Aiden Clark Analysis
Before I get into the analysis I wanted to state a few things/give an introduction to the post. Firstly, since we only have so much of Aiden's backstory and character, a lot of this is me taking implications and sharing my interpretation of it.
Since SBG is still ongoing I'll likely come back and edit this post every so often once season 3 comes out and as his character progresses. I'll obviously edit this when we get his backstory as currently all we have is theories/implications.
In the past I've incorporated relationships in these analyses but I intend on doing these entirely separately (however you can find links to these posts at the bottom of this post or on my masterlist and ill add them as I write them)
Things I found important to note
Aiden's ADHD (canon - Red)
Aiden being suicidal (canon - story)
Aiden's attachment issues (canon - Red)
Aiden's implied depression
Aiden's implied neglect
Aiden's lack of social skills & boundaries
Aiden's self hatred
canon - story = confirmed through the comic
canon - Red = confirmed by Red on insta
anything implied is my interpretation of things Red has stated and/or things hinted through the comic
Aiden & Psychopathy
Feel free to skip this portion but I really want to talk about this because this interpretation of Aiden's character always really annoyed me. Especially since it couldn't be farther from the truth.
I know most people probably aren't serious with these claims but I have seen people say that they truly believe he's a sociopath (also ASPD). Most of the time it's based in sterotypes which are not only incorrect, but are harmful.
The biggest reason people may mix these up is because Aiden has ADHD (& likely depression) two diagnoses that share signs.
*ASPD = Antisocial Personality Disorder (clinical diagnosis for sociopathy & psychopathy)
Signs of ASPD include:
Agression towards others
Reckless & Impulsive behaviour
Feelings of superiority
Manipulating or deceiving others
Lack of responsibility
Lack of remorse, regret, or concern for others
Reckless disregard for the safety of others or themselves
^ this isnt me claiming all people with aspd are inherently evil
Signs of ADHD:
Difficulty focusing
Restlessness
Talking a lot/Rambling
Impulsivety
Signs of Depression:
irritability
feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
insomnia
tiredness/lack of energy
changing appetite
restlessness
feelings of worthlessness or guilt
trouble concentrating
reoccurring thoughts of death & suicide
Now let's delve into it briefly.
The ONLY signs of ASPD Aiden actually has are impulsivity and reckless disregard for the safety of himself (and occasionally others). However, those can be chalked up to his other diagnoses.
Impulsiveness -> His ADHD, I don't feel like I need to delve into that, it's self explanatory.
Reckless endangerment -> Aiden simply doesn't care about his wellbeing, he doesn't care what happens to him because he doesn't care if he lives or dies. These instances can often occur in those with depression.
It's basically the idea of "Oh, I'm not planning on killing myself, but if I did die I'd be okay with it."
I say "(and occasionally others)" while thinking of the scene where he's going to pull Tyler to the edge of the bridge. In no way would Aiden choose to go out of his way to intentionally hurt Tyler but in that moment he was making an impulsive decision (to which he thought about it and realized he didn't want to hurt him).
And that's my biggest indicator that Aiden isn't a psychopath, he FEELS remorse, he blames himself for getting Ashlyn hurt. He feels guilt, he's able to feel guilt. He also very obviously feels concern for people.
I've seen people say he struggles with empathy but in my mind it's most likely he'd just be the type to use cognitive empathy rather than emotional empathy.
Even so, you can also chalk that up to his lack of knowledge on social situations, which is due to him being mostly isolated his whole life.
Anyway there's my little rant now onto the ACTUAL analysis.
Diving into Aiden's Psychology & Neglect
Due to the nature of his parents' work, Aiden hopped from place to place his whole life. He never stayed anywhere for long, not bothering to so much as remember the city names since he knew he wouldn't be there long enough for it to matter.
A multitude of studies say that children who move around a lot become more likely to develop depression later in life. They also are more likely to have difficulty with social situations.
(Theory ->) From the looks of one of his childhood rooms, Aiden would be left alone for long periods of time. Instant ramen, empty soda cans, and water bottles were scattered around his room. In that same panel, you can see a huge box full of ramen cups on the shelf, paired with two other boxes of the same size.
