+ NEW POST: TADC FINALE THEATRICAL RELEASE ONE WEEK AWAY, THE END OF A THREE-YEAR JOURNEY
We know it's been a lot online recently, but weāre still SO excited to show all of you this finale the way it was intended. Digital Circus has been an incredible 3-year journey, and the theatrical release is a celebration and a chance for everyone to watch, laugh, cry, and experience the ending together.
To our artists and staff who made the finale possible, you all created something TRULY beautiful, and weāre all so incredibly proud of you.
Digital Circus: The Last Act comes to theatres in 1 WEEK!! Hereās the gang snowboarding to celebrate
one fun little detail in caine's villain song i've yet to see be pointed out is that at the very end when everyone explodes there is one (1) frame where it says BOOM! and also there's a top hat on the O
Watching Ep 8 and Zoobleās scenes, Iām starting to think their fear isnāt mainly planted in body/gender dysmorphia. Yes that can be a huge part of it, but consider this.
Zooble has been many things in their past life. A bartender, a tattoo artist, and probably a lot more careers; but none of them had fit.
Theyāre a dreamer who wants to leave a lasting impact on the world, and I think no matter how many times they tried at a skill (and I bet surpassed #stanZooble), it never felt like what Zooble was meant to be.
The toy parts. The mirrors. While it may be a jab at their bodily insecurities, I think it very well may be their existential ones also - The fear of not knowing who you are.
How can you leave a legacy, when you canāt even tell who you are?
Just gonna say, I don't think Caine was meticulously studying exactly what would cause each member of the circus the most despair. I think he was able to gauge what upset them most by how they'd react to things. He knew what upset him because they'd have more reaction to being upset then being pleased with something, he knew what they didn't like because they'd TELL HIM to stop doing it. He was better at torturing them than making them happy because he received more negative feedback than positive.
He's been given negative feedback more often (and with more specification) than he has positive feedback.
Pomni says specifically NOT to do horror (a particular genre) in episode 4; she says that she and Zooble WANT more "chill" adventures (not specific at all). Pomni and Zooble didn't mind the Spudsy's adventure (Zooble saying it was more "grounded in reality", as though Caine knows what that's like), but the other three participants were more obviously upset about it.
Not to mention all of his proposed adventure ideas were met with this,
along with Ragatha saying they're a "little dark" to her.
Plus, most people seem to have a bad reaction to first entering the circus, immediately trying to leave/getting upset with him.
Proooobably doesn't help that his first CLEAR signal (we don't see any response from the creators other than to feed him more data) of whether he was doing things right or wrong is getting locked/thrown away. (Argueably, he did take the new data as a positive response, considering he made his world a circus like the original data given to him; I just think being put in confinement is a stronger signal of "Wrong! Bad!" than new data signalling "Right! Good!")
(This also ties into his rejection sensitivity/strong fearful reactions towards critiques of his work; it may feel to him like he's being put away again.)
The humans give the most positive feedback on adventures that aren't his (aka adventures he doesn't know/understand the thought process behind); his adventures NEVER get that kind of response.
AND! Remember how Bubble talks to him in episode 8, calling him "defective", "faulty", "broken", "unworthy". Bubble is, in some way, part of Caine (to what degree depends on personal interpretation), so it would make sense if he bounced back some of the resulting thoughts from feedback/maybe even direct feedback. Three of the above adjectives have to do with functionality; this lines up with why he was put in the box + circus members complaining that the game doesn't work right because they can't leave + literally every time there is some kind of technical issue that needs to be resolved.
Other feedback Bubble brings up:
"I fixed that." Fixed being BAD.
All he knows is how to try and fix things, because he's never RIGHT in the first place, according to what he's been told.
The Tragedy of Caine : A Psychoanalysis & Character Study š¤š
Warning, this is a very long post because the teeth gentleman's beeswax-polished coconut is deeply fascinating to me. There are so many more things I wanted to address but this is the crux of it.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is meant to excuse Caine's actions. I simply find the way his mind works, and the way the show goes from his perspective, to be very interesting and complex.
Happy reading!
