I'm sure we all know by now that we do believe Kinger was a programmer FOR "THE GAME". Heck, it was even said in the episode.
I was theorising with people on my stream about this and we used the theory from the bible about how Caine was jealous and greedy while Abel was the favoured son (hey, and not to mention how red and blue have religious themes). Red and blue has been represented everywhere. Red representing Caine and blue representing Kinger.
"The blue on jesus' robes represent the holy, and how he's the son of god, and the red represents the blood, how he is a deity sent down to earth to live among humans."
We've been seeing how most of the characters each episode have been favouring blue over red, especially in this episode.
In this episode and past ones, Kinger really is the favourite when he is himself - but there’s something missing about him, which is LITERALLY his ability to remember or be sane.
I THINK… I THINK CAINE MAY HAVE CAUSED KINGER’S MEMORY TO BE ERASED ON PURPOSE. TO MAKE HIM NOT BE MORE FAVOURED, I THINK. SINCE I DO BELIEVE CAINE lS TRYING TO BECOME THE CENTER OF ATTENTION AND SEEKING VALIDATION.
Everyone caught on about how Caine said “I MAY have the ability to add temporary modifiers to make adventures more interesting, but that’s it. If I did anything more – trust me. It would not end well.” AND THEN BAM. KINGER IS ON SCREEN AS SOON AS HE SAYS THAT. KINGER SAYS “Scratch. The first abstraction.” AND THEN CAINE SAYS HE DIDNT SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THERES SOME SHADY SHIT GOIN ON HERE!!!
So. The fact Kinger mentioned WAY OUT OF THE BLUE about the FIRST ABSTRACTION after Caine says "It would not end well." means something, and I think I know what it is.
Caine may have made the abstractions. Caine probably caused the insanity. It's could be one of his "temporary modifications". He can turn it off whenever he wants, because that makes it temporary.
But he is selfish, he can't own up for his own past actions. Hence why he is so desperate to be loved and validated.
Anyone who is abstracted is not DEAD. They get sent into the "cellar" which is still present in the circus. They are still living, but they are not themselves. I think Caine did something long ago as a mistake and has been trying to cover it up ever since.
Now - quickly moving on from that - let's talk about "Abel".
“Abel” was an NPC basically ran by Caine all along. We could see how Caine was basically just shifting the blame onto Kinger for mistakes Caine probably did himself.
Also - it really does feel like Abel was trying to replicate Kinger before he went insane.
Sure - we don't know what Kinger was REALLY like, but they give off the same vibes. This "Abel" character was being controlled by Caine, an AI, meaning it had to have at least something to replicate off of, right? That something would have been Kinger.
Also - it is also evident here that Caine was controlling this Abel character by how he drew his iconic bee in the corner, but erased it out.
We all know AI can make mistakes, so I believe this was one of many. But because he erased it out, it means he is beginning to get smarter.
ALSO! Little detail in the corner here:
Piece of paper reads: "OLD C&A CO-WORKERS (NOT ABSTRACTED). Kinger's name is the only name out of 5 that is not scribbled out. The last scribbled out name can be read as "KAUFMO".
ANYWAYS. Continuing on from when Caine is beginning to get smarter...
It seems like Caine does not want anyone else to be smarter than him. NPC, AI, or human.
This further proves my point about Caine not wanting to anyone steal his spotlight and not have ANY of his NPCs or AI being smarter than him - or even stepping foot within the circus.
Kinger is still favoured by a few members like Pomni and Ragatha BECAUSE they have seen his true side within the dark. I'm not sure if Caine knows that they favour Kinger, but he's really struggling as an AI here to get these guys to like him as he is beginning to act selfish.
So, with that being said, I do think Caine erased Kinger's memory, but not his powers to continue being an admin (as seen in episode 6 with Kinger and the butterfly that restores health).
I think this is because Caine may be right about not have THAT much power over everyone - especially if he is an "admin" just like Kinger himself.
BUT. He does have temporary modifiers, and I think he is using that on either Kinger's mind, abstraction itself, or something else. It's hard to say, but I think there are connections here.
Anyway - before I end this off. Another small little theory and/or headcanon.
What if Kinger's real name is Abel? Maybe that's why he has no idea who Abel is. Hmm... hmm hmm hmm.
THIS IS ALL MY BRAIN CAN SPIT OUT RIGHT NOW SO YEAH!! THANKS FOR READING!! CONFUSING ASS EPISODE!!
This is my analysis on the new WH update with the help of many wonderful people in my server!! ^^
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These are all in reference to the hidden Julie videos.
First video:
Julie was attempting to get the entirety of Home (aka the neighbourhood) in bloom before homewarming. Julie came across a flower that hadn’t bloomed. She was trying to get it to bloom but it wasn’t talking to her nor blooming. Frank was not present while she was trying to make it bloom.
She leaves it be as Frank calls her over somewhere, promising to come back to make it bloom.
Second video:
Julie seemed to have reserved that flower to show Frank and let him make it bloom with her help.
It's mentioned that rainbow monsters (like herself) have many responsibilities corresponding with nature. She references her family's motto, as if it's something to be proud of. Keep this in mind.
It's also worth noting that according to Julie, with enough positivity, the flowers will bloom by homewarming. So it seems these flowers can only bloom from happiness.
Julie stated that she can’t hear flowers that haven’t bloomed yet. Julie and Frank talk to the flower to try and get it to bloom, getting stumped. Julie attempted to solve it through her board game.
The two state:
Frank: “…No surprise chess manoeuvres! I know you’re not allowed to combine the Queen and the knight during chess, Julie! You can’t trick me again!”
