Some ruminations on TADC episode 8
I must confess I found episode 8 of The Amazing Digital Circus to be somewhat disappointing. It was the first time that I felt that the direction taken by the episode was less interesting than what could have been
Fundamentally what makes Caine so interesting as a character is how alien his worldview is from the rest of the cast. He wants so deeply to validate his own purpose by making them happy, but he lacks any true understanding of how humans operate. What makes him so frightening is that he does not understand how his actions affect the humans in his 'care,' there was also a sense that he was not omnipotent, and a bit of a flimflammer who wanted to come off as more in control than he really was. In episode seven, he creates an elaborate meta-adventure for the sole purpose of affirming to himself that the cast genuinely do care for him, with no regard to how the possibility of an escape would affect their mental state.
However, in episode eight, Caine changes from well-meaning narcissist to omnipotent sadist. In previous episodes, he was scary in the way that a toddler with the nuclear football might be scary; unpredictable, and lacking both in malice and a true understanding of the gravity of the situation. In episode eight, his fear takes on the form closer to that of a real-world abuser.
I had been expecting that when Caine's inevitable breaking point came, he would change in line with the behavior patterns he has shown so far, his ultimate goal is for the humans to enjoy his adventures, and so maybe he decides that the humans need less autonomy, or becomes increasingly desperate to give them what he thinks they want with no understanding of what would truly make them happy. Instead, cane makes what seems like a very human change, instead of deriving value from others experiencing joy, he attempts to derive value from flaunting his power and causing suffering to the cast. The fact that he uses the personal traumas of each character to torment them implies that Caine has secretly been malicious the entire time, that all of the actions that appeared to be funny or frightening because of Caine's lack of self awareness, may have all just been cure ways of hurting the cast. For me, this sours my ability to enjoy Caine's character in retrospect, he was never silly, always a monster.
One popular theory that I had thought the show was pointing to was that there are no physical bodies for the characters to return to, that they are simply digital copies uploaded to the circus and that there really is no exit. The ultimate thematic conclusion to this is that the value in life is community and connection, with everyone working to make their eternal lives in the circus the best that they could be.
The first seven episodes seem built on this theme of connection, Pomni enters the circus isolated, makes her first connection in Gummigoo (an NPC less complex than a human), next she makes a connection with Kinger, and when she fails to successfully connect with Gangle, Gangle instead forms a connection with Zooble (as well as Ragatha and Kinger bonding). Then Pomni attempts to connect with Jax, who is hostile and resistant, but by episode 8, even he seems to be beginning to integrate with the others. Ever more difficult barriers are overcome through human connection.
Under this setup, what is the final challenge; Caine. Can a mind so ultimately alien from our own truly be connected with? Episode 7 sets up the concept that if they leave the Circus, Caine will be left alone forever, and even if he is not a real person, his feelings do appear to be real, does he deserve to be left alone? If all of the characters exist only as digital copies, then this mans they would have to find some way to coexist with Caine, but how does this gap get bridged?
Instead, in episode 8, the answer appears clearly that Caine cannot be connected to, he was always vindictive, cruel and unempathetic, and his death leaves the circus a safer place. I feel like this flattens his character.
Part of what made Caine stand out from a sea of other AI antagonists was that he was driven by misguided affection rather than malice, now it feels like that has been lost.
I am still looking forward to episode 9, and would not be surprised if it addresses some of the issues I have here, and I still think that everyone involved in TADC deserves all of the respect and appreciation for the time and passion they have put in this project. This is an incredibly important series to myself and many, many others, which is part of the reason I want to comment on aspects I both enjoy and feel let down by.