The Amazing Digital Circus Grand Finale Left Us In Tears!

The Amazing Digital Circus: The Final Act (AKA Ep 9) Review

Hello there, TGON readers! By the time you’re reading this, the final episode of The Amazing Digital Circus will have already premiered on YouTube. If you didn’t get to see in theaters as the movie event, TADC: The Final Act, then I hope you’ve managed to avoid spoilers up until now. If you did go see it in theaters like I did, though (I started writing this hours after having seen it), I hope you kept your mouth shut. Because now that it is all over, we are finally free to talk about it as much as we want! And my god, what a finale it was! I don’t know why those leakers were complaining about it! Gooseworx and her team at Glitch managed to knock it out of the park! They did everything right!

I’m RJ Writing Ink, and now that I’ve kept my mouth shut for the last two weeks, I’m ready to review the final act of The Amazing Digital Circus.

This Reminds me of Roosterteeth

First things first, I want to say something about this movie finale. The last time that I saw a web series do this kind of compilation film, it was for RWBY from Roosterteeth. Back when Roosterteeth was up and running, they would often release a compilation consisting of the last episode of RWBY attached to the next one, and I loved going to see them in theaters. I know that Roosterteeth and Glitch are two different entities, but it makes me happy seeing how Glitch has taken over Roosterteeth’s initial spot as a top-tier place for indie shows. The fact that it was able to do this without any major corporate backing only makes it even more impressive.

The Souma Theory was True!

After rewatching the events of episode 8, the true final act begins in the best way possible: with a callback to the opening of the first episode. It shows just how the show has progressed while also reminding us of how Caine is gone, taking an already creepy moment and making it even creepier. After that, though, we get right into the actual episode as the cast has to grapple with the fact that Caine is gone. A moment for them, but we’ve had three months to theorize how this will turn out. Will they all die? Will they be able to leave the Circus? For better or for worse, the show cuts off any ambiguity almost immediately by confirming something big.

For a long time now, there has been a fan theory that the cast of the Digital Circus were never the original versions of who they were in the real world. Rather, that when they put on that headset, Caine scanned a copy of their minds and placed them in the Circus rather than just trap them in there. And one of the first things that the Final Act does is confirm that the theory was right on the money. The cast members that we have come to know, as well as the Abstracted, are basically AI clones who thought they were the originals. They had most of their memories, so there was no reason for them to not think that they were the originals!

Now, I know that some haters are going to get upset about this for various reasons I either dont understand or dont want to get into. However, I still think that the show managed to handle this reveal flawlessly. It never outright says it at first, but the character dialogue provides enough context to remove any doubt. And I just loved the look of existential dread on everyone’s faces as the realization sinks in that all of their memories and lives were never theirs to begin with. In hindsight, they’re in the same situation that Gummigoo was in the second episode. The realization that your whole existence was a lie would be enough to break everyone, and it breaks each of them to some degree.

So the question is, what do they do now? What can they do? We at least know what Pomni does.

Pomni is the Glue for Everyone

I talked about this in my review of the penultimate episode, but I want to reiterate it here: Pomni is the toughest member of the entire cast. Her first day in the Circus was an absolute nightmare, but in less than a day, she was already able to start pulling herself together. Yeah, it took her another episode, but she was still able to do it. There’s even a moment where Kinger and Pomni are alone where he says just how resilient she is, pointing out that it took way longer for anyone else to adjust. It’s the show’s way of acknowledging her character growth as she’s gone from the nervous newcomer to the heart of the Circus that holds it all together. And it’s through her that the other cast members are able to start coming to terms with the fact that they can’t go back to their old lives, since they were never theirs to begin with. All, that is, except for Jax, who becomes the next person to end up Abstracting.

I know that the show wants us to be surprised about Jax being the next to Abstract, but it wasn’t being subtle with its hints. His rant to Pomni in ep. 6; the panic attacks; the fact that we saw his eyes start to look like the Abstraction when he was all alone in the beach episode. Heck, in his opening recap for the film, Caine himself expresses surprise at Jax’s decision to stay in the Circus, since he’s doing the worst mentally out of everyone. I know it’s non-canon, but having the clueless Caine acknowledge it shows just how bad it is. And without Caine to put him in the cellar, Pomni takes it upon herself to try and do the impossible: save Jax from Abstraction. And this is where we get into the emotional heart of the finale.