Julie: “But pieces are just keeping each other company, Frank! It sounds like somebody’s just sore about losing the queen’s favourite horsey!”
I think Julie's last line means something more. A lot of these videos almost imply meanings of replacement or loss.
Third video:
In the beginning of the video, Julie whispers in a serious tone “you’re still closed” twice before addressing it more clearly and happier.
She talks about how Barnaby and Howdy make fun of her a little, possibly discussing her insecurities.
Julie also mentions in this video that she likes Frank the most, considering she met him first when she first came to the neighbourhood. She didn’t know anyone when she came here. She said she doesn’t exactly remember how her and Frank met, but she assumes it was when she was building her burrow. Frank fell into her tunnel.
She whispers in a serious voice again to herself, “Was he mad? I don’t think he was. I think he said to me, "Are you new here? I’m new too, my name is Frank." I think he knew I was scared. He said a really corny joke to me, and I laughed.”
She states she met Wally the same day, which is when she got her home.
She also states she can’t say out long after dark, as they’re not supposed to be outside. The reasoning is unknown.
Wally suddenly comes out of nowhere, saying in a slightly distorted tone, “Did all that really happen, Julie?”
This might imply she forgot something important, which is brought up in the fifth video analysis.
Fourth Video:
Starting with the flowers POV, Julie says "it's still here" in a slightly distorted voice, referring to the flower. I used to think it was the flower talking, but it was actually Julie's inner thoughts/voices, as proven in the transcripts. It's strange that this flower's POV hears her thoughts, her negative ones too.
The POV cuts to a different one as Julie greets the flower normally: "Hello my possible petunia, it looks like you still haven't opened! Why is that?"
But then it cuts back to the flowers POV, Julie's voice getting serious again, asking, "What's wrong with you?" inside her head.
It cuts back to normal again, "I'm sorry, is it because I haven't been around as often? I promise it wasn't on purpose! I've been busy. I have a lot of responsibilities. I'm home's cheeriest neighbour!"
It's almost as if she's trying to be something of worth, to live up to her actual name. Did you catch that she didn't want to join the joyful sibling's band as a drummer? Maybe she didn't feel worthy enough, maybe she has insecurities, maybe she didn't fit in with that role, or maybe she had feelings that she shoved away to also maintain being home's cheeriest neighbour.
She begins talking about the 'Sweet Briar' play and says, "It's about a princess who falls asleep for a long time after a mean fairy puts a spell on her. Then her handsome prince comes to wake her up!"
It cuts back to the flowers POV, saying inside her head, "If only it was that easy."
Again, another possible reference insecurities. Her thoughts start to be more prominent and reoccurring, getting more negative and worrisome.
Here she begins to lack self esteem, by saying she thinks she did alright and struggled a bit during the play. She also mentions how she liked letting someone else lead. She told the flower earlier in the 2nd video that she had a lot of responsibilities, so maybe it ties to that.
More signs of insecurities and spiralling from Julie. The way she fears and talks about her family's thoughts about her not being able to get a flower bloom makes me think they've possibly neglected her before? Or maybe she's avoidant so she can make a good example of herself, as she was hesitant to join her family's band.
Fifth video:
I think something happened to Julie at one point. I think it’s between her and home, maybe. (Considering I think home is trying to take control and isolate the neighbourhood from the darkness surrounding the edges of the map, as seen below)
The link to her fifth video has the words “tears”, “remembrance”, and “instability” in it.
The instability part is very obvious within the video, but tears and remembrance mean something deeper I think.
Tears and remembrance combined could mean a sad memory. In the video, Julie makes the excuse her family is here and she should go say hi before they leave home. She rushes over to the flower and thinks to herself, “you’re still here. After all this time. I spent so much time talking with you. I gave you everything I could.”
She starts to cry in a way, then saying “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you want, I don’t understand what the problem is.”
It then cuts to the flowers POV, now inside her head again, “Was that not enough? Do you want to get me into trouble? Why are you doing this to me? Was it because of the early spring? Are you mad at me for that? I don’t know why that happened, it’s not my fault! It’s not my fault! Please, please don’t do this to me! Frank is nearby, please I’m begging you, please bloom before anyone sees you. Please bloom, please, please-“
She is now treating this flower differently compared to the first video. She's almost threatening this flower in a way, believing it will somehow get her into trouble. Almost like... something is after her.
When in the first video, it seems she had stumbled upon it for the first time, keen to make it bloom. With positivity. But all this flower is consuming are her negative thoughts.
It cuts back to a different POV where Frank is looking for her. She cusses to herself since Frank has found her. She panics, trying to not let him see the flower. She turns to the flower to tell it one last message.
"You won’t be around for much longer- You’ll go away by Homewarming- I’ll never see you again, no one will, no one will ever know you were here- and then I’ll be free- I’m as good as I ever was- I’m Julie Joyful!-"
It seems as if she’s insecure, incapable of being worthy. Maybe it's even an identity crisis too, as some have speculated. It also seems as if there’s been a significant event that happened in the past that she can’t remember properly. Or perhaps, a consequence. She also seems to be getting a consequence in the near future if this flower gets her in trouble somehow.
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Other thoughts with the information we know now:
Credits to @gho-zzy
Call-back to video three, remember how Wally was there? I believe he's been listening through the flower. I mean, these styles of hidden videos ALWAYS have Wally in there at least somewhere. Especially in his POV. So, he must've taken this flower's POV somehow. It might be the reason why it wasn't blooming either.
Another call-back to this image here:
You can also see footsteps leading into the forest. Perhaps this is where she goes to see the flower?
ANYWAY!! I will update this as things become available again, since the 5th video is currently down.
