#ssanalysis

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- My Negative Thinking Analysis

General:

I feel like this is truly Logan/Logic here. I dunno what makes this video stand out but all the previous ones felt kinda off compared to how Logan is later on in the series. But this right here, serious and happy to help with a few goofy moments limited to how he talks rather than actions or goofy smiles. This feels like Logan as he was meant to be! You may feel different but I just wanted to voice that!

This is a completely random point and one I think no one will be surprised by. But like... I was! So here it is: the sides like actually eat! I just thought that it was just like, whatever Thomas ate is what the Sides believed they then ate. But no! Excuse the abysmal quality and ignore the fact that this point doesn’t really need a screenshot!

But here we see that the sides do eat and cook their own food! Also judging by Logan’s comment that a “cream based broth will upset Princey’s stomach” also implies that they may have their own tastes and preferences to Thomas. 

Another ‘how-the-sides-function’ point to make is this line here:

By saying that Princey was on stage with him implies that the sides aren’t sitting in the mindscape all day. They’re directly participating with Thomas’ everyday life. This wasn’t Roman just watching from the side in Thomas’ head but with him on stage. So that must mean that whichever side is most in charge in that situation is right alongside Thomas. That also explains why Logan has to be told what happened at the audition meanwhile Anxiety already knew because he probably came out right after the mistake. Just an interesting lore bit! 

Characters:

Logan/Logic- He’s so serious but also he’s so willing to help here! Like reaaaally willing to help! He suggests going to Morality or Creativity if Thomas wants optimism because he understands that’s a bit beyond him. To reuse an idea of mine, he has one job and wants to do it well and so he just sticks to that one job! But he provides his own help when he sees the issue and is really patient with Anxiety and doesn't insult him or make him feel stupid. He’s such a good teacher here! 

Anxiety- There’s only one real point I want to make here and it’s this line in response to Anxiety saying that “You don’t want me here but I’m here and this is what I do”. Thomas responds by saying:

Anxiety then reacts by immediately insulting Thomas quite intensely (referring to him by his last name despite the fact that this habit is never seen again in the series). It feels like Anxiety is trying to desperately move on from the fact that he’s in charge of multiple aspects of Thomas. I think it’s even impressive that Thomas knows so little about this character but even he recognises that he must be in charge of other things. I don't know! It feels like a weird moment where attention is brought to the fact that Anxiety is more than just anxiety. But you’ve got to remember that he wanted to change the conversation when this was brought up! The other sides are in charge of more than one thing so why should Anxiety feel funny about that. Especially considering that this mystery other aspects are never talked about again. Like, Anxiety is kinda just Anxiety for the rest of the series so why does this moment exist? Maybe it was going to be delved into later (A.A) but then a better storyline was created? I don’t know! 

We also see him trying to open up this time. It feels a lot more purposeful that we gain a bit more knowledge on how Anxiety feels right now. It's first seen when he pops up and dismisses Thomas’ usual cry of “Oh No! Not Anxiety!” which presents him as maybe a bit more sarcastic than usual (he does feel a bit more antsy in this video than others) but also then reveals more of how he actually feels. But it’s most obvious in this:

There he is just being completely open to how he feels rather than doing the obvious and easier option of just dismissing or denying the compliment. I don’t know! Just such a small moment but it feels like the first time we hear Anxiety’s genuine thoughts on a subject. 

Theories:

1) I’ve already addressed the whole “defeatist” line before in the previous episode’s analysis but I want to then take one step further and question how Logan responds to this. Logan doesn’t really address the fact that his comment stuck with Anxiety and kinda just pushes through it to make a compliment (based on insulting the others but that feels playful and more a jab at himself for not being a force of positivity). 

Which is fair, I guess. Logan feels characterised to never really say anything without really meaning it (apart from jokey lines like the endcard) and so it makes sense for him to defend his point of calling Anxiety a defeatist but to then expand on that point. I’m going to argue that Logan probably didn’t realise how much that meant to Anxiety and is just going about this is a very Logan esque way. Righting wrongs but furthering the point but still being stubborn enough to be like ‘you are definitely still a defeatist’. 

