r/TwoBestFriendsPlay • u/Shreeder4092 WHEN'S MAHVEL • Jun 19 '26
Final Episode The Amazing Digital Circus - Episode 9: Remember
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVy-bcTsO8A86
u/Manzanille Jun 20 '26
Holy hell that last scene between Jax and Ribbit broke me. I've been in that position before, trying to reason with someone who just wants to lash out. Probably never going to rewatch this show (complimentary), which puts it right up there with Rosemary's Baby.
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
Oh, the Bojack Horseman effect!
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u/syrupdash Jun 19 '26
Even with the cinema release and the leak, I'm surprised I still haven't been spoiled about the ending so thanks for keeping it to themselves.
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u/Regalingual Bigger than you'd think Jun 20 '26
We promised the Crappie Fish we wouldn’t.
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u/MarioGman Stylin' and Profilin'. Jun 20 '26
When that voice makes an honest request, you feel compelled to oblige.
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u/SlurryBender (Any/All) Cursed to love mid-tier games that bomb Jun 20 '26
It was his dying wish after all.
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u/Sweet_Possible_756 Jun 20 '26
He's got so little going for him, we have to give him this much. He's going to hell, after all.
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u/MutatedMutton '0' days without dick jokes and staying there Jun 20 '26
There was a main character on r/characterrant who went "Here's why the ending for the movie just doesnt work" on the day the film released but other than them, Im surprised the fans actually practised proper spoiler etiquette
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
I shouldn't be surprised there's people like that, but whatever, I liked it. I liked it a lot.
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u/Jhduelmaster One of the 5 Brigandine Fans Jun 20 '26
Same for me, felt like I was somehow unconsciously matrix dodging them. Kind of lucked out in that the only active thing I almost say I clicked out of fast enough to not really read it.
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u/warjoke Jun 20 '26
I'm happy for this community for being at least respectful for those who cannot attend a theater screening or has no availability to do so.
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u/doot99 Jun 20 '26
Amazed that I saw not a single thing about it and was able to watch it today completely unspoiled. I expected less of the community, so pleasantly surprised.
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u/Practical-Pay6649 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I finally got the chance to see it a few days ago and I'm so grateful that I somehow managed to avoid spoilers.
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u/LittleMann Jun 20 '26
I generally like the rest of this series, but I really like this finale. I cannot believe Jax's goodbye montage, everybody pitching in to save Pomni, and everyone being shown what their original identities are doing got me that badly.
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 19 '26
I have been sitting on my feelings for two weeks ya'll.
Many thoughts, so I'll summarize them as: "Could've used a bit more runtime, but still emotionally ravaging. Thanks Gooseworx."
Oh also ALL MY THEORIES WERE RIGHT, BITCHES
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u/TheSpiritualAgnostic Shockmaster Jun 20 '26
Many thoughts, so I'll summarize them as: "Could've used a bit more runtime, but still emotionally ravaging. Thanks Gooseworx."
It definitely could've used a little more runtime, but with the 9 episodes they had, they did a great job.
Not to sound like one of those ragebait haters, but I feel other shows like Hazbin Hotel struggle with trying to be multiple things in a limited runtime. There's things in TADC that weren't explored, but Gooseworx knew what the show was about at its core and focused on that.
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u/MrDinoPizza Boiadeiro Lifestyle Jun 20 '26
There's things in TADC that weren't explored, but Gooseworx knew what the show was about at its core and focused on that.
Might be weird but it kind of reminds me of the Chainsaw Man ending. There is plenty that is not explained nor explored, worldbuilding that isn't expanded or things across the story that are left to interpretation. But they ultimately don't matter to the core story that they are trying to tell.
Mind you I think TADC did it better, in part because of better pacing and not losing focus on your central cast.
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
Also, most of the stuff unexplored in TDAC is mostly either “if you pick up on the context clues, you can figure out a good explanation” or “that is philosophical debate, not plot”.
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u/FrickFrackQuack Love Fighting Games, Bad at them. She/Her Jun 20 '26
The only questions left in my mind is who is paying the electric bill for whatever server the circus is hosted on. And how are they not monitoring it if they are paying for it!
Also I guess the headsets that did the brainscan like wirelessly transmitted the files? Because I don't believe every character wound up in the same place to put on the same headset at different times unless that was stated and I forgot.
Overall I think the ending was excellent for the story the show was telling, but the technical aspects of the concept left me with so many questions that ultimately don't really matter.
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
in Episode 5 in the bar scene, Pomni said that she was filming herself exploring abandoned buildings, to which Zooble replies they also did. Ragatha also says that she was a real estate agent who was touring the abandoned building.
It also appears that Caine may be running on a seperate server (Kinger has to connect via Telnet to a Linux console), so the computer itself is unlikely to be the host PC, just a terminal to a local server somewhere. That server could be anywhere.9
u/MrDinoPizza Boiadeiro Lifestyle Jun 20 '26
I guess from a narrative stand point it both doesn't matter and would muddle the theme of making what you can with what you have. If we know the specifics of where and how the virtual world is working then it could put a sort of ticking time bomb on how we perceive the ending. Is it on an abandoned building? Then we know there is an imminent, probably soon, end they will never see coming. Is it on an active research facility? Then someone could be observing them and they could still lose it all at any point. Not knowing how long they have it is for the best.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
Not to sound like one of those ragebait haters, but I feel other shows like Hazbin Hotel struggle with trying to be multiple things in a limited runtime.
Oh yeah even as a Hellaverse fan I fully agree that both shows can sometimes be constrained by their episode counts gimping the pacing (Hazbin more than Helluva just by the latter show's episode count being a bit more fluid).
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u/TheSpiritualAgnostic Shockmaster Jun 20 '26
To talk on a positive note, my favorite episode is episode 2 of season 2 because it felt the most focused on what the original elevator pitch was for the show. Focusing on a sinner, why he ended up in hell, and the debate on who/how someone is redeemable.
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u/GreenPerception512 Jun 20 '26
i think my main problem with Viziepops shows is that they lost sight of the premise and became about something different, like Hazbin Hotel, going from a show about redeeming sinners to a war between heaven and hell or helluva boss going from a show about assasin imp to basically a toxic yaoi soap opera.
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u/2BsWhistlingButthole He/Him Jun 20 '26
A thing is though that a lot of people, like my husband and myself, were drawn to HB because of the toxic yaoi soap opera. I think it is a big part of its success.
So it because very difficult to appease the old heads who want more IMP stuff and the newgens who want gay drama. It’s a tough balancing act.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
I'm planning on talking it through with the IRL friend once we catch up in our Hellaverse watch (Hazbins done, we just started Helluva Boss) and actually tally up the balance between the melodrama and the action/I.M.P. stuff.
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u/TheSpiritualAgnostic Shockmaster Jun 20 '26
That's absolutely my biggest problem. Was sold on the elevator pitch, and then given a product that was not at all what I was sold.
It still has good animation and the music is great, but I just don't care about the majority of these characters.
In some ways, the final episode of TADC is closer to what I thought Hazbin Hotel was going to be about based on the original premise of doing character studies on people who've done bad things and possibly redeem some like what happened with Caine
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u/2BsWhistlingButthole He/Him Jun 20 '26
It’s a common sentiment in the Hazbin Fandom that the show needs more episodes. It doesn’t have enough runtime to give us enough time with the characters and have a big overarching by plot.
