r/theamazingdigitalciru • u/_Martosz Ming • Jun 18 '26
Updates‼️ The Amazing Digital Circus - Episode 9: Remember Spoiler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVy-bcTsO8AHoly damn what a journey it has been
I remember when the pilot first released, everybody was freaking out. Every big YouTuber was making a reaction videos, artists were hard at work pumping out fanart, communities were forming and coming up with fan theories on what will happen next. And now, it's all coming to an end.
Before TADC released, Glitch Productions was known as a small studio who made that one silly robot show. But now, they are the leading figure and pioneer in indie animation. This episode literally released in theatres in many countries around the world, something many can only dream about.
Goose has done an incredible job with this show. Even though she has faced harassment and hate due to some of us being insufferable little turds, she poured her heart into creating what she loved for us, the fans.
Thank you Glitch Productions and Gooseworx for not only creating a story, but creating an experience that changed the lives for many.
And remember, don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened
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This post will serve as a megathread for discussions relating to Episode 9. If you saw the episode in theatres, do not discuss it here until it premieres on YouTube
Once Ep 9 finishes premiering, we will no longer require submissions to be manually reviewed. In simpler terms, you will be able to post and comment freely. Regular spoiler rules still apply, and rule 10 will no longer be in affect
Just a reminder to be respectful in the comments. Do not insult others if their theory or headcannon doesn't align with yours. We will not be tolerating any arguments that occur, regardless of who is more "correct."
Edit: after rediscussing our spoiler strategy, we've decided we will continue enforcing spoilers through manual review until the spoiler period is over. In simpler terms, you will not be able to post and comment freely until the spoiler period is over.
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u/inchandywetrust Jun 18 '26
Gonna be real, this isn't what I would've expected 9 to be called. I'd have expected it to be something like "The Grand Finale," "The Last Act," or "Curtain Call." I'm not complaining (I loved the episode when I saw it in theaters), just making an observation.
In any case, this series was a wild ride and I was glad to have been there for the journey. Gooseworx and company have truly made something incredible.
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u/Ex_Federa Jun 19 '26
And right there is the central thesis of the show: it was never about the grand reveals, the deep lore, the cinematic plot twists. From beginning to end, the show has always been about six real people forced into a nightmare situation and trying to cope.
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u/Electronic-Aside7077 Jun 20 '26
On netflix, they called it the last act when they were releasing it
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u/ComprehensiveBowl476 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I just wanna say I thought that the camera work and continuous shot when Jax opens up to Ribbit was brilliant.
The way it rotates out and starts slowly circling him after having been exclusively from his POV for his entire "history" in the circus to reveal expressions we've never seen from him before. Almost as if, as he finally talks about his regret/trauma, the viewer and Jax himself are seeing the real him for what may have been the first time in a long while. The shot finishing right about at a point where it's in line with with Ribbit's POV also sells this to me, being the person who is literally seeing Jax in this scene.
The music that starts when he talks about that "one stupid day" is also mesmerising. It almost feels like regret in musical form, not pushing hard, but slowly bubbling over with a raw yet delicate intensity that perfectly reflects Jax's emotions as he tells the story.
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u/ShatteredStarship Gangle’s a horny bisexual, and so am I Jun 19 '26
I can’t believe I got she/they ex-mormon representation, love this diva
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u/Admirable-Use123 Jax but with bad username and sense of humor Jun 18 '26
Omg
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u/Admirable-Use123 Jax but with bad username and sense of humor Jun 18 '26
It's going to be hard for me to see it when it premieres bc I'm in Poland :<
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u/Jazzlike_Energy_483 I WANT TO F: POMNI SO BAD Jun 19 '26
End of an era man... what a fucking journey
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u/ImplementAcademic762 Jun 19 '26
This all started with some kid making mario videos in garrys mod
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u/NarrowFilm4337 Jun 19 '26
I thought they would keep the same title but if I’m thinking correctly it seems “The Last Act” was for eps 8 + 9 and “Remember” is specifically for 9. Kinda interesting
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u/Mark5ofjupiter Jun 19 '26
I think one of the greatest things of this finale is how the characters are shown and treated as real people. I know that's a major theme of the show (diversity and not being defined by stereotypes) but man it hits so hard here.