2) A side point as well I want to make: maybe I’ve just missed it but Thomas reaaaally seems to be pushing for Anxiety’s name. No one else. Just Thomas which makes it weirder when he hasn’t pushed for Morality’s name yet. All the other sides seem to have a respect for each other’s privacy or identities. Does this make Thomas himself abusive?! I don't know. I feel like this is just how it was written rather than any genuine lore but I wanted to point that out!

3) This is only really a point that makes sense when you’ve watched the like entire rest of the series but it’s a point that’s been made! It’s been... discussed (?) that some sides are given animal associations. The most obvious being Morality in SvS Redux as he turns into a frog and just Deceit’s whole presence is associated with snakes. So, Virgil hissing in the debate scene has been used to suggest that all sides (potentially) have an animal aspect/association/whatever. With Virgil, hissing could be associated with literally any animal... Some have used this to imply that maybe’s he’s a cat or to further the point that he could be a spider. I personally like the spider connection even if spiders don’t hiss...

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- Am I Original? Analysis

General:

This one I’m kinda a bit lost on if I’m honest. I don’t have many points which is weird because it feels like this should be one of those videos where I have a lot to say. But I kinda don’t... Anyway! Here’s what I’ve got!

ANOTHER NAME REVEAL! Welcome Roman/Creativity! Roman’s name reveal I feel is both very suitable for him but also weirdly uncharacteristic. It makes sense for Roman to reveal his name so to have a more serious conversation with Thomas. Roman had yet to have his proper one on one moment with Thomas and so it makes sense for him to want to take this seriously and honestly. But... I also feel like a character as egocentric and gloaty as Creativity would make a very big deal out of his name. But it’s just... “My name’s Roman... right moving on”. 

The idea of giving a side complete control is established in this video but I feel like this later gets confusing when partnered with the idea that the sides have rooms. Spoiler Alert for oncoming videos I guess? Giving Creativity complete control is when you’re just sitting there day dreaming- that makes complete sense. But that then raises the question of what would it look like if the other sides had full control? Would giving Logan full control be like going into that intense sense of concentration you get when you write in an exam? Would giving Anxiety complete control just be a panic attack? Or maybe just a fight or flight response? Interesting discussion but I feel like giving complete control seems really similar to focusing on an aspect so to gain access to their rooms. 

No real point to be made here, but I do think it’s weird that Thomas just doesn’t trust his Creativity. Excuse my nightmare quality pictures:

Like that’s a good point. He has a career focused on creativity but doesn’t trust his own ideas? It’s just such a weird point of contention. I can’t think of why Thomas would feel this way. (SPOILER ALERT for future episodes) Like maybe you could justify this as the split between the creativities? Like Thomas is worried of having a ‘bad creativity’ and so just avoids creativity all together? On this subject though, do you think giving full creative control to Roman here then makes Remus powerless for the next few minutes? 

Characters:

Logan- I found it funny how he rejects to the idea of being involved when Thomas is in day dream mode.

 I feel like that shows how proud and important Logan views his role as logic. He sticks to his job and intends to do it well and therefore shouldn’t be involved in anything else! Also him being good at rapping I feel kinda works for the idea of logic in general. Like rapping has a lot to do with quick thinking and also keeping track of the beat and is just weirdly technical. So it makes sense for Logic to then appreciate and be good at it! 

Roman/Creativity- I’m just going to say this now. I don’t really like early on Roman- he’s too egocentric and we don’t see why he thinks so highly of himself so he comes across as just obnoxious and lying. Like Logan can be pretty egocentric but we see how important his role is so it feels less gloaty and almost justified. But this could be resolved later as he’s only recently been given some semblance of a character arc, so maybe this will change or at least we’ll see why Roman is justified to seeing himself like this. Right now his emphasis on being the grand and amazing Creativity just feels like gloating- which is weird because none of the others really react to it? So who’s he gloating to? A certain other side of Creativity? A “hey look, I must be important because I’m here and you’re down there”? But, in all seriousness, as much as I like linking Remus to this, it feels a bit cheap. At this point in the series, he doesn’t exist and even his idea doesn't exist in the series so to say he was foreshadowed that EARLY on feels... iffy at best. They’ re fun points to make but don’t think that I seriously absolutely believe these points. 