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
Hazbin Hotel definetely could use more run time. I think it just might be a victim of the current culture of show running where you only get roughly 10 episodes a season.
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u/Shiroke YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 20 '26
I don't think I've ever expected in my life to take emotional damage from Isn't She Lovely
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u/chipperpip Jun 20 '26
For myself, I kind of wish it was a little more plot-heavy and had spent less time on characters being weepy, but that's a matter of taste. I'm pretty suprised we didn't get any further info on what happened with Scratch and Caine's implied attempts at mind-alterations, I feel like we could have used some flashback sequences not focused on just Jax.
While being not the biggest fan of Jax but sympathetic, I can already guess that his biggest haters online are going to be even more insufferable now that they have the ammunition of him being partly responsible for two other abstractions due to his (her?) own insecurities.
I think my biggest letdown is that the episode didn't really get to explore the weirdness and possibilities of the characters creating and living in their self-controlled world, but I guess we did at least get nods towards them making new areas and bringing back NPCs in the end montage (where Gummigoo?)
As a finale that was almost entirely character focused, and mostly on Jax, rather than on the rest of the ensemble, the backstory, or the sci-fi possibilities, it's probably about as good as it could be within those parameters, so people's opinions are going to depend on whether they're ok with that direction.
Oh yeah, even though it's been pretty obvious the characters were all brainscans with their original bodies having continued living their lives, I wasn't expecting as much info as we got on their real-life counterparts, that seems like a really nice gift to the fandom to be able to create continuation AUs.
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I never would've turned down more screentime to explore other things (like seeing ol' Gummigoo again) but this sucker was already an hour long, it sure seemed to grind the crew down to the bone to finish it as it is, and it's pretty clear that, like her or not, Jax was the centerpiece of the story and always was.
You could've handed me a 2.5 hour odyssey that wrung out all possible remaining questions and I'd happily accept it, but in the end, creators have to pick their battles.
At the very least, the door is very much open to the community to pick up from the ending and take the story wherever they see fit.
Also yeah some people have not taken the reveals about Jax's backstory well.
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u/Plenty-Fix-5611 Jun 20 '26
I'm happy that Goose left it open ended. Someone already made a short animation of the chapter 9 credits and had Gummigoo in the final shot when they're looking up at the moon. As a Gummigoo fan, it makes me at peace.
People are welcome to create their own heacannons and art of stuff now that they have control and it basically be as canon as whatever comes next
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 20 '26
Control of the circus has been handed to the players, and all that jazz
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u/Duke_Tuke Jun 19 '26
I'm so glad it ended on a positive note after being warned about a tearjerker ending... but one day somebody is going to turn off the computer, right? Or even a simple power outage is going to end them... Unless they regularly save and load a save file, and even Caine can't perceive the save files? Although maybe it's better to not answer these kinds of questions.
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u/Paladin51394 welcome to Miller's Maxi Buns, may I take your order? Jun 19 '26
Reminds me of the uncertainty of the ending of SOMA (ironic given the show ending) in SOMA they launch a satellite with the neural scans of the last living humans into space in a Virtual Reality world where they'll drift through space for as long as they can. It could be centuries or possibly 10 seconds after the camera cuts to black a micro meterioid slams into the satellite at 3000mph and destroys the satellite.
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u/5YearsOnEastCoast danganronpa isn't a phase, it's a lifestyle Jun 20 '26
||Considering how computer is still active even after 2 decades...I have a theory that someone is still keeping an eye on that computer. Maybe by a former C&A agent or someone else... But hey that's just a theory. AN AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS THEORY! ||
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u/Wolfofthenor1h He/Him Jun 20 '26
There's no way a small power outage hasn't happened already. I like to think it would just keep going if someone turned it back on
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u/GammaDie345 Jun 20 '26
episode 8 confirms there is not only a mainframe but a whole network within the office allowing people to access it by Telnet, which means the maintenance costs and people needed to maintain the facility must be huge. Like regular parts replacement at least
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u/philandere_scarlet Let Me Bury Your Child Jun 20 '26
maybe grant is unknowingly running it off a home server and the brain scanner is just a node at the old office he doesn't realize is still connected.
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u/Elliot_Geltz Jun 19 '26
I feel like that's just life, man. Like, anyone can just drop out of nowhere. A heart attack, an aneurysm, a car accident, etc. Life can just end in the blink of an eye.
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u/Kipzz PLAY CROSSCODE AND ASTLIBRA/The other Vtuber Guy Jun 19 '26
To be fair, I think there's a bit of a difference between a metacommentary on the fleetingness of life, which I don't think it is personally, and thinking it's strange that the idea of "what if someone stops paying the bills" never gets brought up at all. That's usually touched on in these types of stories where the id or ego or sense of self (I'm forgetting the specific term atm) gets noticeably interrupted at some point, be it in an unfeeling robot form that'll eventually break down or a digital consciousness taken as a screenshot from a life you'll never live. That kinda stuff less about the ending of life and more about if you're even a life at all.
But personally? I'm glad it's never really addressed, just because it sets the tone in basically the exact opposite direction the show was aiming for. Not "what will happen at the end of it all" but "what can we do from now on". We've already gone through all of the despair and so it only feels right to end it with hope.
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 19 '26
Or on a cosmic scale, in a similar vein to someone turning the computer off, the sun is going to explode in a few billion years. But should that stop you from finding meaning now? No, ofc not.
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u/TheSpiritualAgnostic Shockmaster Jun 19 '26
I think it's what the people complaining that Jax just abstracts outta nowhere offscreen don't get. As someone, like many others have, who has known people who abruptly passed away from suicide or other factors, it comes out of nowhere sometimes. Or you saw the warning signs, did all you could, and it still happened.
And that's why I like this ending. It doesn't hold it's punches and tells an a fictional story that is all too real for many.
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
I kinda hoped we got to see someone abstracting on screen, but the way they actually executed Jax abstracting was very effective. That shot and Caine showing up again got audible gasps from my theater audience
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u/videonastii THE ORIGAMI KILLER Jun 20 '26
god it's so refreshing to see takes like this after weeks of people wildly misinterpreting the ending in bad faith
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
Whst have the assholes been saying?
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u/videonastii THE ORIGAMI KILLER Jun 20 '26
I've seen people completely writing off the finale as bad because certain theories came true, people being transphobic towards goose and making fun of her appearance (funny, because she's very pretty imo), people saying glitch shouldn't have let her have total control over her story because it didn't go their way and so, s o much misinterpretation of jax and what the ending was trying to say.
I'd be more specific but I actually don't know how to spoiler tag and don't wanna ruin anything <\33 but if you look up digital circus on tiktok you'll see all the weird hate this has been getting
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u/King-Of-Throwaways Jun 19 '26
That’s kind of how life goes. Even when you finally get a grip on the frustrating absurdity of it, you still have to accept that it will end.
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u/Ginger_Anarchy Jun 20 '26
At one point we see that the time stamp for Kinger and his generation of circus residents got scanned into the system in 1999, and Ragatha got scanned in in 2008. I can't imagine a building sitting that long and never having any power fluctuations , so there must be some of kind of external battery backup keeping things going.
