Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: The Amazing Digital Circus (Web Series)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Caine & The Moon (The Amazing Digital Circus)
Characters: Caine (The Amazing Digital Circus), Pomni (The Amazing Digital Circus), Kinger (The Amazing Digital Circus), Gangle (The Amazing Digital Circus), Zooble (The Amazing Digital Circus), Ragatha (The Amazing Digital Circus), Jax (The Amazing Digital Circus), The Moon (The Amazing Digital Circus), The Sun (The Amazing Digital Circus), Gummigoo (The Amazing Digital Circus), Chad (The Amazing Digital Circus), Max (The Amazing Digital Circus), Scratch (The Amazing Digital Circus), Ming (The Amazing Digital Circus), Abel | Mannequin Guy (The Amazing Digital Circus), Bubble (The Amazing Digital Circus)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Human, Caine-centric (The Amazing Digital Circus), Autistic Caine (The Amazing Digital Circus), coffee shop AU, Kinda, Eventual Romance, Existentialism, Psychological Horror, Emotional Hurt, Body Horror, Depression, Suicide Ideation, (oops these are for later), Caine Needs a Hug (The Amazing Digital Circus), Caine Tries (The Amazing Digital Circus), Oblivious Caine (The Amazing Digital Circus), Dream Logic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Summary:
There once was a little AI that ruined everything.
He was created to entertain, to be an endless well of creativity and resplendent ideas, that dazzled and amazed any that came to his show. But no matter how hard he tried, he never understood why he couldn’t get any of his guests to smile. Eventually, he tried to force them to enjoy his show, but that only made them hate him more. And so, the humans rose up against the AI god, putting him under a spell to make him sleep. And so, the little AI rests, and even begins to dream. But what would an AI even dream about?
Do they, perhaps, dream of electric bees?
I’ve had this fic churning in my head since episode 8 came out, and I’m finally getting the 1st chapter out!
Shout out to @upperstories for being so supportive and listening to me yap about the teeth man. The fic’s finally out, so now you’ll get to see the actually product of all the endless talking I’ve done about this thing.
I gotta say, Caine really is the poster child for the "Gifted Child to Adult Failure" pipeline that a lot of late diagnosis/undiagnosed adults (like myself) go through.
He runs himself ragged trying to twist himself into the mold of the "Perfect AI/Ringmaster", because that's what was expected of him. Anything less, and he'd get tossed away, like he was at the beginning.
It's wild to see a character that perfectly summarises my experience trying so hard to fit into a social construct, and when you inevitably fail you're labeled as "defective", "broken", or you're just not trying hard enough or don't care.
Watching Caine, I understand his frustrations and exhaustion. And I just find myself thinking "if one person, anybody, had just took the time to understand how he thinks - so many problems could have been avoided."
I want to give Caine a hug, but more than anything? I just wanna sit down and talk to him, and tell him what I wish someone has told me earlier - that you're not broken just because your brain thinks in a different way.
The problem with TADC's handling of Jax isn't that it develops and humanizes an irreedemable abuser. It's that it only humanizes the irreedemable abuser.
There is more time spent on exploring Jax's psyche as a character, but hardly any time is given to exploring the victims of that abuse.
In Gangle's case, we only get 1 scene of her ruminating in episode 6, on the deeper effects of the harrassment and bullying that she's subjected to on the daily. But it does very little to actually explore her depths as a person, and moreso is like an extension of the narrative around Jax. Same with the scene in the finale when she cries as Jax is placed in the tent, despite earlier being unable to shed any tears (and if you look at Gangle in the earlier scene, her tragedy mask is missing the standard tear drops. She literally had no tears for Jax)
It's explained away as being "complex human emotions", but the narrative just has no interest in exploring what those feelings actually are, in favor of painting Jax's abstraction purely as a huge loss and a tragedy.
honestly you don't even have to answer, i'm just processing as i read your takes. you deserve a break from this that lasts forever
Hi.
I want to preface this by saying that I read all of your posts that you've left in my inbox since the following day, and I wanted to take the time to respond a little more intentionally since you gave such varied thoughts.