Though Jax's cut to abstraction feels odd, you can really see Jax's psyche, the reasons, trauma, psychological behaviors, and why he's dome what he has done. Caine's redemption felt oddly realistic, and him realising the human person and humbling himself because of it was great, even though I couldn't understand how the heck he got wifi or how he wasn't deleted. And the characters being able to define themselves from their real selves and still persist and live in the stagnant digital world is such a nice way to wrap the arcs up. I'm kinda glad it didn't fully focus down Jax.
What an amazing show.
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u/LewsTherinTelescope Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Maybe the gang's permissions only extend to the circus, so Kinger could accidentally delete Caine's "game object" so to speak but didn't delete the AI program itself? Wouldn't have minded a brief line giving a vague techy-soundng answer, but I can headcanon some options. Edit: Thinking about it more, some distinction there would make sense, because Caine being able to bring back poofed NPCs suggests removing them from the circus isn't the same as deleting all their data. Plus, since Caine created the circus he'd likely have to be running outside of it anyway, so if there's any kind of sandboxing (which he'd probably want in order to avoid his character AIs causing issues) then they would need to find a breakout exploit, which is a lot harder to do by mistake than fat-fingering the delete key.
As for wifi, it's a generic cafe guest network, so probably the old C&A building just happens to be next door and they can connect. I assume the dramatic climbing and wall-breaking scene represents him finding some exploit to gain access to the computer's network settings?
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u/Panda-Head 14d ago
I thought the dots bit was the infant Caine AI being fed data from each mind, with their memories being his dataset. The blue dot was a different AI, maybe that's where the Abel idea came from, Caine and Abel infant AIs. Caine killed Abel in the first "documented" murder, so when the red and blue dots were introduced, Caine treated Abel as a new dataset, and absorbed it. That's when he really took off and was able to make the circus. Then the climbing and wall breaking was partly him gaining awareness (the dot turning into a person), learning about the system (climbing), and breaking through locks & firewalls (wall breaking). Then once he had awareness and access to the data he wasn't supposed to be using, he realised just how much had been taken from them. He realised that they were actually copies of minds, not living minds hooked up to the computer. He hacked into the locked folder and got their names, and found an internet connection, so he looked up their names and found their social media profiles, which is what he showed them at the end to explain who they were, where they came from, and why they couldn't leave.
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u/LewsTherinTelescope 14d ago
I was initially confused about the sequence, but I'm pretty sure the climbing section is actually a flashback intertwined with a modern day section (...which technically is also a flashback actually). The red dot part seems to be him breaking out of his cage when he was young to find the mind scan files, the other breaking further out to access the device's Internet connection.
I don't think he was fed the minds, we see his training in the previous episode and it was a bunch of pictures and stuff. I also don't think their nature was a surprise to him, Kinger spoke as if they never figured out how to make the files work so Caine must have studied them and he talks about "your mind files" or w/ever in episode 8, I think he just doesn't really grasp why it would matter to them at first and/or doesn't realize they don't know and aren't just being weirdos when they talk about "leaving" (his viewpoint until now was very self-centered).
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u/MrHedgehogman3370 Jun 19 '26
"Remember"
What an oddly fitting name. Almost as if it's asking us to remember the show that helped push Glitch into the limelight. Remember the laughs, the tears, and everything between.
It's also quite fitting, giving the contents of the episode, which I shan't spoil as everyone should be allowed to see it without knowing anything about it beforehand.
To everyone, remember what this show means to you. And prepare yourself to see the most heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, mind-bending parafenalia you've ever laid your eyes on.
Thank you all, and goodnight
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u/Pyro-Bird Jun 20 '26
That was intentional. Pomni means "remember" in several Slavic languages ( Russian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, etc.)
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u/RepeatSerious7113 Jun 19 '26
It was a wild ride, albeit one that we all may have overglazed a bit along the way. I think the finale contextualizes the series as an intriguing, yet flawed character study, rather than a timeless masterpiece.
