Debunking the “Caine made Jax hit the button” theory
( because I’ve seen it so much accepted as canon that it’s only a theory, much like this…also warning for a long post )
1. That would defeat the whole point of the adventure.
Caine wanted to feel that the members of the Cricus liked him better than the real world. He wanted them to choose to stay with him, to provide him the love and validation he lost when his creators cut him off.
The point of the episode was to simulate a situation where the cast would have to choose between abandoning him too, or staying with him forever.
And at the end, he is genuinely giddy that they chose to stay with him.
Not only that, but he also stated that he was so confident that they’d choose to stay with him that he didn’t put much thought into what the other button would do.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of people say that it proves that Caine was planning to control one of them, because he didn’t create an alternative ending.
BUT that’s not true — because he still made sure that Bubble MADE an alternative option. What would be the point of even making an alternate ending if he just planned to do mind control? The issue isn’t that Caine messed with Jax’s mind — it’s that Caine is so out-of-touch with how everyone views him.
2. The entire episode built Jax’s deteriorating mental state down. Him being controlled would completely destroy the point of all those scenes.
(And, while we’re at it, this ALSO debunks the “Caine implanted the memories into his head”. Because that would also be entirely pointless.)
Long title but pretty self explanatory. If Caine had gotten into Jax’s head to make him push the button, then what would be the point of the rest of the episode?
For instance, what’s the point of this scene?
For one thing, Jax is clearly in no rush to escape the Circus like the others are. He pokes fun at Zooble about it. Because he, at this point, is unsure if he even wants to leave.
When prompted if Jax has anyone waiting for him outside of the Circus to get back home to, his demeanor visibly fractures.
Which implies that he either doesn’t, or that he has a fate worse than the Circus waiting for him.
And then, after this, he’s visibly shaken.
He’s clearly remembering old memories with Ribbit and Kaufmo, realizing that he did have people HERE. But he lost them. Once again…not Caine’s doing. This is building up to something deeper within Jax.
Then, the salt in the wound — seeing the healthy relationship between Gangle and Zooble, reminding him of what he doesn’t have.
The bitter reminders are what push him into panic mode.
Remember, to him this is real. So, faced with the opportunity to either leave forever or stay forever…he starts to panic as though this really were happening.
And he starts to realize…he doesn’t want to go back to what is waiting for him at home.
Judging by the flashbacks he got of him speeding while driving and how he reacted to it … it seems like something worse (at least to him).
3. The abstraction scene showed that what Jax valued most exists in the Circus…and they’re reaching out to him.
While Jax is abstracting, he’s drawn into it because the one good thing in his life, he found here at the Circus.
He’s literally drawn into the whole abstraction process when Ribbit extends their hand, quite literally urging Jax to join her.
And as Jax is in the process of abstracting, all that he sees around him are the shapes of Ribbit and Kaufmo — a reminder of what he had, or perhaps could still have, in the Circus.
The reason he’d prefer this over reality.
4. “You made me” doesn’t = “you made me hit the button”.
First and foremost, Jax says “you LIAR”, followed by “you made me”. Caine, in this episode, didn’t lie about having access to their minds— the most current context that would prompt Jax to accuse him of lying is the adventure itself.
In the beginning, Jax guessed correctly that it was all an adventure. But then, gradually, as he began to panic, he began to believe that it WAS real.
Laughing hysterically and insisting that he was right was a realization that he exposed himself — as someone who chose himself over everyone else — for NOTHING.
Also, just wanted to add…
“You can mess with our minds TOO.”
“Too”, as in, he’s bringing up a NEW topic. As in, “you made me” does not correlate with “you can mess with our minds”.
I personally believe that “you made me” refers to “you made me think this was real”. Because, at the end, he did.
And all it led to was him exposing himself in a mid-panic decision.
If Caine made him do it, then the entire episode was effectively pointless for EVERYONE.
