(a) why and how TADC almost got a resolution, but didn’t
(b) I was intrigued by some of the word choice in Caine’s antagonist song, and also the particular insult he used against the humans. “Freaks”
(for (b), time for some more overanalyzing, I guess!)
Now, one would think in this situation, that he might view himself as abnormal and freakish, given what he said to Jax at the dinner. He was desperate to be seen as close enough to human. He seemingly doubted his validity as a person and needed reassurance.
(bro demonstrated just how much he did not understand humans by seeking connection and reassurance FROM JAX, of all people, lmfaoooooo)
Did the writers just toss a random insult word in there for him to say because they didn’t want to break the ground of him insulting humans based on being human?
Because that wasn’t the vibe they were going for?
Or, has his psychology shifted such that he’s leaning all the way into ‘can’t figure why anyone would not see the merit of the artistry,’ since he himself seems so wrapped up in it?
I thought the problem, pre 8, was he didn’t get enough recognition, he wanted to be lauded as an artistic genius or something. (and at least a few fans have erroneously carried that understandable impression forward) BUT his wording in his office “Can’t they see I’m trying?” instead heavily telegraphs (coupled with the ep 8 trailer about never being able to elicit a scrap of love) that the humans practically NEVER give any acknowledgement, even of his EFFORTS.
Which is kind of a flooring realization to come to, considering pilot!Ragatha seems to think it preserved her from Abstracting!!!
I’m going to have to re-watch the series again, because I feel a sense of vertigo, like WAIT, did no one offer him ONE word of “that was kinda interesting,” or “that was kinda cool” EVER? EVER?!!??!!!??!
No wonder this man had such an epic autistic meltdown.
Realistically, (which is the weird thing) somebody would at bare minimum appreciate the aesthetics of neir adventures sometimes. I mean, even if the existing human audience didn’t particularly like the candy kingdom ne set up, you kinda have to admit it was at least pretty to look at.
I keep on coming to the conclusion, (although I don’t think this is the writer intent???) that these humans were basically just too depressed to appreciate ANY sort of beauty that he offered them.
Never mind being at all grateful for the YEARS AND YEARS you’ve been there, that he’s functionally saved your life, RAGATHA.
A micro-love transaction?
Do they figure that ne’s an AI, so of course ne can churn out stuff easily? So neir work is not viewed the same as a human’s efforts?
Would that even fit, when he was showing them his ‘brainstorming’ work in episode 5? They could just not be thinking through the implications of that, maybe? That he can’t just snap his fingers like a real-world AI and have stuff instantly manifest? That he considers it “grueling work”?
Ragatha apparently expects him to act like a human (offer comfort) but never treats him like one (offer gratitude.)
I can’t tell if the narrative is intending to get across that they were all taking him totally for granted … but it’s hard not to conclude so.
The final ep may give clarity on this, and it may not.
That they were too hung up on an “unattainable goal” as Ragatha said back then, too.
Or just hung up on the tragedy of landing there.
Not appreciating what they had right in front of them.
Would fit, as a moral about existentialism.
Which, sidebar here, where exactly was it set up, before episode 7, that anybody still wanted to get out? Wasn’t the whole point of the pilot that everybody was resigned to being there, except Pomni? Her line about “we should just give up on getting out,” kind of comes out of left field, at least to my perspective. You haven’t mentioned that yourself SINCE the pilot.
Yet you seem to phrase it as if it was a continuous thing, that would continue on past the Beach debacle…?
That line really would’ve hit so much harder if she had at least had two lines in two separate episodes about how much she missed the real world. Maybe somebody would’ve responded something like, well too bad, and maybe the cast would’ve had a slight split of opinion over it. The newcomer sort of rekindles some of their hopes, but they’re afraid to lean all the way into it.
{{ADHD recalibration initiated. Beep Boop.}}
Back to lyrical word choice here
Regime- means he thinks of himself as a king. Which yeah sure. But how much context does he actually have for that? As an AI who’s had near-zero contact with the outside world?
again this suggests he thinks of himself as someone with political-type power.
And if we take this in any way literally. Even a LITTLE. That ne’s always viewed himself as having authority- rather than just nem having the “physical/magical” ability to enforce neir will, doesn’t that . . . still wind up- at the same place it often does for me- that he sees every action of not obeying as a deviance from what ‘should’ be. That every freedom he does afford (especially Zooble!) is already a charity.
As I’ve said before, he was born into this power dynamic. He has absolutely no reference point for anything else.
That he could decide to roll back any of it winds up being a miracle in itself.
Functionally, brownie points in his favor.
Does he comprehend that the more he steamrolls the humans (pre ep 8) the more they hate him? I . . . kind of think not? Right? If his goal, per the trailer, is to win their love. So where did this even halfway-respect for autonomy come from?
the writers are not thinking about it that deeply shuddup brain. *Deletes
and no not gonna go on a Chatrerbox derail either lmfao, I have that much self control
Yet- no punishments (until Bubble broke him) for disrupting what he thinks his “role” is.
And, not to beat a dead horse or anything, I know longtime readers of mine probably find this repetitive, but he has even more absolute power than any of the people he alluded to in the song.
The ability to zip peoples’ mouths, for instance.