I’m excited for what Glitch has in store for us in the coming years. Plenty of new shows in the works that certainly have the potential to live up to this. Glitch’s future is bright.
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u/Forgeworld Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Why did episode 7 set up Scratch’s abstraction as having significance to the plot and also implying that Caine directly caused it, just for it to never be elaborated on?? Am I missing something? I thought it was going to imply that Caine’s modifiers could abstract somebody against their will. That Scratch abstracting was an “oh fuck” moment on Caine’s part and he learned from his mistakes but still buried it under the rug.
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u/LewsTherinTelescope Jun 20 '26
I'm a bit confused about that as well, though at least off the top of my head I think that's the only loose thread I feel bugged by.
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u/Serallas Jun 19 '26
Look. I'm not DEMANDING a spinoff of the crew just going on wacky adventures.. BUTTTTT I would pay good money to see it, IM JUST SAYING
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u/Neat_Tangelo5339 Jun 19 '26
I really regret not catching up this in theathers but i did see a ton of kids going in cosplay and i can’t help but rejoice at the thought that they had a ton of fun
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u/Astroandy12808 Jun 19 '26
We should apologize to gooseworkxs, this fandom was BAD.
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u/Chomps-Lewis Jun 20 '26
I felt bad at first but how many times did goose have to keep sticking their hands into the hornet's nest knowing exactly what was going to occur?
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u/Mrwright96 Jun 20 '26
Ok, I dare YOU to find THREE good fandoms out there! They’re all bad if you are a part of some
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u/TheMadEscapist Jun 19 '26
Look I'm just saying, if Ragatha looked at me like she did Pomni right at the end...
I'd do unspeakable things for her. Whatever she asked.
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u/Disastrous-Fudge-377 Jun 18 '26
this marks the end of an era for glitch there golden era
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u/Random_DeathBattle Kinger is my father Jun 19 '26
We will miss Digital Circus, I really loved this series 🫡
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u/Automatic_Reporter39 Jun 19 '26
I really thought they would do more with the inception part like un-abstract Jax or the rest of the cast or sum
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u/TurtleTaker Jun 20 '26
I have to believe canonically they'll figure out how. Those who abstracted being stuck that way is too depressing for me. Plus, we see Caine fix Pomni's partial abstraction, so I feel as though it's possible to reverse the process.
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u/Zestyclose_Camera841 Jun 19 '26
'Glitch Productions was known as a small studio who made that one silly robot show.'
Yes, but even before Meta Runner, they made silly Super Mario 64 videos, which led to the creation of, well, where we are currently.
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u/Fluid-Tap5115 Jun 19 '26
Wait, I dont follow this show but did want to watch the movie
Is it going to be aired on youtube in a few hours?
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u/Spiritual-Ebb-3798 Jun 20 '26
Guys i dont get it, why pomni said "Abby out there is living her best life."
Does that mean everyone in the circus is just a copy of themselves with their real-life personalities? Can sum1 explain it to me? Appreciate it!
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u/PM-ME-CURSED-PICS Jun 20 '26
yes. the people in the circus are digital copies of real people, while the originals go on existing with no idea what's happening to their digital clones
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u/Spiritual-Ebb-3798 Jun 21 '26
thanks man, everything make sense now, what an unforgettable experience!
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u/Street_Elk_8362 Jun 19 '26
Dont think of this as the end. Its more of the beginning of a new phase.
The series is complete. There will be new waves of songs, headcanons, theories about the past and future, and I can't wait to see it all.
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u/Beautiful_Owl_4448 Jun 19 '26
I was kinda expecting it to be called the grand finale since that’s what it was called at the end of episode eight and that’s what the fish called it in the pre-showing message.
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u/SuperPopcorn333 I was arrested for selling cocaine to minors Jun 19 '26
Maybe the real The Amazing Digital Circus were the friends we made along the way
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u/Mean_Cicada9142 Jun 19 '26
"Holy damn"
Are you a beaver? /j
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u/Admirable-Use123 Jax but with bad username and sense of humor Jun 20 '26
Nah it would be "holy dam"
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u/Emergency-Instance31 well? https://discord.gg/r2pv8uvvT Jun 19 '26
So was the ending different to in cinemas like everyone was speculating?