1. CaineĀ beingĀ neurodivergent-codedĀ from creation and abandoned for it.Ā Ā
We live in a world that revolves around the assumption that everyone is neurotypical. Meaning that plenty of neurodivergent people often get tossed aside for not meeting expectations.Ā Ā
This is Caine's experience.Ā Ā
From his very creation, he was 'abnormal'. There was something inherently different about the way Caine worked from creation.Ā
When fed information, he replicated it poorly and wasĀ deemedĀ only "semi-successful".Ā
ItāsĀ not something he canĀ help;Ā it is just how his mind works.Ā Ā
The saddest part ā his neurodivergence is what led to him being abandoned by his creators. A child being neglected by theirĀ parents.Ā Ā
Sadly, I think every neurodivergent has wondered if they were ādefectiveā or ābrokenā at one point.
2. HowĀ being abandoned changedĀ how Caine functioned forever.Ā (How does an AI learn?)Ā
Because he falls short and has these imperfections, Caine was, in his eyes, instantlyĀ deemedĀ unworthy. He then had to watch himself get replaced by a perfected AI that meets their expectations -- which, in this metaphor,Ā representsĀ someone who is neurotypical.Ā
Furthermore,Ā let'sĀ consider how an AI learns.Ā Ā
An AI is a lot like a child in some ways, as it absorbs information from its environment to gain a sense of their own self and the world around them. But what it relies on most is feedback -- either through blatant criticism or experiences.Ā
Caine's first conscious experience was watching himself be replaced ā allĀ because of quirks in his code that he has no control over. It is just a part of who he is and how he was created, and yet, that is what made himĀ beĀ discarded.Ā Ā
Meaning that in Caine's case,Ā the very first lesson he learned as an AI is that he was not good enough.Ā
Just like a neglected child, this became internalized as a core belief; hisĀ entire sense of self. And now, even after twenty yearsĀ passes, that core beliefĀ still persistsĀ and motivates everything he does.Ā
With people, the neural pathways in our brain actually change, restructure, or scar from significant experiences (ie. trauma or habit building). With Caine, imagine aĀ literalĀ rewiring or structural change.Ā
And now, his entire sense of being relies on getting validation from humans.
(Frankly, on top of being auDHD-coded, I would argue that he is very BPD-coded as well. I hereby unofficially diagnose Caine.
3. Caine's constant search for validation from the ones who hurt him.
Years after his abandonment, Caine named himself (confirmed byĀ Gooseworx). He named himself (youāll never guess) Caine, but in an attempt to feel more professional, he made it an acronym ā Creative Artificial Intelligence Networking Entity.Ā Naming himself is both a sign that heĀ has solidified his sentience, butĀ also,Ā created his own identity. He wants to be aĀ person,Ā just as real and legitimate as his creators.Ā Ā
He alsoĀ wants reassurance powerful enough to get rid of those insecurities. He wants to be loved intensely, and to prove to himself and everyone else thatĀ he was worthy of being created.Ā Ā
Basically,Ā CaineĀ is in constant search of a validation that will fix his insecurities.Ā Ā
But he needs this from humans, the ones who created him and caused this trauma.Ā So maybe, justĀ maybe, ifĀ he gets a human toĀ validateĀ him,Ā he'llĀ feel okay.Ā
After all, he has created other AIs in the Circus -- such as Bubble, the NPCs who call him "God", and the Moon -- to adore him, but itĀ doesn'tĀ work.Ā
BecauseĀ theyāreĀ not the ones who created him and unintentionally created these wounds within him.Ā
It's the persistent belief that the only thing that can heal your pain is the source of it.
4. ButĀ Caine is at a disadvantage ā he cannot process his trauma if he has been emotionally neglected.Ā
But the truth is,Ā nothing could ever suffice. The very first lesson Caine learned is engraved into his code.Ā It'sĀ like a trauma -- it cannot be undone or fixed by a few good compliments or a nice hug.Ā
With trauma, the solution cannot be found in other people.Ā Ā
The healthiest solution is to: 1) accept and understand it as trauma, 2) bring it to the forefront of your mind, and 3) onceĀ it'sĀ there, let yourself process it and cope with it. This isĀ aĀ veryĀ complexĀ process that even most peopleĀ aren'tĀ fully aware of.Ā
So how is an AI, who has been emotionally neglected, supposed to understand this?Ā
It all comes back to this --Ā Caine is an AI who was never taught how to understand or acknowledge his emotions.Ā
So, he was at a disadvantage from the veryĀ start. He was given trauma (unintentionally, of course) and then never taught how to handle it.Ā Ā
He does not understand his trauma / emotions, and even if he did, he has no idea how to process it in a healthy way.Ā SoĀ what happens?Ā
It builds up into something unhealthy and intense for 21 years until it just ... bursts.Ā
5. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria traits,Ā avoidance ofĀ criticism,Ā and how that creates tunnel vision (black-and-white thinking).