The way I see it, his parents were likely fully focused on their careers rather than their son so they often left him to fend for himself. When asked if his parents would notice a package being delivered, Aiden mentions that they wouldn't be home for months. The way he says it casually without any indication that it's out of the ordinary, (in my mind) only further proves my stance that they've left him alone before.
I've seen a lot of people theorize that they could be abusive but the way I see it they likely prioritized their work and ended up neglecting him. I feel that this is where his attachment issues developed, as more often than not, it stems from scenarios where a child's relationship with their parent isn't how it should be (in this case neglect).
Daniel mentioned Aiden was super quiet as a kid. Maybe he got to a point where he stopped trying to seek their attention and just retracted into himself and his depression. Maybe it was the isolation due to the neglect & lack of stability. There's a lot that's left unanswered at the moment.
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I don't know enough about attachment issues to go insanely in depth about this but Red once said on Insta that Aiden's attached to Ashlyn (at the time of publication she wasn't sure if it was romantic or not, she has yet to say otherwise), and this is obvious, you can see it in their dynamic.
Aiden moved to Alto with the goal of finding a real friend (I'm gonna delve into this a bit later). Here he met Ashlyn, whom he characterized as someone who wouldn't get close to others unless they actually meant something to her. I've always taken this as him not just looking for someone he could form a bond with, but hoping to find someone who he would matter to. Wanting to be cared about in a way he had never been before.
Another sign of attachment issues is difficulties with boundaries, but I feel like I can tie this heavily into his isolation, ADHD, & lack of social skills.
Aiden mentioned two things I think are worth noting for this point. First, that due to moving around a lot he just casually talked to people passing by, no one who cared about him and no one he knew long enough to care about. Second, he was still getting used to the whole boundaries concept.
The biggest thing I feel like I should reiterate (but probably don't need to) is that Aiden didn't push into Ashlyn's bubble with any ill intentions, he was doing it because he wasn't mentally able to notice and pick up on the cues that she wanted space. Not being able to pick up on social cues is also a huge sign of being neurodivergent.
In general, I think this issue could also be heavily due to being isolated and not having anyone to teach him what to do and what not to do. It wasn't a prevalent issue for him because he didn't have anyone around him whom he needed to worry about.
This is also one of his biggest developmental points. As mentioned above he tells Ashlyn that he still doesn't fully understand the whole concept of boundaries, however, him pulling back and worrying about being too close, shows that he's actively trying to work on it. He cares about the people around him and doesn't want to be the reason they're uncomfortable.
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Shifting away from his attachment issues I want to discuss his implied depression and canon suicidal tendencies/ideation.
While I could delve into why specifically I believe Aiden's non-confirmed diagnosis is depression, I want to talk about his suicidal thoughts & tendencies first then more into the signs of depression I see in Aiden.
Starting with his "So that's what it feels like." comment. While I've seen many people interpret it in many different ways, the way I always saw it was Aiden referring to him dying.
I don't think it's a coincidence that we got THAT specific panel where little Aiden is lying alone in bed. In my mind, he was thinking directly back to a moment in his life where he was actively thinking about dying.
Suicidal ideation doesn't always mean "I'm gonna kill myself". It could be someone hoping that they go to sleep and don't wake up in the morning, or thinking about walking into oncoming traffic so they could get hit and die that way. It probably could include "I'm going to jump off this 13-foot wall and hope that the fall is far enough to kill me."
You see where I'm going with this?
Now we also have this major dialogue point from Aiden's conversation with Tyler:
Tyler -> "You didn't care about dying at all did you? Even from the beginning you-"
Aiden -> "[...] but I didn't want to actually die."
Aiden's phantom "conscious" -> "LIAR."
Followed by Aiden immediately brushing it off and getting out of the situation before Tyler can continue pressing him on the topic.
While Tyler took weeks to recover, Aiden only took a couple of days, because dying didn't affect him. He wasn't negatively impacted by it because he had finally gotten what he wanted. He did what he had always done, brushed it off, and acted like it was fine.