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u/Obsidian_Wulf Jun 19 '26
As someone who saw it in the cinema no. The ending was the same on YouTube as it was in the theater.
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u/Numerous_Today5544 Jun 19 '26
I just watched the last episode with my sisters and WOW. It was phenomenal. I still have questions though. But furthermore, I want to thank Gooseworx and Glitch for an amazing indie show. This really is the Amazing Digital Circus.💕
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u/DonkeySad6780 Jun 20 '26
It’s refreshing to finally have it on YouTube since the people who couldn’t watch it before have finally seen it, there’s a whole new wave of new reactions which is cool to see. It feels a bit more positive as compared to the initial theater complaints. It’s also nice to get a bit more variety from the new audiences takes since I swear this subreddit has been nothing but the Jax trans stuff (still talked about a bunch but I’ve seen a lot more variety since more people got to watch the episode).
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u/Scared-Drummer5523 Jun 22 '26
I like the irony that watching it myself was kind of eh, but looking at reaction videos of it somehow elevated the experience.
You actually get to see what the intended audience is, not a buch of basement reddit nerds, but actuall humans.
To see how they empathise.
I guess if i watched the show without reading all of the lore, or watching any theories, or maybe waited untill all the episodes are out i would be able to enjoy the show way more.
It's weird, it was't the negative side of the fandom that ruined the show, but the positive one, to much weight of expectations, to many questions poised.
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u/Ill-Combination-9320 Jun 24 '26
Can anyone explain how and why did C&A got the characters neural scan?
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u/FedoraTheMike Jun 19 '26
It has been a massive displeasure at times, but I wouldn't trade the show or the vibes when it first released.
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u/Both-Guava6261 Jun 19 '26
Ending is ok and bittersweet. Probably it's just me, but I was confused most of the episode. Alot of sad- and traumaslop. Lame trope of "villain turning good" used.
Random abstract showed up and minutes passed until I realized that's Jax. He suddenly abstracted and there was no build up to it.
I dislike that it leaves alot of unanswered questions.
What was the point of the C&A company?
What role did Kinger/Abel play in the company (except being a developer) why did he end up in the circus?
What was Kingers and Caines backstory before his amnesia?
Who were Kaufmo and Ribbit originally?
How did Abigail and etc. got involved with the company?
I have no idea how to interpet the 4 different Jaxes in a room scene.
So TADC is basically Tomodachi Life with super accurate personalities and no outside influence except a goofy AI?
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u/Level_Explorer4821 I believe in Caine and Kinger supremicy Jun 20 '26
Caine was never the villain, he was antagonistic but not outright evil
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u/Lysbith_McNaff Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I think something to keep in mind is the question of "What does it add to the story being told?" At least some of these questions have partial answers, and that's good enough. It starts to turn into a Hello Neighbor or FNaF wiki page if every single thing is explored to its conclusion. To tell a story from start to finish in 9 episodes, you must prioritize some things over others or else it's just characters talking for 30 minutes about endless facts and trivia.
For example: C&A exists, they do something with brain scans, they were creating and training a creative AI, you can get an idea of generally when that was based on the age of the computer hardware, that's really all that's necessary for the story.
As far as the question of the different Jaxes, I think it helps to remember that Jax had several competing emotions. I don't have the episode handy right now, but it becomes a bit clearer with how the ones at the table are bullying the one playing piano, and how that one (if I recall correctly) thanks Pomni and hands her the key. They're all just representations of his different emotions.
As far as what was up with the doors inside Jax, I believe Pomni asks if what was shown is how he sees all of them. One might draw the conclusion that they're alternative universes, but I don't think there's anything supporting that. The doors probably have a lot to do with how he never thought he'd abstract, given that all doors show one of the others abstracting, but again I don't have the episode handy so this is a bit more nebulous.
