#the amazing digital circus theory

[meowdance]

Reading this made another theory click for me.

I just saw a theory that he used to be some kind of programmer thats why he was so confident in saying its "not in Caine's nature" to harm anyone.

What if the 001 is referencing to binary code??

This is his past sinking in for him, and how he kind of has a hand in this digital circus.

Jax 001 Theory AKA An almost definitely wrong TADC theory

I thought it was weird that they gave specific attention to Jax seeing the license plate. Like, there's a whole shot dedicated it. And it doesn't serve much of a purpose. I guess it lets us know that this is Jax's car? But it's in the episode. A full shot dedicated to seeing him notice it. A full shot dedicated to the plate itself.

And there's a shot afterwards of him reacting to it. Not even a particularly comedic shot. It feels more in line with his reaction to Kaufmo's funeral in episode 2.

True, it could be him reacting to the awful adventure he just had, but we just had a scene where his smile turned into a scowl. And, you know, pretty much the rest of the episode. Or it could be him reacting to the absurdity of the license plate, but considering the day to day adventures Caine creates, this seems a bit tame to get any reaction from him.

So that gets me wondering, does the license plate have any significance? The number at the top right could be some sort of reference. But it's the 001 that intrigued me. It's typically a number given to the first of something. Maybe even the first person to come to the circus?

Instantly the idea sounded ridiculous (because it is, this theory is almost definitely wrong). I mean, Jax himself said that Kinger had been here the longest. But take a look back at what he actually said.

"Supposedly been here the longest"

At first glance, this seems to mean that Jax can't be sure who's been here the longest. Which makes sense when you consider Kinger's memory issues and all the circus members who have abstracted. And, let's be real, this is probably what the line means. But if you'll let me be delusional for a second, there's another way to read this line.

What if Jax means that everyone assumes Kinger had been there the longest? But he knows it's not true because he's been there the longest?

For most characters, it wouldn't make sense for them to be purposefully vague with their wording. But this is Jax. It's completely in character for him to keep things from the other circus members for no reason. In the first episode alone he kept his supply of keys and Kaufmo's abstraction a secret. Jax will lie about pretty much everything, and he's pretty good at it too.

Further delusions can also be found in episode one. When Pomni tries take her headset off, Jax says this.

Could it be that Jax knows the circus members all tried to take off their headsets because he was there when they did it? Again, probably not. This is the weakest piece of evidence I have, but I figured I'd include it anyway.

And that would explain a fair bit of his behavior. Jax seems more comfortable in the circus than any of them. He has access to keys. He's only momentarily surprised by Kaufmo abstracting. He's incredibly jaded. He seems bored with the adventures, deliberately causing chaos to get them off track (his hijinks on the syrup truck, sucking up the ghost in the mansion, and trying to dunk Ragatha in the oil). It almost reads like a gamer who's played the game a thousand times and is trying anything to make it interesting.

Again, I'm fully aware that this probably isn't the case. I'd say there's a 0.01% chance that this will be confirmed in any capacity whatsoever. It will almost definitely be disproved. But until then, I thought this would be a fun idea. Maybe it'd be a good fic.

But hey, that's just a theory...

A DIGITAL CIRCUS THEORY!

and cut.

[dawneetay]

*hmm*

*hmmm*

HMMMM

guys I’m sure it isn’t referencing a science fiction movie. Why would a series about vr ever reference science fiction. Guys

[snow-calypso]

New TADC Theory: Caine's Losing Control

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus episodes 3 and 4.

Just watched episode 4 of The Amazing Digital Circus, and going in, I honestly expected this episode to end with Gangle's abstraction, to the point that I was honestly surprised that it didn't. It honestly seemed like the whole episode was building up to this, what with her going in with hopes of finally enjoying an adventure, then gradually being whittled down both by the stressful job and the other characters demeaning her. The fact that she only seemed to get actual satisfaction from tormenting Jax like he did to her only seemed to solidify this fact. After the isekai fakeout, I was legitimately scared that she would receive the punishment she suggested for Jax, and that would be what pushed her over the edge.

