I got most of my venting about TADC out of my system, but one more thing I gotta say
All that to say, I was comparing the finale of TADC to the finale of a show that I really love and hold in high regard: Gravity Falls.
Yeah, it's a little unfair to compare a show from an indie studio to one from a much bigger company for multiple reasons, but just hear me out.
GF has one of the most action packed, satisfying, and emotionally compelling finale episodes that I've ever watched in a show. The episode is well paced, balancing the tension of the first half with the emotionally heartwarming second half.
Stan's sacrifice and subsequent memory loss does get reversed, but the pacing is what makes it carry emotional weight. The show allows the sacrifice to simmer, to let both the audience and the characters sit in the grief from losing such a beloved character. So when his memory does come back, there's not only a sense of relief but also satisfaction.
TADC's finale doesnt let those moments sink in.
The characters arent given room to truly react to anything really. Caine's death, the disintegrated circus, the hopelessness of the situation, and then the reveal of them being brain scans. All of it is crammed together, taking up maybe 3 minutes of screen time before we see the cast conjuring together, mere seconds of narrative levity before Jax abstracts.
(I'm gonna skip over the Jax backstory stuff because frankly, I find it adds nothing to the narrative)
I don't think it's biased to say that Caine should have gotten WAY more focus in this episode, considering the decision to "revive" and redeem him.
It's his deletion that sets the finale in motion, but the characters just...dont react to this at all. Sure Jax gets upset, but only because of how it worsens their current situation. Emotionally, they dont seem to care that Caine straight up died.
Unlike Bill in GF, Caine isn't a villain - he's an antagonist in the sense that his oblivious nature made him unintentionally bring emotional distress to the humans trapped in the circus, despite his intentions being to bring them joy and happiness. Prior to his disasterous adventure in episode 7 and his crashout in episode 8, the cast see him more as a mild nuisance than anything. He was someone they all knew and interacted with every single say, some of them even knowing him for years or even decades. But we get no reaction to his death, and only mild caution when he's revealed to still be alive.
And on top of that, the story itself doesnt even allow for the death to sink in. He dies, we spend basically 30 minutes focusing mainly on Jax, and then out of nowhere Caine is shown to be alive in the void. The rest of the cast dont even spare him a passing thought prior to this reveal.
Hell, I wouldnt blame anybody watching if they had just straight up forgot that he died. Caine's death is treated as inconsequential by the narrative AND the characters, despite it being the catalyst for the finale.
And the only way the narrative can achieve that happy ending is by bringing Caine back from the dead.
To loop GF's finale back into this, it would be like if Stan's regained memories had been revealed in say the last 5 minutes after spending 20 minutes on a flashback to Robby or Gideon's childhoods.
I'm sure it's not intentional, but discarding Caine only to to bring him back because the ending just doesnt work without him, feels kinda gross. His role in the circus hasnt really changed. He's still not really allowed to be a person, but a tool for the others to get their Happy Ending.
