JarmStart_12

I’ve seen some people interpret Caine’s “wait…” in episode 8 as him begging not to be deleted, but honestly I don’t think that’s what’s happening. Mainly because he doesn’t react that way at any point before that. He doesn’t show fear when the process starts, or when he begins losing control, or at any other moment. The “wait…” happens specifically while he’s talking about his purpose. And I think that matters. Caine mentions that he’s just trying to fulfill the function he was created for, but that he can’t seem to do it in a way that satisfies the humans, and that it affects him. Right at that moment, he stops. To me, it didn’t sound like begging. It sounded like he realized something. My interpretation is that, in that instant, he might have made a connection: the humans also had a purpose outside the circus (in the “macroverse”), and being trapped there made that purpose impossible to fulfill. In other words, they’re in a very similar situation to him. Caine can’t properly fulfill his function and that causes him distress. The humans can’t fulfill their original goals and that causes them distress too. Under that idea, the problem isn’t that the humans are “uncooperative,” but that they’re stuck in an environment where they can’t do what’s supposed to give their lives meaning. And if Caine realizes that, even for a moment, it would make sense for him to stop like that. That’s why that “wait…” feels more like a moment of realization than a plea.