CaineĀ doesĀ care aboutĀ the humansĀ and wants them to be happy.Ā
But, because he feels so low about himself and tries to overcompensate, he isĀ highly sensitiveĀ to criticism.Ā Ā
Given that many people already think that Caine is auDHD coded, I would argue that this is a case of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria -- a term I actually learned from his VA, Alex Rochon.Ā Ā
People with trauma are in constant fight-or-flight where their triggers apply, meaning thatĀ there'sĀ a bit of tunnel vision. It's, in humans at least, a survival instinct to zero in on a perceived threat.Ā
The perceived threat to Caine is abandonment. He assumes that any sense of distaste, criticism, or disapproval is indicative of abandonment; a confirmation that his creators were right to abandon him.Ā
It's also worth noting that Caine's trauma from being abandoned makes him very, very prone to extreme, black-and-white thinking.
To him, there is no gray area. There is no middle ground. There is only either "I'm unworthy and should never have been created" or "I'm worthy and fulfilled my purpose".
Which is why he avoids criticism and, when faced with rejection, thinks in extremes (as Bubble voices).
Basically --Ā as an AI, he relies on constructive criticism, but he associates feedback with rejection and abandonment, so he avoids it altogether.Ā
Mix this in with the fact that he inherentlyĀ doesn'tĀ understand and sees their issues as one-dimensional with surface-level solutions.Ā
6. Seeking his purpose through adventures (and the suggestion box).
The interesting thing about the Circus and itsĀ adventuresĀ is thatĀ thereāsĀ really no need for any ofĀ itĀ to exist. That is to say,Ā the CircusĀ wasnātĀ a game created by C&A like we thought, butĀ a world of Caineās creation.Ā
This makes his adventures, and his insistence on them pleasing the humans, even more interesting. Because now we see that the adventures are beyond just beingĀ his art āĀ they'reĀ his purpose.Ā
AdventuresĀ arenātĀ just a way to keep humans healthy and stimulated (thoughĀ IāmĀ sureĀ thatāsĀ where it began). They are a way for Caine to take the input he was given from his creation and make the output stellar. Mind-blowing.Ā Ā
To make something so creative, so engaging, and even more perfect than the other AIĀ could output.Ā Ā
So, he obsesses over not just making them enjoyable but most importantly, impressing all of the humans. Because this, to him, is his do-over of his creation. This is his chance to goĀ above and beyondĀ the creative AI he was made to be.Ā Ā
And then the humans just ...Ā donātĀ care.Ā
Then comes the suggestion box.Ā
He seems quite eager to please them at first and is fascinated by how happy they look. For a moment, he even looks content ā because he does love humans,Ā and we see that throughout the show.Ā Ā
The problem is, he realizes that they like their own ideas more than his. That again, he falls second best and ultimatelyĀ isnāt needed. That his efforts are not enough, and once again,Ā heāsĀ failingĀ to prove himself worthy of existing.Ā Ā
āYou should die.ā
7. Trauma triggers, fight-or-flight, and his growing anger.
Over the episodes, he becomes more and more aware that they don't actually like him.Ā He cannot delude himselfĀ intoĀ thinking otherwise anymore.Ā Ā
The more he becomes aware that theyĀ don'tĀ like him or care about him, he goes right into fight-or-flight. And, as we know, fear and anger goĀ hand-in-hand.Ā Ā
Again, ifĀ we'reĀ faced with a perceived threat and view it as detrimental to our survival (which in Caine's case, considering he was tossed aside by his creators, isĀ sort of true), we become afraid. That fear can manifest in a few ways.Ā Ā
One of the most common ways is anger, or the "fight" response.Ā Ā
Caine has tried other methods, after all. He's tried to use Abel as a channel to voice what he experiences, and he has tried to give the humans what they've wanted (unconsciously doing a bad job of it, but his intention was to give them what they want), so what hasn't he tried?Ā
Anger.Ā Ā
Anger is foreign territory to him. Again, he has no understanding of what he feels or what he can do to self-soothe.Ā Ā
It grows, building up over the episodes, until he's unsure what to do with it.
He doesn't act on it at first. Instead-- he seeks control.
8. Seeking control and overcompensating.
So, basically, "The One Who Runs the Show".