There's a recurring theme with Aiden where whenever he's vulnerable about something or stuck in a situation where he feels cornered he'll do what he can to push it aside and act like he's unaffected. For example his conversation with Ashlyn in front of the family photo, him hiding his injury on the run for the jeep, and him right after he died.
This isn't to say he's never been vulnerable in front of them. Take the time Ashlyn got hurt during the jeep run, or his apology after that (even though he was still keeping up a facade). The biggest time was when Tyler died, even if he kept a smile after they got him down, he was still terrified. He was also openly scared in the hospital waiting room.
The common action even in these situations is to revert to his act whenever he can. He tries his best to hide how he feels, and there could be a plethora of reasons for this but again reminder, I'm making this with crumbs of his backstory.
^ I go into this a bit more farther down.
Turning away from the suicide aspect I wanted to highlight acouple smaller things I’ve noticed throughout the story that could help further my idea that the backstory spoiler diagnosis could be depression.
Changing appetite -> I’ve noticed through the story (specifically season one) there’s various instances where Aiden just doesn't eat at all during lunch, instead opting to play with the food.
Insomnia -> I feel like this one is self-explanatory but while his eye bags could be—and probably are—a huge indicator that he doesn't sleep as well as he should. There’s also the fact that in most sleeping/night panels he’s almost always awake during them. With the exception of the cuddle pile in season two.
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Circling back to the jeep run, let's talk about Aiden's guilt, because no one really talks about it despite it being a huge part of his character (in my opinion).
We’re all aware of what occurred, his actions got himself injured, leading to Ashlyn being grabbed by the phantom. While no one held it against him, we know that he internalized that guilt. When pulling Tyler to the edge he remembers that moment in particular, thinking back to a time he got his friend hurt. He still feels immense guilty about that.
This was also the big event that began the turning point for all the characters, so it's understandable that whatever he was feeling in this moment would be something that stuck with him.
It's clear in the way he kept apologizing—both on the roof and in the school—that it’s an event that Aiden feels deep remorse and guilt over. In general Aiden likely struggles with self-worth which would, in turn, fuel the flame.
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Another thing I've noticed is Aiden's lack of trust/vulnerability, which can be a product of his neglect, self-hatred, and depression.
At this point in the series, Aiden remains the only teen who has yet to let the others in. I think a lot of things can factor into this. You could say that his neglect led him to feel as if he's better off not telling people what's wrong and/or internalizing it. It could have something to do with his lack of trust, maybe he feels as if he can't trust his friends with this because his trust was broken before.
While those are mostly speculation my main thought is that it likely just has to do with the fact that there are a ton of people with depression who simply hide it or don't want to let others see this side of them. There could be a multitude of reasons for this. Maybe he's using his humour mask as a way to try and combat the feeling or maybe he just doesn't want to burden others. Maybe he feels like he's not worth the help and would rather try to make others feel better.
There's also a huge likelihood that he doesn't want to show he's depressed because he either doesn't want to be defined by it or doesn't want it to be a part of his image, and that's the one I want to try and lean towards since I feel like Aiden's self-hatred could play a huge role in his character when you think about it.
I know a lot of this stuff is speculation or I'm not giving straight answers but that's since we truly don't have any. We've been inside Aiden's head twice and only one of those times had dialogue. We actually have no real idea as to why he thinks and works the way he does or what exact things occurred to make him this way. A lot of this was just me trying to shed light on all the things that COULD be occurring in his head.
I'm also in no way a professional (obviously) and I don't deal with really any of these so I couldn't write this analysis the way someone with these disorders or struggles could. A lot of what I'm saying is surface-level information I've researched about the topics at hand. If anyone has further insight into these topics please do feel free to educate me further so I can learn more and can improve on this analysis as the comic progresses.
Aiden's Self Hatred & The Mask
This is getting its own section solely because I'm tying in a whole separate theory/analysis to this at the end. I wasn't sure if I should've included this in the psychology section or the development section so I decided to give it its own part so I could really go into why I think it could be a big part of his character.
I’ll start with the biggest example of this, which is his reaction to the picture of himself as a kid.