Morality- Quite a small role in this video. He’s more just an adorable side kick intended to make the audience laugh in this episode. Nothing wrong with that! Obviously to have a 10 minute episode focused equally on all four characters would just be a headache. 

Anxiety- Not much new to say here either, still taunting and shooting down ideas while suggesting sleep. Nothing really worth dissecting here! BUT! There’s a point to be made here that will then link to the theory section! This moment here when Logan calls Anxiety a defeatist:

This won’t really make sense by itself but partnered with the next episode, this moment gains significance. In the next episode, Anxiety remembers and brings up the fact that Logan called him a defeatist. Added also is the fact that we see Anxiety’s response to that insult which hasn’t been done before so the fact that Anxiety is insulted clearly matters! Thomas in editing is clearly shouting “LOOK HERE!” So that means that, no matter how light hearted the comment was, these sort of labels truly get to Anxiety. The fact that this one was so just thrown out there, no bite behind it, shows off how insecure or fragile Anxiety truly is. 

Theories

1) So to further the point above, this makes the other’s treatment of Anxiety just plain really mean and abusive. Every off handed insult thrown his way by Roman must’ve stuck just as much. In my opinion, this is a weird realisation as it does make the other’s treatment seem really unjustified and harsh. Like, there’s now so many moments that I wrote off as funny bickering that are now implied to be scarring. But there is a point to be made as to how harsh this was. Maybe I’m just wanting to see the best from these characters, but I think that if any of them knew how much these comments meant to Anxiety then I believe they would stop. Throughout even just this episode, Anxiety and Logan have had their little moments of bonding and sighing at the others- so to suggest that Logan then wanted to truly hurt Anxiety in this moment feels off. It wasn’t Logan’s intention to hurt him. Morality doesn’t really make these sort of comments but does come across as patronising towards him and again I’m not sure how either character feels about that. I have no idea if Morality is juts dismissing him or genuinely believes the meaningless compliments he throws his way. Roman’s treatment of Anxiety can’t be argued this sort of way. While I don’t think Roman is harsh enough to truly want to hurt Anxiety, he’s not an idiot. He can't expect bluntly saying he hates him to go by fine. He must know he’s hurting Anxiety to a point. An argument could be presented though that he’s still caught up in the idea of being a prince and Anxiety is nothing more than the villain (last episode showed that as well). We saw that in the Valentines episode where he thinks slaying a beast is a reasonable flirting tactic- it’s clear that Roman isn’t very realistic or aware of himself. But, I feel iffy on that too. Roman has never been presented as an idiot so to suddenly state that as fact feels weird. I get that you could argue that if Thomas wanted these moments of bickering to be serious then the editing would draw attention to it, just like how he did with the defeatist moment here. He didn’t draw attention to it in the past so surely this is just a moment where Anxiety WANTS to be accepted and so this hits much harder? Maybe it’s the fact that it’s Logan who insulted him- someone who doesn’t really let himself get that emotional to insult people? But then again, he’s also insulted Roman before so! My take on this is that it’s a weird moment that redefines a lot of the series’ interactions. Due to how HUGE this changes the context of Anxiety and even the series, that kinda makes me believe that Thomas didn’t intend to suggest the others were abusive. I think he was trying to show that Anxiety is more emotionally involved with the sides and to help sympathise Anxiety ready for his redemption arc coming up! Maybe that’s me trying to be optimistic and missing all this, but! This series is fun for me! I don’t want to hear that the characters are all assholes. I get that trying to guess what Thomas intended for the series is an endless impossible chase but I think it’s still a point worth making in my opinion because that’s what's going to stop completely unreasonable huge theories. For example, thinking about what Thomas intended stops me from thinking this episode then foreshadows Remus. 

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- Growing Up Analysis

General:

First of all, there is very little to really delve into here. This feels it would now be classed as a Sanders Asides as like there’s no character progression or even any meaningful moments with Thomas here. It feels like there should be important stuff but obviously this is all cancelled out by the next episode. The topic of feeling like you want to grow up isn’t really discussed but more asserted that yes. That is good. So there’s nothing worth pointing out! It’s a TOPIC heavy episode and not a CHARACTER episode. Nothing wrong with that of course, I just like complaining about doing something literally no one is forcing me to do!