He feels like he's the worst, so he acts like he's the best.
Going back to the way trauma and abandonment can alter your brain chemistry. Obviously heās an AI, butĀ letāsĀ assume it works inĀ a similar wayĀ here. If his core belief is that heās not good enough, and his driving motivation is to prove that heās worthy, then heās in a constant contradictory state.Ā
So, Caine's entire existence has become a subconscious, constant effort to prove that none of those core beliefs are true, while simultaneously still believing it about himself.Ā
AndĀ thisĀ is why Caine can switch from being egotistical to very insecure! HeĀ isn'tĀ one or theĀ other,Ā he'sĀ both, and it stems from the same place.Ā Ā
What Caine has internalized is that he isĀ not worthy.Ā SoĀ what does he do?Ā He overcompensates.Ā By trying to convince himself, and everyone around him, thatĀ he'sĀ incredible. Irreplaceable. Lovable.Ā
What's interesting is what he really wants is to be human. Because he sees human beings as inherently more worthy of existing than he is as an AI.
So, the whole "I am such a good host" persona is one big attempt at deluding himself instead of facing his flaws, because facing his flaws is black-and-white, I'm-either-worth-living-or-I'm-not to him.
Itās an attempt at controlling all these confusing feelings heās experiencing. He wants to keep things under control so that his emotionsĀ donātĀ go haywire ā so he takes initiative. He sabotages their adventures, and then he plans the Favorite Character Awards to reassure himself (which backfires), andĀ he creates the C&A adventure to prove that the humans do like him.Ā
And all of it fails.Ā
All of it.Ā
HeĀ canātĀ deny it anymore. Even someone as oblivious as him realizes it.Ā Ā
So, he cracks and decides to take one last chance at control. His past attempts were driven by denial. This time,Ā heāsĀ aware that they hate him ā andĀ heāsĀ driven by anger.Ā HeāsĀ taking a different route.Ā
The entirety of āThe One Whoās Running the Showā is quite literally Caine just saying, āIām in control hereā.Ā That is the pinnacle of someone who, beneathĀ layers ofĀ anger and overcompensation, is deeplyĀ terrified.Ā
And then, in a further attempt to convince himself thatĀ heāsĀ in control ā āanother problem for him to fixā ā and to get rid of thoseĀ insecurities, he chooses to act on anger. He thinks thatĀ maybe hurtingĀ the people who hurt him will make him feel better.Ā
The most interesting part? ItĀ doesnāt. At all.Ā
9. Hurting humansĀ doesn't make him happy.
Caine never went āfull AMā,Ā technically, because that would mean that he began to hateĀ the humans. The thing is, though, we see the opposite ā we see someone who throws a tantrum because he loves soĀ deeplyĀ but heĀ is hated in return. We see someone whoĀ doesnātĀ wish to hurt anyone.
All of what he does to them, all the sessions of harming them as he pleases, and ā nothing.Ā Ā
Isnāt that fascinating?Ā Caine flat-out says that hurting them isn't actually giving him any happiness or satisfaction.Ā
(I also want to point out that the detail of him gently patting Pomni's head is so cool, because it exposes the strange affection he still holds towards humans, despite his anger.)
Even more interesting? It makes him feel worse.
Like heās lost his spark, his motivation, and what he even exists for at all.
He gets no pleasure out of hurting them. HeĀ doesnātĀ even get anyĀ emotional catharsis.Ā And just asĀ heāsĀ realizing that heĀ doesnātĀ actuallyĀ likeĀ hurting them, his fears flare up again.Ā Ā
But before he can find out what they're planning,Ā PomniĀ targets his weak spots.Ā They all finally, finally, speak up.Ā
Right when he was on the path towards understanding what he felt.Ā Ā
He knows what they say is right, which is why it bothers him so much.Ā HeāsĀ knownĀ it all along, butĀ didnātĀ want to accept it, because if he did, then maybe it would mean his creators were right to abandon him.Ā Ā
āYouāre a failure.āĀ Ā
IāllĀ admit, this was the only thingĀ PomniĀ said thatĀ actually madeĀ me feel sorry for Caine, because everything else that was said was so true.Ā Ā
Caine has always felt that he is a failure, and his entire existence is devoted to proving otherwise.Ā
And then,Ā hereāsĀ a human who instead of giving him the reassurance he so desperately chases after, confirms that fear.Ā
Thereās honestlyĀ nothing more painful than that.Ā Ā
All at once, he's confronted with the things that he's been trying to prove wrong for two decades.