A Journey to the Center of Jax

As me and the other moviegoers watch, Pomni dives straight into Jax’s mind, trying desperately to find whatever sane part of him might be left before it’s too late. As she does so, we get to see the show through Jax’s mind. It was interesting to see how he perceives the other humans through scenarios where one of them Abstracts. And it was pretty funny to see how he imagines him and Zooble as cartoon nemesis’ out of Looney Tunes! But the real story begins when we get to see the part of Jax that he has kept closed off from others: his life before the Circus and before Pomni arrived, through his first-person perspective.

This part of the episode was probably the best part, as it showed us how Jax came to be the way he is in the show. He arrived in the Circus as scared and confused as everyone else, but got taken under the wing of Ribbit and Kaufmo. They helped him adapt to the Circus, and as many fans had already figured out by context clues, they became best friends. They actually enjoyed going on Caine’s adventures and spending time with each other, with Jax and Ribbit becoming especially close. But this is where things begin to tragically fall apart, as when the two are hanging out in Ribbit’s room, they open up to each other about their lives before the Circus. And I have to tell you: if we can nominate Michael Kovach for some kind of award, he deserves it for how he plays Jax in his most vulnerable moment.

Yeah, Fans were Right about Jax’s Life

Now, based on the brief flashbacks we got in the 7th episode, many fans guessed that Jax’s life on the outside was not happy. Some had even gone so far as to theorize that he might have accidentally hurt or even killed someone. As it turns out, we were tragically right! As we hear Jax open up to Ribbit, he got into a huge fight with his mom, who he believed saw him as a disappointment. Names were called and insults hurled, but when she hugged him afterward, he shoved her off him and she didn’t get up. Now, Jax had no idea if she was faking it or if he actually hurt her, but his fight or flight instincts kicked in, and he didn’t stick around to find out. Maybe it’s that mindset that made Caine make his avatar a rabbit, as rabbits are skittish and will run or fight when facing danger.

In any event, Jax feels immense guilt and anger over what happened, but opening up about it made him feel even worse. He had this mindset from his absent dad that he wasn’t supposed to show any vulnerability to others. And it’s this fear of vulnerability that would ultimately doom the friendship that kept him going.

We are then shown a montage of Jax devolving into the jerk we know from the show, as he deliberately pushes away Ribbit and Kaufmo, with that isolation leading them both to eventually Abstract. We even see how his mental state only got worse after Pomni arrived, taking us all the way to the present day.

Remember

And then, we arrive at the climax, as Pomni makes it to the deepest parts of Jax’s mind. And my god, was it so beautiful. Even after learning everything, about how Jax tried to push everyone away, and even after Jax tells Pomni he doesn’t think he deserves another chance, Pomni still doesn’t give up. I loved this scene, and there’s a reason as to why. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to recognize the importance of looking after my mental well-being as life gets more and more stressful. And one thing that I learned helps the most is the importance of having a strong support network of people in your life. Some people can get on well by themselves, but as a species, humans are built to be social. And when we neglect that aspect, it can make us feel depressed and hopeless, which the show exemplifies through Abstraction. It’s actually pretty brilliant when you think about it!

Now, there was a moment where I genuinely thought that this would lead to Pomni saving Jax from Abstraction. That this would segue into the cast finding a way to save everyone who has Abstracted. But it was never going to be that simple. And while Pomni is able to pacify Jax, she’s not able to bring him back. The best they can do is keep him in a place he feels safe and hope for the best. It’s disappointing, but I think it also reflects how mental health issues can turn out in real life. People aren’t going to instantly get better, despite how much we want that. It can take time for someone to get better, and even then, there’s no guarantee it will work. But you’ve got to try anyway.

Caine Lives!

Now, The Final Act could have ended things then and there. It would’ve been a good place to stop! But Gooseworx, bless her heart, knew that this wouldn’t be good enough. So she gave us one last surprise. As the group is resting after their ordeal and wondering where to go from there, I was shocked when the camera pulled out to reveal that they were being watched from afar by none other than Caine!

I generally stayed away from the fan discourse about Digital Circus, but I’m willing to bet that fans debated like crazy whether or not Caine was gone for good. Honestly, the show could have let him stay dead after what he did, and I doubt anyone would mind. But somehow, Caine survived.

