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Of course Jax is no actual Elliot Rodger. It's why I used the term parallel. In fact, he's a self admitted insert of Goose herself. She's stated numerous times that Jax is not a good person nor is he solely a victim. This isn't even subtext, this is text, inside and outside of the show.

And to reiterate to the reactionaries, of course Jax isn't a raging incel nor a racist like Elliot Rodger was nor is he the extreme. Jax wasn't born into privilege with doting parents like Elliot. Most of Jax's thoughts were intrusive only, the most horrendous of which he never acted upon. Arguably it's Elliot's extremism and privilege in comparison to Jax that makes people upset about the comparison I made, fair enough.

However, a big however, the key topic of argument that is true is both Jax and Elliot spiraled and escalated due to their refusal to receive and take help.

That was my point.

That's the cautionary tale of both.

Elliot refused efforts from family, therapists, and friends. Jax refused efforts from friends. Neither were capable of being helped because neither wanted it and it led to the deaths of people around them and themselves.

And yes - Jax neglected and emotionally abused his friends Ribbit and Kaufmo to suicide (abstraction). It's literally shown in abstracted Jax's memories. What's worse is that Jax couldn't see or appreciate the privilege he had with Ribbit and Kaufmo. They were the family and friends he always wanted.

Elliot wasn't broken because he was half asian or because women were the "scum of the earth" (they weren't / paraphrased), he was broken because he was deluded and selfish. Jax wasn't broken because of his gender identity nor was he broken due to the emotional abuse of his parents. He was broken because he was deluded and selfish. Neither were inherently monsters but both allowed themselves to become monsters.

On another note, fictional characters pull from inspiration from real people and events all the time. Stop being dense in this regard.

And on another note, I'm not using she/her pronouns only because the canon doesn't for digital or real life Jax and both of them appear to still be closeted. There's a whole other discussion about Jax's gender identity I'll get into later maybe...

But overall -

Don't be like Jax or Elliot.

As one person put it -

Pomni approaches Ragatha without hesitation, asking if she wants to partner up. It's Ragatha who denies Pomni, mentioning she doesn't want Kinger to get stuck with Jax.

A valid interpretation of this is Ragatha not wanting to be with Jax more than she wants to protect Kinger, but I'd argue both feelings are at play even if it's not outwardly stated.

Literally after this, Pomni suggests she herself team up with Kinger, not Jax. She mentions how they were together once (ep3) and how it wasn't that bad.

Ragatha then hesitates and mentions her concern with Jax, causing Pomni to turn to Jax, who is playfully aiming with the gun. It's here Pomni's expression becomes worried.

It's not explicitly stated, but Pomni has been paying attention to everyone in the circus. She knows Jax is a bully.

The moment Pomni sees Ragatha's pov, she scraps her initial suggestion and offers to be on Jax's team to prevent Ragatha and Kinger from being bullied.

Her intent isn't to get to know Jax or befriend him. She explicitly states she's doing this to keep him in check.

Most of their interactions are stiff. Pomni's primarily trying to placate Jax so as to not have him do too much damage. She doesn't even want to participate in killing, as she sees the others as people, whereas Jax sees them as part of a game.

Pomni counters Jax numerous times in this one scene. [1] She tries to withdraw from killing. [2] She states that she doesn't want to hurt them. [3] She calls them her friends. [4] She reiterates the prior two points when Jax question's hew view of the circus. [5] Mentions they're not cartoon characters and are still people.

When Jax claims they're just archetypes, Pomni doesn't agree with him. She asks him skeptically what he is, to which she claims he's the villain.

And almost all of her expressions with Jax in this scene are worried to annoyed. Remember, she didn't want to be paired with Jax. Her intent isn't to be Jax's friend; it's to prevent him from going too far and bullying the others.

When Jax reiterates he's the funny one Pomni clearly has a moment of cognitive dissonance and repeats the line skeptically with a worried expression. She doesn't think he's the funny one because she is aware of his bullying of her and others.

"But she went along with Jax!"

Yea…

That's the point of this scene.

That's the tension.

Jax's cognitive dissonance concerns his relation to others and the circus. Getting Pomni on his side alleviates that.

Pomni's cognitive dissonance is that they still matter as beings even if they're trapped in the circus. That's still a human moral code she should adhere to.

They're foils to each other. Of course, this dilemma occurs. Pomni ultimately fails it because she's sympathetic and lets her guard down. Don't worry, we're getting to that part.

I'd argue that what Pomni and Jax are going through is like a corrupted, sleight-of-hand version of B&tB.

Jax has open moments with Pomni. There are vulnerable ones too, eg his admission of trypophobia. It's surface-level, but a vulnerable admission nonetheless. Related: I dealt with a bully who stopped bullying me when I tutored him (against my will), and he informed me he was dyslexic. We saw commonality in our neurobiological conditions, and he never bullied me again. He even defended me from other bullies.

Remember, Pomni's not intending to befriend Jax. Her initial goal was to placate him. But as a jester, she's paying attention. It's not unreasonable to think this is progress, that Jax is becoming a more open person. I understand how Pomni could conflate Jax's openness with him becoming, dare I say... Friendlier. This is the norm for non-manipulative people.

More importantly, Jax unintentionally let his guard down. It's why he immediately doubles down on his masking after she hugs him.