Of all the thoughts you've given me, the one I've decided to directly respond to is probably the first one.
i guess my biggest issue with your takes is that i disagree on a foundational level that the narrative does anything to excuse jax, in fact, it's nothing but incriminating, and that's on purpose. it's been on purpose from the beginning. i don't think that jax is shown any forgiveness in the entire show, and i don't think the show even implies that she deserves it. i don't understand where people get that idea from, just because she receives care from the others. doctors in the ER don't forgive everyone that comes in. that'd be a waste of time. they just dispense care. and there's less than 20 people on "earth", all but 6 of them are unfit to help. i have genuinely been trying, and i've been ingesting critical posts carefully, but i just can't understand interpretations that suppose that jax has been excused or forgiven
I wouldn't be a critical blog if I didn't take the time to address this sentiment, because while I understand the answer to this question, it's healthy to write down this explanation concisely. At some point when you repeat something enough, it begins to lose its flavor, and you start to forget why you're even saying it in the first place.
Since reflecting on this ask, the show itself, and even the conversations I've seen going around TADC spaces, my own opinion has since evolved. As such, I've decided that I will be explaining how TADC goes from DISMISSING --> to EXCUSING --> to JUSTIFYING Jax's behavior throughout the course of the show.
So let's discuss.
TW: SA MENTION, SUICIDE MENTION AND DISCUSSION, GENERAL VIOLENT AND BIGOTED THEMES
"How Does The Narrative Justify Jax's Behavior?"
I'm going to break this argument down into three layers, with each layer being less direct than the last. We will be going over Scenes from the show itself, then Framing, and lastly the show's Conclusion. At the same time we will be referencing Gooseworx's own statements, and I will also be doing a comparison to Bojack Horseman, because I feel that show provides the best example of what I'm talking about. It is important to consider ALL of these elements combined when analyzing this argument, as while some points may seem weaker or insignificant on their own, it is THE SUM OF ALL PARTS that matters most. We have to take a step back and look at the full picture here.
So without further ado...
SCENES: IT WAS JUST A JOKE...UNTIL IT WASN'T
Probably the easiest batch of evidence we have are many direct scenes within the show itself.
When we talk about the narrative, we have to think of it as a tool, an entity even. The narrative is the tool of the narrator, and it is the strongest tool a writer has to convey complex patterns of thought that there just aren't words for. The narrative is also an entity, that says who and what goes.
In every episode, there are multiple moments where Jax antagonizes members of the circus, namely Gangle and Zooble. With Gangle, there is of course the gag of breaking the comedy mask repeatedly, but also physically shoving and pushing her, and constantly seeking her attention and involvement. Zooble and Ragatha are often collateral, usually being hurt or inconvenienced by Jax's antics as biproduct.
Now, when I initially watched this show, I hardly took these actions seriously, and chalked it up to nothing more as "cartoon shenanigans". While the setting and reactions of the characters fueled this belief, the narrative itself treated these scenes as just that and nothing more. In every single one of these instances, we move on from the pain that Jax causes almost instantly, with hardly any character acknowledging his behaviors unless they're directly affected. It's light banter, and at best, the narrative DISMISSES his actions. Whatever Jax does has no real consequences that carry on to the next episode, or they can be instantly fixed.
Jax's actions have no bearing on the plot.
Jax can do no harm.
Until...he actually kinda does.
As the show progresses, we get to see more and more glimpses of the psyche of the other characters. Namely Gangle.
In Episode 6, Zooble has a conversation where she expresses fear at angering Jax for not picking them as her partner to play. Earlier, when the game had been announced, Jax had grabbed Gangle first and tried to walk off with her before she pulled away. She tells Zooble that Jax will "probably make it hurt" and expresses feelings of dehumanization brought about by his repeated and consistent abuse.
Remember these concepts: REPETITION and CONSISTENCY.
Another moment in this episode to speak about is Ragatha's confrontation with Jax. As Jax and Pomni get separated, Ragatha tells Jax she knows what they're up to hanging out with Pomni, and alludes to Ribbit. As a result, Jax shoots her to near oblivion. There is an irony in this scene where, earlier, Jax had been encouraging Pomni to let loose and not to think about the real world logistics of shooting a gun. However, the way that Jax shot Ragatha was VERY real; from the way her body jerked around from the impact, and the way her stuffing flew all over the place like a certain crimson bodily fluid.
Gooseworx had mentioned in a post before that she initially planned for Ragatha to have plush organs. Given the amount of times that Ragatha is stabbed, tortured, and generally tossed around, this scene could have been far more grisly.
And yet...
Jax's actions have no bearing on the plot.
Jax can do no harm.
