The Amazing Digital Circus's meta to the best of my ability, and why you are now stuck with the feeling of soured dread as to why the show took this direction.
Or again, if you're just curious.
WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD, & LONG READ!
First of all, let me ask you a question: did you come to the TADC show, thinking you're following a story about humans trapped in a hellish landscape?
Well, you're DEAD WRONG, HAHA! This whole series is actually an introspection of the creator of the show. And a damn good one at showing you how visceral the creator feels, and what happened to her.
"What the f[@#!&]k are you talking about, Ziku? Are you high?"
Now now, I know that we use swears in order to get across our frustrations, but come on!
We're all familiar with the term, "Art comforts the disturbed, and disturbs the comforted", as well as "art should be the creator's form of expression", well then, I'd be happy to tell you that BOTH are true in this sense.
Why am I going on this whole ass tangent? Because the circus cast are not people.
They never were. In fact, the reveal of them being brain scans are supposed to be a wake up call to everyone. I think.
What they are, is a bunch of aspects of Goose's self. Let's start the dissection with Pomni, the "main" character. Don't worry, it won't take long; it's just a bit of simple character dissection.
So, what does Pomni stand for...?
Pomni is a jester. Do you want to know which part of Goose she is? Well, she's Goose's EMPATHY! Pomni is designed to be a jester, because Empathy is constantly mocked and made fun of for weakness/being frail, especially around.... certain groups.
As the show proceeds, she becomes representative of New Goose as contrast.
W-what about Caine?
Caine is a ringmaster. The self-established leader of the troupe! And because of that, he stands for Goose's CREATIVE/EGO. The mouth-head design alludes to the fact that Ego --when driven by creativity-- tends to be all-powerful and all-consuming, the need to control actions; often times to the disregard of other aspects of one's self.
His ringmaster garb, expresses ego's desire to be presentable, and be professional; in order to hide insecurities and flaws.
Kinger? What's the deal with Kinger?
Well, I'm glad you asked! Kinger stands for Goose's MENTAL STATE. His design of being a king chess piece signifies his obvious importance, yet lack of action towards anything, and can only be a passive onlooker until things get dire (for him, or anyone).
Just like a real king chess piece is, and how Goose ignored her mental state for the longest time.
Wait, what about Ragatha?
Well, Ragatha is Goose's FEMININITY! Her being a ragdoll has some implications that directly correlate with what Jax represents.
Because Ragatha is obviously and openly based on Raggedy Ann, it could entail that Raggedy Ann was one of Goose's first "eye-opening" moments. But of course, take this with a grain of salt.
G-Gangle.... What's Gangle supposed to be?
Gangle is Goose's EMOTIONAL STATE. The need to mask the misery with comedy, or humor. Her being made out of ribbons is how Goose's emotion tends to spiral easily and get wrapped up in it.
Oh dang, what about Zooble?
Zooble is Goose's QUEER IDENTITY! Zooble is someone in the circus who isn't able to express their identity freely, and feels body dysmorphia. Gooseworx is a trans woman, so therefore, Zooble is more akin to the feeling of queer identity, rather than the physical queer identity.
S-so... what IS Jax?
Jax... is Goose's Old Self. To put it more bluntly, Jax is pre-transitioned Goose in a way, and he bears the worst flaws that Goose has with herself, and struggled with. (Likely continued to struggle with)
Namely, repression, misogyny and toxic masculinity.
It's no surprise that Jax is Goose's favorite, design wise. But Goose wants us to HATE Jax. This is her telling us that we should HATE old Gooseworx because she's a massive piece of shit.
His design, a mouth that never opens and constantly smiles, is Goose's tendency to lie through her teeth, and we've seen this MULTIPLE times when she answers asks.
Goose constantly lies and jokes around with the fandom for... well, longer than TADC has existed, it seems. Dark humor is very self-explanatory. The rabbit aspect of Jax not only alludes to masculinity (as even explained by Jax), but also the tendency to run away.
And so, now that you know what the cast represents, let's go with the dissection of each episode! In the most convoluted way possible, because I don't know how else to structure or explain it thoroughly!
Episode 1: PILOT!
Pomni pops in the circus. This signifies the first sign of empathy popping into Goose's silly head, and the way Pomni trips everyone signifies a chain reaction that having empathy will do.
It's also important to note that she trips Jax first. Empathy knocked old Goose off of her feet when she first experiences it, and also knocks the mental state (Kinger) off, finally ending with a broken emotional state (Gangle).
At this stage, it's easy to mix empathy with sympathy.
Old Goose is trying to cope with what just happened with a quip, while the rest is trying to catch up with the new feeling. Old Goose even steps on the broken mask, signifying an emotional spiral that Old Goose is trying to act noncahalant about.