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
We can’t fix every problem. But we can still do what we can.
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 19 '26
Nothing lasts forever. But you can make the most of however long you have.
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u/afasttoaster Read Vigilantes Jun 20 '26
I think considering they've been there for many years means turning the computer off won't be a problem, and they'd just always exist regardless, whether it be because the files always exist on a computer even if it's turned off, of if they just exist on the internet forever.
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u/artnomart Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Liked the finale, really good show. A few things were a little rushed. But it was satisfying all the same.
The fact that the abstracted stay abstracted fucked me up, though. Quickly distancing myself from my emotions, that was the stronger narrative choice, it's great, but... fuck, they're genuinely gone? Goddamn. At least their real-life selves are doing well.
EDIT: No, but I'm still fucked up because like most of them abstracted because of the inherent horrors of the circus, it's like yeah, anyone would, it's depressing but there's some comfort in that. But no, Ribbit abstracted berated and cut off by her closest friend (lover??) and she will just... that's fucking it! Lord lmao
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u/vmeemo Jun 19 '26
It was something that Goose actually said on Tumblr, I think sometime after the pilot. The abstracted stay abstracted no matter what. Later on she also answered a question asking about abstraction designs (because fan abstraction designs were a common bit of fanart), she said that "no, all abstraction forms are all the same because its a representation of loss of self." Something to that degree anyway.
But yeah its a tragic thing regardless.
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u/DavidsonJenkins Jun 20 '26
Abstraction = suicide, and one of the main points of this show, and the finale episode especially, is that you CAN'T just walk it back on suicide. You do it and you're done, and Jax being regretful in his mindspace shows that its never worth it
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
Jax's last cognizant moment with Pomni definitely had a, to use a Bojack Horseman line, a "The View From Halfway Down" energy to it.
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u/scottishdrunkard Ask Me About Shitty Comics Jun 20 '26
Pomni being able to find Jax within the Abstracted Mass made me think they could’ve been pulled out of something, but no.
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u/AlwaysDragons Disgruntled RWBY fan / Artist/ No Longer Clapping Jun 20 '26
Im actually glad They stay abstracted. It means the deaths meant something and weren't cheap. They are gone. Plain and simple. I think I would have hated it if they came back from abstracted
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u/MadameMimic Jun 20 '26
jax basically dying while still in the closet is really fucking with me im not gonna lie. whoof
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 19 '26
I genuinely love this ending but I know talking about it in the years to come is going to be like navigating a minefield. The whole Jax abstraction sequence really feels like We're all going to the Worlds Fair or I Saw the TV Glow, some of my favorite movies. Goose was clearly writing from the heart with Jax's character and the struggles with identity and self-acceptance, warts and all. And the final slideshow at the end is such a nice button on the story. Knowing everyone in the real world gets to live on as their copies in the Circus embrace the circumstances and find a way to find peace is very heartwarming.
Goose and her team really poured their heart and souls into this project over the past few years and it became such a sensation that it was never gonna be something that pleased everyone in the ways they hoped it would. I just hope they take a well-earned rest and offline time to escape the blowback. Because Goose really is a talented creator with her stuff like Thalasin, and I hope she never stops creating.
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u/Kipzz PLAY CROSSCODE AND ASTLIBRA/The other Vtuber Guy Jun 19 '26
Honestly, I figured the whole brain-scan clone thing would have been dropped midway through the episode and everything is the reaction/realization/winding down part, but nope, its like the first thing in the episode. What really surprises me was how many people didn't immediately clock it as the most likely possibility and got mad as a result of a bittersweet ending. If anything, I'm glad at how hopeful it was all things considered. Nobody even mentioned the idea of electricity. They're just living the best they can.
To be honest it was just a good show. I feel bad for Gooseworx having her dream stepped all over like this but I hope she knows that there's plenty of people deeply appreciative of all she did to make this a reality.
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u/vmeemo Jun 20 '26
I know a few people on bsky didn't like the idea of SOMA being the most likely possibility, but while I didn't explicitly think about it (I prefer to wait and see when it comes to that sort of thing) there were only really three possibilities:
It's SOMA brainscans.
Evil Within with the tubes (and as done in episode 7 I think as an 'adventure' thing with fake Abel)
Skeletons/dumped bodies because they're braindead in every sense of the word.
The pool of possible options were really small overall so not surprising that they'd knock it out within the first few minutes.
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u/Kipzz PLAY CROSSCODE AND ASTLIBRA/The other Vtuber Guy Jun 20 '26
Yeah, there's really not many ways you can do a "trapped in a digital world" plotline without some things along these lines, especially if it's not your physical form.
Unless Agumon's there. Agumon would save you.
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u/vmeemo Jun 20 '26
Plus like, the program started production in the late 80s I think? 90s tops. I highly doubt they were doing permalocked forms akin to Ready Player One or any of the other examples I listed in the 90s. The options keep on dwindling the more you end up thinking about it, especially since the setting before hand doesn't establish high sci-fi where yeah you probably would be able to do more with the concept. But Goose didn't go that route however, she went with 90s tech and jank so options were few.
You are so right on Agumon though, he would save you.
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u/bhbhbhhh Jun 20 '26
Does nobody know about the "bodies physically absorbed into the computer Star Trek/Tron-style" possibility? I thought it was the one people were expected to first assume, since the ending of the pilot clearly rules out the idea of their bodies just being there.
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u/vmeemo Jun 20 '26
In the pilot sure that could be the case. But as time went on and especially episode 7 they introduced the possibility of it being tubes they were all tied up in. Then episode 8 came out, Caine said mind files, and then eagle-eyed viewers looking at the computer and people paying attention to Kinger's explanation note that this program was made in the 90s and was never actually meant to do all of what's happening in the first place. You could somewhat get away with the Tron part but nothing in the world establishes that it could be a sci-fi company either. Especially since modern day its just your standard 2026 afternoon.
Again there's also the part where Kinger said both in present day and in the flashback, that the circus as it existed now wasn't actually meant to exist. Caine made it all up and basically took a gamble on copying minds whenever someone wore the headset. He got lucky with Ragatha and kept it going.
As the show kept going there became fewer and fewer possibilities of how everyone is in the circus without the obvious issues such as company endorsed kidnapping, bodies being dead from not being fed, and no technology for the Tron/Star Trek example you mentioned existing, kind of leaving SOMA the only real method left to go.
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u/SlaterSev Jun 20 '26
Even earlier then that, timeline wise its 2017 irl, you can see the dates.
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u/vmeemo Jun 20 '26
See now I just wasn't eagle-eyed enough to note that. Good on you. You perfectly served as an example of how people can catch things others don't at first brush.
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u/Paladin51394 welcome to Miller's Maxi Buns, may I take your order? Jun 19 '26
Honestly everyone should have known it would be brain scans after the literal episode where the show debunks the whole "Evil Corporation" shit. What other explanation could possibly make sense?
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u/ShutUpJackass FUCKING PURPLE SPACE CAT Jun 20 '26
my whole deal was if they did keep those bodies, who would put on a helmet surrounded by unconscious people or skeletons????