Do we ever discuss how Ragatha felt being assaulted by Jax multiple times? Do any characters directly call out Jax for his abuse of Gangle bringing her to the point of being placed out of her humanity? Do the other characters find out the truth of Ribbit?
No. It is completely dismissed. Despite the stakes changing drastically, the show treats these moments as the exact same when it comes to plot weight. We get a brief establishing glimpse, and then we move on. Whatever consequences that may occur are quickly forgotten about, or resolved fairly quickly (often off screen).
At best, the narrative DISMISSES Jax's behavior. But as we start to delve deeper into the layers of the writing, this dismissal becomes something much more sinister.
It becomes an EXCUSE.
FRAMING: WHO IS TELLING THE STORY?
As someone with autism, one of the problems I often run into is that when I am told or feel prompted to explain my behavior, people assume I am giving an excuse. And I think to myself, well that's not fair at all! I'm merely explaining why I did what I did, or what happened. It is very frustrating, but these moments have given me a lot of insight as to what often causes this miscommunication.
What is the difference between Explanations vs Excuses? The answer is Framing!
Let's say you're told to watch an expensive vase for a friend. While watching the vase, you go and close an open window, and upon walking back you bump into the vase and it shatters. When your friend asks you what happens you have two general options...
"I bumped into the vase by accident."
"The window was open! I had to close it and then I shattered the vase by accident!"
Now, one of these is an explanation and the other is an excuse. It's important to note that excuses CAN INCLUDE explanations.
If you said that the first is an explanation, and the second is an excuse, then you would be correct. Why? The first statement is an explanation of what happened, it is a direct and logical argument. The vase shattered because you bumped into it by accident, simple. While tone and sentiment can be important to help sway the hypothetical feelings of your friend, you explained exactly what happened.
On the other hand, the second statement is an excuse because it is providing irrelevant information. One has to consider that it was possible for you to close the window and NOT shatter the vase. Because there is no correlation between these two events, you are making an excuse. Now if instead it was...
"The window was open! A bird flew through and I tried to shoo it out, but I knocked the vase over by accident!"
That's yet again another explanation. The presence of the bird is in direct correlation to the vase shattering, because you were in a panic. Now sometimes, people may argue that that is still an excuse and those people are assholes. While Explanation vs Excuse can largely be up to interpretation of the person you're talking to, the distinction to be made between the two is CORRELATION. This is a principle of Framing.
So, returning back to TADC, let's talk about the Framing. The scene I will be citing strongly, is the conversation between Ribbit and Jax.
For starters, a very obvious detail that must be pointed out is that this scene is from Jax's perspective. We will never know the true extent of how Ribbit felt before or leading up to this, again, the narrative deems it irrelevant. What we DO see is Jax explaining to Ribbit how they believe they killed their mom. Despite Ribbit showing Jax nothing but understanding and kindness, Jax begins to retract after this moment of vulnerability and drives Ribbit to suicide. This is something that can not be debated, as the exact wording "drives Ribbit to suicide" is something that Gooseworx confirmed recently in some hypothetical canon art she posted of Jax.
But how is this moment framed? Why is it excused?
Well that's simple. There is no correlation between any of the information that Jax has mentioned and his behavior towards Ribbit. When Jax first arrived in the circus, there were only 4 other members: Ragatha, Ribbit, Kaufmo, and Kinger. We see many scenes of them treating Jax with appreciation and comfort, inviting Jax on adventures and taking them around the circus to fun hangout spots. Jax had no reason to treat Ribbit with animosity, an animosity that extended to directing Kaufmo and Ragatha's behavior towards Ribbit as well.
This particular treatment is something that Jax has not experienced...really at all. And it is not treatment that can be inferred or even speculated either. You could if you really wanted to, but there is something even deeper at work here.
Now we can finally discuss how the show JUSTIFIES Jax's actions.
THE CONCLUSION: INTROSPECTION...? HARDLY
For this part of the argument, I am going to now introduce the Bojack Horseman reference I spoke of earlier.
Bojack Horseman is a character and show that has been floating around the TADC critical spaces for a bit now, especially now that the show has concluded. Bojack Horseman is a six season sitcom about a washed up sitcom celebrity star navigating the latter portion of his life. Bojack Horseman is self-destructive, egotistical, aggressive, and abusive. He is an absolute scumbag from as early as the first episode where he is actively sleeping with his agent: Princess Caroline.