Right! And now we have three names out of our core four! PATTON! The way his name reveal is done I feel is also very in character. Revealed through a pun, clearly showing that he put thought into this, but also isn’t done out of a moment of trust or an accident. It’s just when he chose to reveal it! 

This episode feels weird as Thomas ends the video suggesting that everyone was picking on Patton when it really just feels like they were just disagreeing with him. Like I get that they worded things harshly, but... At the end of day, Patton was encouraging bad habits and was willing to compromise but the others came crashing in guns blazing. It feels like a miscommunication rather than the others picking on Patton. They don’t insult him or anything. They just want better for Thomas. Like this line here (excuse the quality):

Nobody was making any points on Patton being bad or useless? Like what are you saying? 

I also love the fact that you see Thomas emotional sides start protesting once Thomas starts agreeing with the drastic changes. Patton is the most obvious in out right crying out:

But you’ll notice during the discussion before Thomas changes into a shirt, it keeps cutting back to Anxiety who’s pulling a face. Like despite advocating for change, he was asking for change in the way that he just wants Thomas to feel bad. Not actually change his whole life around. I just thinks it’s neat that you see Thomas’ emotions lash out at this while his sides which have nothing to do with emotion keep pressing forward! 

Another detail I loved was the fact that Roman’s new set for the sanders sides all reflects their original places in Thomas’ living room. For example, Patton is still by the window:

And Roman is still beside a light fixture!

Characters:

There’s not many points to make here so I’m just going to quietly skip over this!

Theories:

… same here to be honest. Sorry guys... God this is so awkward haha!

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- Taking on Anxiety Analysis

General:

This is still waaaay too early in the series to be making any meaningful points on any of the characters but I thought that the way that Anxiety was introduced is still quite significant! But other than that, there’s no real plot or even general points to make about this...

… I’ll be honest, I think it’s just the weird writing but it’s implied that like Lily Singh is just part of Thomas’ mind? It’s really weird and hard to piece together. He simply appears at her house to solve Anxiety and Anxiety actively pursues her despite being Thomas’ anxiety. But then she also has to help Dan n’ Phil so like she’s also real? Don’t know what point I’m trying to make here but this is just to highlight how little these early episodes can mean for the larger series. 

Characters:

Anxiety- He’s CONFIDENT! This is like the most confident and sassy we ever see this character! Such a sassy nightmare boy! Almost every line he says is a sarcastic quip which does kinda follow for the later episodes but in this episode, it’s taunting Thomas. This feels like this should be referenced later in the series as this was the scary persona Anxiety apparently puts on! A lot of lines point to the idea that Anxiety is actually really powerful, as an example (excuse the shit quality pics):

The “boy I would like to see you try” mixed with the confident taunting pose just shows that Anxiety thinks he’s scary and too powerful for Thomas to even attempt to gain any control over. 

Creativity- Yeah he’s here too! I forgot he was here too! He doesn’t have many lines so there’s not much to be said about him but he immediately makes it clear that Anxiety is someone he doesn’t like but also implies that he doesn’t know how to get rid of anxiety. He’s still the vague character of confidence and over dramaticness so he’s presentation here is largely the same!

Theories

Okay, here’s where things are going to kinda get messy. 

1) There’s a large theory surrounding whether or not Anxiety has abusive tendencies or is a victim of abuse himself or even both. Here, it’s still too early to make those sort of predictions but there’s still some arguments and evidence that could be pointed out. Anxiety here is presented as the ultimate bad guy. Thomas and Lily both stand over him as they rant about how rubbish anxiety is. I guess that can be considered really harsh but at the same time, at the point in the series he was just the literal bad guy. He was anxiety personified. Of course, given the chance, I’m sure all of us would like to yell at our anxiety. He’s yet to be a character so to say that this is harsh or abusive feels kinda overdramatic as at this point I don’t think he was supposed to be sympathetic or likable. So that feels inconclusive at best if I’m honest.  