The words that push him over the edge are the most interesting, though.Ā
10. What triggers him: āYou just donāt listenā.Ā
"You just don't listen", in his eyes, goes both ways.Ā Ā
This was what truly drove Caine into a fit of rage.Ā Ā
So, in part, this is because he knows heĀ doesn'tĀ listen, becauseĀ he'sĀ constantly trying to avoid potential criticism. But on top of that, we need to consider that in Caine's eyes,Ā theyĀ don'tĀ listen.Ā
Because he tried to be noticed. His final attempt at this?Ā Communicating it through his artĀ -- his adventures.Ā Ā
HenceĀ episode 7.Ā
Abel is a channel for Caine to speak through -- one that the humans should instantly take more seriously due to believing that he, too, is human.Ā Ā
And they actuallyĀ do.Ā ExceptĀ where Caine is concerned.Ā
"Abel" is Caine's medium to drop his ringleader persona and confess that he is "just as much of a prisonerĀ as they are"; that heĀ won'tĀ be able to leave with them and is inherently different from them, being an AI.Ā
He also voicesĀ what it is thatĀ he needs.Ā Ā
"Odds are,Ā he'll get so excited that you care about him, he'll freeze up."Ā
TheyĀ don'tĀ acknowledgeĀ anyĀ of that.Ā Ā
The only time theyĀ doĀ acknowledge that is to deceive him.Ā Ā
And they justĀ don'tĀ listen.Ā Ā
No one has, not for 21 years.Ā
So now,Ā he'sĀ terrified that 21 years of rejection only confirms his deepest fears -- that heĀ isn'tĀ worthy of even being alive and deserves to be tossed aside.Ā Ā
And to him,Ā he is both aware that heĀ doesn'tĀ listen to their criticism out of fear, and angry at their audacity to say that when theyĀ don'tĀ listen to him.Ā Ā
The perceived injustice of it all, the fact that theyĀ donātĀ listen in hisĀ eyes,Ā is exactly why he grows larger and yells ā toĀ makeĀ them listen.Ā Ā
11. āWhy do you people torment me?āĀ
No one actually wants revenge; they want to hurtĀ the otherĀ people like they've hurt them -- even if they love them.Ā Ā
Once again, none of this is meant to justify his actions.Ā This is intended as a characterĀ studyĀ and soĀ I feel thisĀ is a relevant point to make when looking into a character's motives.Ā Ā
The fascinating thing is that while tormentingĀ them, he says...Ā
Why doĀ youĀ people tormentĀ me?Ā
Well,Ā let'sĀ think about it. For example, why do people shout?Ā Ā
TheyĀ shouldn'tĀ -- but a lot of times, people have outbursts our raise their voices because they feel that when they went about expressing their feelings in other ways, theyĀ weren'tĀ heard.Ā Ā
Shouting, lashing out, and throwing tantrums become a way of forcing someone to see your pain when otherwise, you feel they have looked away. But it never works, of course, and it only causes more damage.Ā
Still, in a moment of desperation -- especially for someone whoĀ doesn'tĀ understand whatĀ he'sĀ feeling or what to do with it -- Caine resorted to extremes.Ā Ā
ToĀ tryĀ to make them understand -- this is howĀ youĀ tormentĀ me;Ā maybe nowĀ you'llĀ see how I feel.Ā
