Lady ETHNE

While it has never been stated by Goose though it has been implied by Alex, Caine is kinda a metaphor for people who are neurodivergent/have autism.

He's loud, he can't read social cues, he hyperfixates, he has extreme emotional reactions when things don't go to plan, and his mind works completely differently than how the others work (l mean lore wise this is literally true).

And while I'm not gonna excuse his actions in episode 8 (a disability is not an excuse to be a bad person) the fact people think he deserves to stay dead and think he's irredeemable, or even that he’s one dimensional is ignorant at best and incredibly harmful at worst.

And I have heard the argument “Caine can’t represent Autistic people because he’s not human, which implies autistic people aren’t human” and while I think it’s perfectly valid to think that, the thing with digital circus is the lines have been blurred a tad on what counts as a person and what doesn't.

Episode 2 tackles this question first hand. Is Gummigoo any less a person because he's an ai or is he "someone real?" These questions can be directly applied to Caine's situation.

He's sentient, he has thoughts and feelings, does he count as a person?

While I don't think the other A.I characters are supposed to be directly neurodivergent, or even that all the main cast are directly neurotypical, I do stand by that Caine has clear symptoms of autism and that his status as an A.l. shouldn't exactly matter. He's still a person, he's still sentient, even if he's not flesh and blood like we are.

I have siblings with diagnosed autism who act like Caine. I am dating someone with autism. I AM PROBABLY ON THE SPECTRUM. THAT 17 YEAR OLD ADHD DIAGNOSIS WASN'T FOR NO REASON.

Neurodivergent people are still people and deserve a second chance, something Caine has yet to be given.