Adventure happens-- Goose's need to distract herself. The adventure distracts Queer Identity and takes it away, as would be the usual. Old Goose instead opts for humor (Kaufmo), so they look for one.
Unfortunately, Humor has suffered from ego death by the time Empathy arrives. This abstracted feeling drives old Goose to run away from the situation (and mock herself for crying, as seen in the finale), as Femininity tries to solve the issue; but the abstract tramples Femininity like it's a slapstick cartoon show. (oh wait, it is)
Femininity asks for Empathy's assistance, but Empathy is way too new to be dealing with this; and even touching the subject of femininity causes Empathy to reel back. Empathy is then told by Femininity that she needs to find Ego to "fix" things. Ego is too distracted by... well, their ego, and the thought bubble entertaining it, lmao.
Old Goose finds Mental and Emotional states trying to decipher what to do with the current situation at hand, so old Goose doubles down and throws them into a spiraling hole.
RADICAL!
I genuinely don't know what the Gloink Queen entails. I never really thought about it, but they are quite silly because they eat queer identity up to shut it up for a second or two.
Anyways, this abstracted feeling beats up the Gloink Queen, and Queer identity is left to rely on the other aspects in order to get back on the right headspace. Of course, old Goose still puts themselves above emotional state recklessly and humorously. Because who cares about emotions.
No one, that's for sure!
With that said, Empathy gets lost in the void. The void... is the void. An empty expanse with no end, the unoccupied headspace of the creator.
At the last second, Ego is able to save Empathy from this overwhelming feeling and sees the reckless abandon that had transpired inside of the headspace. Seeing this abstracted feeling, Ego does what he does best: he sweeps it under the rug as if it doesn't exist!
And so, the episode ends with a feast.
Episode 2: Candy Carrier Chaos!
Empathy is struggling to find her place in the headspace. Femininity is trying her hardest to make the space more welcoming, but of course--who listens to that gal, amirite.
Another adventure-- a distraction before order spirals out of control.
Fast forward to the truck, Old Goose throws Empathy out because she still doesn't know what to do with it. Mental state unknowingly makes things worse, and now Empathy finds herself out of bounds, and the rest of the aspects are now stuck in a sludge.
Old Goose is now trying to invalidate Femininity's opinions. but Mental state acknowledges Femininity, at least.
A moment of self-reflection (via experiencing the same thing) allows Empathy to grow, and go back up with the others.
Old Goose causes chaos because that's what she's always done, and the episode ends.
Episode 3: The Mystery of the Mildenhall Manor!
The rest of Goose is trying to see what exactly Empathy can do.
I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I think it stands for the fact that Empathy is pretty... colorful, when applied with restraint.
I did a bit of simple google search, and holding one's breath means "compassionate restraint/self-control", or rather; the desire to avoid witnessing suffering. Considering what happens later in the episode, as well as the finale, well... :)
Anyways, Old Goose is still trying to invalidate Femininity's existence as per usual. Ego can't stand not doing anything creative to distract the rest of Goose, and so-- another distraction.
Old Goose disregards Emotion, so now Mental State and Empathy go down, deeper into the headspace.
At the same time, Ego is trying to figure out what Queer Identity's deal is, and why they feel like they hate their body so much, but can't really find an answer. So they clash because this is unpresentable.
Ego is trying to recall when and why this happened, but nothing comes up.
Empathy feels pretty overwhelmed by more events that transpire, leading to Mental State having to take over the reins. The Mental State then strengthens Empathy's resolve, by bringing up one of the most important lessons: Don't let anything and anyone feel unloved.
The Mental State then applies restraint, glowing brightly as it leads the way back up. Empathy grows more confident, and even acknowledges Femininity's strength, while old Goose is tied up to say anything about it.
Episode 4: Fast Food Masquerade!
Emotional state feels depressed after interacting with Femininity, and old Goose arguing, as per usual.
She tries to find a way to not feel misery all the time, and Queer Identity suggests a mask that may or may not represent suppression of emotion in order to help with feeling "normal".
i.e, anti-depressants. Mayyyybe.
Ego forces Queer Identity to be distracted with art, so Mental state can hang back and take it easy for now.
But uh oh; Emotional state enters a manic episode due to the anti-depressant's suppressive effects-- and this directly leads to old Goose suffering.
Knowing that Goose worked at McDonalds for 10 years, well.....
Anyways, Femininity adores the idea of motherhood, or caring in general. She finds it... beautiful. Femininity even expresses the desire to have someone acknowledge her in a romantic/flirtatious sense, but it's treated like a joke.
Femininity admits she hates old Goose, but doesn't want Goose to hate her for... obvious reasons. Femininity also admits that the emotional state is much too annoying when over-the-top and pretending to be in tip-top shape.
Finally, old Goose is too emotionally and physically exhausted by the events to do anything, so old Goose... acknowledges Empathy for the first time in a genuine manner. Empathy is cautious, of course-- because old Goose has never acted like this before.
