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General TADC Thoughts and Analysis

(Right before Episode 8)

Edit after Episode 8: Very incorrect.

Edit after Episode 9: Holy macaroni I was correct as HELL.

Here are my thoughts about the series right before Episode 8. It's a sequel to this one other post made before Episode 7. Most of the stuff stated there still stands, but some need to be updated- thus bringing me to making an updated post.

Note that my favourite character is Caine, so this is a bit Caine-centric.

Underlined text is links, and you may click on it for more information.

Enjoy!

Content Warning: VERY L O N G

The Core of the show

I think we should start off this analysis by putting on top of the table what I consider to be the show's core.

The characters.

Not the circus, not the virtual world, not C&A, not the worldbuilding and lore. The characters.

It's a character-oriented show. The main seven (not six, SEVEN) characters with a narrative arc battling their personal demons in an extreme environment trying to survive and not go insane- which would lead to death.

Our heroes are Pomni, Jax, Ragatha, Kinger, Gangle, Zooble and Caine. Let's not forget about this last one. He's very important. I accidentally found proof stating that he has an arc while making this post!

I honestly do NOT want to enter into the meat of this analysis by discussing one of the most overused aspects of this show's general analysis by the fandom (and one of my most despised), but I'm trying to connect each point following a narrative, and it fits pretty well here.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

Yes, the show takes inspiration from the post-apocalyptic short story by American writer Harlan Ellison named "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream". There are entire analysis out there that try to connect the two stories, and sometimes believe that the plot will be the exact same with Caine going full evil sadistic mode like AM. Five minutes browsing through TADC posts in any social media will probably net you with three thousand mentions of the columns in the videogame version of the story being compared with any golden, cage or pillar-shaped structure in the series and five thousand mentions of Caine being evil in the same way as AM.

The truth is, it's much more complicated.

There are parallels between the two stories, yes. There are indicators that the characters in TADC could parallel the ones in IHNMAIMS- with some crucial differences. When asked about parallels and oppositions between TADC and IHNMAIMS, Lizzie Freeman (voice of Pomni) and Michael Kovach (voice of Jax) said this:

"There's not really a Pomni in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. There is not. So her just being in Digital Circus completely changes the dynamic." - Lizzie Freeman

"Yeah, I mean. I- I feel like with- with I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, certainly a lot of like inspiration came from it but I don't think it's trying to have the exact same story as I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream as just you know, inspired by that idea of oh, there's this AI, uh, which in I Have No Mouth is AM and in Digital Circus is Caine, and AM is obviously hateful like "I hate you" uh, whereas Caine is just "I love you guys, let's go for you!"" - Michael Kovach

Pomni exists, and has been described as "empathy". Caine feels like an inversion of AM in the sense of loving too much instead of hating. IHNMAIMS is the inspiration, but not the full plot. Characters are more than their possible counterparts in the story, and it's not gonna go the exact same way. It would be boring otherwise.

I personally purposely avoid theorising around IHNMAIMS to avoid falling into same-plot syndrome.

The characters as representations of specific issues

This is more of a risky opinion of mine, but it leads into the next points I want to expose. This analysis isn't starting with the juiciest points in the slightest, but oh well.

I see each of the main seven characters in the show mostly representing a small, mostly unique conglomeration of problems. Maybe it's a narrow and limiting way to look at it- it most probably is. But I still want to expose it.

Note this is how I interpret it. Not canon, of course.

Zooble has body dysmorphia.

Gangle represents the "masking" of emotions.

Ragatha is a people pleaser who has been possibly emotionally abused in the past by her mom.

Pomni has anxiety issues, but overcomes them to be an empathic pillar for the others.

Kinger is an eccentric character who lost everything, but is still a very stable character and a pillar for others.

Jax could represent coping through abuse, bullying of others and self-destructing coping mechanisms- and if transfem Jax turns out to be true, then that, too.

And Caine has characteristics of autism and ADHD. It's even headcanoned by his voice actor.

Was it in purpose? I do not know. I'm not sure I want to know.

Caine is an AI... so what?