Around the time that Bojack was still being actively produced, a lot of fans of the show had expressed their love and admiration for Bojack as a character. There was a certain portion of the fanbase that praised Bojack for being a brilliantly misunderstood character, a tragic anti-hero within his own life. Those people...completely missed the point of the show. So much so that the writers DIRECTLY called these people out in Season 5 EP 10, using Diane as their mouthpiece.
"That's not the point of Philbert. To watch it and 'feel okay'."
Throughout the series of Bojack Horseman, we learn...pretty much everything we could need to know about Bojack's upbringing. His rough and abusive home life, his early dependency on alcohol, and even the implied physical and sexual abuse that he went through. From a young age, Bojack learned about interaction and relationships through the television. He lives his life as a sitcom constantly, and became mentally stunted at the age he first debuted on TV.
As we finally get to the first half of the sixth season, it seems as though Bojack has come to a thorough understanding of why he is the way he is. He seems to understand who he is. Both his parents are dead, he has a stable relationship with his half-sister Hollyhock, he's quit his substance abuse, and has devoted himself to helping out the newer generation of the acting community. Most of his formerly abusive and toxic relationships he has ended or improved; namely with characters like Todd, Diane, and even Princess Caroline.
And this seems to be a good thing. It seems that Bojack has finally done the introspective work to unpack and dismantle the layers of his toxicity. The inciting incident for Bojack to finally take rehab seriously was when he strangled his coworker on Philbert: Gina. Everything should be fine because Bojack was abused...and became an abusive person....but now that he's made amends with that abuse and cut off the people/stressors that aggravated him...he's doing fine.
Right?
.
.
.
Enter Biscuits Braxby.
Now the show does make a point to say that one of the main motivating factors for Biscuits' second interview with Bojack was purely for the ratings. But we can't let a sentiment like that distract us from the very revolutionary concept that Bojack Horseman gave us.
Biscuits interviews Bojack twice.
The first interview, is one that I would say is akin to what many people seem to take away from Jax's character. It is the story that the narrative went with, tragic as it is, and that is the fact that Jax could not help being all of the things that were done to him. Jax is...a culmination of all the moments of repression, of never stepping in your identity, of not knowing the right choices to make and even when in possession of that knowledge, still being scared regardless.
In our first Bojack interview, Biscuits does a very good job of making Bojack look like a good person. She asks all the right questions about all the tragedies that have occurred throughout the series; namely Sarah Lynn's death, which in this interview, is framed as something that happened TO BOJACK. Her tragedy is what allegedly made him want to turn his life around, even amidst all the mistakes, it stuck with him. While he admits to the wrong that he's done and the mistakes made, the emphasis is on how he's a better person, on his introspection and growth. While Jax's story is far more tragic, that is what the show decides to go with as well. The framing is eerily similar when you consider Ribbit's suicide.
But then Biscuits interviews Bojack a second time, and that's when shit gets real.
The second interview is a lot more direct. Rather than starting with the vague questioning from earlier, Biscuits gets right to the point and immediately interrogates Bojack on how he brought alcohol to the set of Horsin' Around. She pushes further, carving out the trend of the many female characters Bojack has had inappropriate interactions with throughout the series; from helping a teen mom sneak into a house party to dating a woman who had just woken up from a 30 year coma.
The story of Sarah Lynn is tragic, but it is not just a tragedy, it is a pattern of behavior. A pattern of abusing women and manipulating them through intense power dynamics. A pattern that even Bojack hadn't recognized himself. Why?
Because it's the one pattern he couldn't blame on someone else.
And we realize, in this moment, that Bojack actually HASN'T done the introspective work, that there's still layers deep to his psyche that he hasn't bothered to unpack, and in one afternoon all of his progress is unraveled. Because it was never really progress, he never really dug that deep.
Hurt people can hurt people, yes this is true. But when we talk about deeply systematic issues like misogyny, ableism, and of course racism, it's a little deeper than that. The fact is that there's no one incident that can make you bigoted, that's just not something you can blame on someone else. In order to be a systematic abuser, you have to REPEATEDLY and CONSISTENTLY engage with rhetoric. Likewise, in order to unlearn these behaviors, you must do the same.
When I look at Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus, and I look at the conversations that surround them, I see a lot of people looking to excuse or even explain the bigotry in a multitude of ways, and none of them address the sentiment that you just don't become bigoted because something bad happened to you. You just don't.
