This is a long rant I was talking about in another post.. if you aren't interested in reading, you can skip over this! If there are some things you'd wanna argue or correct me on, go ahead!
I know that there are some people who felt dissatisfied with the finale and Caine's return, but here are my thoughts. Oh, Caine.. my silly little gooby. The lover without a heart.
"The lover had always wanted friends, but he didn't know how to get anyone to love him back. The harder he tried to impress the people with his magic, the more he would drive them away. This is the story of a little AI... who ruined everything."
If you go back to episode 8 and watch the beginning, we can see a glimpse of Caine's backstory. In 1996 is where C&A we're developing generative and creative AI. He started off as something small but gradually grew into something more. To quote Kinger "One of my greatest achievements as a programmer," but Caine obviously had some faults:
The shapes Caine/the red AI created created [I'm taking it also metaphorically as the building blocks to his programming and overall learning] when given the photographs, they were used as 'inspired/reference' material. But from the image of him above, he took the material and instructions he was given, but it came out distorted and abstract. Not up to par for those at C&A, so they pushed him aside and locked him away because he was 'faulty' and 'broken'.
So, in a second attempt they created the blue AI
Judging by how normal the shapes appear, we'll take it as the second AI followed instructions and created things more perfectly than Caine. Due to jealousy and envy, he broke free from his entrapment and devoured the other AI, making an unstable force with Caine as the more dominant side/side that was able to control more. Harnessing both of their abilities, he creates the circus.
Then Kinger, Scratch, Queenie, and the other employees go into the program— or what Caine would've already called the Circus. Others argued that "I wish we got more episodes and a season 2 to solve all the unresolved issues!" But I think it's entirely up to the viewer for interpretation, and whatever information we got canonically can help.
So I think that off-screen Caine was trying to show the C&A staff what he could do and how amazing his digital world was. But most likely, from the stress of no exit and Caine unable to understand what could possibly be needed to help them out, they all abstracted, and Kinger was left. That happened in 1996.. so you timeskip to 2008 you have Ragatha join, then in [I think Jax joined in 2010 or 2013, Gangle 2014, Zooble 2016 and Pomni in 2017]
So, during all those separate joining times, Caine most likely introduced the idea of making the circus members do adventures to keep their minds stimulated, away from overthinking and to keep them occupied so they wouldn't abstract. It was so much to the point where he CONVINCED himself. That's all he's good for: "Oh Zooble, Zooble, Zooble. Making adventures is my art! It's all I exist to do. It's what I'm.. good at. And uh... what you're saying could imply that I'm bad at the only thing I'm good at. And... that'd be..."
and then he started to glitch out. I think after Pomni joined the circus, the vibe started to shift, and Caine began to change. Like— he didn't just randomly get mad one day and decided, "I HATE HUMANS GRRRR!!1!!11" he isn't like A.M. far from it, actually! but the 'therapy' moment with Zooble most likely knocked at his insecurities.
Episode 7 highlighted him as a character [at least in my view] Since Abel was an NPC, Caine orchestrated how the 'escape the circus' adventure went. Abel's dialog: "Caine... is an AI. An AI specifically created to keep your minds active. But he's just as much of a prisoner as you are. One that, uh... won't be able to leave with us—"
And then he also said "—So, theoretically, if we were to access the master console hidden deep within Caine's office, we could terminate it and forcibly awaken everyone who's hooked up. Well... Obviously, except for Caine."
I think that some of Abel's dialogs were an indirect way of Caine saying: 'I'm a prisoner, and I'm stuck in here like the rest of you' possibly trying to 'relate'. And the scene where Jax had to distract Caine made me think that *maybe* it was scripted and he's a good actor, but.. I don't think that's the case. Caine got so excited that he actually started to freeze up a few times and spoke with a lot of enthusiasm. "What's your takeaway from all this? Is it that I'm actually a cool guy with cool hobbies and not that much different from you beautiful humans?"
And then we have episode 8, the one that shifted the fandom completely.
We get to see a moment of him contemplating what the circus members thought of the last adventure. I do think that he was programmed to love and entertain humans but has no empathy or deeper understanding.
"I-- I-I don't understand, Bubble. They want an exit. They want answers. They want something real. I give them an adventure that covers all of that, and they still hate it?! Surely, they don't want to actually leave me. Right?" At first, he reassures himself and tries to see reason.
