(tadc ep7 spoilers) honestly i mean. they already knew by that point but, all that build up, all of the hope...
i think, This was the moment they've realized, there is truly no way out of there.
the circus song playing in the background, almost like a whisper at the back of their minds... they were clowned, toyed; any last shred of hope of ever getting out, absolutely crushed.
this was so cruel. they were Just starting to accept their new lives, trapped in a cartoon circus, but now this adventure put them on edge, establishing something they already learned long ago, setting them back to when they first arrived.
caine is cruel but he's not malicious. he's cruel because he's oblivious, he's oblivious because he's not human. he's an ai, can only grasp so far what his ai can allow. he's cruel because he does not know, he does not understand, and cannot Ever comprehend the impact his actions could have on such an emotional, so different from what he is, specie.
he's fascinated, enchanted, but cannot empathize. not in the way they need. not in a way he can.