Rewatching TADC one episode a day — Day 9 Part 2
Almost a month ago, I set out to review every episode of the series before the premiere of the cinematic version of episode 9, and here we are, at the final review, with the series' final farewell.
After Pomni tried to connect with an abstracted Jax, the rest of the gang created a rope using several of Zooble's arm pieces, with which they not only saved Pomni (although she had begun to partially glitch), but they were also able to use it to carry Jax to a small tent they all built together. Finally, Jax was under control. That's where Gangle finally cries over Jax's abstraction; it's clear they didn't have a good relationship, but still, Gangle shows her humanity by feeling his departure — call it pity, compassion, or empathy.
While the group talks, someone watches them: Caine.
Our beloved wacky ringmaster is back. I remember the first time I saw him in the theater — we all got excited about his return, but what is he planning? Revenge… or?…
We see the moment where, after being deleted (e8), he's left stranded in the void; many wonder why, but the most likely explanation is that, being inside a computer, being deleted caused Caine to be "de-indexed," and therefore the computer made him disappear. Caine questions his actions and whether it was his fault or the humans' fault for trying to eliminate him.
Caine notices a door that is the scans folder and tries to access it, but he struggles and uses his Conjuring powers to do so, but just as Kinger tells Pomni at the beginning of the episode, he doesn't have to overthink it, and we see Caine is having a hard time — perhaps because remorse is keeping him from doing it properly. He finally manages to access the scans and we see Scratch's arrival at the circus.
(Somehow) Caine accesses the internet, and with the gang's real names, he decides to research them as much as the connection allows. So, our Toothy AI sees the social media of Abigail Brooks (Pomni), Suzie J. Ackerman (Ragatha), Zoey Raghavan (Gangle), Leeroy Mateo (Jax), Grant Best (Kinger), and Riley Verselis (Zooble). Learning about them leads him to reflect on his interest in humans, their free will and freedom, but he also feels conflicted about his desire for control and his sense of inferiority before the world of possibilities they experienced outside the digital world.
Once again, the comparison with AM comes up. AM hates humans for what they are and for what he is not, but Caine — he knows that's where what makes them special lies, what makes him want to understand them. Caine decides to separate from his "brother," the blue AI, and sets it free before returning to the circus. He's afraid to face the humans after everything that happened, but the moon comforts him: "It may take time… but all good things do." She once again reveals that she loves him, to which Caine responds that he never programmed her to love him — this gives him the courage to return.
Inside the circus, Caine repairs Pomni, Ragatha, and Zooble's arms before appearing before them. I love how Zooble steps in front of Gangle just in case, but it's not necessary.
Caine is completely remorseful for what he did. What he learned from their real-world counterparts, thinking about how he stripped them of their freedom, made him decide to give the gang control of the Circus, just as Zooble suggested in episode 5. Now all of them are free to live in the digital world and do whatever they choose. Zooble, who always questioned and criticized everything Caine did, was the first to respond and, setting aside the bad, they themselves tell him: "It's good to have you back."
Caine has another gift for them. On the Stage, he has a projector ready where he decides to show them the whole truth — their names, their destinies outside the circus: Abigail Brooks continued her life as an accountant and her hobby of urban exploration, gaining many friends. The same with Suzie J. Ackerman, who distanced herself from her mother and started a successful life. Zoey Raghavan recovered from the truck accident and was able to work as a designer while also starting to work on her webcomic. Riley Verselis opened a quite successful and prejudice-free bar. Grant Best continued his life as a programmer alongside his wife Destiny and their two daughters. Finally, despite everything, Leeroy Mateo, just as Ribbit said, had no problems after the incident with his mother and moved forward, gaining great friends, with whom he visits Riley's bar.
Perhaps the most painful thing about being trapped in a simulation, or being digital copies of consciousnesses, is that they would never know if they could have gotten ahead or fulfilled their dreams. But now they know their human counterparts made it — much of what they wanted came true and they live full lives, and many of the problems in the circus don't exist out there. For Kinger, it's a relief to know that somewhere, a version of him lives happily with his wife. And for Pomni, who learned everything Jax went through, she knows he's closer to finding his path and peace with himself, and if he chooses, to transitioning. Our little jester accepts that Abigail lives out there and that she is Pomni.
We see a sequence of the group starting a new life in the circus. The gang talks about how to expand the circus while Pomni accompanies Jax in his tent. Gangle and Zooble paint a mural featuring the faces of all the friends who have departed: Scratch, Queene, Ribbit, Kaufmo… Jax. The gang plays DnD together. Caine seems to have forged a great friendship with Gangle and shows a lot of interest in her art (just as that charming comic by the Twitter artist skruxghosty. art predicted). Ragatha seems to have become friends with the Gloink Queen, since, as shown in episode 4, she found the way she cared for her children endearing, and they play softball together. Unlike last time (e5), Caine is trying to understand and play the game. He also shows interest in the drinks Zooble prepares at their new bar.
Another element I found very moving was that they made an "aquarium" where abstractions can live peacefully and the gang can visit them. Kinger can now go see Queene, while Pomni can see Jax, who was finally able to reunite with Ribbit and Kaufmo.
Just like in episode 1, the story ends with the group eating together. But if the first time Pomni was collapsing from the horror of being trapped in a digital hell with a Wacky Pomo aesthetic, now she's happy to be with her found family and to have found new meaning in her life in her digital home… with a Wacky Pomo aesthetic. Pomni says goodbye to the audience Mario 64-style.
After the credits (where we see more snapshots of the gang, including a subtle confirmation of Abstragedy as canon, and Caine definitively saying goodbye to his brother), we see Abigail, Suzie, Leeroy, Zoey, Riley, and Grant waiting together at a bus stop. They don't know it, but on a computer in some old building, digital counterparts of theirs became a family.
In the end, we didn't learn much more about Scratch and the other abstracted characters; many will continue to believe Jax is a bastard (and he'd be the first to agree). Can abstractions be reversed? (u/-Sprockette- has a super interesting theory — give it a look.) But despite all of this, what can I say?
This story made us debate, it gave us ship wars, it made us laugh or made us cry. Some will leave this series as a fond memory; others will take it as inspiration to create their own stories (myself included). But in the end, The Amazing Digital Circus will always have a place within us, and our digital friends will always be there, waiting for the computer to turn on once more and the show to begin again.
Thank you so much to those who took the trouble to read my reviews, and thank you so much to Glitch and Gooseworx for giving us this wonderful series.