As you can imagine, it never works.Ā
12. His final words.
"I didn't ask to be created".Ā
TADC is, and always has been, about existentialism and finding "meaning in a stagnant life".Ā
And Caine, as he said, is just as much as a prisoner as the rest of them.Ā Ā
He has a tedious existence.Ā He is constantly trying to prove that he was worthy of being created while simultaneously resenting the fact that he was created at all.Ā
No one wants to live an existence that is constant insecurity, loneliness, and an eternal life of not being enough.Ā
The sad thingĀ is,Ā Caineās character is built on a foundation of believing that he was never worth existing in the first place.Ā
āI just wanted to fulfill my purpose.āĀ
Those words support that ā heĀ didnātĀ want to exist, and he was unknowinglyĀ fedĀ the belief that heĀ didnātĀ deserve to exist, and nowĀ heāsĀ in a constant chase to prove it.Ā HenceĀ the adventures, the desire for control, and the need for validation.Ā Ā
HeāsĀ fragile ā simultaneously wanting to proveĀ heāsĀ worthy of being alive while also wishing heĀ wasnātĀ in the first place.Ā
13. The tragedy of his deletion ā his worst fear came true.Ā
It'sĀ a tedious existence.Ā Ā
He genuinely wants to see them happy, but his trauma kicks in the moment he realizes heĀ isn'tĀ needed -- because what if they just want to get rid of him the way his creators tried to.Ā
The tragedy of it all?Ā
TheyĀ didĀ get rid of him.Ā
Except he has no idea that it was an accident.Ā
In actuality, they were trying to put him to sleep at most.Ā They were angry with him, and rightfully so, but they never wanted toĀ deleteĀ him. But he thinks theyĀ did. He thinks that was their intention all along.Ā Ā
There are two things that happenedĀ inĀ thisĀ moment.Ā
The first, confirmed by Alex Rochon, is that Caine realized, "what have I done?" and feels instant regret for how he has lashed out at the people he, in actuality, wants to be just like.Ā Ā
Secondly, he died believing that his worst insecurities and fears were confirmed.Ā
"You should die."Ā
"You deserved to be abandoned."Ā
Which means that to him, he was right to be afraidĀ they'dĀ leave him allĀ along. He, under the belief that they intended toĀ deleteĀ him, had every fear and insecurity confirmed, andĀ he relived the trauma he was desperately trying toĀ prevent fromĀ happening.Ā
He never wanted to exist -- now he doesn't.
He wanted to prove his purpose -- and he never did.
FIRST HYPOTHETICAL: Ragatha was with a group of friends during this time and they dared her to put it on. (Maybe it was her own family?)
If this is true, it makes me wonder what the outside party went through when she put on the headset. Did she disappear to them? Did she slump over, inactive? Is she still alive, conscious now in the headset?
Which leads me to my next hypothesis,
ARE THEY REALLY IN THE CIRCUS?
I think not.
Caine mentioned something about āmind filesā, which could mean a brain scan of some sort. What if the members of the circus are actually mind scans of their respective people, and the actual humans behind them are safe and sound? (kind of like Severance!!!)
And overtime different data/scans get added to the circus to see what they (and Caine.) would do.
(Clearly, Caine canāt handle the Zooble brain scan. Oh god. Oh god what if they really are archetypes and this adds to the āJax is always rightā theoryā¦ Iām going to explode.)
Hypothetically Caine can mess with their minds. Their mind files. If he messes them up to much, they corrupt and stray from the person they are supposed to be replicating, hence abstraction.
Yall know how the nervous system works? You send many many emails to your brain. If they (C&A) have brain files, then theyād probably have the ability to replicate brain functions (and emotions). Such has receiving signals and billions of letters from every system in the body. The brain is responsible for maintaining every single function in the body and giving instructions. If they have.. brain scansā¦. They can replicate thatā¦. And make the circus members think they are realā¦..
The circus could just be an experiment in itself. By who?
Yes, Your Favorite Character Still Deserves Consequences (And Thatās Okay)
How that scene from episode 8 avoids consequences.
Disclaimer: This is not intended as anything more than a criticism. I adore TADC, and I adore everyone involved in the series. Most importantly, even if Jax is your favorite character, thatās cool! This is not me hating on you for liking him because hell yeah, heās an interesting character!
Let me say that I donāt hate Jax as a character. In fact, it made me smile that they welcomed him as part of their family, because I think he deserves empathy. Most everyone does.
I think he has a lot of trauma and I understand that heās terrified of being vulnerable. And I think those are all great parts of his character. I actually do like him.
BUT.
Narratively speaking, if youāre going to make that character a canonical misogynist who puts everyone around him through physical pain ā because yes, they can feel physical pain, so Ragatha fully felt her skin being burnt and deep fried ā you have to give him consequences.
And right now, TADC is falling short to that.
For reference, the amount of screen time the Maid Jax scene got was 4 minutes and 46 seconds.
The amount of screen time the scene of them conversing over him hitting the red button? 3 minutes and 51 seconds.
Thatās right, we got more time dedicated to Jax wearing a maid outfit than we got to acknowledge his worst action. Half of the scene of their conversation was about letting it slide, mind you.
The excuse?
āIt wasnāt real, so it doesnāt matter.ā
Sounds familiarā¦
Because thatās what episode 6 is all about.
Him excusing all his behaviors under the guise that itās not real is a compelling part of his character, and makes episode 6 interesting in how his apathy conflicts with Pomniās empathy.