The masking now feels a bit too much, so the emotional state excuses herself momentarily in order to have a breakdown. Empathy acknowledges Emotional state's feelings, but Emotional state feels the need to go back and finish the job, so they put the mask back on.
By the end of the day, the Emotional state feels... freed. Realizing they don't want the "suppressing mask" to be on, they discard it.
Ego tries to shift the blame to other aspect of Goose (except Mental State) so that Emotional state can't be blamed for the lackluster work performance, but Emotional state owns up to it and recognizes her faults, thanks to Empathy.
Ego now thinks every aspect of Goose did a good enough job during work hours, because it's... Ego. Of course it will.
Episode 5: Untitled
You know, with how this episode opens, it's... I-I don't know how to word it-
The adventure is wet, and Kinger, being representative of Mental state, asks Ragatha (Femininity) to "count the eggs before they hatch". I.... I genuinely don't know what exactly this means, or maybe it's just an elaborate adult joke that I'm overthinking BUT MOVING ON!!!!
Ego is wounded by Queer Identity's acknowledgement of how the latest art/distraction flopped. So now, Ego is trying everything; this includes a rampant array of distractions that correlates to what others want, instead of creating for itself-- if only, to prove that creating for others aren't worth it.
... Foreshadowing is a literary devi
The stargazing part of the adventure is one of the only parts that truly holds a significance to the overall plot, since Stargazing allows us to peer into old Goose's psyche: the missing tail.
A missing tail on a rabbit symbolizes comfortability. Therefore, old Goose may have found herself comfortable with the existence of Empathy at this point-- yet still pushes Femininity away in any way she can.
Another important one is the baseball, and the noir bar part. Clearly, Femininity is struggling to keep up with the changing status quo, and slipping a few "less than stellar" things out.
That's not supposed to happen, women are supposed to be the picture perfect image of "softness", and being kind! Why is Femininity being a jerk? And baseball?? What's up with that?
At least the Mental state is proud of Femininity.
But by the end of the adventure, Femininity feels... betrayed and torn, while Ego is trying to convince every aspect to create art that isn't for others, because their art is just much better.
Episode 6: They All Get Guns!
Queer Identity is trying to hide from Ego's overbearingness, but Ego finds where it is nonetheless and is still trying to figure out what it's deal is.
As the adventure proceeds, one by one-- each aspect is shut down. Femininity thinks the toxic masculinity of old Goose is corrupting the ability to become empathetic, but old Goose is quick to shut down the idea in a fury.
Next, Mental state is out. Queer Identity and Emotional State now find solace in the flaws and strengths of their aspects; uplifting and recognizing one another and realizing they make each other happy.
Emotional State is finally having fun, even though they're not putting on a mask!
But oops, looks like the Emotional state is out for the count.
Daisy bell time! Let's scare Queer Identity with a Heteronormative song about a poor man marrying the love of his life with nothing but a bicycle to carry her off the sunset!
But Queer Identity fights back and oh boy, that's gotta hurt.
Mental State acknowledges Femininity's concern, but reminds her to not be too overbearing; and Empathy can handle it.
But old Goose wants Empathy to take it out. I'm... actually a bit hesitant to say this, but this may have been... a dark aspect of Goose's life. Of course I might be completely wrong, but it... it feels deliberate.
But in the end, she couldn't do it. Empathy repairs her bond with Femininity, but old Goose is spiraling because now, too much was revealed. She'd spent a lot of time building up the walls, only for empathy to break down the protection; and now she doesn't know what to do-- yet pretends to be nonchalant about it on the outside.
Ego is hurt, because ego tried to prove they matter, but was met with less than stellar results.
Episode 7: Beach Episode!
Now, admittedly, I don't know what the chinese room in TADC correlates to. The theories before claim that it's supposed to be a thought experiment to prove that Caine isn't sentient, but considering this is an introspection, there may be a different reason.
It could be that this is Goose telling us her Creative/Ego doesn't know/understand how to communicate things, unless she's telling us through art (which is the show)-- in-universe, this is the adventures.
And Caine made an adventure about feeling trapped. And wanting to escape. And who wants to escape the most?
Queer Identity.
.... Soooooo, anyways.... BEACH EPISODE HAHAHHAHAHAH EVERYONE'S HAVING A LOVELY DAY OUT ON THE BEACH!
Except for Goose. Oh, how close she'd come to snapping, but was able to be pulled out of it just in time with another distraction.
Ego feeds the toxic masculinity of old Goose, and it results in this downward spiral.
When it comes to the decision making of whether the aspects should be free, or if they want things to stay as is, old Goose... pressed the stay button.
Repress every aspect, for the sake of image, and Ego.