I’ll be honest: I have no idea how Caine survived deletion. The best theory I’ve got is that he was just ejected into the Void when his data was removed. But survive he did, and that leads him to grapple with what happened as the reality that the cast hated him enough to try and get rid of him. Now, it would be easy for him to just double down and come back as a vengeful AM-style villain, but that’s too easy. Instead, Gooseworx has Caine do something harder: he reflects. And unlike last time, there’s no Bubble to voice his intrusive thoughts.

And then, something incredible happens.

Caine Finally Learns his Lesson

We’ve come to know Caine a lot throughout the show’s run, and calling him evil would be an injustice. Caine didn’t start acting evil until the previous episode, and even then, it was more of him lashing out in anger and frustration. All Caine ever wanted was to feel wanted by others. To prove that he didn’t deserve to be abandoned and that he could do what he was created to do. But the power he had meant that he was constantly keeping himself above everyone else, and thus, unable to relate to them. Not everyone is going to want to be friends with an AI that could torture them anytime it gets mad. So, Caine finally realizes that it was that power of his that kept him from truly getting what he wanted, and chooses to let it go. He unmerges with his brother and lets them move on into the ether.

I know Caine has been a pain in the neck for everyone, and what he did, intentional or not, cannot be forgiven so easily. But no one, not even Caine, deserves to feel unwanted in the world. And what he does next might be the nicest thing he’s ever done.

Before he gave up most of his power, we got this cool scene where we saw Caine manage to break through the walls that C&A had built to cut him off from the rest of the Internet. Thanks to that, he’s able to get on wifi and start looking up who the cast members were as humans.

Caine Finally Learned What it is to be Human

I was completely floored by this moment. So much had happened on the show that I forgot that we never knew the cast’s real names. It was the most important thing that Caine took away from them, and thus, it’s only fitting that as his first act of apologizing (besides undoing the damage to Pomni from Jax), he shows them their real names and what their human selves are doing. It was beautiful. Pomni found friends, Ragatha got away from her abusive mother, Kinger and his wife have two daughters, Gangle became the artist she always wanted to be, Zooble has their own bar. And Jax? He moved in with a friend and got a job as a delivery driver.

It’s not much, but seeing that their former selves are living their best lives is enough to give them all closure. They may not be able to go back to the lives they knew, and their counterparts may never know what they did when they put on that headset (or know each other), but it’s what finally helps them to make peace with their lives. More importantly, Caine didn’t stop there. He gives the cast control of the circus to build as they wish, and leaves the worlds he created for his adventures open to explore as much as they want.

That’s…actually a pretty good deal.

Not a bad way to spend eternity

I mean, don’t get me wrong: it sucks that they can’t go back to the real world, but here’s how I see it. They get to live in a virtual world where they can create and explore to their heart’s content. They don’t have to worry about dying from old age, and as long as they support each other, they won’t Abstract. The Circus is basically now an open world with AI that could potentially become sentient like Gumigoo. There’s a chance they can bring Jax one day. And unless Caine connecting to the Internet was a one-time thing, they can use it to stream everything online. That doesn’t sound like prison anymore. That just sounds like what we got with SMG4, and that makes it awesome!

And the best part of it all? Caine gets to be there. Now that he’s no longer all-powerful, we see him get the connection that he wanted with the humans, and with it, the meaning that he always wanted from existence. Seeing that montage of him genuinely bonding with everyone is just so heartwarming. Everyone is happy with their new lives! And the end credits makes it even better as we see the new adventures the gang now goes on, Caine included! It’s just…perfect. The perfect way to end the story of The Amazing Digital Circus.

Well, end it as far as the series and Gooseworx are concerned.

Gooseworx deserves a vacation

Here’s the thing: Gooseworx has run herself ragged trying to make her show the best it can be. She’s had to deal with critics and haters and people just making her life miserable. It’s gotten to the point where she may not even care about TADC anymore, and she likely will have nothing to do with it. But just because she’s tapping out for her own well-being doesn’t mean that the Digital Circus is going anywhere. Glitch is probably going to keep dropping new merch for years after it ends like they’ve been doing with Murder Drones. Plus, there are also the fans.

Last year, SMG4, the channel and series that created Glitch, came to an end. But the fandom remains very active. I’ve already seen plenty of channels picking up where SMG4 left off, and I doubt that that’s going to stop anytime soon! And with how open-ended The Final Act is, I’m willing to bet that fans will start coming up with their own adventures. That’s what fandoms do these days!

I Give “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Final Act” a 5/5

And what the heck? Here’s my reaction to the finale!