1b) How Creativity views/treats Anxiety could be seen as abusive here but again it feels weird and over dramatic saying that as at this point Anxiety isn't even a real character yet. He’s more just a concept. But I can also see how Creativity does act really harshly towards Anxiety, for example he instantly dehumanises him into a ‘that’:

His immediate dislike of Anxiety is stated out loud while all Anxiety says to him is just a simple ‘hey princey’. The behaviour does seem really harsh, his tone isn't malicious or anything but that just kinda normalises this behaviour. This I don’t really know how to conclude on... It’s harsh but I don’t think Thomas was yet thinking about the consequences to his harsh behaviour. I dunno, I’ll leave this up to debate!

2) I’ve not really got anything to add to the theory but! This is a major piece of evidence! There’s a theory that the dark sides are just the opposite of a light side. Now, at this point, dark sides and light sides haven’t been introduced yet but! In the first ever episode, My True Identity, Logic appears at the foot of the stairs which is now where Anxiety appears. This leads to the idea that Anxiety is the dark opposite to Logic. It makes sense logic wise as anxiety is often illogical and emotional. It also makes sense lore wise as when the other dark sides are introduced, they appear where their own opposite light side is. E.g Remus appears behind Creativity and Deceit appears disguised as Morality. So it must be intentional. There’s no real counter evidence to his theory that I’ve found. I get that this doesn't really add that much to the series but it’s just another piece of lore I guess! 

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- Losing My Motivation Analysis

General:

OH MY DEAR LORD- We have done it! We have made it to the first character name. God, I don't remember learning a name this early on in the series but! Now, we can introduce Logic as Logan! Each time a name is introduced, I’ll only refer to that character by their name. God that makes things easier! 

But to make a point of things. There’s nothing special about this name reveal at all but I think that actually works for Logan. It’s not some vulnerable moment or a moment of trust or anything like that. It was an accident that Logan then acts like Thomas is the weird one for not considering that they all have names. No big fuss or icky emotions involved. Very Logical. 

Again, we have a video whereby Logan and Morality both join forces to help an issue. And like before, they both blame Anxiety and then Creativity before even considering that they may be the issue. (The Mind v. The Heart episode). Admittedly, this time it’ s Logan who intended to find the issue out himself and Morality didn’t really contribute a lot to the deductions but! I don’t know, this plus the previous episode I mentioned, makes it feel like they’re supposed to work really well together despite being opposites. Plus the end card suggests that they do both like messing about with each other. 

Characters:

To stop myself being too repetitive, I’m going to start just making general points here that refer to a specific character rather than just stating again and again their personality traits. Obviously at this point, their characters are fairly ironed out. 

Logan/Logic- No real point to be made here, I just want to go over what a precious dork he is for justifying dressing up as Sherlock Holmes to solve an issue. Like what an idiot haha! His panic at being the solution to an issue he’s caused felt really extreme and escalated quickly. The idea of him being problematic clearly worries him and he’s determined to constantly be a force of good within Thomas. Partnered with the last episode where he called the others “unnecessary” before saying I love you, it makes it seem like he both values himself REALLY HIGHLY and so he cannot afford to have any fault. Also, the ending where he dismisses his name reveal in order to properly plan is like the first time we see a side truly enjoy their work. 

Morality- Still quite clueless. He claims that every Sherlock needs a Watson but then doesn’t contribute a whole lot to the conversation and even in the ending he says he doesn’t know who Watson is. Still feels like weirdly clueless rather than an endearing cluelessness. But maybe that’s my opinion! He has a moment of being weirdly patronising to Anxiety (excuse the shit quality as per usual):

He responds to Anxiety’s weak timid ol voice saying that he’s not always the bad guy and just responds with the most dismissive patronising line. I feel like I’m coming across as like a Morality hater but... it’s a weird episode for him! But I can also see how people would argue that this is just how this dad character is! He’s trying his best in acknowledge Anxiety’s concern and addressing it in a very characteristic way. But... still feels patronising. 

Creativity- The end card doesn’t lie when he says that he feels like a side character. He kinda of is. I feel like we haven’t had an episode where he’s the focus just yet. As Creativity, it makes sense that his issue is with being constantly perfect and finding the best of ideas. But this video isn’t long enough to properly address those issues and so it feels weird how quickly they move on with Creativity saying “cool won’t do it again”. Like that could be it’s own video’s worth of discussion! But whatever! 