But it wasn't. Caine gave her the same grade as everyone else (except Kinger) and let her go.

Then he starts glitching out.

It wasn't until I was talking to a friend about this that I had the realization.

Gangle isn't going to abstract.

Caine is.

We've seen already in his therapy session with Zooble just how fragile his mental state can be. He begins to question his existence and the environment around the circus immediately starts to glitch out. This happens just from him having to reckon with the fact that he might not be that good at making adventures.

And what happens at the beginning of this episode?

They reject the first adventure he brings up.

As soon as Gangle leaves the room, he begins to glitch unprompted. This has only ever happened to him before during his therapy session with Zooble when he began to question his purpose.

Something is eating away at his mental state, and none of the characters know.

Granted, it isn't yet clear whether or not NPCs can abstract. But what we do know about abstraction is that it happens when someone in the Digital Circus completely loses their sense of self. Personally, I'd say that Caine is close enough to sentient for this to be a legitimate risk, and his entire identity is centered around making adventures for the characters. Adventures that they hate and are gradually starting to push back against.

What truly solidified this for me was the fact that every single other character has something keeping themselves from abstracting.

Everyone else has each other.

This has already been shown with both Pomni and Gangle. After Gummigoo's death, Ragatha stepped in to comfort Pomi and invite her to Kaufmo's funeral. After Pomni was possessed, Kinger helped calm her down and offered a solution. When Gangle was cracking under the pressure of being a manager and thought nobody liked her, Pomni offered to close so she could leave, and Zooble reassured her that they'd still be there for her.

Caine has nobody.

None of the characters in the Digital Circus even like Caine enough to check in on him like they do with each other. Given how much they've gotten used to his zaniness, they might not even know something's wrong with him until he starts growing extra eyes.

I predict that at the end of the series, Caine will fully abstract, turning the Circus into a glitching hellscape, and the characters will be faced with a choice: Leave and condemn the AI to self-destruction, or find some way to calm down their tormentor.

But hey, that's just a theory!

Do you guys have any thoughts on this? I'd love to hear them!

[seven-oh-four]

okay i NEED to talk about something that's been driving me INSANE since the very first episode of the amazing digital circus.

okay so. in the first episode, when caine snaps his fingers to bring Ragatha back to normal, the scene places a strange amount of emphasis on the fact that this action also causes pomni's hand to go back to normal even though caine didn't know anything was wrong with her.

why?

well, y'know the gloink queen? she never actually... dies. kaufmo falls on her, causing her to spit out zooble, beats her up, glitches her out, but she's never destroyed. even as the gang leaves the gloink caves, you can hear her screaming.

she glitches out, but she's never destroyed.

and when caine snapped his fingers, everything stopped glitching, and they wanted to make sure you'd notice that.

but like. she's the gloink queen. she's just a tutorial boss. she's obviously not gonna come back, right? how would that even work? twist reveal that she was the mastermind all along?

then episode two came out, and my suspicions grew. episode two has a whole scene introducing a new character, The Fudge. The Fudge then dies via a truck from the sky, something that tragically happens all too often. The Fudge is never relevant again.

at the end of the episode, it's revealed that Jax left the gate open anyway, the Fudge survived, and he is now terrorizing the kingdom...

but... this is of absolutely no consequence. it's completely irrelevant. the gang just leaves.

okay so that's TWO big gloopy monsters that have a strange amount of emphasis placed on the fact they survived despite the fact that this never winds up addressed in the episode.

okay. so how about episoOh My God.