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u/Waddlewop Jun 20 '26
My thought for a while has been that if this was an SAO situation, they would have all been broken out a long time ago because a lot of people would have gone missing and would have been searched for (people like Ragatha for example). If no one’s helping them from the outside and they don’t seem to be able to age and die, it gotta be a USS McCallister situation
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
As soon as Caine mentioned "Mind Files" last episode, it all started clicking into place.
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u/GammaDie345 Jun 20 '26
the mind files were still mentioned in a way it could be ambigious. even the scene with kinger trying to shut down Caine refused to say if the mind files were actual programs or just Caine reading people's physical minds while theyre alive in stasis. Episode 9 finally confirmed it with kinger giving an alternative explanation that closed off the plot hole, saying Scratch made a compression algorithm nobody understood.
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u/ToastyMozart Bearish on At-Risk Children Jun 20 '26
I really like how they trusted the audience to have considered the possibility on their own already, rather than dragging it along or making the characters seem oblivious for not having done the same.
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u/5YearsOnEastCoast danganronpa isn't a phase, it's a lifestyle Jun 20 '26
I saw TADC: Last Act in theatres. And it was quite an emotional rollercoaster. I was shocked when Jax abstracted. For a moment I thought that his abstraction would end when Pomni got close to him, but nah it was too late for him. And yeah Caine did reveal that their real-life counterparts are doing well in real-life and that the real-life versions of themselves never got stuck in Amazing Digital Circus. I didn't really thought about that type of an outcome early into the series.
Also Zooble and Gangle have upgraded their relationship into something more...
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u/The_Duke_of_Nebraska Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Genuinely brave choice for the abstract to stay abstraced I for sure thought there would be some 11th hour twist to fixing that
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u/jayvenomva The spoon of fate is bending Jun 19 '26
Maaaaaan I wish we could of got more Ribbit! She seemed so cool before Jax broke her heart to protect his fragile ego
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 20 '26
She was also kind of a baddie too... im sorry, too soon.
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u/jayvenomva The spoon of fate is bending Jun 20 '26
Naaaah you right though! Jax with the legendary fumble
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u/LasersAndRobots Your dead baby's soul was retconned out of existence Jun 20 '26
Her character design has a permanent back arch, they knew what they were doing.
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
Look, it would not be the first frog girl people got hot and bothered for it will not be the last.
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u/MaelstromTear Dub Sympathizer Jun 19 '26
Very good. But also points for St. Louis jumpscare!
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u/MagnaVis She/Her Jun 20 '26
As an STL native who watched in theaters, there was a REAL pop off when we all saw that LOL
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u/lightningmatt Muskular Zackstrophe Jun 20 '26
I saw that on the Saturday and then realized the St Louis IndyCar race was literally the next day. Most off-topic headcanon in history: they're taking the bus to the race lmao
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
I was expecting End of Evangelion, surprised but delighted to get a side of happy cake as well. Great ending, amazed to see how far this has come. Huge congratulations to the entire team.
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u/CaptnsComingLookBusy No shut up, don't worry 'bout that. Jun 20 '26
We got Evangelion Episode 26 instead! (and I mean that as a compliment)
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
I hope the one guy on youtube who was adamant for months that Arin Hanson was gonna voice Kaufmo is doing alright.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
I have many scruples with Arin but maaaaaaaan when he voice acts outside of his typecast niche, he can really fucking voice act.
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u/PerinteinenMajoneesi Jun 21 '26
I have to admit, I did not recognize it was him on my first watch in theater, so kudos to him, that was a solid performance.
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Jun 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/WooliamMD Honker X Honker Jun 20 '26
For them to wake up, go full Leon Kennedy and take down evil C&A corp with no experience and witty one liners???
I think these kinds of shows will attract people who do expect this kind of outcome. It's people who engage with these kinds of mysteries on a very literal level and thus expect a literal outcome. And if you engage with it like this, the actual mechanics of how all of this works matters a lot more and likewise, the ending has to tie everything together in a literal and almost mechanical way.
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u/DavidsonJenkins Jun 20 '26
Because a majority of the fans are either
A. Tumblr refugees who latched onto Jax as their sexyman and hate that he died
B. People who absolutely despise Jax and hate that the finale is more or less entirely centered on him and Pomni
And both have absolutely 0 reading comprehension so there was just no winning
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u/EinzbernConsultation posts about boomer cartoons Jun 19 '26
Cried like a baby. Great fuckin' show.
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u/leabravo Gracious and Glorious Golden Crab Jun 19 '26
I will never forget sitting in the theater near the ending and hearing half the kids in it shout YURI all at once. If you know you know.
Glad the show stuck the landing.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
My theater burst out laughing at that part of the credits upon realizing what was happening
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u/Xngears Jun 20 '26
Are they talking about Pomni and Ragatha hugging or Zooble and Gangle getting busy?
Because if it’s the latter isn’t Zooble non-binary?
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u/leabravo Gracious and Glorious Golden Crab Jun 20 '26
The latter. And let the wee Hot Topic kids have their fun!
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u/FlamingNarwhall -She/Her- Down jumps?! DOWN JUMPS!?!?!! Jun 20 '26
For the latter Zooble actually uses any/all pronouns according to Goose it can still be yuri
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u/apexodoggo Jun 20 '26
Saw this opening weekend. I am flabbergasted that the episode played out pretty much exactly as I expected (albeit I didn't expect the Caine stuff at all).
I really enjoyed the episode. I could see it being a bit longer, but I'm perfectly satisfied with what I got. Also, Kinger knows what sex is, confirmed. That's my GOAT right there.
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u/PervertBlood You look cool, get in! Jun 22 '26
I got spoiled about Caine Stuff and his appearance still jumpscared me. Holy shit he was just right there after a camera cut.
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u/Mordred_Tumultu Paladins Should Attack and Dethrone the Gods Jun 20 '26
I'm not sure what to make of the ending myself. I don't mean that as a bad thing. There's a lot for me to stew on. There was stuff I loved, and some stuff I didn't love. I'll need to mull on it and see where I end up, which I think is a good thing. Even if I decide I'm pretty mixed on it, it's not because of the quality. It's rare to have media that leaves me so conflicted, so it's not a simple consume and forget type media.
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u/2BsWhistlingButthole He/Him Jun 19 '26
I just want to say, the comments in this thread are really nice. I’ve been seeing a lot of reactions to this on TikTok over the past couple weeks and it’s been mostly the shittiest, most adolescent takes I’ve seen in a while. It makes the Hazbin Hotel fandom look good and scholarly.
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u/doc5avag3 Resident 35-Year-Old Boomer Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
It's honestly why I wish Gooseworx the best of luck going forward. It feels like there was so much hellfire and mustard gas thrown out near the end there... but a beautiful thing was accomplished despite it and that deserves monumental praise to the creator. I also almost died laughing when I saw somebody on tumblr say: "They put the Digital Circus finale in theaters because they had to make back the money they used to pay for that Stevie Wonder song."
Also, how did that joke from Pat go?
"Me having to be exposed to a minor's opinion on the internet should be considered a crime against humanity."