Anxiety- The first time we see Anxiety object to his role as the bad guy! It’s not a loud objection or even a firm one, but it’s a stepping stone! Which is weird because we don’t see his persona change- he’s still a confident taunting figure. He’s still cocky when the other’s address him:

But I think it’s also important to emphasise that while, yes, he disagrees with being the bad guy, he doesn’t suddenly reject his role as Anxiety. He acknowledges that he does and manages a sucky part of the personality, but that’s just what he does! That’s not necessarily his fault!

Theories:

1) While we’re yet to see a big point of support for Anxiety, the others do still treat him fairly well? Like, Logan doesn’t get all offensive when accusing Anxiety and moves on quickly when realising the issue is above him. Same in the previous episode, every character has agreed with him at some point and none of them have been directly really harsh- or even as harsh as Anxiety himself as been. Does this mean that Anxiety is an abusive presence? Personally, I’d argue no. Again, his persona has dropped a few times which then demonstrates when he’s just lashing out. He’s not maliciously stopped any of them yet. Like, so far in the story. He’s just acted out and the others then feared him in response. I get that a major part in the theory that he’s abusive is the insults he casually throws around. In all honestly, I’m to address that but it will make more sense to address that during a different analysis as there’s a specific point I want to draw. For now, just know that I’m of the insults and will address that later! Now we’ve seen that his persona is dropping, the others don’t really react harshly to his presence. It feels a bit much to accuse any of them as abusive. 

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- I’m  in a Disney Show Analysis

General:

...ok ok I get it. This absolutely does not need an analysis as literally nothing happens in this episode. Like it’s just a promo for the Disney show... But watching through it, I was thinking some small points in my head. It’s small and not really worth saying but here I am bored out of my mind so what you gonna do?

Characters:

Logic- He’s weirdly excited for this! Again, this character trait is quickly written out of the newer episodes but I just don’t remember him being this excited by anything ever except maybe a certain jam brand. Excuse the shit quality again:

Just such a happy boy! He’s so excited by Thomas’ work which I hope we see again in the future! Otherwise, he mostly stays on brand as kinda emotionless, work focused and pun hating. 

Creativity- Honestly, not much has changed. He’s just in disbelief and excitement the whole episode so he actually doesn't have many lines to really dig my teeth into. He’s still the overly dramatic prince character!

Morality- I feel the dad aspect of his personality was really emphasised in this episode. Like, he’s not as excited as Creativity or Logic, he’s still happy, but it comes across kinda disinterested compared to everyone else. Like he asks about leftover food before engaging in the topic of the video. I still feel like Thomas was ironing out the kinks in this character. In current episodes, there’s a balance between his goofiness/childish innocence and being the over bearing serious character. Right now, that balance is off with too much goofiness, making him seem still clueless and kinda disconnected from the character of Thomas. 

Anxiety- I’m not sure I noticed this from the previous episodes but he still has some of that confidence! Casually cutting into conversation to brag about how much worrying Thomas did and his laid back posture. But I think in this episode, it becomes slightly more apparent that this confidence is an act. For example, at the end of the episode he makes a sarcastic remark at Thomas but when Thomas agrees with the point he kinda freezes and gets all defensive by emphasising it was supposed to be an insult. All this implies that we don’t really know Anxiety yet. But this could also be contradicted by the fact he did open up about his like for Disney which he doesn’t seem embarrassed by or is even trying to hide. Those facts put together, it presents Anxiety as being confident as long as he has control or even power. So far, all Anxiety does is just gloat about the stress he causes Thomas and when he’s called out or questioned he just seems to get defensive. All talk and no walk, to put one way. 

Theories:

Again, not much to say here! 

But! Again, Thomas emphasises that...

These characters are just that! They have no physical presence! A point that I don’t think many people believe but it’s the only real piece of theory evidence we have in this episode! 