The toxic masculinity of Goose refused to express herself in a liberating way, and Ego gets a reality check-- running away from having to deal with the consequences of this choice.
Episode 8: hjsakldfhl
The choice was now weighing heavily on Goose's psyche. But old Goose doesn't want to acknowledge it-- she doesn't even wanna pretend the possibility of such freedom of expression exists. It's easier to just say it was wishful thinking on her part.
So Queer Identity sits with Emotional State on the "acceptance" sofa.
But Ego, after the intrusive thoughts gets too much, is now too blinded by the rage and is now lashing out; ever so the destructive aspect of Goose because it'd been left unchecked. The rest of Goose's aspects are now trying to temper Ego as it becomes too much, and in here:
Goose blames Queer Identity and Empathy for how things have changed for the worst. And that she was doing "fine" before these things entered her mind.
The rest of the aspects go through with the arduous distractions as Mental State tries thinking of a way to fix things.
In the end; due to the harm Ego had caused, Creativity/Ego suffers from ego death.
Episode 9: The Last Act
(N/A THUMBNAIL)
The loss of Creative/Ego makes the headspace crumble. Confidence, self-esteem and the drive to create now gone, everything spirals into chaos-- the feeling of hopelessness looming over.
But mental state once again, strengthens the resolve of every other aspects, as the headspace is being patched up. A time... for reflection, and how to continue moving forward despite how bleak it may seem at the moment. Empathy finally makes peace with Femininity.
Around this same time; Creative/Ego... who had been banished to the far corners of the headspace finally discovers the internet, and social media.
Goose begins to understand what she feels. What she's been missing.
And because of that, the old Goose, the one who's been struggling to accept the blooming identity of new Goose, has an ego death. Old Goose has officially abstracted, and the feeling can't be more tormenting.
But Creative/Ego is still struggling with the emotions. The bitterness, the perfectionism, the need to keep up appearances, the ungratefulness of others and how they'd tried so hard, but no one understood... so now, Goose makes a conscious choice: despite the tremendous hold it once had, the Creative is separated from the Ego, as creativity learns to no longer rely on such.
Goose is bidding goodbye to the Ego that had supported and uplifted the toxic ideals she once used to live by.
Jumping into Jax's psyche explains to us that:
Goose used to act ironically about their gender (Maid Jax)
Goose uses dark humor and a bit of projection in order to cope and deflect (Looney Jax)
Goose masks her emotions and tends to harm others because of it (wide-eyed Jax)
Goose loves to play music, but feels suffocated and trapped by other masks. (Piano Jax)
Empathy sees the real Goose underneath the pain. Underneath the masking, underneath the projection, underneath the harm-- all of it, now laid bare.
And in a way, we, the audience are also witnesses to the death of this bitter aspect, but we are to see the human behind it all.
Old Goose hated how it had to be this way. How she had to be picked apart and ripped open in order for the rest to thrive. But old Goose has to die, so that the other aspects are no longer held back by the toxic masculinity and the real Goose can truly be free.
And so, Empathy becomes the new lead for Goose's aspects. Even if the change is a bit too strange, maybe even a bit painful-- they learn to make do because now, Goose is finally at peace.
Ego comes back, acknowledging their mistake. Hopefully, this time around, things... can get better.
Empathy/New Goose still acknowledges the old self from time to time, and ensures that she doesn't have to go through all of what the old self went through.
Despite all odds, Goose... has found meaning in a stagnant life.
Acknowledging the dynamics across the show and what they entail!
Jax (Past Identity, repression)
Jax's interaction with Gangle signifies Goose feeling miserable with the repression, but poking fun at her own emotions.
Jax's interaction with Ragatha is Goose pushing away the idea of being a woman, and likely even hurt other women in the process.
Jax's interaction with Pomni signifies that the toxic masculinity struggled to accept Empathy as a part of Goose, and hated how it made her feel complicated things.
Jax's interaction with Zooble implies that Goose used to openly mock queer expression with misogynistic remarks.
Jax's interaction with Kinger is Goose ignoring her own mental state, leading to some psychological damage.
Jax's interaction with Caine signifies the destructive cycle of toxic masculinity and ego feeding into one another, even though old Goose hated her own ego.
Pomni (New Identity, freedom)
Pomni's interaction with Jax is about Goose recognizing how toxic her old self has been, but still choosing to love the human behind the pain.
Pomni's interaction with Ragatha starts off as sour, but overtime, develops into acceptance as Goose accepts her femininity.
Pomni's interaction with Kinger is Goose finally listening to her Mental state.
Pomni's interaction with Gangle is Goose acknowledging her emotional state, and being content.
Pomni's interaction with Zooble is Goose accepting freedom of expression.
Pomni's interaction with Caine signifies Goose keeps her ego in check and at arm's reach, as Ego can easily corrupt.