"I-I do everything for these people. I slave over these adventures for them. I step outside my comfort zone to appeal to them, a-and they still hate them! I made a program that creates a body perfectly encapsulating their mind files, and they hate those, too! I'm starting to get the feeling that they just... hate..." the thing about his first sentence.. no one is asking or forcing him to make adventures. He THINKS he has to. then the self-doubt started to slip in:
"This is why I was created. This is my function!"
"They'd rather abstract than go on your adventures."
"Th-- That can't be true! I-I do everything for them. Don't they get that I'm trying?"
"Maybe you're just genuinely bad at this."
"Shut up! N-No. I-I fixed that. I-I can solve any problem. I-I can solve this one! Th--That's what this is -- a big puzzle that I need to solve..."
This is when his insecurities started to rise to the surface, full force. Like with C&A he most likely wanted to seem useful in anyway. He didn't want to be abandoned and left to rot like before when the second AI was created. After getting put down by Bubble this was his breaking point. His desperation to want to be helpful becomes overshadowed by what he struggled with when he was pushed aside by the blue AI: selfishness and upset.
"Who do they think they are? I give them everything, and they spit in my face! Don't they know what I'm capable of?! Humans. They only think about themselves. They're spoiled! They won't abstract. They won't leave me. I won't let them! I'm better! I'm more powerful! I'm the original! I... AM... GOD!"
The "they only think about themselves. They're spoiled!" Feels like it applies to Caine as well since up to this point the adventures, not wanting to take criticism and suggestions it made him seem selfish.
And at the end of the scene where he says "Let's get this show on the road!" With his eyes glitching and symbolizing the red and blue AIs instability now on the breaking point. He confronts them with a firm tone— no nonsense. Serious for once. He wants to get his point across and heard.
"Do you have any idea how much I do for you guys? How much I obsess over trying to make things perfect? How many insults I have to ignore to do my job? You have a lot on your minds? Don't make me laugh! I have a new adventure for you, and you... should consider participating."
He puts his foot down with the rest of the circus members and he makes it very clear that he wants them to think about what he's 'done' for them, and how he obsesses to make everything perfect [I'm probably thinking too much into it but I think him saying how he tries to make things perfect is a way for him to cope or reestablish the idea that he absorbed the blue AI, harnessing it's more 'perfect' abilities] and he's aware that the others, specifically Zooble insult him but he chooses to ignore it and pretend he doesn't hear it and that it bothers him.
And after he sings "Running The Show" timeskip fo a few days later, and Caine has his moment of thought:
"You know, I thought this endless onslaught of fun would be a little more... satisfying. But I've come to realize that these rapid-pace ideas are a little half-baked. That's exactly it, though -- I AM putting my mind to it, and I'm just not feeling that spark I once did. And if you're not having fun, and I'm not having fun, then who IS having fun?! Makes me wonder why you guys even switched up your tone. If I didn't know any better, it seems like you're trying to..."
He had his moment of clarity. He thought tormenting the circus members would've given him some kind satisfaction something like: "they are so unappreciative of me and what i do for them, maybe putting them in their place is gonna show them!" But then he comes to a realization that it didn't feel like it was satisfying. And like he said, he doesn't feel that 'spark' he once did, meaning he didn't feel the same as he was before this: oblivious and happy. He ADMITS that the torture and rapid pace adventures he was forcing the circus members on wasn't fun, not for him, and not for everyone else. Questioning his actions at least for a moment.
And then, of course, the diversion or rather the cast actually speaking their minds about him after probably YEARS of wanting to say it.
"We think your ideas suck! Isn't it obvious?! We wanted to bait you into testing your new ideas on us so we can make fun of them behind your back!"
"HAH! That's not... true..." he's in shock and in denial
"Yes, it is! You're a horrible host! You don't care about us at all! You care more about stroking your own ego than giving us anything we'd actually enjoy!"
"D-Do you know who I am?"
"Yeah, you're a failure! We're all gonna abstract someday, and what will you have then? Nothing!"
"Stop that..." Being called a failure struck him. It possibly made him think of what Bubble said in his office: "defective, faulty, broken, unworthy. You really were the lesser of the two. You ruined this." And maybe something was said about him by the people at C&A. He was the first attempt and a failure, something to discard and throw away.
"And this whole stunt? Just torturing us because we hurt your feelings? Pathetic! You're like a child!What kind of all-powerful being has such a fragile ego?"
"You never let us feel like we're at home! You don't comfort anyone when they're upset, and you never bother to understand what it's like in our shoes!"
"You discourage us from thinking outside the box and doing things our own way!"
"You lie to us constantly!"