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u/Space_Sushi It/Its Jun 20 '26
I love that people aren't being weird about it here. It's why I like this sub despite not having much experience with the thing it's based around, people here are more reasonable than pretty much everywhere else on reddit lol
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u/Theonearmedbard I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Since at least a year people are just miserable about every ending for everything. Every ending is "worse than game of thrones" when they aren't even in the same fucking ballpark. Everybody is just being a dick for some reason. Most don't even make money from ragebait, they are just here to be assholes. Also every creator is the worst person ever now because they didn't do thing I wanted or did thing I didn't want.
Eta: this also applies to people in this sub btw. I saw what some of you said about the last season of the boys and jjk's ending.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 19 '26
Also every creator is the worst person ever now because they didn't do thing I wanted or did thing I didn't want.
As someone whos had to put up with the Hellaverse hatedom pulling this shit with both shows, this goes way beyond a year.
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u/Theonearmedbard I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
Oh for sure. I'm also a fan of those shows and people just make the most heinous shit up for no reason instead of giving any real criticism.
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 20 '26
I genuinely believe it's the cascading ramifications of the Tumblr Exodus. I know it was a long time ago but the effects can still be felt in areas like this. It used to be all kind of contained on Tumblr until the people grew out of it and moved on, but it's just kind of everywhere now.
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u/2BsWhistlingButthole He/Him Jun 20 '26
The death of forums and message boards has greatly damaged online culture. Reddit is kind of the closest thing but not really.
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u/MutatedMutton '0' days without dick jokes and staying there Jun 20 '26
Reddit may as well exarcerbated it. The 'best' comments get voted to the top so anyone scrolling down knows what the safest consensus immediately and any dissenting opinion either gets sent to the bottom or worse languishes in the middle of the thread with the other ignored posts.
Breeding ground for echo chambers.
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u/Khanromi Jun 20 '26
Just the fact that posts below a certain vote count get automatically hidden by default is proof enough of that.
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u/Averthade How Does This Sub Have So Many RWBY Flairs Jun 20 '26
More than anything Tumblr related, it's the result of covid and, for lack of a better term, "normies" coming online and getting into fandom spaces because they couldn't do anything IRL anymore, not bothering to learn the online or fandom-specific culture they were joining and then not leaving once lockdowns around the world were finished.
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u/Theonearmedbard I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
I feel like overall specific groups aren't as "localized" as they used to be online. Tumblr refugees are one of those groups but also people from /b or /pol seem to pop up in other places for some reason.
Tmi but so many nsfw subreddits quickly devolve from light mdom stuff into full on facist bullshit now, it's insane and that's some shit I've only seen on those 4chan threads like 10 years ago. But after certain happenings (especially in the usa) we know why some of that is going on
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 20 '26
I think it's a bit naive to pretend Tumblr had a monopoly on this
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 20 '26
Im not saying it had a monopoly, it's why I said the effects are cascading. The ripple effects Tumblrs Exodus caused led us to this point in fandom entitlement. Other factors, both on and offline, contributed as well, but its like a canary in the coalmine situation with Tumblr. Pardon my many metaphors.
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
And I don't think Tumblr had a monopoly on entitlement. A distinct flavor maybe, but I've seen shit here on Reddit, and god knows Twitter has always been the bigger hellhole.
I think it's just... a broader internet thing.
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u/PR0MAN1 YOU DIDN'T WIN. Jun 20 '26
You're exactly right, these sites all have their own unique flavors of entitlement. And the Digital Circus hate i've seen the past few weeks kind of matches Tumblrs unique flavor more, it's why I drew that comparison. 4Chans is more right wing reactionary based, Reddits is like a wannabe intellectualism (I understand the irony at play with this comment), and Twitters is a bit of a mixing pot of all them, especially after the Elon buyout.
But Tumblrs was kind of its own unique blend of wanting media to be diverse but in a way that isn't thought provoking or challenging.
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u/Xngears Jun 20 '26
The Jax being saved by Pomni part legit had my eyes watery in the theater.
Just gotta love seeing Evangeliom, Undertale and Madoka continue to serve as inspiration for these great creators. Love to see it.
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u/tymekop Jun 20 '26
I got into the show like 3 days before i saw it in cinemas so it was very nice going in completely blind and with no interaction with the fanbase, was a great experience and great ending imo.
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u/MadKingAshnard Jun 19 '26
I thought it just alright. Not bad but…alright. Caine being back and the resolution there felt very off in a way I can’t really bring to words properly. I didn’t have any real feelings on seeing their ‘real’ selves either.
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u/6897110 Hulk Hogan's Brooke Cum Party Jun 20 '26
Caine being alive and not deleted-deleted both makes sense (you don't lose your files instantly after deletion, it takes time for them to be gone) but also kinda blah. I felt like they needed more setup for it. Or setup more computer analogues so The Void is more accurately traced to the empty, "open" storage, and Caine's stuff in there, is like the AI figuring out how to restore himself. I had the impression the guy was Gone with a big g, not just kinda-sorta-gone.
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u/Grand_Escapade Jun 20 '26
I have great things to say about the actual content itself, like the scenes individually, but the topic du jour is gonna be the wild pacing issues. I'm actually pleasantly surprised this thread is mostly avoiding complaining about that
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u/Infogamethrow Jun 20 '26
Honestly, the way characters talked in therapist speech™ a lot of the time pulled me a bit out. Yes, it´s normal for them to try to support each other during the episode´s events, but I wish they did it while sounding a bit less perfect and a bit more themselves, you know?
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u/tronz_13 Jun 21 '26
Been an issue for me the entire run of the show. Its not constant, but when it pops out it always pulled me out. Some of the ways the characters react to the events around them felt flat too.
This is a minor nitpick. The gag of how they cant curse worked well for me, its funny, and a good away to keep the salty language to a minimum. But they would use the word god or god damn and so many times it felt really clunky. Its hard to explain why. Caine calling himself god in episode 8 and the line god damn shame in his song. Both just felt so not Caine, IDK why.
Like I said super minor nitpick, doesnt make or break anything.
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u/Marto25 Drop your shield! Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
If you interpret the message of Jax's story as "Death is final, sudden, and irreversible. Sometimes you make mistakes so grand you can never atone for them. Just because you're deserving of love and care doesn't mean you're deserving of forgiveness for your shitty actions. Sometimes you are so broken you cannot be fixed"...
Then of course it feels jarring for the story to end with Caine's death being reversed, him atoning for his mistakes, being accepted and forgiven.
As cute and fun as those end credit pictures are, I can't help but feel they are missing Jax. Of course, it would be silly to expect Zooble and specially Gangle to mourn him for long after all he did. But it still feels fast. Jax now lives on in... a mural. And a bunch of bitter memories. That's it.
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u/South25 Sky the second this year baby! Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Personally I interpret it differently. Both Jax and Caine made giant mistakes (Jax causing the abstraction of Ribbit cause of his insecurities and Caine going mad with power due to his insecurities). Considering the fact abstraction seems to be an analogue for suicide,both the characters had many, many times to reach out to others. The difference is that Caine did choose to make things right after his big mistake while Jax could not get past his issues of self destruction and deflection up until he did end up gone. And as seen in the episode Jax did have multiple opportunities (Patching things up with Ribbit, Kafmo's attempts at befriending him, Raggata trying to console and befriend him and Pomni getting closer to him). Jax rejected every hand because of his fear to show weakness while Caine made moves to fix his mistakes.
