#dhmis death

-The second being in Family when Duck sits in Red’s chair after being dropped back into the house:

-And then at the end of Family, once the trio are all back together again they’re all seen sitting in their favorite guy’s chair (Yellow is sitting in Duck’s chair, Duck is still sitting in Red’s chair, and Red is now sitting in Yellow’s chair):

-Just to give a frame of reference - normally Duck sits in the blue chair, Yellow sits in the green chair, and Red sits in the yellow chair:

Mind you, this doesn’t happen anywhere else in the show aside from in these two episodes, and that feels significant to me. I hate how often people get stuck in the mindset of “maybe the curtains are just blue” because dhmis is literally the last piece of media you should be applying that logic to. Not only is it just blatantly false, but it discourages thoughtful discussion. Every detail in this show is carefully planned and thought out. The trio are sitting where they are for a reason. Arguably the biggest theme in the show is rigidity and sameness, sticking to the same routine so one can conclude that this is a physical representation of the trio breaking that routine, or rather their routine being broken. The kitchen is where the puppets spend the most of their time, outside of the living room of course. It’s the first room we see, the trio are introduced with them sitting in their proper places at the table, and it’s exactly where they find themselves at the end of Jobs:

So what does this mean? It’s simple really, as I previously stated it’s a physical representation of the Trio’s routine being broken, but more specifically when the Trio are separated in some way. Both Death and Family deal with themes of loss and separation. In Death, Red and Yellow are shown to have drastically different coping mechanisms. Yellow is a lot more open and vocal about his grief, while Red tries to avoid the topic all together, even claiming that they never really liked Duck anyway. Shortly after that conversation, he’s seen sitting in Duck’s chair as he entertains the idea of making a new friend to Yellow. Red is also grieving here, but he grieves quietly. the fact that he’s sitting in Duck’s chair is proof enough. It’s a visual indicator of his actions later on in the episode when he turns Stain into an exact replica of Duck. He can’t make a new friend and he knows it, but he’ll never admit to that. He doesn’t like putting his emotions on display but he can’t help but feel them.

Then of course there’s Family. The trio initially have conflicting opinions on whether or not they’re a family. Duck believes wholeheartedly that they are, and it upsets him greatly that the other two, namely Red don’t feel the same way. In fact, Red is very opposed to the idea of them being a family at first, claiming that they barely even know each other. Duck gets visibly upset by this, adamant they do in fact know each other, looking towards photos of them that don’t even exist for the proof. The idea of the trio being a family is so real to him even if there is no physical evidence, because why would he need that? It’s so obvious to him already. Nonetheless, he goes along with the lesson, pushing aside his qualms for the sake of his friends. Clearly they’ll come back to their senses soon enough, but when that doesn’t happen and he’s dropped back into the house he spirals. He tells himself that he doesn’t need them, that he only needs himself. Duck sings an entire song about it only to find himself nestled in Red’s chair. He clearly does care, and he’s especially hurt by what Red said, about them not being a family. He desperately wants him to feel the same, he knows they’ll eventually end up back at the table so he waits, knowing deep down that he could never live without the other two.

I find it interesting that Duck and Red specifically are the two who exhibit this behavior initially. I think it speaks to both of their characters as a whole. Both struggle with being overtly vulnerable, and it makes sense that they would seek comfort in a less obvious way such as this. The end of Family includes all three of them doing this however, and I feel the meaning there is a little different. All three of the puppets have their struggles throughout the episode, and it leads to very different outcomes, but it all involves rejection of some kind. Yellow for example, tries to find a middle ground and unintentionally primes himself to be walked all over by the Twins. He’s forced into a position he doesn’t want to be in, a family that doesn’t love him and only sees him as a resource to get what they want. Then when the person he hoped would show up to get him out arrives, Roy, he pushes him aside not caring whatsoever about the predicament his son had gotten himself into, all he cared about was getting a meal.

Among the various readings and interpretations of What the Hell is Up With the Ending to the DHMIS Web Show - one of the more interesting ones (from my perspective, at leas) has always been that it’s all a metaphor for repeating patterns of trauma and/or abuse. 

As in, most of the narrative of the DHMIS Webshow has been some sort of surrealist metaphor for Roy being an overcontrolling and manipulative parental figure for his son and his friends

And then the ending shows them finally escaping his influence -

Only that without a frame of reference for just how screwed-up their upbringing really was and without any healthy way to process their various traumas, they end up being in danger of just replicating his abuse on their own. Either on each other or maybe on the color-swapped characters who can, like, represent their own children or something. 

And so the vague ending of the Webshow is an open question, yes, the trio might’ve gotten physically away from Roy’s influence - but are they free from it mentally?

Or are they doomed to snap back into their old familiar world?

And the interesting thing about this is that like… that could be what the Web Show is about on a metaphorical level. But in the TV Show, with its greater emphasis on interpersonal conflicts and the characters - the idea of our main trio unknowingly replicating the abuse they live under is not just something we can hypothetically ruminate on. It’s something we can actually see, something we can actually feel.

Like, the first thing that made me think of Yellow and Red’s interactions with Stain Edwards.

This is basically the closest the Three of Them can get to being parental figures within the confines of the Format. He starts out as such a sweet and curious child-like being, his title for himself is literally ‘the Forever Boy’. And, well…

Red and Yellow are just so uncomfortable with his curiosity and thirst for adventure that they basically immediately try and stomp it right out. And that’s like a whole big thing about DHMIS, isn’t it? The way that children’s edutainment and the education system actually curbs children's curiosity and desire for learning so they can better memorize easily-digestible simplified concepts and Respect Their Authority Figures. 