As a Black AND Trans individual I refuse to acknowledge that as a valid argument because it reinforces the burden of marginalized people to be kinder or nicer to their oppressors to avoid being oppressed. That if one of us is rude or cruel then it sets ALL of us back. It's ridiculous, it's exhausting, it's incel behavior. What would I want to do with a person like that anyways? What good does it do for me to have someone in my circle that's only an ally if I'm nice to them?
BONUS ROUND: THIS IS NOT INCRIMINATION
I wasn't initially going to add this part, but as I was rereading your ask there was something you said that was very concerning to me, and I wanted to address that also.
You said the narrative is incriminating, but this is not true. The narrative at no point acknowledges the full extent of harm that Jax has done, without performing any of the previous three tactics. Additionally, however, there is something else the show does that is horrific, and sadly it is once again about Gangle.
In Episode 9, Pomni enters Jax's mindscape after they abstract. Jax's mindscape is filled with many doors, and behind each of these doors is a fantasy scenario in which Jax is torturing or assaulting a member of the cast; Zooble, Pomni...and Gangle.
Gangle's fantasy is one where Zooble has abstracted. Gangle is wearing her manic mask and bossing everyone around, similar to her behavior in Episode 4, to ensure that Zooble's funeral goes on successfully. Jax approaches wearing the maid dress, claiming to be wearing it in solidarity of Zooble's "freaky gender thing" before approaching Gangle and flirting with her.
When Jax is asked to explain the archetypes of the cast, he describes Gangle as "submissive and agreeable". Throughout the show, Gangle is generally a very meek and timid character, who rarely stands up for herself unless in certain instances (ie. wearing her happy mask or wielding a tommy gun). This is the version of Gangle that Jax is most familiar with. The Happy Mask wasn't introduced until Episode 4, as Zooble had had the mask in their room up until that very moment.
So this fantasy...is a recent development. In fact, you could argue that at least two of them are, as Jax had never seen Gangle's other mask before, and Pomni had just got there.
Something else to note, however, is that in this fantasy, as Jax is coercing Gangle to come to his room, she breaks. When I first saw this scene I was completely disgusted. She breaks and admits that she hates him, to which he responds by giving her the key to his room and walking off.
This is a fantasy. Jax believes Gangle is meant to be submissive and agreeable. And yet, in his own mind, Gangle is fighting back against him, against herself and the part of her that hates him. This internal struggle is something that Jax thought extensively about, and it has horrific implications. Jax always wants to be around Gangle regardless of the adventure, he always wants to have some form of control over he (ie. Candy Carrier Chaos and They All Get Guns) and they want her to fight back, but only a little. The break down is integral.
And Pomni witnessed this. She witnessed this and said absolutely nothing, and did nothing. Just like with Ribbit's suicide, the rest of the cast will never know what Jax truly thought, felt, or did. That was SUPPOSED to be a moment of incrimination, but it wasn't.
It just wasn't.
CONCLUSION: WHAT WE LEARN
The show concludes Jax's arc two ways. We get a conclusion for Jax's digital self, and we also get one for Jax's real world self.
In the digital world, the cast makes a shrine for Jax, modeled after Kinger's theory that the darkness calms down the abstracted victims. Does he make this shrine for his own wife, or even coworkers? No. They go in the glass aquarium like they're fish. Jax does get special treatment even while being abstracted, and as they prepare the shrine and mural, Gangle has yet again another moment where she reflects on Jax.
Earlier in the episode, when Jax had first abstracted, Gangle was the only one to have a unique reaction to the news. She expresses that she can't cry for him, that it's hard to feel bad, and that she doesn't know what to think. This is, of course, a very valid sentiment to have given the abuse he subjected her to. But as she looks at the shrine, a single tear finally sheds. Without saying anything, this moment is meant to speak volumes. It is a moment of reconcilliation and understanding, of forgiveness and willingness to let bygones be bygones.
In actuality, there are quite a lot of moments throughout Episode 8 and 9 where the cast forgives Jax. I mean we can't forget the "iconic":
This being in direct response to Zooble wanting to address Jax's behavior as of late when being told they all need to coexist and comfort each other, after realizing they can probably never leave. It's just not true, not even remotely. No one else in the circus is sexually harassing Gangle, or has pushed not one but TWO members to suicide. No one even comes close, so it can only serve to REDUCE the impact of Jax's actions even further.
This is dismissive. This is excusing. This is justifying.
And by the end, they are all brought to the final stage: forgiveness.