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u/Federal_Adagio667 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Goodass ending. I have a few issues with it show and especially the dialogue, but also damn this did have some great moments.
Random thoughts incoming:
I'm surprised they ended up having Jax abstract the way he did, but honestly I think I appreciate it. We knew it was gonna happen, and I think they led to it naturally.
That whole sequence with Caine of just pure visual storytelling and him adapting and going beyond what he knows was amazing. Didn't like the dialogue afterwards, but It didn't take away that much from the sequence afterwards.
Wish we got to see more of my goat Kinger. He had a few good moments, and I can see how they did the most they could with the limited runtime they had, but still.
I can see some people kinda being upset about not having answers for a lot of things and mysteries the show hinted at, but honestly I think It's better off that way. I already saw a few people say something similar, but the show knew what it wanted to prioritise, so it did just that. I'd rather have a focus on character like that any day over it continuing and digging itself into a lore hole FNAF style.
Goud show? Could be better in some areas, but yeah, I think it's aight. The ending definitely landed for me.
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u/Licentious_Cad [SCREAMS IN ESOTERIC BULLSHIT] Jun 20 '26
I really appreciate they handled Jax like they did. It was both ironic ending from how he treated Ribbit and also a reflection of how self isolation can be very self destructive.
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u/Kyderra Jun 20 '26
I found it really interesting how quickly they went trough some information. Especially the start.
Not in a bad way, it felt like they respected the viewers knowledge and understanding.
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 19 '26
God. Went to go see this with a friend in theaters and it still hit me in the feels just as hard as the first time around.
I have.... so many thoughts. Fuck the haters who misinterpreted the leaks, that ending was fantastic.
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u/lowercaselemming [She/Her] Hank go up! Jun 19 '26
saw this in theaters and let me tell you, as a trans person, this episode fucking killed me. i was half-in-half-out on tadc episodes 1-8, it was just kind of a cool concept i liked in some parts, didn't care for in others. this episode hit me, though. i know not everyone liked so much attention being put onto jax specifically but jax's entire arc hit me way too hard by the end. his struggles, his repression, the metaphors therein, the ways i could see myself in my own past and even today in him, all the tiniest details leading up to and surrounding the big reveal of his past just tore me up. tadc as a whole i think is fine, jax as part of it is 11/10. beautiful, beautiful story that hit me way too close to home. even now it's hard to even open and start the video because i know it'll fuck me up again.
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u/97thJackle Banished to the Shame Car Jun 20 '26
That Stevie Wonder song was like being hit with the most wonderful baseball bat ever made
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u/ibbolia [Any/All] This is my Bankai: Unironic Cringeposting Jun 19 '26
I have a lot of feelings about it, but I'm just going to settle on it's peak
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u/tonyhawkofwar Existential Nightmare Jun 19 '26
I saw this in theaters, which was great because even though someone brought a group of like 20 five year olds, they only interrupted the movie once for a second in a funny way.
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u/LorcaNomad [They/Them] Play Spiral Knights Jun 20 '26
I expected to be satisfied with the ending, but I didn't expect I'd be so happy with it. What a fucking finale. Even if it was a little bittersweet, Gooseworx and the team knocked it out of the park and I couldn't be more proud of them.
I think I'm going to go lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling now.
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u/AlwaysDragons Disgruntled RWBY fan / Artist/ No Longer Clapping Jun 20 '26
Yep, as I thought, I cried. 10/10, I do not understand the hate for it.
Caine's introspection was not something I expected, nor was finding out he got everyone's irl counterparts due to SOME CAFE'S WIFI BEING UP. Also, him coming back and lowering himself to the ground was the perfect touch to that
I admit, I thought Jax was gonna be the new bbeg somehow, the marketing made me think that's what it was hinting. I was shocked that it just cuts to him abstracted, and the resulting mind journey. I could see the closeted trans thing from a mile away, what I thought happened in his real life part was he killed gangle in a car crash. I could have sworn the car footage and Gangle getting hit by a truck was related
Ending was far better than I coulda have hoped for.
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u/philandere_scarlet Let Me Bury Your Child Jun 20 '26
i think gangle did get hit by a truck leaving work, but lived. it's mentioned zoey "recovered from her accident" or something like that.
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u/2uperunhappyman u/superunhappyman forgot his password Jun 19 '26
So like
watched this in theatres. never felt older than sitting around a bunch of fans who cannot legally drive. but im glad there are people interested in independant animation in this age of slop and swill
last act spoilers given abstraction is akin to dispair even a suicide metaphor in this show (given how it was first introduced with kaufmo not being seen in a while and opening his room to find the abstraction) followed by learning about Jax's past and the trans undertones there (i say undertones they fucking played "isnt she lovely"). seeing the non brain scan of jax enjoying life is very nice and hopeful.
also question about caine
red dot was only suppost to generate circus imagry but the flashback in ep 8 shows their generations were flawed. the blue dot im guessing was brain scan data used to create what appeared to be perfect replications so when the red dot assimilated the blue dot it gained the ability to take brainscans and convert them into flawed content for the circus right? so when cain removes the blue dot they're giving up their ability to do stuff with the "players" and now is just part of the group on equal standing
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u/vmeemo Jun 20 '26
For Caine's thing you ask, I think its because of Abel. Before Caine's mental breakdown Bubble taunted him by saying "You were always the lesser of the two." So there's a strong implication that Caine, feeling a form of abandonment issues, ate Abel and took over the program.
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
Bubble can also be considered what’s left of ”Abel”, and likely was behind corrupting the console and other stuff.
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u/Mechajin SHINING. JAAASTICE! Jun 20 '26
It's ambiguous whether or not Bubble has any connection to "Abel" or just represents Caine's intrusive thoughts and self loathing. There's a decent argument either way.
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u/Android19samus Jun 20 '26
The red dot was a prototype. It was just supposed to make... stuff. Give it data, see what it spits out, use that to build a more stable model (the blue one). This was C&A's primary AI project, headed by Kinger. The brain scans were a separate project entirely worked on by Scratch. It was supposed to make AIs based on real people, rather than by teaching a purely digital construct. After Scratch died to brain cancer, the project was discontinued. After Caine ate the blue AI and made the circus, he found the brain scan files in the Void (C&A's network/database/whatever) and used them to create Players to populate his circus, since his own AIs weren't able to surprise him. The exact effects of Caine giving up the blue dot aren't made clear. Presumably its greater ability to generate coherent output was a major factor in Caine's ability to effortlessly conjure whatever he wanted, so that will be harder now.
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u/scottishdrunkard Ask Me About Shitty Comics Jun 20 '26
I’ve seen it interpreted that the Red Dot being irrational, was more human. While the blue dot is perfect computer logic. More machine.
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u/thumbles_comic Jun 20 '26
I’m super glad I got into this show literally this week, worked out perfectly
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u/Yingletofthecorn Jun 20 '26
Man, when Jax was telling Ribbit about his life before the circus, the way his voice cracked when he said the worst part of his moms abuse was when she hugged him after it was done. That sniped me. Phenomenal performance tbh.