AGAIN. they have two whole shots dedicated to showing you that the creature survived, with scare chords and everything, and yet this STILL never comes up again!!!!!! what!! the hell!!! and fuck!!!!!

we've also had an entire episode focused on the concept of NPCs, and NPCs becoming self-aware.

so these monsters are obviously going to come back at some point. they HAVE TO. it'd be utterly ridiculous for them not to!

i just needed to get this off my chest. i need SOMEONE to know this.!!!! okay, bye!

bonus note: Gloink Queen says "GOD will be gloinks!" at the end of her evil monologue. we didn't know this at the time, but all of the NPCs refer to Caine as God.

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Ok so I have only watched TADC once and the first thing I'm drawn to right off the bat is Kinger.

He's quite the guy and I think moving forward he will be one of the more interesting character to delve into. One of the things about his personality that immediately comes off is that, in spite of his mind being a bit all over the place, he is actually fairly knowledgeable on the world they find themselves in.

Jax does express confusion when Kinger begins explaining to him how the food in the DC works, which could indicate that either he didn't take enough interest in Kinger to hear what he was actually saying most of the time (this could be the case as he seems to be super dismissive of just about everyone), or that Kinger doesn't express his knowledge often. I think it could be a mix of both.

Honestly, his mental state doesn't seem to be an act. I believe that, due to being in the Circus for so long, his mentality is verging more towards that of the npc characters like Caine -- wacky and nonsensical at times -- while also still retaining the capability of deeper though like the playable (player?) characters. I wonder if he kept the knowledge he has acquired overtime mostly to himself and just recently started to express it randomly because of the previously mentioned change in his mind.

When talking about Kaufmo, he is the first of all of them to realize that something was "wrong" with him and reaches the conclusion that he was going insane (which was later revealed to be correct as Kaufmo turned into an Abstraction). During that instance, he expresses his concern for Pomni's own mental state.

He's been here a long time. He's probably seen many others become Abstractions, just like Kaufmo: he knows what the warning signs are. The fact he also outright refuses to go check on Kaufmo indicates to him having an ounce on what might have happened to him, as well as the possibility of him knowing what the effects of being caught by an Abstraction are. Ragatha said she was in a lot of pain while glitching; it might be possible for Kinger have touched by an Abstraction in the past, or he watched it happen to someone else.

((Either way, Ragatha and Jax don't really seem to consider Kaufmo's Abstractification (?) at all when going up to check on him, meaning he might have been the first actual companion they had who turned into one.))

Another thing that shines through in his personality is that, in his own way, Kinger is a caring guy. When doing rock-paper-scissors with Gangle to decide who would have to save Zooble, he celebrates his victory before sprinting into action.

Gangle is visibly confused by this, as she was expecting to be the one who would have to help, but Kinger interpreted it differently and was more than happy to get Zooble help.

He's such a strange guy. I love him.

[one-whole-rat]

TADC THEORY

GANGLE DIDN'T LITERALLY DIE, THE TRUCK IS A REFERENCE TO THE ISEKAI TROPE, IT'S RELATED TO HOW SHE GOT TRAPPED IN THE DIGITAL CIRCUS

I think she quit her job to work at C&A and ended up doing the art design for the Digital Circus!!!! And that's how she got trapped!

I also think Ragatha delivered the headsets or the game copies or both (packages falling on her head), and kept one for herself and that's how she got in, OR she handled the mail room for the company.

I think Pomni and Kinger worked at the company as programmers, and I think Zooble and Jax were beta testers or interns.

THIS IS MY FIRM BELIEF.

[radar-chaos]

Is no one going to talk about how the new plastic mask for Gangle is like a mask that neurodivergents use to make it through the day with other people? Gangle is visibly frustrated just trying to be “normal,�� and in the end she still feels like she messed up, and I…

I get that. On such a personal level.

Not only that, but the mask is plastic. Plastic (the mask) is often considered cheap and unauthentic, whereas glass is considered more high quality (her real personality). No matter what she does, she feels like she’s failed. Her genuine emotions are so sensitive and easily hurt, but her mask is obviously and visibly a fake persona, and in her case, a completely out-of-character one.