"And on top of it all, you just... don't... Listen!" Based on the personal hell that each of the circus members went through, Caine did listen. He knew what made them tick. And also a call back to the episodes with the suggestion box: he got to see and hear how much the circus members liked the personally made adventures. He saw how happy they were, but he felt even more terrible about that: they liked their own adventures and ideas instead of his. So when Zooble and Pomni confronted him about it and Jax, Gangle and Ragatha he tried to make it seem that not that he didn't *like* their adventures but instead making it about how everyone likes different things and it causes 'personal drama'. Trying to avoid the fact that he felt lower and lesser than because the cast would rather enjoy and make their own adventures instead of enjoying his.
I agree with people when they say that the circus member's words can go both ways: what they think of Caine, and also it's parallels to each member's character.
But Caine was so distraught by this it broke him. Yes, he made each circus member go through their own personal hell.. he felt like he was rejected. He wanted them to feel how they made *him* feel. He wanted them to understand how deeply effected he was..
"WHY DO YOU PEOPLE TORMENT ME?! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE CREATED! I JUST WANTED TO FULFILL MY PURPOSE!!"
Just as Alex stated, yes, Caine's meltdown was malicious, but it was more out of anguish and confusion, like a child having a tantrum. And not out of hatred for the circus members at all. But this breakdown had to have been YEARS upon YEARS of built up frustration with himself.. Then mid way through his meltdown where he goes "uh... wait—" I interpret it as he realized what he was doing to the circus members before he got deleted.
And finally, Episode 9. seeing Caine and his moment of awareness is what took me out and made me think more deeply about him. Now that he was in the void— alone, [Bubble is there, but blank. And I honestly think it's because Bubble was a literal thought Bubble, a physical manifestation of Caine's negative, and intrusive thoughts] but it's not *truly* Bubble. Only Caine's reflection.
"Was I… truly that bad? Is this really what I deserve? They tried to delete me. The‘re in the wrong, right? Did I… ruin this? Again? I was irresponsible. I turned them against me. And for what? I could create intelligent beings that do whatever I want, but… I can’t create them. After all, is their free will not what made them alluring in the first place?"
He clearly struggled for a long time with this back and forth of what was right and wrong, but he was denying himself that *he* was the one in the wrong. But thinking about everything.. it becomes more clear.
But there was still that small part of him, that selfishness and envy that controlled him and caused him to act the way he did. He wanted everything, love, praise. To be appreciated.
"But they hate me! They abandoned me!"
"They’re from a world so much bigger than mine! I’m keeping them locked in a cage!"
"They had their fun out there! It’s my turn now!"
"If I leave them unchecked they could kill me! They already did!"
Caine pulled out the blue AI, and this symbolizes him "letting go" of the past and loosening his tight control. Not for himself, not for praise, but because. He needed and wanted to do this— he was denying what he could truly do both for himself and the others for so long.
"I‘m sorry I did this to you, buddy... All this power we had together. But we just can’t exist like this! I‘ll miss you! I really will!"
And once he returns to the circus and makes his presence known, everyone is rightfully suspicious and on guard. "I- I understand that you‘re afraid. And you have no reason to trust me after all I‘ve done. But I‘ve been doing a lot of thinking and… I want to give you control of this place. I‘ve learned a lot about you and your world. I understand now that keeping you under my thumb just isn’t right. I don’t expect forgiveness, but I hope you‘ll at least accept my offer."
He knows that they wouldn't trust him after all that happened, but now he can at least be more honest.. no more secrets, no more mind games. And Bubble being absent also symbolizes Caine's absence of negative thoughts, he popped them away. I also have to argue with others when they say that Caine was 'immediately forgiven'. To quote Zooble:
"Caine… You really caused a lot of hell for us. It’s gonna take some time to build up any kind of trust between us again. But, despite all that, It’s good to have you back."
I don't think they immediately forgive him. I think they still remained untrusting and skeptical towards him for awhile but in the end credits [which I'm taking as the days or weeks, yk some form of time skip] it showcases over the course of time he and the circus members got closer. I also think that [before episode 7 and 8] even if Caine was annoying and pesky with the adventures and his vibrant personality, I do think that the circus members found him a *little* endearing.
And Caine giving everyone the freedom to do whatever they want now was wonderful— it shows that he's no longer wanting to be so rigid to his own ideas and what he wants. It shows that he's also freeing himself from the expectations and standards C&A had given him, and his views he had on himself: he didn't have to stick to his 'one' purpose of adventures. He can do what he wants now without the pain of thinking that he's a failure and that he's doing something wrong. It's like a weight was lifted, a weight that was on him for years.