Caine (Image)
Caine's interaction with Zooble signifies the struggle of understanding Queerness initially, pre-internet.
Caine's interaction with Gangle (snapping a mask) is Goose trying to superficially ""fix"" her emotional state in a quick "easy" way.
Caine's interaction with Jax is the same reasoning as Jax's; feeding into ego and misogyny of the old self.
Caine's interaction with Ragatha (in the... awards commercial?) signifies that Goose hated her people-pleasing soft personality, and how much it feeds into the ego, but also crumples it.
Caine's interaction with Kinger is Goose's ego ignoring how bad her mental state had been this whole time.
Kinger (Growth)
Kinger's interaction with Pomni signifies the growth of empathy.
Kinger's interaction with Ragatha is Goose tempering her own femininity with knowledge.
Kinger creating Caine is pretty obvious: the mental state created ego, born from the boundless creativity of the mind.
Zooble and Gangle (Expression)
Their interaction and growth signifies that Goose has been more content ever since she was able to express her gender identity through art.
Their interactions with Ragatha signifies the idea that Goose is also expressing femininity.
Zooble's interaction with Pomni means that Goose is pretty neutral about expressing empathy.
Zooble/Gangle/Jax is a dynamic about the struggle of self-expression entirely, when facing with a toxic upbringing.
Ragatha (Existence?)
Ragatha's interaction with Pomni is Goose's mindset sympathizing with the mockery, and trying to soften the blow afterwards with optimism.
Ragatha's interaction with Kinger is the same as Kinger's reasoning.
Ragatha's interactions with Jax implies Goose's femininity feels partially responsible for the way old Goose tended to act, and sometimes wished it was the one who disappeared instead.
PROS!
The whole show is such a visceral way of exploring the convoluted mindset of living with toxic masculinity your whole life, but eventually the discovery of happiness in accepting every aspect of Goose as a trans woman.
Basically, the entire show is trans and you, AND any transphobes won't even know it until the finale releases, lol. What a way to get through the censorship, and I genuinely find that so amusing and kind of genius. Lowkey, if you rewrite TADC without all these in mind, it's actually kind of trans erasure, so be careful with your rewrites.
Goose was able to lay down a groundwork that told us her story subconsciously. We were too busy with theories and analysis to actually see that Goose is venting to us about her transformation, and the struggles she faced during it.
The entire series is a form of the creator's self-expression and I cannot deny that it's beautiful to dissect, yet subtle and symbolic in a way that I can't really pinpoint every single detail with flawless accuracy. So I may be wrong on some of my observations, and you are free to correct me about it so we can discuss further.
Goose is clearly talented, yet her art is quite abstract at times; which means you can interpret a story here (excluding The Last Act) in ways that isn't just an introspection of the author. I've seen multiple ways people interpret various scenes and messages of the show and honestly, I love when a community thrives like this. We do it for the love of the media!!!!!
The music is obviously one of the greatest aspects of the entire series. But I do have something to say about "The One Who's Running The Show".
Symbolism is subtle enough to miss during the first few rewatching, but can feel so rewarding once the puzzle pieces start clicking together.
The exploration of each aspect of Goose is intimate; it's near-impossible to miss once you know it.
Goose was correct in a sense: no one was able to predict the ending. Few knows this show is trans. And a lot of people probably never will.
The character designs are phenomenal, filled with symbolism, and not to mention: iconic. Sometimes hard to draw, but not every design has to be simplistically easy to make art of. And what they do is that they get the ideas across, and that's what makes them effective character designs.
Some visuals are genuinely stunning, and wallpaper-worthy in this series.
Most of the jokes are actually pretty funny! Ming is my favorite joke ever, alongside the entire chinese room skit. There's also the adult toy joke in episode 4 that makes me cackle like a witch LMFAO
Most characterizations were pretty cool! At first glance, you wouldn't really notice these characters are meant to be aspects.
CONS!
We were told that this was a character-driven narrative, not an introspection. I don't really like when the story I'm following lies to me, especially with something THIS important when it comes to a story that I'm captivated by.
The humans are not humans but rather, just representations of different parts of the Author. Which was another one of the longest lies going on with this series. This leads to an inconsistency in writing, which is insanely apparent with episodes post-ep 4.
The ending genuinely ruined the narrative-aspect of the show. Now, everything feels pointless and convoluted in a bad way, when you're only seeing it from the story-side.
Pomni SHOULD'VE CALLED OUT Jax. Why is everyone enabling Jax when he did so many terrible things. I get acknowledging the past self's humanity, but the past self should also be held accountable.
Caine's redemption is too lackluster in the narrative interpretation. Everything falls apart when The Last Act is interpreted in a narrative-sense.
The ending message has now become toxic. In fact, every message has been rendered null due to the execution of the ending.
The Last Act is not a case of "Death of The Author", which the rest of the episodes have.