Ah yes, before starting all this, let's just clear out the direction this analysis is pointing towards. Caine is not evil, Caine is not doing harm on purpose, Caine does messed-up stuff and makes the humans go on heavily-demanding adventures because he doesn't understand it's problematic and not what humans need, which also connects to his purpose as a ringmaster AI. Caine is the Chinese Room- imitates, but doesn't understand what he's doing. But this is also a fictional narrative where AIs can grow, contrasting with the Chinese Room argument which states that a computer can't have a mind, understanding, or consciousness.

With that out of the way, let's go.

I see Caine in the same way I see a real-life autistic individual. Myself.

My autism has never excused my actions. My autism doesn't excuse me of my wrongdoings. When I do something bad, I'm told to improve. I'm not automatically 100% innocent due to my condition.

So what's the difference with Caine?

Caine is an AI, but I don't think that excuses all the bad stuff he's done. It gives context to it, an explanation, but he still needs to be held accountable for his actions. He's not innocent by being a clueless AI.

This is why I'm not a Caine apologist.

Also note the above post by Alex Rochon (Caine's voice actor), which reflects my opinion perfectly.

As an afterthought, as an autistic individual, I do relate to the Chinese Room argument a ton in the same way I connect Caine to it, too.

And, going further. I don't really think his status as an AI matters that much. Caine being an AI possibly comes directly from his parallel with IHNMAIMS, but in the end, even as the main antagonist of the series, he also has the exact same arc as one of the other humans.

Him being an AI is merely an excuse to go with the plot's setting. A catch that makes his character cooler, and gives an explanation to his erratic thought processes (which as we've already discussed are equiparable to real-life autism and ADHD). He will glitch, he will crash the circus, of course he's an AI connected to the virtual realm. But he's still very human at heart. And that's the important thing and what we should really focus on. Not on his nature. But on his heart.

And I don't really believe his nature as an AI will be heavily expanded upon. We haven't got any programming terms in the vocabulary Caine or Bubble use, they have never mentioned RAM or drivers or programming or anything. At least in the English dialogue, which I consider the "official canon" one. And I don't believe this will really change. We're supposed to see Caine as a "human" to empathise with, not as a machine. Yes, again, he will glitch, but that's due to his quirky nature and rules of the universe he's in. But that's not the focus of the character, in my opinion. That's not what makes Caine important.

Which further leads me to:

The circus as an excuse for the plot

The circus itself is another catch, like Caine. It's the excuse to put the characters in a cabin fever-esque situation. The plot, summarised, is basically about a bunch of humans (and an AI) with mental issues surviving an extreme situation trying not to die from insanity. The circus is the cool location the show happens in which appeals to the target audience (it seems we really like videogames and 90s computer aesthetics, huh?), and drives the plot forward by giving context to the suffering of the characters and obstacles to overcome. And, funnily enough, they're also trying to escape/find an exit, like IHNMAIMS. Another possible parallel due to the inspiration.

Which leads me to:

C&A

I don't really believe C&A is that important.

C&A seems to be the physical location the computer running the circus is in, and the only information Caine has about the real world. Yeah, he probably only has those pictures, which probably leads to them being the only thing he understands about the real world or the Macroverse as he calls it. If you're more interested about this theory, read this post. It seems to have been confirmed in Episode 7!

It's a character show. Not worldbuilding heaven. I don't believe C&A will ever be fully explained, or that it's that important at all. It's the means to an end. UNLESS it's directly tied with a character and/or plot point. Kinger, Caine, or the circus' conception. It seems we'll get some flashbacks in Episode 8, so we'll see where that goes.

Note that Gooseworx also has these unexplained "evil" corporations or facilities in her past projects. Little Runmo and Pink City both have them. And Goose's works often have nonsensical elements about how the world works. I wouldn't really try to make sense about why the computer is still running after years (and possibly decades), for example.

Furthermore, I believe Episode 7 to be the episode that parodies all these worldbuilding theories that try to make sense about the most nonsensical and unexplained aspects of the show.

Gangle, Zooble and Ragatha's character arcs

I believe there are two character arcs that can be considered nearly finished: Gangle and Zooble's.