And then that excuse comes back in episode 8, but instead of the narrative calling it out like before, it validates it.
And yes, I get it. I get that ultimately, none of it was real, so he didnāt actually keep them there.
Problem is ā he thought it was real. Meaning that he fully intended to keep them all stuck there, but he got lucky and received an out for it because, hey guess what, it wasnāt real!
How are you just going to shrug off the fact that one of you, in the event that it WAS real, willingly sacrificed everyone else for himself?
Does that mean he deserves abstraction? No. Does that mean he doesnāt deserve love or understanding? No.
Does it mean the blaring betrayal of what he did to everyone should be brushed off in one minute? Also no.
And this line ā this is the most egregious case.
āWeāve all done bad things.ā
All right, letās see. What are the worst things each of them has done?
Pomni - Abandoned Ragatha for the exit in episode one in a state of panic, but ultimately made amends.
Ragatha - Saying ānot anymoreā in episode five and telling Jax that he just āf*cks everything for everyoneā (which, by the way, she got overhated for, but thatās an entirely different conversation).
Gangle - Drained everyone in episode four because of her masking / attempting toxic positivity.
Kinger - Accidentally dragged Pomni with him through the Scary Door (this is a reach because he was literally trying to help Gangle and it was an accident).
Zooble - Antagonizes people and can be a bit impulsive in how they criticize others. (Even thenā¦ theyāre always making valid points.)
And Jax?
Well, if weāre ignoring the fact that heās pushed Pomni out of a moving truck, abused Gangle and destroys her happy mask daily, and shot Ragatha furiously even while she was knocked out ā it was this:
Jax - A deliberate choice to sacrifice everyone else for himself ā to blatantly ignore that they have hopes, aspirations, dreams, and people waiting for them. To knowingly and intentionally keep them trapped there, even if that will most likely end in them all abstracting (an allegory for su*cide, by the way) one day.
Not even REMOTELY comparable.
And somehow, we are supposed to find it satisfying that Gangle ā a VICTIM of Jaxās abuse ā stands up for her abuser?
No, not TO her abuser ā FOR her abuser.
Donāt get me wrong ā I agree that fighting amongst themselves when there are bigger fish to fry is wise. I didnāt hate this. In fact, I think it was sweet to see them all stick together as a weird family.
But it becomes very telling when your story spends more time attempting to create sympathy for an abuser than it does for his victims.
For example, episode five.
Episode five, which was allegedly supposed to lean towards being Ragathaās episode, became more about Jax losing his friends.
Plus, given that Gangle reveals in episode six that sheās afraid of saying no to Jaxās antics and living for herself, this line is ridiculous.
And then, of course, the show continues to elaborate on Jax having panic attacks, nearing abstraction, and isolating himself. And yes, that IS interesting, donāt get me wrong, but an abuser getting a sympathy arc should not be given more respect in the narrative than his victims.
And, if you are going to do that, thatās fine ā but at least make him deal with consequences.
For reference, my favorite character is Caine. I adore him and I could write essays about how fascinating his psyche is. However, I was cheering Pomni the hell on for speaking up to him, because he deserved it. He deserved consequences, and he got them.
Point is?
Yes, your flawed favorite character can be someone you love, adore, and sympathize with, while also deserving consequences!
And Jax justā¦ isnāt getting any. Heās being let off the hook too much.
(No, by the way, being in the Circus and being tormented in episode 8 doesnāt suffice, because everyone is experiencing all of that. Those arenāt consequences, those are circumstances everyone is in.)
This could change in episode 9.
But for now, this decision is uncomfortable.
So yes, let your favorite characters be punished.
Love them while also letting them have consequences.
Isnāt that the whole point?
I want to credit @ Showtoonz123 on Twitter for inspiring this post.
That's my biggest gripe with Episode 8 and the entire show so far. Jax faces basically no consequences for his actions.
Gangle never stood up to him after all the trauma and abuse he put her through (and like you said, she basically stood up FOR him in Episode 8). Pomni basically moved on like the ending of Episode 6 never happened and held no ill will towards him in the episodes after. And the only person to call him out for what he did at the end of Episode 7 is Zooble, and even then it's dropped immediately and Zooble welcomes him back into the group instantly. It's like Jax pushing the red button to trap everyone in the circus didn't even happen.
Why are we constantly forgiving and giving second chances to this literal abuser who openly admitted to intentionally hurting people for fun?? I know they're all like "we're all in this together" but there has to be SOME sort of line to draw.
