EMBARRASSING PHASES: The Endcard and what it means.
Greetings Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary Pals! Tis I, Taylor, resident theorist and Screenshot Queen, here to talk about the endcard to the latest Sanders Sides video! This endcard was short, but it had a lot of information squeezed inside it that Iâm really excited to unpack! Now, there are a lot of different theories that could be based on this information, but for this post, Iâm going to try and stay away from speculation (as much as possible, anyway) and stick with what we can safely say for sure is canon based on the data provided and using deductive reasoning, and deliver my own personal theory as to whatâs happening storywise at the end.
Without further ado, the game is on!
SO, our main dilemma with this whole segment is that itâs hard to understand anything that comes out of Deceitâs mouth. He has a tendency to speak in oppositesâŚbut he doesnât do so in canon the way he often so clearly does in fics. Itâs more fluid, more confusing, more difficult to understand what he really means. But fortunately, we have an advantage for this analysisâŚwe have Virgil. Virgil, who doesnât seem to have any trouble understanding Deceit throughout the entire scene. Using his responses, things we know from past videos, things we learned in this video, and a small amount of deductive guesswork, we can piece together what exactly Deceit is hinting at at the end of this video.
We start with what seems like some typical, unfriendly banter between Virgil and Deceit, which can actually reveal a lot about their relationship.
âVery well done, Virgil.â
Once again, we get that glare from Virgil that seems to be specially reserved for Deceit. Compare the look Virgil shoots Patton when heâs worked up and stressed and Patton calls him a cutesy nickname:
To the glares he gives Deceit:
One is the exasperation you shoot a parent who, for the hundredth time, has said something embarrassing in front of your friends, the other is pure contempt.
That being said, the familiarity with which they talk to each other, in my mind at least, all but confirms our previous theories that Virgil and Deceit used to know each other very well.
âOh, you are HILARIOUS, Virgil, you always have been!â
This line is not just said for the sake of Deceit making fun of Virgil (though I think that is his main intent here), it once again implies a familiarity between the two. I also think this is one of Deceitâs mirrored statements, heâs saying Virgil never has been the funny one (which really, heâs right. Thatâs not really a big part of Virgilâs character).
âWhat are you doing here?â
âHm, a bunch of talk about HalloweenâŚa season for dressing up and pretending to be something or someone else. Youâre right, a master of deception such as myself has no place in that kind of discussion.â
Oooooh, this line is so fun to take apart. First off, on the surface, Deceit is saying that, because he is the embodiment of pretending to be something youâre not, he should have had a seat in the Halloween video. And while that is a point he could be making, I donât think itâs really what heâs talking about, and I think Virgil knows that. (Remember, weâre operating under the assumption that Virgil has a lot of experience dealing with Dee, so he knows how to navigate what heâs saying. As @what-even-is-thissâ pointed out, âWeâve now seen a full conversation with Deceit. Not only that, but both sides seemed to understand what was going on. Showing itâs possible to work past Deceitâs lying thing enough to get info out of him.â)
So what is Deceit really talking about here? Well, look at Virgilâs face when Deceit says âpretending to be something or someone else.â He rolls his eyes:
But then for a moment, he looks uneasy:
And that moment is exactly when Deceit says âsomething or someone else.â Besides, the video wasnât really about Halloween, Halloween was just the catalyst for Virgil trying to get them to see why it was a big deal to him that they were ignoring his past, and also that he still has his ability to be scary (which Logan points out is important to his function as Anxiety).
