Jake's Mind Palace

20 something . he/him. gay. In love with all things animation since birth and now I get to share my unhealthy obsession with you. I also have a YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCnccPnuTJyS3Fi2ygUcxypw

[jakesmindpalace]

*Me starting to finally fall asleep after laying in bed for who knows how long!*

"Do you think Zooble ever feels guilty about not going on the old adventures because their absence made it all the easier for Jax to torment Gangle?"

[jakesmindpalace]

Maybe i'm crazy and seeing things (admittedly, it was much more noticeable in theatres) but I swear there is a tint of bisexual lighting during the Pomni and Ragatha hug.

[keijakku]

oh my god .... i'm cake

[jakesmindpalace]

Digital Circus animatic concept I thought of today!

I don't know if anyone on here has heard "We Are the Tigers" (then again, this is Tumblr).

It's an off-broadway musical from 2019. Recently i've been listening to one of the songs again called "Before the Breakdown."

While I was singing it at work today, I started vividly picturing a Digital Circus animatic set to the song because so many of the lyrics correlate to abstraction. This idea of running from the inevitably of losing yourself to your own mind. Just ignore the lyrics that specifically mention them being in high school.

However, I am not an artist (I haven't drawn properly in over a decade), so i'm just gonna describe it best I can.

The animatic takes place in multiple eras of the circus, with the main focus being on Queenie, Ribbit, and Ragatha. (the others join in for the chorus parts)

Ribbit's section takes place right after her and Jax's fight on the snowy summit. While Ragatha's takes place during episode 6 (when she's by herself after being eliminated first, before her talk with Kinger). Queenie is right after someone else has abstracted, leaving only her and Kinger left in the circus.

There's a lot of cool split screen effects, where the other characters show up in reflections. Could also do something interesting, like Ragatha walking down the corridor where all their rooms are and the crossed out pictures on the doors sing with her as she passes them.

Every chorus keeps flashing between the 3 of them as they fall into the metaphorical abyss that represents abstraction from episode 2 and 9.

Towards the end of the song, Queenie and Ribbit fade into the darkness while Ragatha is pulled out by the others (shown the same way it was with Pomni as all their hands grab onto hers).

The very last line of the song is done by Ribbit as it's the same picture of her, Jax and Kaufmo we've seen before. Then it zooms out to reveal a very tired Jax right before her eye starts to glitch out.

For my entire shift, I just kept picturing everything so clearly, down to what characters got which lines. I'd never be able to actually do it. But hopefully you see the vision.

[jakesmindpalace]

People are honestly saying Jax abstracting in the finale came out of nowhere and had no build-up....like she hadn't been on the brink since the ending of episode 6.

[m-o-n-o-c-h-r-o-m-e]

This is Kinger's silly way of reasuring Caine

[jakesmindpalace]

Glitch can torment Caine all they want, so long as I get to keep seeing him post episode 9!

[jakesmindpalace]

This is gonna tick some people off, but i've gotta say it-

The Amazing Digital Circus was not a lore show!

So much of the discourse i've been seeing since the finale is about how it didn't meticulously spell out every single miniscule detail for the audience and failed to answer questions the show itself never brought up. And therefore, the show is bad now.

We weren't given an intimate understanding of the innerworkings of C&A, or a full backstory for the blue AI, or an explanation for how the computer housing the circus was still running despite it being in an abandoned building BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER!

This show is about human connection, empathy, identity, and mental health. Not learning about the history of a failed 90's tech start-up! I could not care 1 iota how implausible it is that a program made in the 90s could connect to a wifi hotspot because it's such an emotionally satisfying payoff to the character's journeys.

The blue AI is a complete non entity. We don't learn anymore about it because it wouldn't serve any purpose to the story being told. It is a symbol of Caine's selfishness, and him letting it go represents accepting responsibility for his actions and starting to make amends. THAT'S IT!

I see so many people trying to jam this square peg into the circle hole and then getting mad that it didn't fit. It's this kind of pedentic complaining about inconsequential details that has led to many of the problems with modern entertainment. This is how we wound up with the Disney remakes!

And it's funny when I know for a fact that if the finale had an extra 10 minutes purley about spoonfeeding the audience a bunch of exposition about all this extra stuff, they'd complain about that.

I spent 3 years obsessed with a wonderful show that explored what it means to be human, how community and connection can lift us up, and finding hope even in the darkest hour. And it did that exceptionally well from beginning to end.

I don't care that the background has inconsistencies or elements that don't make sense, when the foreground is one of the most emotionally compelling and thoughtful narratives i've ever experienced.

This was an utterly magical forest we got to walk through. So maybe stop fixating on a few trees that didn't have as many branches as you wanted.

[jakesmindpalace]

Because the finale technically premiered in theatres, that means it's very possible that THIS is the final time we'll ever see animated Jax.

[jakesmindpalace]

My obsession with (and not so subtle attraction to) Caine is honestly kinda hilarious.

Cause I just know for a fact that if child me saw this thing-

He would've been having nightmares for weeks!

[jakesmindpalace]

The one line from the finale I can't stop thinking about...

"You're not supposed to miss me. You're not supposed to love me. This isn't how this is supposed to go!"

Jax's self isolation and cruelty towards others were both a thinly veiled coverup for her insecurities and a way of stopping her from getting close to others so she'd never have to feel the pain of losing someone like Ribbit or Kaufmo again.

But she also saw it as a selfless act in a sense. That she was doing everyone else a favour. It wasn't only about sparing herself the pain, but the others. That she wanted them all to hate her so that when she abstracted (something she saw as inevitable), they wouldn't be hurt like she was.

She wanted them to move on and forget about her.

Yet, even after all the pain she caused trying to achieve this, it didn't work. Because all of them saw through the act.

But she'll never know that...

[jakesmindpalace]

Upload me to the circus and I be going for that any% abstraction speedrun

[jakesmindpalace]

I am being very normal about this sequence.

[jakesmindpalace]

The one very minor (miniscule) problem I have with the finale is how it doesn't give clarification on what happened when Caine got deleted/moved to the recycling bin.

Kinger says Caine was messing with the console while he was working on the code, which points to my theory that Caine (whether consciously or unconsciously) deleted himself in that moment. Cause that makes sense. He was spiralling in that moment to a point where he straight up says "I never asked to be created!" So, in his breakdown where he completely lost control, he took over the console for a moment and deleted himself. Then suddenly woke up, finally saw the pain he was causng and immediately regretted it. But by then, it was too late.

But then, in the void, when Caine is fighting his own ego, that whole thing was about how they killed him. I suppose you can say Caine misread the situation. But again, Kinger says Caine was messing with the console when it happened.

I don't really care overall. It's not like I need every miniscule thing spelt out for me especially when, from a thematic and character development standpoint, the finale is nearly flawless. It was just something I couldn't help ponder when I saw it in theatres the second time.

[jakesmindpalace]

The video is great and all, but this was my favourite part of Caine's apology!

One of the first things he did to show how serious he was about making things right with everyone was implementing one of the changes that had been requested in the past. One he was initially dismissive of.

THAT IS GROWTH RIGHT THERE!

[3hkowalski]

Your Breakthrough

this scene is so powerful! I’m speechless...

[jakesmindpalace]

Not to be that guy, but I think people are reading FAR too much into this interaction.

All that is happening is Caine is a little startled when everyone suddenly crowds around him to give their suggestions as he struggles to keep up. You literally see him shrink as they continue popping up and talking over each other while he's trying his best to write everything down.

My boy isn't scared of them. He's just a little overwhelmed in this moment.