A Deus Ex-Machina plot device is used to explain Caine's return in a bad way. Another Deus Ex-Machina plot device is used to explain Jax's psyche. The show is inconsistent with who gets to wield admin abilities or not, or what kind of reach said admin abilities have.
Jax has way too much of a presence for an ordinary narrative. It makes sense why Jax would be the main character when you consider the series to be an introspection of Gooseworx entirely, but he fails in every way as a main character in a narrative.
Pomni is not a compelling female protagonist. She does not grow, and in fact, gets worse. In a way, she's also refusing change with how much she clung to Jax, which directly contradicts the show's themes. She only "let go" because Zooble pulled her out of it, and that makes for a very confusing and concerning message if your main protagonist acts like this.
Pomni fails as a main protagonist due to how she's been set up to be.
The Abstractions are dehumanized.
Caine fails to convince the viewer of his "redemption" during The Last Act. If you want us to believe he gets accepted into the group, he shouldn't have had to go on the journey of self-reflection on his own entirely. It's a betrayal to the characterization of Caine as an AI who misunderstood humans because of lack of proper communication for the past 7 episodes.
The main protagonist/s and the main antagonist do not interact in any meaningful way. Caine, Jax and Pomni fail to meet the requirements needed for a convincing protagonist/antagonist dynamic, which a story needs.
Narrative rating? 2/10.
Creator Introspection rating? 8/10.
My criticisms about the finale:
Without the idea of this show being a deep dive into Goose's psyche, the narrative is fundamentally disjointed and all over the place. You have a main protagonist who doesn't act like a main protagonist in a hopeful setting, a protagonist who is also an antagonistic/comedically evil villain yet is sympathized and humanized to an uncomfortable degree and the narrative gives them to much leeway (and somehow absolves them of guilt, due to self-awareness? That's not how that works.), and then an antagonist who... doesn't have a very good nor believable redemption at the very last second.
When I say that the message is genuinely toxic, I mean it in a narrative way.
Pomni is empathy-incarnate told to not let anyone feel unloved, yet she doesn't show an ounce of spoken concern for Caine, even after his "death". No mourning, no trying to get into how his psyche worked, no nothing.
What you have now is a very hypocritical female lead who chases after the asshole male lead as if she's a pick-me girl, who is willing to put her own life on the line of fire simply because she saw humanity in the abstract thinking of.. arguably, the main villain of the show.
Well, then-- why does the same thing not apply to the redeemed antagonist?
Because the whole empathy thing is actually a lie. Pomni's arc is incomplete in the traditional sense, that's why. Her arc only serves to cater to Jax's, and she's nothing but a stagnant character who shows concerning signs of taking after Jax's mannerisms afterwards.
There is virtually no dynamic between Caine and Pomni as a main protagonist and antagonist-- even through the end of the Last Act. Caine has more dynamic with:
Zooble (especially them)
Ragatha
Gangle
Rather than two of the most important figures: Kinger and Pomni.
Kinger IS the creator of Caine. In a way, he's like a father to Caine; and yet, there is no change of heart on Kinger's part (or any of the humans for that matter) or a "seeing the humanity" inside Caine that the show even GAVE him a body in his core form. The show humanized Caine so much, but the chinese room skit "confirms" that despite his sentience, we're not supposed to see him as human?
What about "I don't want anyone to feel that way"? What about "the worst thing you can do is make someone feel unwanted or unloved"? What about "accept the good and bad parts of you"?
Are we really supposed to just see Caine as purely a tool who's existence does not matter in the slightest? Are the communication barriers between the AI and the humans just... non-existent, and all we need is to access the internet, remove the bad parts of yourself, and everything is swell and dandy all of a sudden?
Why is the messaging so inconsistent and biased?
It also gets a lot, LOT worse too: In episode 6, there are TWO main messages: "Don't hate the bad parts of you. Accept it just as much as you would your good side", and "Relationships are a two-way street"
But the finale puts a stop to this and nulls it with BOTH Caine and Jax, as Jax gets Pomni's unconditional love through and through while he gets to be the pushy asshole, and Caine RIPS out the "flaw" in his coding-- the Blue AI.
Apparently, the Admin AI is the only thing that's making him act like a jerk, and that he wasn't the lesser of the two. So, episode 8 is also NULL.
You cannot have both happening at the same time, because now you have a plot hole and a very, VERY terrible and hypocritical message. Everything is contradictory in terms of presentation. So what ARE we meant to believe?
What are we meant to take away from this show, if the narrative message is too disjointed to be meaningful? Both cases cannot be real, and it was episode 9's job to wrap up everything in a neat little bow, because that was what was promised to the audience but we don't get that satisfaction.
The very last message, Kinger's line of "The worst thing you can do in this world is to make someone feel unwanted and unloved", yet Pomni doesn't apply this to Caine in the slightest. In fact, she makes this worse during episode 8.