No, the video is about phases, and how they shape you as a person. And if Deceit was a big part of Virgilâs past phases, this could very well be his way of reminding Virgil of that past. I think that Deceit is trying to tell Virgil that, because heâs still trying to be scary, heâs not really changed in the way he says he has. âPretending to be something or someone elseâ could very well be Deceitâs way of trying to tell Virgil âyouâre fooling yourself if you think youâll ever be anything more than Anxiety, if you think you can change and be better than the rest of us Dark Sides.â
And then, we get Virgilâs response:
âOkay, me being able to elicit fear doesnât take away from the fact that Iâve grown. So donât even try me with that, Harvey Dense.â
Thatâs really Virgilâs whole thesis statement for this video: I can still be scary, but Iâve grown. I still was who I used to be, that was real, but Iâve moved beyond that. To Thomas and the others, the message was that they canât pretend everything is perfect now, because that undermines everything he struggled with. But to Deceit, the message is Iâve moved on. Perhaps even a final, I donât need you anymore.
From this video, I think it is now safe to assume that Deceit and Virgil used to work more closely together. So now since Virgil is working with the Light Sides instead, how often do you think Deceit has tried to get Virgil to come back to his old ways? What kinds of things do you think Deceit likes to whisper in Virgilâs ear? How much has Deceit been bothering Virgil since the Can LYING Be Good video? We can deduce that it has been at least somewhat regular. Because while in CLBG, Deceit compliments first Romanâs new outfit, then Virgilâs new makeup look, implying he hasnât intentionally interacted with any of the sides since before Fitting In, when here we get this interaction:
âClever retort! And convincing statement. And cool costume.â
âYou know this is what I normally wear.â
Deceit wouldnât know that, if the only time heâs seen Virgil recently was CLBG. Virgil had two outfits in that video, and Deceit wouldnât know what his usual one wasâŚunless heâs been coming around more. Unless heâs been pressuring Virgil off camera for months.
âDonât even try that with meâ implies that this is indeed the case, and that Deceit has been trying just that for awhile now. But why would Deceit be so invested in trying to convince Virgil that his change isnât real, that his growth is just a facade? Deceit is accusing Virgil of âpretending to be something or someone else,â and why?
Because Virgil has the capability to be the most influential side out of all of them.
I think we can all agree that currently, while all four main sides have a âseat at the discussion tableâ as Thomas puts it, Patton, as Morality, is actually the side with the most influence, at least when it comes to Thomasâs decisions. But this video confirms something for us: That side used to be Anxiety.
When talking about his emo phase and teenage years, Thomas said that he was âterrified out of his mindâ in those days, and later he tells Virgil âYou work with us now. Youâre not in the driverâs seat anymoreâŚâ which implies that Virgil at one point WAS in the driverâs seat.
And when youâre afraid, when youâre driven by your fears and anxieties and insecuritiesâŚisnât it more likely that youâd listen to that voice in your head that tells you to lie? Isnât it easier to succumb to the darker parts of your mind when youâre confused and afraid and lost? Not saying that you will, of course. Thomas certainly didnât. But if Thomas is Anxious, I mean really Anxious, I think it stands to reason that the other Dark Sidesâ power could be much more pronounced.
Thomas said something while he was talking to Patton that caught my attention:
âThereâs a lot that Virgil could do that I donât want him to do. He knows exactly how to push my buttons.â
If Virgil wanted to, he could absolutely wreck Thomas. He could wreck all of themâŚbut the thing is he doesnât want to. All Virgil wants, all heâs ever wanted, is to protect Thomas. And here, we come to the question of what exactly is it that a Side wants?
Simply put, every Side wants what is best for Thomas, but every Side is extremely biased in what they believe that is. For Roman, itâs creative fulfillment, for Logan, itâs a healthy lifestyle and the pursuit of growth and knowledge. For Patton, itâs a happy life built on love and kindness, and for Virgil itâs safety, both physical, mental, and social/emotional.
So what does Deceit want? He wants all the things the others want, safety, happiness, success, but he wants it done his way. He wants bliss born of ignorance, security born of secrecy, and prosperity born of lies. Thatâs what separates him (and I assume the other Dark Sides) from the main four, he is utterly unwilling to compromise on his desires and his methods.
And that is what also separates Virgil from the other Dark Sides, he was willing to compromise. He did see things the othersâ way, and it was through that ability to see another perspective that he first decided that he must not be good for Thomas and quit, and then came the new era of him being able to work with the others successfully, on an equal footing that heâd never experienced before.
