My thoughts on The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (BIG SPOILER WARNING, so avoid if you wanna experience it blind)
I really, really liked it. It wasn’t perfect by any means, heck, I still have questions, but what series finale IS perfect, but it fulfilled my expectations, and I can’t wait to watch it again on the 19th.
1- All of Jax’s crashouts, outbursts, etc in this episode were expected, and hurtful. However it wasn’t out of character for him. Heck, that scene where Pomni tries to reach out in his mindscape and he fucking CHOKES her while staring into our souls, really frightening.
Thankfully, it didn’t feel like “forgiveness” when Pomni hugged him a few minutes later. Heck, they even gave us a scene of Gangle having conflicting feelings about his funeral and then being told that it’s ok to feel that way.
2- a lot of people may have issues with the twist that the main cast is actually brain copies instead of actual humans trapped in a VR world, but honestly…I think it fits.
It reminds me of this Black Mirror episode called White Christmas, where a woman got a bit of her brain copied into an Alexa-like tech, and the version of her inside that thing had thoughts and feelings of her own, it was basically like slavery, since the company copied her entire personality and consciousness into an AI piece and were able to literally torture her into submission.
So yeah. The characters just being copies makes sense to me. And well, their reactions to that info is understandable. They still felt like real people with real memories, and just found out that they really, truly, can’t leave. I love that they all reacted differently. Pomni trying to diffuse the situation, Jax taunting the others (“guess you still stay with mommy, Ragatha”) to avoid thinking about his human self, and Ragatha + Gangle shutting down entirely.
Ngl, at first I didn’t fully understand and thought their human bodies were dead 😅
3- I’m happy for the shippers, honestly. We got Funnybunny, funnydoll, and Abstragedy all in one episode. I still remember crying my fucking eyes out this afternoon seeing Pomni (who dislikes physical touch) hug Ragatha, and the music swelling as the camera panned around them? Omg my heart 😭 like LITERALLY I squealed, especially when I noticed Pomni tightening her grip. It helps that they continued the touchy gestures throughout the episode.
Same with Pomni hugging Jax. I cried almost as much there, and I blame Michael Kovach’s voice acting and the musical score. The way he kept holding her tighter pulled my heartstrings, man 💔 and when he said “I hate you, you know that”, I said “no you don’t.”
Astragedy, oh my lord. Their tension, whether you view it as platonic, romantic, or something else entirely, you could FEEL it. Obviously my favorite part about them in this finale was Zooble wiping away Gangle’s tears. This is corny of me to say, but I like to believe that their human counterparts eventually find each other and maybe fall in love. (Same with funnydoll, cough)
4- Jax. Oh my god, Jax. Personally, I was never a huge fan of the guy. Never found him hot, never found him endearing. But I won’t deny that he is well written and layered. It quite shocked me that he abstracted so early. I’ll admit though, there could’ve been more buildup to it. Then again, all the full abstractions were offscreen. I think if it as similar to dissociation.
I actually liked seeing his backstory with Ribbit and Kaufmo (who is voiced by Arin Hanson btw). It reshapes his reaction to Kaufmo’s funeral in episode 1 so much more.
His argument (more like a screaming match) with Ribbit on the snowy summit felt painfully realistic. It especially hurt more that these scenes were shot from a first person pov instead of third. I can’t explain it, but it doesn’t feel like it’d hit as hard if it was third person.
And then it cuts to his pov of meeting Pomni, and the altercation in the gun episode? Oh my god.
I appreciate the writers for not having Pomni’s hug magically change him back to normal. That would’ve been predictable, and more fitting for a kid’s show. And as I mentioned earlier, I like that he wasn’t 100% forgiven for bullying Gangle. She’s allowed to feel conflicted.
That being said, I do wish the writing focused just as much on Ragatha, Zooble, Gangle and Kinger. Alas, I’m not expert in the cartoon or writing industry, and at the end of the day, it’s Gooseworx’s show, and they’re allowed to write it that way. Maybe she didn’t have enough room in the time span she was allowed.
5- The reactions to Caine coming back in my theater were practically explosive. I’m guilty of saying “WHAT??” I don’t fully understand it, I think he got transported to the Void like a timeout instead of actual deletion? It wasn’t clear to me. But regardless, that was such a cool sequence, seeing how he programmed people into the Circus. Like, really cool. The animation is mwah.
I’ll admit, it felt just a little bit fast paced when Caine realized his mistakes, but hey, I like seeing likable characters admit their mistakes, flaws or crimes. Also, the bit with him yanking the blue dot out of his brain (was it Abel?) was so sick.
And just like with Jax, nobody was obligated to forgive Caine. He didn’t expect any. Heck, nobody did forgive him. Even with what he showed them later. I love you Zooble, for having such a good mindset about boundaries, communication and forgiveness.
6- finally, the ending. I’ve already seen a fair share of people complaining, saying it was corny. Which is valid. Or saying “the ending was ass” and treating it like it’s a fact. …not so valid. People are allowed to dislike or like the ending of this show. It didn’t meet everyone’s standards. But to me, whether or not it’s good is subjective. Everyone has opinions. Personally, I think it’s good! Not perfect, but good.
God, seeing the main characters’ be reassured by Caine of all people that their human selves are okay? It felt cathartic. You could feel the relief in everyone’s faces and bodies (minus Jax’s for obvious reasons). Faces that said “that’s me??” and “im going to be okay”.
Thank god, the real names of everybody weren’t boring.
Kinger is Grant and Queenie is Destiny
They’re all living their best lives in the real world. Whether or not this info is actually true, i don’t think it matters. It gives the characters peace of mind.
I don’t know why, but I didn’t actually expect the episode to use live actors to portray the Circus members’ human bodies. It’s actually super clever. Whoever the actors are (I forgot their names but they are in the credits), you did amazing. Especially Leeroy. It feels fitting that he hides his face in every photo.
ALSO! I had a feeling there was an end credits scene (the MCU trained me lol), but I did NOT expect all of the human characters to show up like that. I love that me and everyone in my theater understood the implications.
(Side note: I still love reading those old comics where the characters do get out of the Circus and meet each other in real life, those are amazing. It’s ok that they’re AUs now.)
Final thoughts: So I wouldn’t call this a “happily ever after” ending like some think it is. Jax is still abstracted, and they still have to build trust with Caine.
Remember what I compared the twist to earlier with the Black Mirror episode? It’s not just that they’re copies of brains.
Think of them as them being born again. Born into confinement, born with memories of their past life, yes, but born into what is basically a prison. Thankfully, now they can make it a home.
So, I’d say this finale is bittersweet. With a side of psychotherapy.
