probably sketches

So, i’ve seen some people talk about That Scene between Gangle and Jax. A lot of shock, some laughs, uncontrollable silence. But I don’t think i’ve seen anyone delve into the deeper meaning behind it.

I think that scene was meant to parallel the original maid dress scene from Untitled. In that scene, Jax is forced into a maid dress by Gangle (and the others) and humiliated in front of everyone. The scene is written to FEEL comedic but it’s obvious that Jax is deeply upset and uncomfortable. Knowing his deeper feelings on his own identity, we now know for a fact that everything about that situation was his worst nightmare. Gangle and Zooble saw through the mask and mocked him for it. Especially with Zooble parroting his vague queer jokes right back him. His victim humiliated and sexualized him against his will, and Zooble called him out for his complicated relationship to his femininity. While im sure both of them just wanted some lighthearted payback against their literal bully/abuser, its clear that Jax deeply internalized the entire situation.

So when we go into Jax’s mind, the funeral scene is meant to turn The Maid Dress Thing against them. We know two things about this situation: Zooble has abstracted, and Gangle is having a manic episode. Instead of avoiding the funeral like he did with Kaufmo, he intentionally disrespects them by wearing some “gender freaky” clothing, insulting their very existence as a genderqueer person. He then accuses Gangle of doing the same, and she’s genuinely caught off guard. In this moment, he destroys any forgiveness or goodwill she may have still held for him. This calls back to episode 8 where she “forgives” him for possibly trapping them inside the circus. Jax feels that he is not worthy of kindness, and often interprets it as pity.

When he flirts with her, he regains control over her and humiliates her in front of everyone. He also gains a form of control over his persona, as he uses the maid dress as a way to indulge in femininity without actually confronting his internalized transphobia and misogyny. He’s a bit like those people who “pretend” to be trans online as way to own the libs, but they clearly enjoy indulging in femininity. They put up this wall of irony as a mental and social buffer because they can’t/won’t explore that side of themselves in earnest.

This brings us back to the premise of the situation. Jax is disrespecting Zooble’s death and Gangle’s relationship to them BEFORE ZOOBLE’S FUNERAL in the midst of her MANIC EPISODE. This is the most hurtful thing he could do her and it feels like a joke. What he did is meant to make her deeply upset and uncomfortable. He wants to hurt her just as badly as they hurt him.

I should really start posting my thoughts instead of ghosting my account all day.

So, honestly, the movie was just so-so. Some may say that it was a Disney channel ending, but I did enjoy myself. However, the ending did confirm that this was all just The Jax Show. Very little character exploration for anyone else.

Gangle is Black which i wasn't expecting at all. Kinda wish they had hired a black VA for her, but it seems like Glitch has some issues with POC in general?? Disappointing but not surprising. On another note, it was kind of cool to see Gangle struggle to mourn Jax. She really couldn't cry for him at first, and i wish we had gotten to explore it a bit.

Jax is pretty explicitly trans. I was NOT expecting them to say the quiet part out loud, but he(?) is Gooseworx baby. On the one hand, it's a little annoying for him to be treated so softly after the shit he's put them all through. Every single character has to coddle and cry and forgive him. Let them be angry! But at the end of the day, it's Goose's show. I'm glad that something like this gets to exist, even with all of its flaws.

Ribbit being an asshole is officially deconfirmed and I kinda hate that for her. She's basically exactly like Pomni, its uncanny. The scene with her and Jax was really cute though.

I always thought Ribbit, Jax, and Kaufmo were like fair-weather friends. They're easy to be around and kinda enable each other's worst tendencies. I thought they were actually friends in the real world and entered the circus together. As time went on, they'd start hurting each other. Not intentionally, but none of them had the emotional maturity to address their problems or take it seriously. Their ribbing would get meaner; probably with Kaufmo being the punching bag; Ribbit being the edgy, aloof smartass; and Jax being a ragebaiter.

I know Asshole!Ribbit was somewhat popular. I like it because it

1) Makes her a foil to Pomni. Pomni's easygoing attitude reminds Jax of her, but her openness/acceptance creates this dissonance in his mind. He doesn't like how easy it is to trust her. He doesn't like that he can form a deep connection with her. Ribbit would've been allergic to deep relationships, constantly deflected with humor, and downplayed everyone's feelings, including her own. That's what Jax feels comfortable with, but it's often the source of his pain.

2) It says a bit about Jax. Maybe he was more tolerable, but Ribbit's flippant behavior and constant teasing rubbed off on him. Maybe he bullied Kaufmo as well to avoid being the butt of the joke. Perhaps this behavior continued with Gangle.

3) It explains Evil Pomni. I always headcanoned that Jax likes Evil Pomni so much because she reminds him of Ribbit. She's an AI so she wouldn't pry into his life, nor would he have to worry about her humanity. Perhaps this would feed into his guilt about Ribbit and Kaufmo. They WERE people, and maybe if they had been given the right tools, they wouldn't have fractured the way they did. But Evil Pomni isn't a person. She doesn't get hurt, or feel lonely, or spiral. She's safe.