She applies this to Jax (and a bit of Ragatha), when Caine was the picture-perfect candidate for the message. It could even complete the message of Kinger's line: "don't make someone feel unwanted or unloved, but if they aren't willing to put in the effort to change, then learn to put yourself first and foremost."
Which will lead to Pomni having a completed character arc. There is no realization that Pomni's actions may deliver a very toxic message towards the younger generation. She only gives a fuck towards people who she knows about.
That's. not. meaningful.
The dynamic between Jax and Pomni is so unbelievably healthy that I just... can't stand not saying anything about it anymore. I genuinely hate how they're at the forefront of this entire thing-- Jax gets off scot-free (no, being stuck inside his own head is NOT retribution, it is a slap on the wrist because regardless of what he thinks he still preferred to be alone), Caine has a half-assed return that everyone's supposed to be happy with, and Pomni's entire character has been ruined.
Speaking of Jax...
He is NEVER confronted for his past actions. Yes, we see how "tormented" he is. But he brought this upon himself. He refused change. He refused to be open. He refused connections. He HURT. PEOPLE.
It's never about the people he's hurt over the years and how he's hurt them-- which is a LONG ASS LIST BY THE WAY-- but it's always. about. HIM.
HIS pain. HIS torment. HIS emotional spiral.
And how the rest of the characters still act as if he had changed their life. Pomni especially.
Despite the fact that Pomni saw him choking her until she nearly passed out, Pomni had NO reaction to this. She only immediately closed the door because it was a jumpscare, and it's a well-known fact that she hates jumpscares.
She wasn't disgusted by the sexual harassment Gangle undergoes in Jax's secret fantasy. Jax was PREYING on Gangle by tormenting her until she AND Zooble breaks. And then once Zooble is out of the picture, Jax INTENDS to use Gangle like a toy, and it's pretty damn explicit about it.
Zooble in Jax's fantasy is a form of mockery, in where Zooble claims that Jax killed the only one they've ever loved. When viewed into the vision of Goose, Goose used to think that loving one's self and the expression of pride is inherently selfish and narcissistic.
But when viewed on a narrative stance, Jax is so deep in his delusion that he thinks Zooble is just THAT comically caricature-ish, and that's what justifies the slapstick micro-aggressions.
But he does not get called out for any of this by Pomni, who's currently inside his mind.
He does not get to be confronted by his actions and thoughts. In fact, he is rewarded for it because he's "self-aware" and self-deprecating himself for it.
"I'm a horrible person, I know. You're not supposed to love me" Great, yeah. Great job buddy! Wow, love that you're able to say how much of a piece of shit you are. So, when do you plan to change?
Oh, right. You abstracted yourself so you don't, because you're so afraid. You want people to reach you always.
Well, that's NOT enough.
Pomni clings to him as if he was her lifeline, and their hug was so intimate. It's a pretty damn toxic relationship and I am utterly disgusted by how the show thinks this is a good thing.
I bet you 100%, they're going to sell merchandise about this, and so many are going to buy into it.
This also reminds me of what anon said:
"TL;DR if the message of the show is that one should find meaning and strength in human connections, Pomni is the thesis and Jax is the antithesis. I think that's the message Goose was going for, and I don't think it's a bad one."
While that may seem like a good thing, it's not. IT'S REALLY BAD BECAUSE POMNI DOESN'T HOLD JAX ACCOUNTABLE.
The whole thing that people use as a defense that Jax ended up being alone for eternity because of his actions doesn't work when Pomni NEVER lets him go even as he dies.
Because Jax never ended up being truly alone, and what this teaches him is that he can be as much of an asshole as he wants, because there'll always be someone who'll look past it. Which makes the entire argument about the "message" of the show, "people who push others away will end up being alone", crumble entirely.
Pomni CAN be the thesis to this theme by being headstrong and choosing to love people, but she can still hold Jax accountable for what his actions spurred on, but there is no effort put into doing this. In fact, she doesn't even consider it.
You want to know what kind of message this tells people?
"Forgive your abusers because they're the ones in pain."
Well, what about the victims? What about the damage caused to them, because one person just couldn't let go of their pain, despite the fact that they had a support group backing them?
GANGLE WAS ACTIVELY BEING PREYED ON BY JAX. AND SHE CRIED FOR HIM?? WHAT IN THE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION IS ALL OF THIS
And what does it say about Pomni, who was so adamant in seeing Jax's humanity-- but making Caine worse? Caine underwent his transformation all by himself. No support group. No assistance. Not even Bubble to accompany him in the journey, because Bubble is dead.
Where is the guy who's actively changing's support group in this? Is the message supposed to be "If you misunderstand people and end up torturing them, go isolate yourself and stalk people on social media"?
That's not an impressive transformation, that's outrageously impossible and creepy.
