maybe this is a little silly of me to say, but am I the only one who’s kind of surprised by Caine’s emotional intelligence in this scene?
Caine does not take suggestions or criticism well. Usually he doesn’t even take them at all. But he does here. Gangle gives him a suggestion and he enthusiastically accepts. He tells her it’s a great idea. He even recognizes it as something that his adventures have been missing.
Now, I’ve seen a few people say that it’s malicious of him to specifically accept this suggestion when it’s the only one the humans have given him that features punishment. But here’s the thing: he never actually implements the punishment. No one even fails their employee evaluation. Caine understands that the motivation specifically is what matters, and that a punishment would not make the adventure more enjoyable. He infers that the illusion of danger/consequences is enough.
This is noteworthy because what Caine struggles with the most is the why of things. He knows Zooble doesn’t like their body, but he doesn’t understand why. He knows stakes and suspense can be engaging, but he doesn’t understand why. He knows the humans aren’t happy, but he doesn’t understand why. He knows the what, but he struggles incredibly hard to grasp the why.
But here, he does. I think the reason he understands what Gangle actually wants and what would make the adventure more enjoyable is because punishment is one concept that he can grasp. It is one he has experienced and can relate to. He has not experienced a longing for a home he can’t return to, or body dysmorphia, or having his mental state rely on a prop. But punishment? He is intimately familiar with.
Caine is very much capable of empathy, it’s just that he has a limited range of experiences that overlap with the humans in the first place. But this happens to be one of them, so he can. He can think: “I’ve been punished before for not performing properly. I didn’t like that, so the humans probably don’t either, which means there’s something else Gangle must want aside from punishment itself that I can provide. Maybe the suspense from anticipating potential consequences is enough? Oh, motivation! That’s it!”
The other reason I think he’s receptive is simply because a human is seeking him out. This just doesn’t happen. He has reached out to humans, but they don’t reach out to him, at least not in a genuine manner. But Gangle calls him to have an honest conversation.
And that’s the other part: how she talks to him. She does not criticize him or the adventure, she does not insult him, she does not demand anything of him. She essentially says “I was wondering if you could do this thing”. She gives him the opportunity to give his feedback on her suggestion, and gives him some creative control (what the ‘punishment’ could be and how to go about it). A suggestion, not a demand, given without any snark or insults, that still gives him the opportunity for him to provide his own input and have some control.
That is the reason Caine is receptive of her suggestion. It’s about how she presents it. I don’t think Gangle even thought that hard about her phrasing, but it goes to show how sensitive Caine is.
I’m not saying the humans should have to walk on eggshells in order to give Caine any criticism, nor am I saying he’s a saint for managing to empathize with and understand a human one time. What I am saying is that this instance provides interesting insight into Caine’s character and proves that he does have the potential to have healthy communication with the humans.
I know this isn’t anything groundbreaking, but I just think it’s fun to analyze Caine’s character like this.
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