But Deceit doesnât have that equal footing, and none of the other Dark Sides do either, because they all refuse to compromise.
Deceit, at least in my interpretation, clearly believes that he can use Virgil somehow to extend his own realm of influence over Thomas. And with that information in hand, we can try and interpret this last, and most confusing, line.
âJust be sure to keep up that personal growth, Virgil. Who knows? Maybe soon, you could be rid of us allâŚâ
SO what does this mean? Is he speaking in an opposite? Is he telling the truth? Is half the statement true and half an opposite? Who is the âus all?â The Dark Sides? The Light Sides? Itâs a lot to unpack, and is the most speculative part of this analysis, because really, weâre not meant to have all the answers from this. Itâs clear this endcard is a teaser for things to come in the Sanders Sides storyline, and Iâm sure in a few months weâll all be nodding in understanding and praising @thatsthat24â and @thejoanglebookââs genius, but for now weâre a bit in the dark. So, to figure out what Deceit means, we have to figure out where his truths and where his lies reside.
âJust be sure to keep up that personal growth, Virgil.â
To me, the way Deceit places emphasis on the words âkeep up,â making them sound almost sarcastic, indicates that this is the lie in his statement. Heâs telling Virgil to keep growing, but Deceit doesnât actually want Virgil to grow. Based on this analysis, it is in Deceitâs best interest that Virgil does not grow, and reverts back to his old tactics.
âWho knows? Maybe soon, you could be rid of us allâŚâ
Now here, I think the lie is ârid of us all,â which is based on my assumptions of their character motivations. I believe the âus allâ to be the other Dark Sides, and Virgil would be happy if Thomas was rid of the influence of the Dark Sides. Meanwhile, Deceit wants the Dark Sidesâ influence to grow stronger, and Deceitâs entire manner in this scene has been vaguely sinister and threatening, which is a conclusion supported by Virgilâs extremely defensive attitude throughout the segment. I think through this sentence, Deceit is saying that soon, the opposite of getting rid of the Dark Sides is going to happen.
So putting the entire statement together, we have âJust be sure to keep up that personal growth, Virgil. Who knows? Maybe soon, you could be rid of us all...â
I believe that to be a threat from Deceit to Virgil: âIf you donât quit this silly personal growth nonsense and go back to doing your job the old way, youâre going to have a much harder time dealing with Us.â Itâs intended for Virgil to hear this threat, panic, and go back to his old ways in the hopes that it will protect Thomas from the Dark Sides, which will in turn only make them stronger.
The funny thing is though, if you take his statement completely literally, it gives away how to beat Deceit and his plan. If Virgil keeps growing and learning and becoming closer with the others, it may be even harder for the Dark Sides to gain more control, effectively âgetting ridâ (or at least diminishing) of their influence.
Deceitâs lies arenât always based on fact, theyâre based on perception. When he tells Thomas âYouâre a good person. Everybody says so,â he was intending it to be a lie. The kind of lie you tell yourself in order to stay sane. But that isnât a lie. Thomas felt like a bad person in that moment, so his inner voice of deception was telling him he was a good person, but as Logan said, âBelief doesnât always translate to reality.â Thomas is a good person, so Deceit therefore inadvertently (and unintentionally) told the truth.
I believe this is whatâs happening here. He doesnât mean to give away how to beat him, he means Virgil to believe that the Dark Sides are more powerful than they actually are, and that if Virgil doesnât do what Deceit wants, theyâll make life more difficult for him and for Thomas. But this isnât actually true. Whatâs true is that the Light Sides have the most power right now, and the person who holds that balance between the two is Virgil himself. Virgil has shifted his influence to the Light Sides, and Deceit desperately needs that influence back, which is why he wants to stop Virgilâs personal growth right in its tracks.
Only time will tell if Iâm rightâŚand only time will tell which Side will win this battle of wits. I donât know about you all, but my money is on our resident Emo Knightmare.
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