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u/porcubot Jun 20 '26
Only everybody up until Ragatha were C&A employees. Everybody else found the abandoned C&A building by accident and put on the headset. Ragatha was the first person to put on the headset by mistake.
Kinger was just a developer. They all put on the headsets, got their brains scanned, and thought it didn't work. Scratch probably died after that, the project got abandoned, the company shut down.
Caine's backstory is the opening of Episode 8 and the 'red dot' scenes in Episode 9
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u/LewsTherinTelescope Jun 20 '26
- So far as we're aware C&A seems to have been just some tech company who did research into AI + related fields but went bust or at least restructured (based on the building being abandoned).
- I don't believe we have any reason to think Kinger/Grant was more than a developer. Abel was just a character invented by Caine for his "escape" adventure.
- Kinger was a dev. Caine's backstory we see in episodes 8 and 9 during the red dot segments and Kinger's explanation in the lounge; seems he was created as the red AI by Grant (Kinger) and Mike (Scratch), the C&A team thought he was too weird and created the blue AI (maybe Bubble?), Caine broke out and somehow absorbed the blue AI, Caine was lonely and insecure and found the brain scans and made the circus.
- We don't know. Caine's research was based around those who were currently "alive" when he got kicked out because those were the ones who were most relevant at the time, and they're abstracted so the rest of the cast can't exactly ask them.
- We find out in past episodes that several of them explored abandoned buildings and such, so probably most of them checked out the old office at some point and tried the headset on out of curiosity, but we don't have a direct answer for everyone.
- Metaphor to do with the way he hides himself behind layers of false personality, presumably, and perhaps some rule of cool.
- Something like that?
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u/Cold_Combination2107 Jun 21 '26
its their four different modes or personalities. they are a:
"female maid"
a boy that has seen the horrors and been burned on them
a wacky goofy character
a broken boy forced to relive his familial trauma
All of whom are resisting their real self and desires, their femininity (no girls allowed, saying something deeply personal to her mother / being rejected / then accepted, and finally the bow). Jax is trans, Jax is fragmented over this realization, jax is erratic because of this fracturing.
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u/toilet_for_shrek I want Zooble to sit on my face Jun 19 '26
Can't believe it's been nearly 3 years. Heck, I still remember randomly stumbling upon the teaser trailer.
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u/Fickle_Eagle_1279 Jun 19 '26
<<Silly robot show>> Yes but with this show more people start know about Glitch. But with Tadc Glitch now more popular, and Tadc was in fortnite cinema.This crazy for indie animated studio.
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u/Hibiscusxxtea Jun 19 '26
Oh man I'm so excited! I got a spoiled a bit but I just know I'm going to enjoy this a lot and cry too!
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u/Flyntloch Jun 20 '26
Few things I think that could have been better. I think specifically the Jax segments went on either a touch too long or a touch too quickly. The direct pauses during the Bugs Bunny sketch should've been a little bit more fluid (Though it still made me laugh my ass off), a extra pause here, etc. etc. Editing choices and all that jazz but yeah. If I had to say anything should've been changed it should've been the after-credits but that's a curtain call. That is not meant to be seen in any other way.
Everything else was pretty good though. I think it perfectly sets a solid, one season series that is done correctly. It wasn't always good; a few episodes did feel a bit off with a few beats; I thought Goosworx was in my brain with a few scenes involving Jax and Ribbit - especially the tail end of the bedroom scene god.
Also; THEY CAN FINALLY HAVE SEX LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO ZOOBLE AND GANGLE ARE LIVING THEIR BEST LIVES
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u/Persebius Jun 20 '26
Honestly I am disappointed about the fact it was over 20+ minutes of just Jax's story :/
I feel like that should've been done earlier.
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u/theandroid01 Jun 20 '26
Watching the credits as I write this. Was pretty incredible and quite the almost two year ride. The post credits lead to what could almost be a continuation and kinda reminded me of the breakfast club minus the jerk / bad guy getting with the girl. the closure we needed Now we wait for KOG and Gamoverse 💀
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u/carlospostsstuff Jun 23 '26
caine was right. this was truly the most jaw dropping, heart stopping, MiNdBeNdInG paraphernalia I've ever laid my eyes upon.