Gangle mostly finished hers on Episode 6 when she shot that tommy gun- learning to be happy without masking and/or her happy mask, and making friends with Zooble. I do still believe it should be adequate if she stands up to Jax for his continued abuse towards her at some point, though.

Zooble seems to have finished theirs between 6 and 7. Ignore the order of those two numbers. I'm mixed on the exposition of it, because it mostly seemed to be off-screen from what they discussed with Gangle on 6 and they immediately exposed it to Jax at the start of Episode 7 in the beach. However, Zooble seems to be the human with less screentime in the show- they didn't even get a "spotlight" episode when Gooseworx stated that some episodes would focus more on characters than others, so... it kinda makes sense? But it's still sad. I believe they will get some friction with Caine in the last two episodes, though. They had "therapy" in 3 after all!

I honestly find the classification of "spotlight episodes" extremely limiting because it led the fandom to fight because people believed their character didn't get enough screentime in their "dedicated" episode.

Ragatha still has character development to go, as proven by Gooseworx's post pictured below. I assume she'll learn to give space to others, and she will get trusted back in return. If there was abuse, that will bet brought up at some point, too. Maybe in what seems to be 8's flashback scenes with Kinger. If Jax and her had history in the past that could get touched upon, too.

Gooseworx posted this comment on Reddit a while back, and later deleted the post and her Reddit account. Apparently, this is where it comes from.

What's the deal with Kinger?

Kinger... Kinger is a very divisive character in my mind, because of the "Kinger Dev Theory". I'm aware there's copious amounts of proof (and no, he doesn't have a dev pass, that's the corner of a pillow) but... it seems too obvious, people theorised this from the Pilot- it was one of the first theories in the fandom. I personally want it to be a red herring. I try to explain him creating the butterfly and other wacky stuff happening in the circus such as people shooting the guns cartoonishly and succeeding when they believed they could in Episode 6 using what I call "Cartoon Logic Theory" (I think the widespread name is "Belief Theory", but I'm not sure), which is, basically, if you believe you can do it, you can. You're a cartoon, then act like one.

Furthermore, Kinger seems... too perfect. No faults when lucid. That conflicts me.

He seems to have been the first one to arrive at the circus. What I believe the trailer for 8 shows us is that Kinger got in first, then his wife Queenie, which abstracted after Scratch, who also joined at some point. Maybe then Kinger was alone in the circus, and Ragatha joined, saving him. There's also the other doors showing abstracted people in the dorm hallway, but we don't have any reference for those so I think it's blind speculation.

Jax, Pomni and Caine's arc connection

I still stand with Jax and Caine being set up as foils. I believe theirs are the last narrative arcs in the show. I originally believed Caine would be the last one due to its complexity and direct connection to the circus, but Gooseworx confirming that Jax was one of the two main characters and with Episode 8 seeming very-Caine centric I moved Jax's one to the finale.

But Jax is only a human whose abstraction doesn't really cause any effects long-term, while Caine is a godlike being whose emotional state can possibly destroy the realm everyone lives in. So how does that work if we are to expect everything breaking?

I honestly do not know. I believe there are various ways this could go in:

Someting with "Cartoon Logic Theory". The circus being exploited in some way by Jax.

Power switch scenario. This one is the one I believe the less because it feels very fanfiction-y. Caine and Jax exchange powers/places, making the circus' fate rest on Jax's mood and/or whims. Also works as a Brought Down to Normal for Caine.

Nothing at all. Jax's possible abstraction already serving as enough of a plot point without the need of a cataclismic event.

But, in reality, I believe both of the arcs will culminate in the finale together. With Pomni maybe even having to choose who to save. I believe Pomni will try to reach out to Caine in Episode 8, or that she will be the one to realise that Caine is actually sentient and has emotions, but that it will fail, thus connecting to Episode 9.

Why did she connect to Gummigoo in Episode 2, if it wasn't to foreshadow something later? Gummigoo proved that AIs can evolve. And there is one in need to be talked with.

Abstraction

I think abstraction is caused by Caine. Accidentally, of course- because why would Caine cause abstractions on purpose, thus being alone in the circus when the thing he desires is human companionship? He doesn't want to cause harm, and he doesn't understand that him modifying the humans' minds- even if it's for an adventure, is bad. I'm pretty sure there's still something we don't know about the nature of it, though. I believe that 7's plot revelations in the last scene were intentionally misworded in order to fuel speculation for Episode 8.