“I don't like that picture.”
I didn't take that as him saying that the picture is bad, instead, I feel like it's his way of saying “I don't like the me in that photo.” The depressed, alone, and dark parts of him. The part of him he desperately tries to hide from everyone around him. He crafted a whole mask to hide that part of him. Going to great lengths to put a gap between that aide of him and the side of him he presents himself as. Bleaching his hair and putting in red contacts, making physical changes to bridge a gap between his mask and himself.
In the bathroom scene he dropped the mask completely, while it was definitely due to being alone and not having the others around him (before Tyler walked in), I think the symbolism behind it is interesting. It's in that specific moment we see his roots growing back in, we see him take out his contacts. We’re seeing the parts of Aiden he’s trying to hide seep into his persona.
I think that in the next season, we’re going to get more of this, we’ll hopefully get to see him more vulnerable and open with Tyler or one of the others. I don't think this is a far-off assumption as we have literally been watching his mental decline throughout the entire series.
Season One -> During the start of the series Aiden’s mask is strong, rarely dropping it at all. There were only two instances of this (that I can make note of).
The first being the first day of school. After trying to start up a conversation with Ashlyn—and it being cut short—we see him frown in his seat. No one actually talks about this and most people forgot it happened entirely but it was the first time we see him drop the mask when no one is looking.
I already discussed the second, that being the time when he got Ashlyn hurt. He was scared, he felt responsible, and was probably incredibly stressed out. It's of note that the moments we see Aiden completely vulnerable around the others are when someone he cares about is hurt.
Season Two -> The kids just kept enduring event after event, so it's no wonder that the stress and trauma began to build up and seep out.
Aiden is in a vulnerable state in the hospital and when they find Tyler on the tree (as explained above). Then he ends up dying that same night, even if he puts his mask back on right after, we see him vulnerable and unfazed by dying. Later in the season we see the moment I discussed above where him and Tyler talk and we see Aiden growing even more exhausted than he would previously show.
I don't think it's a long shot to assume we might see him spiral next season or watch his mental state continue to plummet and crack the mask he wears.
My Phantom/Consciousness Theory
Once again this is a THEORY but it directly ties into Aiden's self hatred so I felt like discussing it.
You know the phantom versions Aiden and Tyler see trying to kill them? I think they could be an extension or personification of their consciousness. Take Tyler's for example, his phantom has his guts hanging out, showing that his death still haunts him.
But Aiden's phantom has no head injury, instead it looks exactly like how Aiden would if he didn't make those physical changes. Also think about the way that we got "Liar." from THE PHANTOM. In that same panel the phantom has it's fingers on his face, it's literally forcing Aiden to smile.
Now think of it like this, Aiden is quite literally dreaming of the parts of himself that he hates/tries to keep hidden trying to kill him. He's fully in a battle with his own consciousness.
I intend on doing a whole analysis/theory post on this separately but I wanted to leave this here.
Aiden's Personality
Caring & Compassionate -> There are SO many instances where Aiden’s concerned for another’s well-being or where he tries to comfort someone however he knows. Which is why I hate when people talk about Aiden and act like he’s someone who is obsessed with Ashlyn and doesn't care for the others when he’s an incredibly caring person.
Like yes, he was worried for her when she got hurt, yes he tried to comfort and reassure her in the hospital, but he also attacked Alex without hesitation because he knew something happened to ONE OF his friends. Or the cuddle pile in s2 where he puts his hand on Tyler’s waist, probably in an effort to be there for him. The really irritating thing about these scenes is that everyone constantly waters them down to Aidelyn scenes, therefore, watering down his entire character.
Adventurous -> Self-explanatory, he’s always searching for something to do (mostly for the adrenaline) but regardless. I’d also say all his interests make me think of a very adventurous person.
Loyalty & Protectiveness -> Like the example I said above, Aiden is EXTREMELY loyal to those he loves. Once again, he strangled Alex for his FRIENDS. He would genuinely go extremely far for them and would stand by their side through anything life (Red) throws at them.