But I think making Jax ireedemable, vs just having her be a mean-spirited and rude but ultimately showing more instances where she shows care for the other main cast members was ultimately the most damaging thing the narrative could have done with her.
I'll be honest, I like that Jax isn't a good person. We need more stories where characters from maginalized groups are shown to be fully human in all their flawed, messy, and undesirable emotions. But what the writing fails to do is show more nuance to her personality and show her more positive sides as well.
I know the point is that Jax's coping mechanism is putting up a front and leaning into being "the bad guy", but I think showing that mask slipping occasionally throughout the series would have helped elevate the emotional impact of her abstraction. I think it wouldnt have ruined the message the narrative was going for to show Jax having a little more empathy and remorse, or even small moments of kindness and friendship towards Gangle or Ragatha. In fact, it would have actually made the abstraction more devastating, because we know that change was possible and it would be a glimpse of the person Jax would be if she accepted herself.
As it stands in canon, though? I don't have any faith that coming out would have changed anything, and she would have continued to terrorize everyone.
you have to be careful reading too many things that are good/smart/well-written bc then you encounter something that isnt and you get confused like ? why didnt they just make this good ? were they stupid
Maybe it's because I'm an older TADC fan who has been a victim of multiple people exactly like Jax
But I wanna take a moment to acknowledge anyone else who's been through that - I see you, and want you to know that you are not to blame for how they treated/may treat you.
Man, Jax lashing out at Caine in episode 7 hits much different after seeing the backstory with Ribbit, and just proves how much of a gaslighter she/they are
Jax pushes the button solely due to their own anxiety and paranoia about leaving, and having to face the consequences she's been running from.
And the second there's someone else to scapegoat, they take it.
The stupid sauce? That was part of the adventure, and was easily avoidable. It's the equivalent of eating a weed brownie on accident. Zooble even uses it of their own volition 2 episodes later.
The "vegan thing"? Zooble, again, *literally* asks for this to be done. And everyone else votes for it. Same with the maid outfit.
While it's true that Caine is in the wrong for lying and tricking them, Jax manages to make the situation even worse for Caine by painting him in an even worse light and getting everyone else to see him as a total scumbag.
Which is the exact same thing Jax does to Ribbit during their big argument: gaslighting, calling them the manipulative, and painting them as untrustworthy to others.
My toxic fandom take is that I think that it's awful how much we can talk to creators and get answers from them word of god style. We should be out here in a godless place rooting for scraps of lore in the media like truffle pigs out in the fields
So I came to a realization about why I feel the way I do about Jax
Jax is a character I've never had any strong feelings about. I never hated him, but I never liked him either. And after the finale, I realized why.
I was grey rocking him.
I've been emotionally manipulated and mistreated before, quite a few times actually. And, even though it took me a minute to realize, Jax's actions reminds me a lot of those people. After a lot of therapy and introspection, I've been able to work through a lot of my own feelings, as well as the taking a look at other's perspective and their own history.
I think it's important for me to understand the people that caused me harm, and even experience empathy. But with that being said, it's also perfectly ok for me to have no emotional bandwith for them either. No matter how much they might have cried, or tried to excuse their own behavior, or even acknowledged that they were not a good person, it's ok for me to just...not care anymore. Especially when they've shown me no tangible evidence that they're trying or even willing to change.
Jax is that kind of character to me.
And while I can acknowledge their trauma, their internal demons, and their struggles...I just can't force myself to feel too strongly. Not anymore.
Quick TADC finale review from someone who watched the theatre release while, ahem, inhibited
For the show we got? Incredibly disappointing execution, you not missing much by not watching it. You'd get more satisfaction through fanfiction.
For the version of the show that my edible-fueled brain came up with, where the events leading up to his abstraction is conceptually being processed and reframed in Jax's abstracted mind as a silly, cartoon youtube series?
I'm gonna hold off judgement until after I watch it in english, but that "coming out" scene with Jax and Ribbit is so badly handled.
Because it doesn't confirm anything. In an Indie show that is written and directed by a trans woman and has multiple LGBTQ+ people working on it, it doesnt make sense to cover this coming out scene under 100 layers of innuendo and subtext. In a scene where we see Jax in a private, intimate moment with someone he trusts, there's not reason to not just be explicit and have Jax say it outright.
The only excuse I could give for this is the fact that it could get banned/censored in other countries, and if that's the case...
So?
