Welp after being able to avoid spoilers for basically an entire month i finally got around to watching the last act of tadc and wow let me just say that this was definitely 1 of the best and most interesting shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching like Gooseworks absolutely COOKED with this finale, 1st off lemme just start off by saying that im so happy that this series was able to go out on its own terms especially since you don't really see alot of creators get that luxury most often, what started out as just a small indie show quickly was able to get the attention of freaking Netflix of all things and even went as far as greatly leave an impact on modern lives becoming 1 of the most influential and relatable TV shows of the past decade, however I will admit that I'd be lying that if I didn't say that I felt a little disappointed, like I went into this thing thinking that it was gonna be like Eva with an ending that would leave me distraught, confused and also a bit depressed due to the fact that the poster for this film was literally an Eva reference and because that if you've ever seen eva then you'd know exactly wtf im talking about, and in a sense I wasn't technically wrong at least to a degree, however my main issue is that it just felt way too fast and didn't really give alot of time to let things simmer or even answer alot of questions, like what happens to people's rooms once other characters have abstracted, how did ragatha, zooble, gangle and even jax actually endup in the circus if the process is done through a headset, why does kinger actually need darkness in order to temporarily become sane, also if people can physically interact with other abstractions as well as essentialy see into their minds even being able to have full blown conversations with them then why hasn't someone like kinger or Jax ever done this with his wife or ribbit before especially if caine can just fix them afterwards after being momentarily exposed, sure while the reveal of the cast actually being copies of their digital consciousness in the end and were never truly their true selfs was absolutely effing mind blowing ngl I kinda saw it coming for a long time, Look don't get me wrong i still do love the ending it just feels a little idk lackluster to say the least like there are so many things that i feel like they could've expanded upon more with this finale like I wish we could've saw what life was like for them after caine had died, really focusing on the passage of time and just how badly it all affected them, coming to terms with their situation as they eventually realize just how hopeless everything is and eventually learn to come to accept it, maybe some scenes of jax losing it like we saw in the teasers, endlessly wandering around as he just complety isolates himself from the rest like we saw in episode 7, showing just how empty/lonely everything feels now that canie is gone as well as how dangerous it truly is to isolate yourself in real life, while caine wasn't exactly the best he still kept them entertained but now that's gone what happens if they're just completely alone with their thoughts, I think that would've been an amazing thing to dive into and really see just how messed up everyone actually is,
Hell I even thought that this film was gonna originally be about pomni being 1 the to save him from abstraction due to the fact that the films posters were literally centered around pomni and jax and because that it would've made so much sense given the context of the story, showing that you're never truly alone, that's it ok to ask for help, that people do care, that's its never too late to change and that no matter what happens or hard things get you can still find a way to push forward, afterall Jax's whole deal is that he refuses to ask for help, he refuses to talk about his problems, opting to just push people away and distance himself from others out of fear of being vulnerable, so to have him finally be able to open up and actually acknowledge his issues would've been Absolutely poetic especially considering that most of the films marketing was centered around him in the 1st place, having him abstract feels like such an awful ending to his character especially because that it takes away any possibility of redeeming him, leaving him to just suffer with his own insanity and constant guilt of feeling responsible, I guarantee you that if we never would've gotten that scence in ribbits bedroom and everything that happened immediately after then the internet wouldn't be hating on jax as they do now, and it's not like Jax doesn't regret what he did he does we see it in episode 7 when he looks at the snow globe and when ragatha constantly mentions ribbit so he's obviously still messed up about it and probably wishes that if he could go back change things he would, however in his mind it's far too late for him, in the end he's just a bad person and thats all he'll ever be because to him all he ever does is hurt people, he's a scumbag that doesn't deserve any type of love whatsoever so he might as well embrace it,
Instead of having ribbit abstract because of what happened with jax it should've been because of her own problems and how she couldn't just bare to handle it anymore and making jax THINK it was because of him, either that or just have it mixed with the stuff she was already going through, afterall correct me if im wrong but isn't the circus supposed to be meant to test your mentality, to see just how much you can handle before eventually breaking ya, i mean hell some of caine's adventures were literally designed off of some of their brain scans with things like spudsy's being a representation of gangles life before the circus or even stuff like their rooms being constant reminders of their desires, issues or just personalities in general, plus I don't think it's too far fetched for some people to have abstracted because of their issues before, because idk about you but in my opinion abstracting isn't really the same as dying but more so basically you losing your sanity, falling into despair and just completely going insane, speaking of which im sorry but the way they ended up handling Jax's abstraction scene was absolutely terrible like 1 minute he's "okay" and then the next he's just abstracted, no buildup or dramatic moment or anything, it's just abrupt as shit, Like idk about you but i deadass thought that it was just one of the other abstractions that had escaped, like if wasn't for the fact that zooble made that comment I would've never had guessed that to be jax one bit,
Although 1 thing I will admit however is how I absolutely loved how they handled caines development/growth as a character like he's literally just a little kid fr, the fact that he didn't harbor any hatred towards them for accidently deleting him, to his entire journey of originally just being an AI that only really misunderstood humans until eventually finally coming to understand them in the end, to even how his crash out from episode 8 kinda resembled more of that of a tantrum rather than an actual form of malice or evil intent, he didn't really HATE them he just didn't have an understanding of them and in doing so resulted in him taking his anger out on them when he finally got so fed up, so to see him finally be able to learn and actually come to accept that as well as even try to better himself was so heartwarming and beautiful to see, especially the part of him making them get to see what their lives look like outside the circus, giving them closure and even considering their own suggestions, going as far as to even finding a way for zooble to live out their greatest fantasy 😉
overall this was a really good finale, sure while it may still have it's issues here and there I still found it really enjoyable and even cried a few times, the visuals were amazing, the music absolutely slapped and I really loved how they delve more into jax's character and just how broken and truly messed up he actually really is while also showcasing how he perceives everyone, especially with the handling of his backstory like omg let me tell ya that as person who has gone kinda through that before that absolutely tore me up, while it may not have been the finale I and everyone was hoping for it still was a really good one in the end and I don't think I would change that much of it for the world, but anyway those are just my thoughts what do you guys think?