Pomni, being the sympathetic one, genuinely thinks Jax is being open with her. In that moment of hype, she hugs him. Remember, this is the first fun game she's had.

Jax thought Pomni was on the same level of detachment as he was. But her hug makes it clear she isn't. She cares openly and audibly.

When Pomni tries to get back into Jax's mindset, she can't. She wants the final showdown to be mutual, but he refuses. Pomni reiterates she didn't want to shoot Jax at the end. I'd argue this applies to everyone she's shot. She's realizing what she's allowed herself to do. Pomni sacrificed her morals to placate Jax.

This is the rose-tinted glasses shattering in real time for Pomni. She's realizing they aren't on the same page and never were.

Pomni thinks the chaotic evil gag was a temporary facade for the game itself. For Jax? It's permanent.

I won't go through the whole argument in the third act, but yea. Pomni never wanted to befriend Jax. But allowed herself to believe they were becoming friends. Pomni sacrificed her morals and hurt her other friends, something that clearly bothers her based on what she throws back at Jax in this scene.

She literally spends the third act physically and verbally beating the shit out of Jax when she realizes what's going on.

This is no longer her trying to understand or empathize with Jax. This is her being a jester, calling him out on his shit.

Concerning Ragatha and Pomni, their issues started back around ep2 and compounded from there. The most prominent instance is Pomni calling out Ragatha's coddling (paraphrased) as she's not a child.

In ep3, Kinger has a conversation with Pomni. He tells her to cherish those around her because you never know when they'll be gone. It's from this prompt that Pomni tells Ragatha how much she appreciates her concern and efforts to make her feel at home in such a strange, new world. Pomni even mentions her own faults of not being appreciative of Ragatha in a manner that she should be.

In ep6, Ragatha laments her perceived falling out with Pomni from ep5 and shows her insecurity of Pomni not liking her softball suggestion. This fear and others culminate after she loses the gun fight and has a conversation with Kinger, who gives her solid advice.

At the end of ep6, Pomni bumps into Ragatha. It's heavily implied that they resolved the issues from the prior episodes based on advice we've seen Kinger give them on separate occasions.

In ep4, Pomni reluctantly comforts Gangle but then does so sincerely upon realizing how upset she is. Pomni suggests Ragatha as a good person to confide in based on her prior knowledge and experiences with her. This shows Pomni sees Ragatha's strengths and values them.

Gangle mentions how much she loves Ragatha but notes Ragatha's compulsive people-pleasing and fawning. It makes Gangle unsure of how sincere Ragtha is.

Pomni thinks Ragatha is sincere, while Gangle doesn't. This is consistent with their characters. Pomni wants to see the best in others, and Gangle, being chronically depressed and bullied, is skeptical. This prompts doubt in Pomni's assertion of Ragatha's character since Gangle's been there longer. Gangle then shuts Pomni down the moment she tries to (potentially) defend Ragatha or potentially help Gangle herself.

After this point in ep5, Gangle starts finding support and acceptance in Zooble, which Pomni likely noticed, and it's probably why Pomni stopped trying to help either of them since they're helping each other.

When Jax criticizes Gangle's ability to find acceptance and be happy, Pomni hits back with a biting "what?" at his observation as though his sentiments are ludicrous. This still aligns with her attempts to see the value in everyone.

Ragatha then shows up, and we, of course, get her chewing out Jax passive-aggressively. Of course she's right in that he doesn't have friends, and her backtracking after his angry turn.

Pomni tries defending Ragatha against Jax's claims that mirror Gangle, which doubles down on her doubt. Especially since Pomni likely trusts Gangle over Jax.

Later during the softball incident, Pomni shits on both Ragatha and Jax who are fighting in front of her.

But Ragatha continues to rightfully chew Jax out in a manner Pomni will later replicate upon seeing how Jax responds to her efforts to befriend him. Hc time, but I think this is part of Pomni's motivation to talk to Ragatha at the character awards, because Ragatha was right.

We also see Ragatha's still trying her best to help people despite her tension with Jax and Pomni. Meanwhile, Gangle thanks Ragatha for advice that worked.

Like - Pomni and Gangle literally interact. Ragatha gets so much development with everyone. Also, Ragatha and Pomni have a pretty solid arc if you rewatch everything.

Antagonist doesn't mean you're morally evil or a large-scale threat. It's someone who inhibits the actions of or goes against the grain of the protagonist(s) to their detriment.

“But Caine was the antagonist!” … You can have more than one… “But Jax is a victim of Caine!” … He can still be an antagonist to others… “But Jax has friends!”

Here - let’s look at Cartman. He’s an antagonist to the other boys and has antagonists himself.

The protagonist can shift in a series. It’s why when Cartman’s the focus (protagonist), characters such as Kyle, Scott Tenorman, and Sheila are antagonists to Cartman.

Tldr: someone can be both a protagonist and antagonist depending on the point of view and interactions.

Back to TADC...

While everyone else has had misunderstandings and hangups, they’ve (mostly) worked through them. They find comfort and healing in others, and we see that on screen. They grow individually and collectively for the better.

Jax is the only one who refuses. It's made clear that the rest primarily tolerate him so he won’t abstract and harm them. Zoboble even says this in the couch scene of ep8.

Unlike some other characters and the author's perception of them *coughStolascough*, Goose has made many posts that Jax isn't a nice or good person. Although he's her favorite, I've yet to see her woobify Jax to a noticeable degree, if at all.