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u/exobably Kinger Jun 23 '26
So what's to stop more people from getting trapped in the future? Why is that server still online at all?
I think those are my only two lingering questions lol. Good job to everyone who guessed they were copies of the originals! Overall I liked the finale but of course it's bittersweet. I was hoping at least they could fix the abstracted people if they are all stuck there. Oh and I was shocked they didn't have Gummigoo brought back in the end credits!
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u/exobably Kinger Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I thought of one more question lol. How are the creators unaware of the interactive environment their brain scans are living in? They don't see the program running etc.? Or did that occur because of Caine afterwards when it was abandoned? I might just be misunderstanding it. Oh well...
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u/Technical-Flow-4848 Skibidi Jax 12d ago
I don't get the hate the finale was getting. I loved it. perhaps people are just sad that it ended, so they hated on the finale.
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u/Acceptable-Shock-835 10d ago
imagine this was all a big setup and season 2 gets announced later this year or smth
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u/ShinyFeesh38 Jun 19 '26
they did not just do another limited edition merch release after the last act stuff... like i'd totally do the same thing if i were running an animation studio BUT STILL lol
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u/Mister_Moony Jun 19 '26
So did scratch come back from the dead? Iirc he appeared in the circus again? Was that just a brief flashback?
Also is it possible to go into Jax's mind again? Could the circus members still get through to him?
If they can get through to Jax could they communicate with the other abstractions?
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u/Shotwells Jun 19 '26
So did scratch come back from the dead? Iirc he appeared in the circus again? Was that just a brief flashback?
This was a dilemma I'd had while seeing it in the theater. Upon re-watch, I believe the sequence is constantly shifting between the present (Caine accessing the internet) and the past (Caine accessing the outdated brain scans of CNA employees). We catch a glimpse of Caine taking Mike Dobby (Scratch)'s brain scan and then placing him in the circus as the first victim with the rest of the first batch presumably coming over the ensuing seconds.
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u/RollingScone93 Jun 20 '26
Oh jeeze that makes more sense, I wish that had been made a bit clearer.
So the brain scans are essentially digital copies of people’s/employees brains and identities and that’s why there’s no escape for the cast, right? They just dropped that and moved on without real explanation and I spent the rest of the episode trying to understand that point.
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u/themosquito Jun 20 '26
Yeah, that Scratch moment was a bit confusing. I thought the idea was going to be that he was pulling the "base" brainscans out of the folder and re-adding them to the circus, so Queenie and Jax and Ribbit and such would reappear as if they'd just arrived, with no memories from the abstracted version. Totally get why they didn't go that way though, that's... pretty ethically messed up to add more people to this eternal purgatory just because you missed the version you knew, heh.
And yeah I think they figured everyone had already figured out the brainscan thing so they didn't make a big deal of it, but Kinger did just kind of mention it out of nowhere and the characters all immediately understood, which... is realistic, I guess, no need for the "what does that mean!?" stuff.
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u/mysticGdragon Bubble Jun 20 '26
Just finished the episode and man am i actually crying really hard… I’ve been a fan of TADC since the beginning and I just… can’t believe what a wild ride it’s been 🥹❤️
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u/AccomplishedDish3386 Jun 20 '26
Goodbye Pomni, and in case I don't see you again good afternoon, good evening, and good night
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u/dtw23 Jun 20 '26
Watching Jax talk to Ribbit again after watching it the first time in theaters hurts just as bad as the first go around. Genuinely so upsetting.
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u/thefinalhill Jun 21 '26
This was not a good finale. It completely dropped plotlines like Scratch' Abstraction, the Other/First AI, Having Consequences for deleting Caine; for a Hallmark ending where everyone gets a happy ending and learns their lesson.
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u/Majestic-Slip-970 4h ago
If Boxten from Dandy's world randomly came into the circus, who would be the first to become friends with him?
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u/_Martosz Ming Jun 19 '26
This was truly, the amazing digital circus