Can Caine abstract? I'm 50/50 on it. If I consider Caine to be the exact same narratively as one of the humans as I discussed before by not caring about his nature as an AI, it should make sense he could abstract too by being sentient and having the same type of metaphorical "soul" as them.

But abstraction is irreversible. Someone abstracting removes them from the picture. Caine abstracting would probably mess up the circus pretty badly, and I'm pretty sure his outburst in Episode 8 will mess everything up anyways, but again, if the guy is as important as one of the humans, we can't just kill him in the same way we wouldn't kill any of the other humans.

So, if there are any abstractions happening, they will happen in Episode 9- or if 8 ends in a cliffhanger, that could be that, too.

They can always do more abstraction fakeouts, of course. Jax got a huge, reversible one in Episode 7, and due to it having been shown already I'm not sure we'll get to see the LSD Land again (or at least, to that extent) considering it was a fully-fledged Goose LSD Scene™ that lasted more than a minute and a half.

There's also the possibility that if abstraction was actually caused by Caine, he's able to "disable" it by not doing whatever caused it.

See this post if you're interested in a list of every time Caine could have possibly edited the humans' minds.

Bubble

Bubble is not a virus.

Most probably.

Caine has been stated to be the main antagonist of the show, Bubble possibly only interacts with Caine in the entire series (note he minimally interacted with Ragatha and Kinger in 6 [thank you @crazitaco!], though, but it still stands in the sense of the interactions not being major and/or important) and there's been absolutely zero buildup to Bubble being a villain (yes, I'm aware of special/boy and the fact that Bubbleboy is a real virus). Having a twist villain in the show that has focused on a group of morally grey people overcoming their issues wouldn't be the best course of action, in my opinion. They're overcoming themselves, not a villain. Inside Out 1's plot is this too, for example. It didn't need a villain to work.

So, what is Bubble?

Bubble is, officially, a simpler AI created by Caine and his hype man. But it seems there is something more judging by the trailer, namely the Thought Bubble theory- Bubble being Caine's literal thought bubble, his intrusive thoughts and/or subsconscious. And they share a tongue, so that's that, too.

I'm honestly not sure what to think. I'm pretty sure Caine made Bubble as a friend so he would feel less alone, but Bubble might be breaking because Caine stated that it's problematic to have an AI running for a long time- possibly because they get more smart. Right now, I'm waiting for whatever 8 brings to the table. But I'm pretty sure he's not a virus nor a twist villain.

Maybe he dies in 8, though. By Caine glitching or breaking or simply by Caine getting annoyed at him and deleting him from existence or something. I think something could happen to Bubble in 8. He hasn't been set as a deep character with an arc, after all. I don't think he's as important as one of the main 7 characters.

I was actually very surprised Bubble actually got a proper role after having considered him only comedic relief or possibly a Sacrificial Lion (a character that dies to show the danger the other characters are in). They're still not incompatible, but the guy seems to have a bigger and more important purpose now.

Red-Blue Colour-Coding

This is possibly the most far-fetched theory I actually semi-believe in. Originally coming from a defunct Tumblr account, it pointed out how some backgrounds in Episode 6 were colour-coded red and blue and/or had hot and cool colour shades and lighting, and how that was connected to emotional talks about being a cartoon vs being a human.

I realised that every single emotional talk in the show was colour-coded, too. And that Pomni could be a bridge between the two worlds due to her palette- with her being an emotional pillar for everyone. And I started to believe in the theory and dubbed it "Red-Blue Symbology".

These are snippets from an old post of mine that got age-restricted for no reason and is still in content label review after months. It was made before Episode 7, but still stands.

I do believe there is something going on with red and blue, considering that the colours have been shown contrasted narratively- Caine's glitching eyes in Episode 6's post-credits scene, everyone wearing blue swimsuits in Episode 7 except Jax who didn't change clothing and the choice between the two buttons in Episode 7 (with red even being remaining in the circus and blue leaving!). The teasers and trailer for Episode 8 also enforce it: Wacky Watch's GIF, and the puzzle seems to have a red and blue-eyed Caine as the last piece in the center (lighting and reflections around the missing piece seem to prove it). Even if it doesn't really mean anything plot-wise, red and blue is stil there as a creative choice.