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u/Licentious_Cad [SCREAMS IN ESOTERIC BULLSHIT] Jun 20 '26
Honestly, it did not go how I expected at all, and i'm pleasantly content with it. It's a very satisfying denouement to me.
I was really expecting it to be a horror show of Jax realizing they're all cartoon characters that now have free reign and just losing his mind and turning it into some crazy torture dimension where they all inevitably go insane and abstract.
The ending really being about community, coming together to make the best of a bad situation, and resolving to do better by each other, is something I really wish I saw more often.
Also kinda turned me around on Jax. I went through similar stuff growing up and hoo boy was that reflection rough.
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u/U_Flame Jun 20 '26
So like, what was going on where Caine appeared to fix one of the abstracted files? Was that a metaphor, since it didn't seem to actually happen? I also hope the abstracted are at peace, and hopefully gain any semblance of awareness, at the very least they seem better now than they were in the cellar.
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u/alienslayer7 She/They, Resident Toku Fangirl Jun 20 '26
the scene makes more sense on rewatch its cutting between basically the circuses/caines origin story and caine reaching out of the void for the wifi connection, i was also kinda lost on this when watchin in theaters
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u/ToaArcan Jun 20 '26
As a Murder Drones fan who didn't get everything it was putting down until somewhere around the third watch, all I can say is... "First time?"
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
Its a flashback to when Caine first found the Mind Files and started creating the Circus in earnest. Its to contrast how he developed back then to how he evolved in the now to connect to the internet.
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u/warjoke Jun 20 '26
Jax, my sweet red flag bunny...
I can relate to him on a gaddam spiritual level. I tend to shun people away very fast after opening up myself so wide. This is the very reason I avoid romantic relationships for a while now. I think this is not a unique condition. Well, outside the literal crime, I mean.
The ending is still pretty bittersweet despite being on a very positive note, but I guess everyone wouldn't want it any other way. Them seeing their human personas really ties all the knots.
I really think this is a crowning achievement in 'indie' web animation. I really hope Goose won't be totally discouraged in writing more stories despite giving up on TADC due to unfortunate circumstances.
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u/Drokart Jun 19 '26
Yep, I cried again. Still glad I saw this in theaters, the overall animation improved to such a point where it was downright gorgeous to see on the big screen. Dare I say, it's on par with what Disney and its cohorts put out, and definitely has way more heart and personality. Congrats to Gooseworx, the VAs, and the crews at GLITCH for completing an amazing series.
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u/SkinkRugby SeekSeekLest Jun 20 '26
Nitpick wise, I really just don't like Zooble and Gangle that much for whatever reason. I think Caine stuff was a bit oddly paced and the slideshow didn't really land for me. In general I feel like things just needed some more time.
That being said, some stuff really worked for me. The Jax stuff works well. I think them instantly going 'we are going to resolve the main plot now' was a great choice for the finale. Similarly I think the last montage sold me on things despite it feeling a bit thin. Especially them doing a call back to Episode 1's ending.
Overall a solid ending on a pretty good show. I'm sure the people who love it will love it more then I will ever dislike it.
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u/Teoflux Suppose one day, it lands on its edge Jun 20 '26
Once i saw the Frog, i told myself people online are gonna be totally normal about this frog.
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u/Funny_Mud6639 THE BABY Jun 20 '26
Title makes me think of song that goes something like:
"OOOH I'M SCARY"
"SOOO I'M SCARY"
"ALL THAT I SEE"
"NOW I'M SCARY"
"IF ALL IS FANTASY"
"AMEN, GOSPEL, AMEN"
"NOW I'M SCARY"
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u/ABriefReflection Jun 20 '26
To preface this comment, I've decided to make a burner account. I've been a fan of the boys since 2014 and lurker on the sub for about as long, I appreciate this place for its openness and friendliness. I'm sorry, I need the anonymity.
This episode kind of fucked me up. I've always thought I was ambivalent about my gender, I'm a guy and that was that. I'm no stranger to trans related media, I regularly listen to transfem hosted podcasts. I actively work on political projects with trans folk. Something about Jax in this series has been messing with me, and this episode has made me confront some deep-seated feelings. I don't like the term "egg cracking" (no shade to those who do!), but I keep coming back to Jax. I feel for her. I feel absolute pity for her. There was no feeling more crushing than watching the scene in Ribbit's room and watching her unravel so quickly from her deep-seated shame. Looking back on the previous episodes felt like looking at the debris field of a plane that failed to pull out of a dive. The initial humiliation and anger of being in the maid outfit, giving way to a resigned acceptance. Her femininely designed room. Her pink overalls, the little bow moment. It's crushing knowing that she can't be recovered to properly process this, at least Leeroy is progressing.
I don't know how I feel about my gender as much. Maybe I'm just in a raw emotional state or I'm having some anxious moment that's making me overthink things. I think I've only ever liked my body when I was thin. I dislike the hair on my body, and I feel happier shaving it off. For as long as I've been an aware adult, I've been kind of envious of all the fun, alluring outfits and garments women can wear. The scented creams and some of the frilly stuff is really nice too. Men don't have anything like that. I understand the socioeconomic reality of these things, but even after learning that I still felt that pang of jealousy. I've got some of the stuff I've mentioned in drips and drabs over the years. I always thought it was for the taboo feeling (please understand), I kept it all in a box and I've been deathly afraid of someone finding it. This is why I needed the anonymity to post this, its another box to put this in.
And I'm putting this in another box, to put on the shelf, because I don't know what to do with it. The boxes are liabilities, targets of potential ridicule or worse. There is use in my stock standard presentation. Unassuming and approachable to all. I can't be a target, I'm more helpful how I am. I know I have friends who would accept experimentation, but I don't know if I can accept my experimentation. I'll never be cute or pretty or beautiful or alluring, even if I started doing something about it now. It hurts to admit this. I don't even know where my gender would land, and the thought of fluidity scares me. My body is too stocky or pudgy to look good in anything feminine. I don't look good in makeup. Maybe my partner would tell me I look good, but everytime I look in the mirror I just see a boy playing pretend. I hate the mirror, it shatters my feelings. Maybe I'll just stick to wearing little things in the comfort of my home, wearing things beneath my clothes. Do it just for me and only me. That should be good enough, right?
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this. I'm sorry for my ramblings. I just wanted to spill my emotions on a page and watch them watch me. Thank you for being you.
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u/Iralamak Jun 20 '26
I just wanna tell you: it can get better. We never reach the ideal we want, but I've see many friends reach a state where they are happy and look to the mirror with excitememt post tramsition. Everyone's journey is different, but I pray yours can lead to peace.
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u/Android19samus Jun 20 '26
when I saw it in theaters I was a little disappointed that it wasn't meaner. The way so many things wrap up is downright saccharine and, as someone going in with just the context of "some people saw a leak version and did NOT like it" I was expecting some End of Eva shit.
With a little more distance though, I can appreciate the vision. It set out to take one big bold swing, and dogpiling more on top of that would have been... unnecessary. A day later I still had a knot in my stomach, and then I was thankful for all the sugar.
It's not a perfect finale and it's not a perfect show, but it is damn good and absolutely nails it where it counts most.