Caine should've had at least ONE human with him in order to meaningfully change. Kinger? Zooble? Pomni? Just... ANYONE. ANY HUMAN. AT LEAST ONE.
But no, he gets to do all of this all by himself, and no one gets to be the mediator at how "Caine has changed a lot, we should give him a chance to prove himself again" because no one was a witness to his change.
Caine is only accepted back into the group because "Oh it's so nice to have you back" as if he was an old friend who didn't just torture them with their deepest fears. NO ONE in the humans KNEW what he was going through, not even Kinger.
The most they know is his monologue of "I just wanted to fulfill my purpose!"
Like, what exactly are we meant to believe here???
Why are they suddenly so relieved that he's back??? Shouldn't they be mad, and Caine, SHOULD HAVE TO WORK HIS WAY TO MAKING THE HUMANS TRUST HIM??
Maybe not to the point of where he becomes a slave to the humans' whims, but show him putting in the work to signify his change, as the humans shift from distrustful and bitter, to genuinely forgiving him AND getting to know him as a person, and enjoying his company, congratulating his transformation?
Why is it that he got intergrated into the group so seamlessly?
And why is Pomni, the one who said "she doesn't want anyone to feel that way", WENT OUT OF HER WAY to make Caine feel that way to the most visceral degree? WHY DOESN'T SHE FEEL ANY REMORSE FOR WHAT SHE AND THE OTHERS DID TO CAINE?
THERE'S NOT EVEN A FUNERAL HELD FOR HIM! NO ONE WAS THINKING ABOUT HIM!
There's no "jumping into Caine's psyche" for this one like Pomni did to an abstracted Jax, it's just "okay bro guess you're a part of the gang now, PLAY THE DANCE NUMBER THAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE KIDS' MOVIE!!!!"
The messages has completely fallen apart because the narrative revolved around Jax too much!
AND to make matters worse: HOW IS FINDING THE IRL HUMANS' SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPOSED TO GIVE THEM PEACE.
"Oh we're brain copies of the originals, and our original human bodies are actually thriving while we're stuck in this hellhole! But it's okay, because it's a feel good ending! We need to show that even though circus Jax was a huge pile of shit, IRL Jax got better!!! AND regularly attends Zooble's gay bar!!!"
Now, I don't mind Caine giving them their names back. That's fucking beautiful, it's like them taking a part of their identities back at the very least.
BUT WOULDN'T IT MAKE A WHOLE LOT MORE SENSE IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEIR REAL SELVES WERE DOING, BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST LIKE THEY'RE CONTINUING FORWARD, DESPITE LIFE'S UNCERTAINTIES??
THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR YOU, YOU'LL STILL KEEP GOING AND LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST?
THAT EVERYONE HAS FOUND MEANING IN A STAGNANT LIFE BY KEEPING ON GOING WITH THEIR DIGITAL LIVES, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT, YOU STILL HAVE THE CONNECTIONS YOU MADE *IN THE CIRCUS*??
WHY IS IT THAT THEY NEED TO SEE HOW MUCH THEIR REAL SELVES WON AT LIFE WHILE THEY'RE STUCK IN DIGITAL HELL?
DO YOU SEE HOW RIDICULOUS THAT IS??
.....
... While I think that this is an eye-opening view into Goose's psyche, I still cannot deny that the show's ending has ruined any saving grace the narrative could have. Because jesus christ, every single troupe member in this show, abstracted or not, got character assassinated.
I see Goose's pain and struggles now, and I empathize with it, but... I think TADC shouldn't have been the place for her to dump this on all of us-- namely because we all believed this show was about humans trapped with an AI in a digital realm for the past 2 years. It's a form of false advertising that leaves the viewer feeling robbed of their time.
The end message is disjointed and loses all of it's meaning because nothing has changed. No one has learned a lesson on how the circus is supposed to work, it just suddenly works out in the end, Caine is subdued now, and we're meant to accept that.
But... despite my gripes with the show, I... I can't bring myself to hate it's entirety. It still holds a special place in my heart. Especially because I see the vision a lot clearer now.
Maybe there was a way to communicate the author's feelings without having to sacrifice the narrative, though I am choosing to look at this through an optimistic looking glass.
I hope that despite the reception, and the flaws, Goose doesn't stop creating and expressing herself. Even improve at this kind of storytelling. I just don't think I like this kind of narrative, and this kind of messaging, because there's a kind of unintended colossal damage caused by it.
And I hope this can be a moment of an intense self-reflection on Goose's part, because all that drama completely recontextualizes how we perceive TADC's meta.
Kind of like how Caine wanted to tell his art, but it ended up doing something harmful to the humans.
Hope you all enjoyed the breakdown of the series! Admittedly, it's not perfect... but I am open to discussions about it!
-Ziku