Updated:

Yes, but no. There seems to be something reflecting off his eyes, but maybe it could literally just be the spotlights that colour the sides of his head red and blue.

TADC's ending

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/759123486234099712/whats-a-message-you-want-people-to-take-away-from

It's been stated multiple times that TADC is a lot more hopeful than IHNMAIMS. It's also been stated that TADC's plot has been inspired by Evangelion. Well, maybe only the characters' writing, though. To those that don't know how Evangelion ends, it's... the end of the world. Cataclismic event that ends the world, which leads to a mostly nonsensical hopeful ending. I haven't watched it so forgive me if I completely butchered the idea.

"Finding meaning in a stagnant life" led many people, including myself, to believe the show would end with them in a bitersweet ending adapting to living in the circus, maybe with a reprise of the theme song with Pomni instead of Kaufmo as bookends.

Recently, the voice actors were asked what would their ideal ending be. Quote Alex Rochon's response:

"I mean, my ideal ending, like years before I knew it was like eventually they kind of just get used to being in the circus, they never leave, and the last episode ends on the theme song but with Pomni replacing Kaufmo." - Alex Rochon

That makes me think that that may not be the actual ending, and makes me lean more towards a cataclismic event a la Evangelion. A hopeful open-ended ending bordering on nonsensical. Open neutral nonsensical endings also fit with stuff Gooseworx has done in the past.

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If you've arrived here, congratulations! You're at the end of my spectacular dumping of obsessive TADC lore and theories condensed in a very long monotonous post with a lack of visual engagement in the form of pictures. I'm pretty sure that was incredibly hard to read, but I tried my best.

Hope you enjoyed, and hope it made you rethink some stuff if your view of the series is different to mine- in the end, that's my objective. To make whoever reads this reflect and think, even if whatever they get to in the end is different from mine.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

#I wrote this instead of sleeping #the brainrot #the amazing digital circus #tadc #the amazing digital circus theory #tadc theory #the amazing digital circus analysis #tadc analysis #the amazing digital circus 8 #tadc episode 8 #tadc 8 #caine #caine tadc #tadc caine #marhola's tadc rambles #not a reblog

sinister and innocent kim soleum animatic. please. please it's like so good. every single part works so well. i have been sketching like 1000 million ideas based on every single one of the lyrics.

also the . bridge? i don't know music. the part that starts with "bombs were tossed / in what was lost" fits with like. agent choi viewing kim soleum. also agent bronze. please. can anyone hear me

like. rundown of the entire thing. first part with "paragraph after paragraph / you can speak them all 'til your breath is gone" is like. the wiki. obviously. after that is him getting tossed into darkness records and his whole Thing re: ireum-nim and pt2 in general.

the chorus is the conflict between the roles he plays and the thing with contamination and etc etc. also his conflict about leaving and partially the most recent arc (could be spun into that on further repetitions if it's an animatic)

then the bombs were tossed section. feels choi+bronze pov but like also the beginning also gives soleum reflecting on contamination, his self-image, et cetera. then after that with the "i was hoping you would learn from me / you were suffering for the light you seek". like. presents that to you. you see it. then the following lyrics are bronze and then choi but could be used multiple ways

and the end part with how unknown he really is to daydream and their hubris and the lack of responsibility in everything done ?? yeah.

if you don't know sinister and innocent just look for like. two seconds at the lyrics. please. sinister & innocent by woe.begone on bandcamp. Do You See It. i didn't say anything real but it's because i've been flailing around for a while. please listen to woe.begone songs. what who said that

#gsgw #this may be just me loving w.bg #wait NO. it ISN'T. IT'S PLITERALLY PERFECT #the brainrot #you know a piece of media is good when it got me listening to woe.begone #i know this is impossible to like. understand but i'm so tired and the brainrot insidious #i just need to finish one (1) lyric piece. then you'll all see (villain voice)