Notes:

I will say that I feel like I’m giving a LOT of attention to Anxiety and I am worried that I will end up missing something important with the other lot. But, to get rid of the guilt, I will say that Anxiety is the only character so far being given any real depth. And at this point in the series, that’s not even a lot of depth. The others still feel like concepts rather than characters (e.g Morality is a dad character and makes dad jokes and that’s literally it) and so it feels like I have no choice but to pay attention to Anxiety. I just wanted to state that explicitly in case people think I’m biased. I’m aware of this issue and I’m doing my best. I’m still incredibly new to the fandom and wanted just some simple summaries for each episode! Cheers for reading this far haha! 

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- My True Identity Analysis

General:

Being honest, there’s like nothing to really analyse here but there were a few lines and characters that I felt really contrasted with later episodes. Also, Thomas seems like the kinda guy who would make references to the first few episodes to further a plot point. So I wanted to give this a go! 

The first line that kinda caught my attention was this (excuse the shitty quality):

The reason why he’s doing this style of content is to answer the question of “do I really know myself as well as I should?” which I think rings true for the entire series! Especially more recent episodes, they’re still tackling issues about figuring yourself out (e.g am I a good person?) and I dunno… I just feel like it’s cute that the series, even in the absolute beginning when it wasn’t going to be a series, has kept the same aim throughout. 

Along that line of thinking as well, the vague basic style of this episode and even the most recent still hold the exact same format. In this one, Thomas asks the sides a series of questions (how do I fit into romance? What impact do I want to make? etc). The other episodes have been a lot more focused on one issue/question and therefore give more in-depth answers. But ultimately the series remains the same as a question starting from a inner conflict that’s then resolved over the episode.

 One thing that really jumped out at me is just how lovely all the sides are in the first episode. Like they are delightful!!! Such lovely young gentlemen!!! They are so loving and comforting to Thomas which I feel is completely lost as the series progresses. An example:

As the series progresses, the flaws of each character is highlighted more and more. That alongside the fact that the sides are all dealing with their own issues/trauma means that this sentiment is kinda lost. But I see why this was kinda needed. If the characters remained over loving and praised Thomas then a lot of the conflicts and issues just wouldn’t happen. There would be no plotlines if the sides just mindlessly complimented and agreed with Thomas’ actions. But this is a line/idea that I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas referred to later on. The stark contrast between the loving sides here and the frustrated sides later is too good to not at least mention in passing! It could be used to link to the ideas that when we’re younger we think more highly of ourselves because we're not yet aware of certain flaws or even our idea of self. I dunno I just love this contrast!

Characters:

Logic- Okay this is the most different characterisation of them all. There’s not much to say because so much of his character is later rewritten so even the contrast isn’t fun to point out as you know it’s just unintentional. Logic is incredibly goofy- referring to a class despite there being none and the goofy ‘hi’ when seeing Creativity to name a few examples. This is also the most smiley and happy I think we’ll ever see Logic! 

Creativity/Princey- He is optimistic and his criticism of Thomas is that he isn't adventurous enough, something that remains later on. Most of his character is spent being referring to through romantic questions which is kinda seen later on in the Moving On episodes. Clearly there’s a connection between Creativity and romance. His characterisation feels largely the same but obviously with the later Creativity being more developed. 

Morality- He’s weirdly... clueless. Like scarily clueless. He doesn’t know Thomas’ name and doesn’t know basic questions such as where do babies come from. It makes him seem like an idiot but this is later written to be more nuanced. Here it’s just supposed to be funny but the not knowing his name thing just makes him seem really... off I guess? Him being the ‘dad’ character is explained that morality is often based on the morality of your own parents first and more knowledge is built off that foundation. It presents him more as a general father figure rather than the father of the other sides. 

Anxiety- While not in this video, there’s so much dialogue that revolves around Anxiety that it makes sense why Logic later says that despite not always being there his presence was always felt. Just felt like I needed to state that explicitly! 

Theories

There’s obviously not many theories that rely on evidence from this early on in the series but there’s a few points that need to be made! 

1) It’s said VERY explicitly that this is taking place in Thomas’ head. I’ve seen a few posts (rare but they are there) that theorise that the sides do have a physical presence but Thomas makes certain that these are his representations of his identity rather than a mental disorder or some weird hallucination. 