You know, it’s the whole thing with…

And that’s kinda how Red acts with Stain? He’s a lot less violent and more subdued about it - but he also discourages the little guy from asking questions and wanting to explore the world. 

And he is trying to push him into fitting more into the Format. And, like, managing his life like the Trio’s own life is managed by the Format. First more generally into what being part of the DHMIS main trio is supposed to mean (‘just sit here and something will happen’) and then eventually literally turning him into something he didn’t want to be. 

And from our more familiar perspective, it’s clear that Red Guy really just genuinely thinks at this point that sitting passively and Waiting to Be Taught At is how things are Supposed to Be and can’t really imagine things going any other way. He is honestly just trying to get Stain to understand how their life is supposed to work. (Well until it starts becoming about making a new Duck) 

And it’s also clear to us how much Red Guy is motivated by just unaddressed grief about Duck and wanting to avoid conflict with Yellow Guy, who's a lot more explictly lashing out at Stain in his grief

"What's the matter with him?" "Nothing. Just don't look at him." "What? Where can I look? I can't look at him, can't look over there..." "No, if, if you want to look at stuff, just tell me and I-I'll make a list. Of where you should or should not look..." "Seems like a weird system..." "Yeah, well, you seem like a weird little...thing with...and you don't even... the other guy at least had his own clothes"

But looking at it from Stain’s perspective, taking aside our understanding of Red’s character and motivation. This is just an authority figure giving him a nonsense set of rules and then lashing out at him when he questions it. Never giving a deeper explanation than ‘this is how it’s supposed to be’ and basically punishing his curiosity.

Kinda like, well, how the Teachers tend to interact with the trio.

And then there’s Yellow Guy who’s just totally lashing out at Stain through the whole thing, because, again, he can’t process the grief of losing Duck. Because his environment did not give him the tools to properly process that trauma and he has no healthy frame of reference to grief and that’s kinda...

Yeah, that’s just what I was talking about. Stain’s subplot in ‘Death’ is just Yellow and Red having not interrogated their abusive environment and not really dealing with their trauma and thus repeating the patterns of the Teachers on their new child-like figure.

Which then culminates with either Duck killing Stain in the name of preserving the status-quo of the format (“there’s only supposed to be three of us”) or with Stain having internalized so much of what Yellow and Red (but mainly Red) taught him about what he’s supposed to be that he was willing to kill in the name of the Format - and then slotted in perfectly in the unadventurous, unquestioning role of Duck.

And this lil narrative is especially interesting if you believe any variance of the David Theory. Because Yellow and Red were mainly motivated in their mistreatment of Stain by their Grief about a ‘dead’ family member. Which could mirror Lesley's trapping and mistreatment of the trio and her own motivations. 

But I think this idea of mirroring and repeating patterns of abuse are reflected in more than just this one episode. It’s also reflected in the way Red and Duck tend to mistreat Yellow.

Because while Yellow doesn’t slot as neatly into the Child position like Stain did- his simplistic naïveté does mean he often plays a Child-like role in our favorite Forced Family dynamic. And the way that Duck and Red can often condescend to him can… very well mirror the condescending way the teachers address all three of them.

Especially when you also consider the similar manner both the Teachers and Red + Duck react to Yellow being fully charged in ‘Electricity’. They are all so nervous about Yellow breaking away from his supposed ‘role’ as the Stupid One. 

And they especially all seem so very insecure about the idea that Yellow might be smarter than they are.

And that’s, you know, also an aspect of children’s education that tends to actually harm children and their curiosity. This desire for ‘respect’ towards authority figures and this egotistical need for teachers and parents to always be smarter than their kids - causing them to subtly or bluntly punish children for just being clever or inquisitive. 

It’s, you know “I’m the adult, you are the child. I am supposed to be the Smart and Knowledgeable one and you are the one who must be taught. And you need to play your role!”

Again, that seems to be the whole thing in ‘Time’.

Here it’s a lot more subtle and less openly hostile, but Yellow can tell that just like that Insurance Teacher,  Red and Duck’s egos have also been hurt by the fact that they might not be smarter than Yellow Guy anymore. And he considers going back to the role he’s ‘supposed to be’, even though being fully-charged seems to feel better for him (‘this doesn’t feel wrong’), just for them. 

That’s almost literally a child giving up on a pursuit of knowledge just to placate his parental figures. 

And then, you know, his refusal to do so and his assertion of his own ability to make decisions for himself (his own maturity, "they're not in charge of us anymore" "Maybe they never were") is directly what leads to him ascending and disassembling not just the trio’s dynamic but the very structure of the Format. 

And I think, it’s not just that Red and Duck’s treatment of Yellow mirrors the way the teachers treat the Three of Them - it might be a result of it as well. With how condescending the teachers are towards them in general, bullying Yellow is their way to assert some sort of maturity and intelligence for themselves. It's super-fucked up, but this is how they internalized expressing what ‘intelligence’ is supposed to look like. And they have no frame of reference for a way of feeling smart or in control that doesn’t involve shutting someone else down. Because that's what literally every authority figure does for them all the time.

Now, do I think that means that our trio is doomed to mirror those patterns? That they will always inevitability repeat the horrors they go through on each other and others? Well, just like with every ‘cycle of abuse’, it can always be broken. But it will take some actual understanding and self-awareness and personal healing from the trio. 

And without this, they’re not just trapped within the Horrors physically, but also spiritually as well. Without it, no matter if they do manage to run away, on some level, their journey will always end up back at home....

It's our pink blob kid! Just some simple art for him