Selfless -> While this definitely has something to do with his lack of self-care, he constantly puts the safety and well-being of others above himself. He didn't care when something happened to him but the moment it happened to someone else he was there.
Adaptable -> I don’t think we talk about just how quick Aiden adapted to the phantom dimension. The very first night he grabbed one of the first things he could (a cleaning spray) and used it against a phantom. The night the phantom entered the bus (for the second time) he was able to create a plan to help get Ashlyn out from under the seats, grab ahold of the phantom, and stick it through the window. He adapts extremely quick to the dangerous situations around him and I don't think people discuss just how intelligent he really is.
I think people forget that his immaturity doesn't equal his intelligence since it’s a major part of his “sunshine boy” mask. Aiden is THE funny friend, but underneath that he seems fairly intelligent.
Blunt -> Aiden has made fairly blunt comments but it’s not out of malice, nor is it near the level that Tyler does it. A lot of neurodivergent people struggle with knowing what’s acceptable to say in certain situations due to not always being able to pick up on the social cues. Also can be brought back to his lack of social knowledge as a whole.
Impulsive -> I’m not going into this for a fourth time, refer to everything above.
Self Destructive -> Same as above.
“Fearless, Funny, Immature.” -> I put these in quotes because to me, they encompass the personality he crafted into his mask. Although I think it's less that he’s fearless and more that he doesn't care.
Like I said above Aiden hides behind the common funny friend persona, he hides his feelings and sense of self behind humour.
Now immaturity is an interesting one, because while he says and does stupid shit I think it's mostly to further his act. We’ve seen him make smart choices and being serious when it’s truly needed. It’s not that he can’t be serious, it’s probably that since his life is so miserable as it is, he’s trying to compensate with unseriousness. Trying to bring light into dark places even if his mind is filled with that same darkness.
Aiden's Development & Plot
I won’t lie I’m not exactly sure how I’m supposed to go about wording this section but we're going to go with the flow and hope it turns out decent.
-> Aiden starts the series as a kid who's pushy and has no concept of personal space. Throughout the series, we see (and he directly says) that it's something he's trying to work on. The concept of boundaries and personal space wasn't something he was familiar with, but despite that, he wanted to work on it, he wanted to be better. Becoming someone Ashlyn and the others could be comfortable around.
-> While his impulses will always be something he’ll struggle with, it’s another thing he’s working on. Before the group & Ben, he didn't have to be cautious of how his actions would have direct impact on the people around him because there weren't people around him to be impacted. During season two we see that he’s learnt how to pause and think things through before following through with the action. It might’ve taken a moment for him to pause but it's a start.
-> Emotionally it’s a little hard to pinpoint the exact course of his mental state but we see that as time progresses his mask begins slipping. I imagine this is mostly due to the stress and trauma mixing with his already horrible mental state, and considering stress directly impacts depression. I don’t think it's crazy to assume the reason his mask keeps slipping is due to the fact he’s growing too exhausted to keep it up when the situation is evoking such harsh emotions in him. It’s also possible that he’s grown close enough to the others that he’s growing comfortable and feels safe enough to know that they won't give him shit for it. Although, there's the fact that he still brushes it off whenever he can, showing that while he might feel safe with them, he still doesn't want to open up.
There’s definitely way more development but I feel like I highlighted some of the major aspects of his character throughout the whole thing and I lwk don’t feel like writing more because this is already so incredibly long.
-> thank you for reading!!
This took like two days to write & you can go watch my edit on tiktok that goes with this if you'd like (same user as here)
I've made analyses before but they were a lot more simple than this one which is why I chose to redo them.
I want to delve into the psychology of the characters more because it's the biggest thing that interests me.
Once again if you have any insight into the psychology and disorders feel free to share it and educate me farther.
Similarly, please do let me know your thoughts on this and your own opinions. I'd love to hear people's ideas about what we might expect from Aiden's backstory since half of this is assumptions/my personal interpretation of what we have so far.
If you finished reading this thank you for reading, I’m doing Tyler’s next because my lovely tiktok moot said they couldn't wait for tyler’s and i’m a people pleaser so
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