To, not only turn a deaf ear the way an oligarch or aristocracy in the real world would, (just like any power-drunk person would, human OR AI, hear that haters????) but to very literally silence them.
I’m sorry, but my boi, both from a “I’ve never been remotely socialized as a “child”” perspective, and a “I can do whatever the hell I want, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it” way, just winds up being functionally way, waaaaay more lenient and permissive than the narrative pre ep 8 apparently wants us to believe.
It’s supposed to be “he’s too stubborn to connect with them” when realistically it’s “he wants to connect with them so badly he’s willing to hear them out, in small measures” - exactly what he said, “step outside my comfort zone.” Realistically, neir comfort zone would basically be just making them do whatever he wanted 100% of the time. Because why not? Again: ne clearly doesn’t perceive the emotional dimensions or consequences of doing so. Canonically tho, I think for “comfort zones”, he was talking about very specific things, which I will either do art or another meta about.
It really is just fortunate that he wasn’t data trained on more media where people like emperors and certain all-powerful wizards expect people to kowtow and abase themselves.
Because like … in that very likely and possible alternate timeline, none of y’all had a REMOTE chance at even pushing the Suggestions Box and removing his artistic input from the equation, which he was flexible on, at least for a little while, and, if we understand the canon line “give you anything you want” to Jax near the end of the dinner with him, as, he was READY TO TOTALLY CAPITULATE ON IT, then we can then perceive that circumstances randomly forced Jax to attack and reject him, making him retreat (and leaving him emotionally vulnerable to his abuser Bubble) blowing up that offered olive branch.
In exchange for friendship.
He thought he was getting it!
*sniffles* “I’m so glad we understand each other a little better.”
But it was ripped from him.
Through no fault of his own.
bc this adventure was something HE THOUGHT THEY WANTED.
(which, his offer on the table is better than me! If you basically implicitly demanded I had to stop drawing and writing what I wanted to be your friend, I’d say f%#k off loser. I’ll just be hermit)
(that would fit where I thought his character arc was going, in the months between 6 and 7)
(“I’m committed to my art and/or the viewer’s entertainment, as a showhost, and if you don’t like it, suck it up.”)
(still kinda surprised that particular meta joke hasn't shown up at some point, given just how much he looks at the camera- and addresses viewers in the pilot. I speculated the "make adventures more interesting" line in ep 7 may have been alluding to it, and wrote a OneShot to put in the same collection as The Aviary, but as of yet it has not shown up in canon)
(*so in that scenario that’s more complicated than ‘I’m doing one dimensional antagonist actions’ that we got in ep 8, when he asserts this, it prompts them all to try to find a way out of the- maybe increasingly?- dangerous adventures, ‘I can’t tell a story where nothing bad happens’ = worse things happening are more exciting, just like any regular stprytelling, and perhaps the rest of the cast starts resenting Zooble for being exempt from them. Oooo! Snap!)
And sry but I CANNOT resist driving this point into the ground some more, given how animated the fandom was about it: (pun not intended)
We heard him, in his office, say that the Escape the Circus was not- as the fanon haters theorized- a way to “test” the humans’ loyalty, it was merely something ne thought they wanted. Just EXACTLY as set up in the pilot!
And what does his line "they want answers" and I gave that to them mean . . . surely that's not saying the Abel thing WAS true?? Was there some truth mixed in? I really don't think this is the case. But. Whew.
He didn’t, by this point, expect them to pick the Exit. Because he thought he had made headway with them. And/or the total renig would work.
Did y’all haters even take note that you were entirely WRONG about that, in your haste to evaluate him shallowly and brand him a one-dimensional villain?
Did you take note that all those theories that would save Your Golden Boy Sadist Jax from accountability (controlling him, putting memories in his head) WERE BUNK? And always had been, according to carefully parsed wording from Jax himself? (I put that on my Sherpas sideblog)
I predicted that Caine thought of this as helping the humans, because it fit of what we saw of his character, and his behavior.
He thought he was making some grand positive gesture, listening to what they wanted, and gifting it to them.
A fairy godfather, granting wishes.
(rendering Pomni’s “you don’t listen” as INTOLERABLE feedback that finally shattered him- he TRIED. “Don’t they see I’m TRYING?” She doesn’t. She doesn’t perceive he’s trying. From his perspective.)
And thereby, by these two grand gestures, he assured himself, would this new budding friendship start.
Entirely unlikely, wholly unexpected, this all-powerful man was willing to give up absolutely everything for them. Apparently, silence his art entirely? (what he saw as his art.) He was, fully the Lover Without a Heart.
In that way, the story truly is a beautifully crafted tragedy.
Not unlike the “almost got the good ending” part in Arcane.
Everything was so close to working out, SO MANY times, and every time the happy ending was narrowly averted.
see also: (1) the recently released "Demographics" essay (2) Caine the Tormenter, a series of examinations of his in progress second-guessing his enjoyment of hurting the cast, (3) the fact that if he COULD snap away his abuser Bubble instead of Bubble rapidly replicating himself to avoid it, none of this would’ve happened in the first place, per the “puzzle” line and (4) a couple of my metas on the Suggestions Box. Will probably make a MasterPost on that last one if you want.