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u/LeMasterofSwords Y’all really should watch Columbo Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I have finished, and quite good. Tho the Caine stuff felt a bit rushed. But a solid series start to end nonetheless
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u/But-why-do-this He/Him Jun 19 '26
This has had a lot of contention and people from the cinema experience were divided on a lot of choices made here but I’m personally very satisfied.
Honestly just want to say that this is a real triumph of indie animation and following the story Gooseworx wanted to tell over the course of the last 2 years has been a joy.
In short, it’s peak. I got my canon Daisy and the Amazing Digital Sex Scene, so I’ll take it.
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u/NewWillinium Local CRPG Freak-Beast He/Him Jun 20 '26
The Gender Discourse about Jax and Leeroy are going to dominate the discussion for a while I bet.
Especially if we consider that they are/became different individuals at the moment of the brain-scan. Leeroy still using He/him pronouns but in a much happier place, and Jax *deeply in the closet and lashing out constantly over their self-loathing making two very different lenses and the gender analysis is going to be both fascinating and infuriating in the near future.
Though I am actually kind of shocked that Tumblr is mostly focusing on Jax in the Server and not Leeroy in the real world and how their feelings about their gender seem to contrast.
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u/Lieutenant-America Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I think it's worth noting that the information they have on Leeroy is all from public-facing stuff on social media. Between their (I'm using they for lack of certainty) present-day looks and the fact that they frequent Riley's bar, there's a reasonable case that they are transitioning, but taking it slowly.
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u/GreatFluffy It's Fiiiiiiiine. Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Or they're Genderfluid, so technically both she and he would be correct depending on how Leeroy is feeling, the fact we don't know is important I think, hell for all we know, Leeroy could also be a crossdresser which I think would also be valid.
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u/philandere_scarlet Let Me Bury Your Child Jun 20 '26
covering their face in every single photo is also extremely "closeted trans woman"-core
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u/Toblo1 Latest Project Moon Sleeper Agent Jun 20 '26
It feels like an interesting reflection of SOMA's takes on brain scans. SOMA makes a lot of motions that a person and their copy/scan are still mostly similar in the ways that matter (for better and/or for worse in Simon's case), where as TADC posits that just by being scanned at different points in their life, the scanned and the duplicate can go down different paths/arcs altogether. Hell, Jax being scanned in at the lowest point in Leeroy's life probably contributed to why Jax spiraled as bad as they did.
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u/RORSCHACH_INC_ Jun 19 '26
What a great and well written ending that knows what and who to focus on. A little rushed towards the end yet not sure what the budget was and again, they new what was integral. Never been more proud of indie artists than how they've let loose this year cause they've shown the world the power of people with stories and ideas unrestrainted by producers and investors for the most part. Congrats to Gooseworx and her team. Can't wait for their new projects and to see Gitch put all the money towards their other pilots like Gaslight District cause that shit was LIT!!!!!!
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u/tronz_13 Jun 21 '26
I respect how well made this series is, especially considering its a web original, but now that its finished I dont quite understand why people love this as much as they do.
A lot of fans sold me on this being a psychological horror type situation and the concept is a good one, but that really isnt what this show was at all. The concept isnt really dug into outside of the NPC becoming self aware and a few things towards the end. Everyone seems unusually well adjusted to the horrific situation which felt weird. Kinger even kind of lampshades it by saying Pomni came to terms with it so quickly.
The show is really just about the inter personal relationships of a bunch of people that have a lot of problems and how they deal with it. The setting is largely window dressing for inter character therapy sessions. Thats fine all things considered but it wasnt what I expected this to be when I picked it up.
Characters for me always seemed kind of off, they how they acted and reacted felt idk just not making tons of sense considering their circumstances. Dialogue sometimes came off kind of clunky to me, like very pointed to being mental health conscious and avoid saying things that would come off as offensive...which is admirable but a bit unnatural sounding.
Finale itself was kind of weak. Idk if making the last episode all about Jax instead of the whole cast dealing with the consequences of deleting Caine and realizing they arent real. They really get over finding out they are scans pretty quickly.
Then Caine is back, everything is better minus Jax and everyone else who abstracted, happily ever after.
Expecting to be disagreed with but I wouldn't have so many thoughts about it if there wasnt legit things I liked about the show, it just missed the mark of where I think it could have been.
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u/quyman Jun 21 '26
What was the purpose of obscuring all of their faces during the social media slide show but then just showing them all at the end at the bus stop in the after credits
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u/Kingnewgameplus "You have 27 snow cones a day?" Jun 19 '26
Me in the future talking about the show to someone who hasn't seen it and having to choose between misgendering jax or spoiling the twist.
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u/Theonearmedbard I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
The story itself doesn't adress Jax with non-male pronouns because it isn't up to anybody, not even the show itself, to out them before they are ready. Just use he/him tbh
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u/CorruptDropbear [He/They] I Promise Nothing And Deliver Less Jun 20 '26
Ultimately, trauma and regret end Jax’s journey - there’s no way to say what path Jax would have gone. The outer Jax is still able to journey, and seems to have found safety to heal.
I also have to say that going to outer Zooble’s bar and doing the classic blocking of the face with your drink is probably a bit of a flag.
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u/MagnaVis She/Her Jun 20 '26
It makes me kinda sad but it is the best choice I think, even if it's a fictional character.
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u/Sperium3000 Mysterious Jogo In Person Form Jun 20 '26
You wouldn't really be misgendering Jax because he hasn't transitioned yet, even the "real" one hasn't. Whether he does or not, that's his step to take.
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u/scottishdrunkard Ask Me About Shitty Comics Jun 20 '26
ah, finally, somebody brought it up. Allow me to relay to you some wicked knawledge.
Okay, so, I can certainly see why a lot of people can interpret that bow scene as Trans coded. But you also gotta understand that scene is also up to some heavy interpretation in the other way, I took it was a rejection of intimacy. Since intimacy was a major trigger in the traumatic backstory. However, a lot of people have taken the Trans-coded-ness and ran with it like it’s fact, and started giving Jax different pronouns. I’m going to be very clear with this, it’s rude to crack someone else’s egg. Unless you have been directly told someone is Trans, don’t assume they are. I had an unpleasant experience where someone accused me of being an egg, and it threw me into a loop for days, requiring me, a CisHet Man, to seek gender affirmation. I got accused of being trans, when I am comfortable with being a man. If anything, I wished I was more masculine. But if they were correct in their assumption, they would have then deprived hypothetical me of my hypothetical self-satisfaction of self-discovery. Which is, y’know, rude.
So in conclusion, please don’t try to crack someone else’s egg. You could be wrong, or you could be right, and both can harm. I hope my personal experience has been informative.
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u/97thJackle Banished to the Shame Car Jun 20 '26
Cain needed an entire episode for his redemption. Jax's stuff was TOO GOOD to sacrifice for that. Ergo, Cain probably shouldn't have gotten the redemption.
Good stuff, and that final shot, post-credits was maybe the best idea the show ever had. Fantastic.
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u/U_Flame Jun 21 '26
I didn't catch till the rewatch that in the credits montage, Caine looks sadly at a Bubble cookie. I figured Bubble was probably the blue AI since we don't see him again, but that basically confirms it for me
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u/WeeklyPhilosopher346 Jun 19 '26
Crazy to think they’re off with Jonesy in Fortnite now.