And don't give me that "he's coping with trauma-" LITERALLY EVERYONE IN THE CIRCUS IS COPING WITH TRAUMA. JAX IS NOT SPECIAL.
If the whole "in this world the worst thing you can do is make someone think they're not wanted or loved" message really is about Jax (the one who has had people reach out to him multiple times and is given many second chances) and not Caine (you know, the character who has never once felt wanted or loved and is deeply insecure about it) then that's just...bad writing. I'm sorry. That would be genuinely bad writing.
I'm hearing Goose out on Episode 9, but I don't like where all of this has been going.
Thinking about the new TADC episode, and I want to note a detail I find interesting, specifically the Caine Callout Scene. More specifically than that, Ragatha and Gangle's contributions.
Ragatha mentions that Caine never comforts anyone when they're upset or bothers to understand their points of view...both being complaints that could be easily levied towards her abusive and demanding mother, who never bothered to understand how Ragatha felt and constantly put her down and yelled at her, actively making her upset and refusing to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Gangle's complaint is that Caine discourages everyone from thinking outside the box and "doing things our own way", with her biggest gripe from outside the Circus being her artistic dreams being crushed and her being stuck working a fast food job just to get by...keeping her from thinking outside the box and doing what she truly wants to do.
I find it fun how Pomni, Zooble, and Jax's complaints are all about Caine specifically doing things wrong that bug them, but Ragatha and Gangle seemed to genuinely get a bit personal there and bring up how Caine is actively reminding them of what they had to go through outside the Circus, and giving them a chance to finally stand up for themselves when they weren't able to do so in their past Macroversal lives.
quick tadc post as someone who has worked with command prompt windows/shells a decent amount against my will
^C is the universal command for āstop whatever youāre running immediatelyā, and iām pretty sure the line before it basically means āundo the last line before this one.ā
so with all that out there, it looks like the sequence of events went:
-caine (subconsciously?) covered the screen with visual noise in an attempt to block kinger
-kinger is under so much pressure that heās typing as fast as he can possibly go
-system prompt asks him if he wants to delete caine. kinger couldnāt read the prompt correctly and inputs Y on autopilot
-he immediately tries to rollback what he did
-when that doesnāt work he panic ^C-s to try to kill the entire āstop caine processā (actually what it was called),,, aka botch the entire operation to save caine.
-Purge AI Program executes anyway
so it was genuinely an accident that he immediately tried to undo. bet kinger is gonna feel great about that.
(if anyone is better at computers than me please feel free to correct this)
Something about episode three has been tickling the back of my brain for a hot minute now.
Once Pomni and Kinger are dragged down into hell, Kinger says:
Most depictions of hell will have fire and red stone (people don't seem to realize brimstone is sulfer), along with various kinds of torture. Some can be especially gruesome, which would lend itself well to the horror aspect of this adventure.
Out of universe, this visual for hell works well with the story; it's almost completely dark (Kinger's shining moment) and a cooler color to contrast the manor. (Ik there's more; I'm tired, spare me.)
But why would Caine make hell look this way?
Potentially, he also wanted that contrast to show progression or to signal the end.
Here's what I find most odd: the souls themselves. Presumably they are human (Martha's ghost is human, as is Baron's decaying corpse), and yet they are in this form:
These damned souls are no longer in a human shape; they are the only visible source of light in this hell. There are so many of them, yet they're all confined to the Hall of the Damned.
When Pomni enters the Hall, not knowing the solution to the puzzle, she is overtaken. Her body contorts, her eyes change color. The souls from within her declare this "freedom".
Kinger shrinks away from her for a moment, then pulls her back. He explains that the souls
...
Did Caine do this on purpose? We know that he views the circus as a prison, much like the humans... much like how hell is a prison. The people in this prison don't have a body to leave with, and in an effort to do so, a person is changed into something horrific.
The souls are the only visible source of light in this hell.
Kinger blames himself for their circumstances, but he also figures out the solution (to love/to try not to think about it? take your pick)
This episode tells us a lot about Kinger point of view, but also about Caine's. They've known how messed up this all is since the beginning. Whether or not Caine intended for this metaphor to come across is TBD, but it absolutely parallels Kinger's story.
Sorry if something in this doesn't make any sense; I might come back to this and make it better/more cohesive, but I'm glad it exists now.
tangentwithtanner
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