2) It’s not really a theory and more just fanon but the idea that Anxiety used to be Fear can be seen here. The sides all list their fears (Morality- spiders, Creativity- rejection and Logic- what's at the bottom of the ocean) and so the emphasis of Morality’s fear of spiders and Anxiety’s room featuring spiders does seem kinda intentional. Like kinda… It’s a weak point but I do think it’s interesting that Thomas had an episode where these facts were established at the same time (Accepting Anxiety). Also I feel like these fears could be a fun reference used later in the series... or maybe I’m putting too much emphasis this early on I dunno!

Note: At the end of the day I’m aware no one is asking for an analysis this early on in the series but being new to the fandom, I kinda want this sort of post to refer to. To get a basic idea of theories and fanon and when they were all established. Just something to read alongside watching the episode. Any points and theories this early on I think are kinda useless because Thomas was yet to realise this was going to be a series let alone start planning out character arcs. And by the time he did realise this, he was writing/ planning to rewrite a lot of these personalities. Also this video is SHORT! Like there’s not a whole lot that can be established in a five minute video... But if you’re reading this then thanks for taking the time to read this haha, I don’t think it was worth your time! I plan to do this for each episode but I imagine my newness to this fandom will really shine through when trying to tackle the monster of the newer episodes so if you have any other points you’d like to discuss then please do! I want this to be a discussion... 

[craftypeaceturtle]

Sanders Sides- The Mind vs. The Heart Analysis

General:

Yay! We’ve reach a point where the majority of the sides have interests and dislikes and more of a personality! Definitely need some depth, but now there’s stuff to even add depth to!!!! 

First general point, the fact that neither of them realise that there’s even a problem to begin with! Please excuse the shit quality picture that doesn’t really show this point but I wanted to add it anyway:

I dunno, it just feels strange having Thomas notice an issue with his daily life and productivity without his Logic noticing. Or even that Morality doesn’t notice he’s increased anxiety or indecisiveness- but that I feel can be explained away as him just looking for the best in everyone and overlooking this. But that’s an opinion. 

Coming from that point, both of them deny the problem’s existence as well. 

Both ask for proof of the problem existing while Logic goes even further by saying that one example isn’t enough data. This feels more like a vague hint at the stubbornness in their own opinions shown later within the series. ALSO! The fact that they both identify Anxiety and Creativity as a bigger problem than them also continues well into the series and becomes a bigger problem later. 

They come to solution to the problem just so quickly!!! Like, five minutes, in and out and all done! I wish that was the case for the newer episodes haha!

Characters:

Logic- We’ve lost some of that joyous smiley Logic for the Logic that’s in current episodes. He’s more serious and any goofiness (the onesie) is funny because it feels out of character- despite the fact he’s not been that serious of a character yet. Randomly, Thomas had doubled down on Logic being the teacher character. He refers to him as ‘teacher dude’ and Logic doesn’t make any effort to correct him. I get that Logic is the character which teaches the audience the main message (because the others are too quirky) but this teacher thing feels so misplaced in my opinion. 

Morality- Finally, he’s explained as a bit more than just morality. He’s defined as also his emotions and empathy which I feel he represents much better! Obviously, I don’t have any experience but if I was going to characterise my morality I wouldn’t immediately chose a jokey dad character as morality feels like a serious topic. Stating explicitly that he represents more just feels like his character now makes more sense! He’s presented largely the same as the other early episodes but now he’s latched onto seeing Thomas as his son- it being a reoccurring joke throughout the episode. Self care seems to be incredibly important to him and friendships seem to rate very similarly. 

Theories:

Again, not much theory fodder here. 

1) I get that they refer to flaws of the other sides behind their backs but at the end of the day, it was a one off line and didn’t seem malicious. Like they weren’t trying to get Creativity and Anxiety in trouble because Thomas was already aware of those issues and Thomas wasn't coming across aggressively or anything. He was assertive but I don’t think Morality and Logic were fearful or anything! This feels more like an awareness of flaws rather than malicious abusive tendencies. 

I am going to state this explicitly now, I’m not going to be talking about shipping. Mostly because I feel kinda weird about shipping when it’s literally the same guy. Also, I feel like there’s nothing to add in terms of what ship seems most likely as that’s REALLY subjective and I feel like I would miss millions of ‘moments’ and looks the characters give each other. So I’m just not going to!