Pomni's acting manic next episode, and it's actually good writing - TADC discussion
In every advertisement for the next episode of TADC so far Pomni has been acting pretty chaotic, and I honestly think it makes sense. I organized 7 points as to why
1: WE DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW THE REAL POMNI YET
This is definitely a hot take, but just hear me out here, Pomni so far has been an "Everyman" character. An everyman is a type of protagonist that was created to be projected on to by the audience. They're usually an average Jane/Joe who doesn't have much personality of their own, so pretty much anyone watching can relate to them or project themselves onto them. The thing that makes Pomni fit into this category is the fact that until episode 5 (I would say), she's pretty much just been reduced down to "Therapy friend". She's just been a person the other characters open up to so the audience can learn about said characters. Notice how most (if not all) of her conversations so far have just been her comforting the other characters? And we haven't actually seen Pomni HERSELF opening up to others? We've seen Pomni helping others, but we haven't seen POMNI. We don't know Pomni's personal beliefs, struggles, or personality. We know she has the basic belief that you should be kind to others, and help them when they need it, but that's something just about every average sane person believes. And I wouldn't even count anxiety as one of her struggles. Dare I say, Pomni doesn't have an anxiety disorder, she was just feeling anxious in the first episode, because she was just thrown in some hell circus that she can supposedly never leave. Which is something anyone would be feeling in that situation. There is a difference between having anxiety disorder and feeling anxious. And no, the anxiety she feels in the first episode and the compassion she shows others doesn't count as a personality. Anxiety and compassion aren't a personality, they're emotions, and she hasn't even been dealing with feeling anxious since episode 1. Nothing is out of character for Pomni because we don't know Pomni yet. The only thing that would be out of character so far would be if she started being genuinely rude to people, because it's been established that she's a caring person, and if you're thinking "but Pomni did seem rude in the new trailer" I address that in my very next point
2: POMNI HASN'T BECOME A BAD PERSON
Pomni has been shown to be a caring and compassionate person, and her participating in this gun adventure, and even ENJOYING it, doesn't mean she's become less of a compassionate person. Because for all they know there are no permanent (physical) consequences to this, or any, adventure. There is no death in the circus. I don't believe Pomni would EVER shoot anyone with an intention to actually hurt them, but she might be willing to do so in a game with no consequences. Pomni hasn't given up or changed her morals because she's having a good time in this adventure, and I don't believe she wishes anyone participating any actual harm
3: JAX IS INFLUENCING HER, BUT NOT IN THE WAY YOU'RE THINKING
I just KNOW people are going to say "Jax did this to her" and I honestly HATE that. Pomni is her own person, and she has complete control over her own actions. They even make a point to say this in episode 5. And I don't think Pomni acting chaotic is going against that. Because honestly, I think she has genuinely had that in her this whole time, we're just not seeing it until now. In episode 5 when Jax attacked Evil Jax, Pomni genuinely found it funny. I think she's just a more chaotic person than what we originally thought, and yeah, maybe she is only showing it after befriending Jax, but I think it's because she CAN around Jax. Jax has made a point to say it's okay to go crazy sometimes, it's okay to not be happy all the time, it's okay to not always being composed. I don't think Pomni is changing because of Jax, I think she's simply growing more comfortable because of Jax. Plus to be fair, who wouldn't go a little bonkers in that place? Even just a little bit. Being completely composed in every way ALL THE TIME in a place like the amazing digital circus would be impossible, and as we see with Ragatha, it's frankly unhealthy to try to force yourself to do so
4: POMNI HAS BEEN SAID TO BE A THRILL SEEKER
Pomni said in episode 5 she looked for mild thrills to escape her boring life. Yes she said "mild" thrills, but I don't think it's crazy to think she could be an adrenalin junky. It's already been established she likes thrills, maybe we just haven't seen the full extent to it yet. I can also see it being something Pomni discovers in episode 6, she looks pretty uncertain about how to use a gun at first, but when we see her actually using it that's when we see more of a manic and smug side. Maybe Pomni herself didn't realize how much of an adrenalin junky she could be until she was thrown into a real world shooting game
5: EVIL POMNI WAS DOWN TO EARTH
Okay, just hear me out on this one. The big top evil clones were made to be the exact opposite of the real characters. Evil Pomni was rude, but she wasn't the cackle and go manic type, she was honestly pretty chill. I mean girl was literally napping in the baseball field when waiting for her turn lol. I'm just saying, if it was the "opposite of Pomni" to go wild, Evil Pomni would be wild. But Pomni isn't acting like Evil Pomni, she's just acting chaotic
6: POMNI IS ALLOWED TO NOT BE NICE
Another thing I saw someone say is that it seems like Pomni is going to be upset with Ragatha next episode, but "that's not Pomni." UM. I'm not saying Pomni has the right to be upset with Ragatha, but honestly LET HER. Not a single person on this earth NEVER feels negative feelings towards other people, no matter how nice they are. It doesn't make Pomni "less Pomni" because she's feeling angry with another person. I don't know why she might be upset with Ragatha next episode, but I genuinely hope she is. It's not because I want Ragatha to be hurt, I adore Ragatha, but it's because I want Pomni to be allowed to have more range of emotions and behaviors outside of "nice anxiety girl." That is literally Ragatha's whole internal struggle, being worried people won't like her if she shows negative emotions, and when she did the fandom HATED HER, let's please PLEASE not do the same to Pomni. It does not make Pomni "not Pomni" because she wasn't nice one time. Or she gets wild and maybe enjoys a chaotic adventure. God forbid women have any personality outside of "super sweet, composed, and nice all the time" 🙄🤦♀️
7: THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME POMNI HAS SHOWN MANIC BEHAVIORS
Pomni displayed manic behaviors multiple times in episode one. This was something induced by her stress and feeling of going insane in that episode, but I would hardly say this isn't mentionable. If Pomni has shown symptoms of mania before, it's likely she will again. Whether it's caused by stress or she's going on some kind of power trip