We have so many animated series in recent years, from much bigger companies, have explictly LGBTQ characters that yes, did get censored in their translations and led to the show's cancellation. But this is the final episode of TADC, there's literally no reason not to make it LOUD and CLEAR.
Gangle and Zooble HAVE SEX IN THE CREDITS! But no, Jax can only say "I told my mom something I knew would upset her, just to shut her up."
What did Jax say exactly? Who knows, it's all wrapped up in Wink wink nudge nudge
Again, I'm holding off full judgement until I watch it in english, but just based on the leaks, I dont have much hope it'll be any better...
Adding a little more to this, since I recently watched "I Saw the TV Glow"...
Owen from ISTTG is a much better vessel for telling a story about repressing trans identity than Jax, but that also doesn't mean you're wrong for seeing that subtext in Jax's character.
Personally, I don't think TADC had the skill or ability to get the idea across the way that it's so artfully depicted in I Saw the TV Glow, because it suffers under the weight of wanting to juggle way too many things at once without the ability to balance it all. It really REALLY wants to be a silly cartoon, but also an existential drama, but also a situational comedy, but also an introspective look into the struggles with identity and, but aLSO--
It suffers, much like Jax and a lot of the characters, from an identity crisis. It doesn't have confidence in what it wants to be, so it tries to be, well, everything.
For multiple reasons, I'm probably never gonna touch a piece of media from Gooseworx again, but I do see the potential she has.
If she chooses to write again, I hope she takes her time to study, and learn, and evolve.
I got most of my venting about TADC out of my system, but one more thing I gotta say
All that to say, I was comparing the finale of TADC to the finale of a show that I really love and hold in high regard: Gravity Falls.
Yeah, it's a little unfair to compare a show from an indie studio to one from a much bigger company for multiple reasons, but just hear me out.
GF has one of the most action packed, satisfying, and emotionally compelling finale episodes that I've ever watched in a show. The episode is well paced, balancing the tension of the first half with the emotionally heartwarming second half.
Stan's sacrifice and subsequent memory loss does get reversed, but the pacing is what makes it carry emotional weight. The show allows the sacrifice to simmer, to let both the audience and the characters sit in the grief from losing such a beloved character. So when his memory does come back, there's not only a sense of relief but also satisfaction.
TADC's finale doesnt let those moments sink in.
The characters arent given room to truly react to anything really. Caine's death, the disintegrated circus, the hopelessness of the situation, and then the reveal of them being brain scans. All of it is crammed together, taking up maybe 3 minutes of screen time before we see the cast conjuring together, mere seconds of narrative levity before Jax abstracts.
(I'm gonna skip over the Jax backstory stuff because frankly, I find it adds nothing to the narrative)
I don't think it's biased to say that Caine should have gotten WAY more focus in this episode, considering the decision to "revive" and redeem him.
It's his deletion that sets the finale in motion, but the characters just...dont react to this at all. Sure Jax gets upset, but only because of how it worsens their current situation. Emotionally, they dont seem to care that Caine straight up died.
Unlike Bill in GF, Caine isn't a villain - he's an antagonist in the sense that his oblivious nature made him unintentionally bring emotional distress to the humans trapped in the circus, despite his intentions being to bring them joy and happiness. Prior to his disasterous adventure in episode 7 and his crashout in episode 8, the cast see him more as a mild nuisance than anything. He was someone they all knew and interacted with every single say, some of them even knowing him for years or even decades. But we get no reaction to his death, and only mild caution when he's revealed to still be alive.
And on top of that, the story itself doesnt even allow for the death to sink in. He dies, we spend basically 30 minutes focusing mainly on Jax, and then out of nowhere Caine is shown to be alive in the void. The rest of the cast dont even spare him a passing thought prior to this reveal.
Hell, I wouldnt blame anybody watching if they had just straight up forgot that he died. Caine's death is treated as inconsequential by the narrative AND the characters, despite it being the catalyst for the finale.
And the only way the narrative can achieve that happy ending is by bringing Caine back from the dead.
To loop GF's finale back into this, it would be like if Stan's regained memories had been revealed in say the last 5 minutes after spending 20 minutes on a flashback to Robby or Gideon's childhoods.
I'm sure it's not intentional, but discarding Caine only to to bring him back because the ending just doesnt work without him, feels kinda gross. His role in the circus hasnt really changed. He's still not really allowed to be a person, but a tool for the others to get their Happy Ending.