It makes you wonder just how she was treated growing up.

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

A Ragatha Theory

I just watched the new episode and, while I’m probably looking too much into this, I feel that I have come up with a reasonable assumption regarding Ragatha’s life prior to the Circus:

Before the Circus, Ragatha came from an affluent/high society family and her upbringing played a major role in shaping the way she copes with being trapped in the Circus (toxic positivity and general people pleasing).

Spoilers Under The Cut:

Starting out we have this line. I’ll admit, I initially thought this was just drunk talk for the sake of comedy, but not long after this scene, she says:

And this:

Now, it’s not much, but taking all of these together paints the picture that Ragatha has some manner of background involving wealth that would involve her needing to be prepared to conduct herself in formal settings and events.

Then of course comes the next point, that being Ragatha’s toxic positivity and people pleasing more than likely stemmed from a strict upbringing or background that expected a lot from her to the point of flat out abuse, as hinted at by these screenshots:

I understand that these two images could simply be in reference to everything she has endured during her time in the Circus, but I can’t shake the feeling that it runs deeper than that and the stream of consciousness she spouted in this scene was all tied to her background.

Meanwhile, these two images speak for themselves:

Overall, I’m probably grasping at straws, but I think this whole sequence of events should be kept in mind going forward in the show.

[sillypotatoess]

We all know Jax acted like he knows someone watches them.

We can tell he does this usually via Zooble's reaction. HE DID THIS AGAIN!

He asked if someone can see this. Did he imply someone in Digital Sircus or someone from outside? Maybe he knows someone tests them. Can they be in a test version of a game? Is Jack know that and act accordingly about getting tested? He can be only people knows the truth(except Caine) Maybe he implead someone from sircus. Maybe he just doesn't want someone sees he is weak.

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Is Caine actually bad at making adventures?

So far it's been hard to tell if the players actually enjoy the adventures. I mean, Zooble clearly doesn't but they also say that it doesn't have anything to do with the adventures themselves. Their breakdown of what the other characters think of the adventures I think is mostly accurate as well.

But again, how much of this has to do with the adventures themselves? Not a lot, I'd wager. The players are trapped in a digital realm. They have no way out. They forgot their very names, and I assume they don't remember most of their past lives, but the memories still echo around them. It's a maddening circumstance to be in, and adventures can only do so much.

That doesn't completely answer the question of if Caine is good at making adventures though. He can be given and impossible task AND still be quite bad at it, after all.

Pomni's line of "What time period is this supposed to be again?" and Kinger's "Wait how did he record this if he's already in hell?" point to the adventures having plot holes and kinda incongruent elements that are distracting. So...yeah, his current adventures are kinda jumbled in terms of plot and world-building.

But here's the thing...I think he used to be good at it. But the constant failures (or what he would see as failures) eroded his confidence, for lack of a better term. The engaging, well-thought out stories and worlds weren't cheering up the players as much as they were supposed to. He's exhausted all his ideas for good stories and gotten barely more than a lukewarm "Well that was fun I guess". He doesn't understand that no amount of fun adventuring can truly take away from the horror of being trapped in the digital realm.

So he gives the Max Max vehicles a candy aesthetic and puts them in medieval candyland, because why not at this point? It's worked just about as well as anything else. Maybe he notices that stark visual differences get called out as immersion-breaking pretty quick, so as long as the general looks of the art assets are congruent, maybe not much else matters? And half the time the adventurers seem to not even care about the plot or lore, so who really cares how he recorded the message from hell? Just drag em to hell! It'll be exciting!!

He used to be good. But in a way, the lack of enthusiasm from the players, which has nothing to do with how good the adventures actually are, is making it hard for him to determine what works and what doesn't. He was supposed to find commonality in the adventures the players enjoyed most and build on that. But their reactions are so lukewarm he doesn't have anything to build on, so he desperately throws together new combinations in hopes of getting a reaction. The adventures are getting worse but the players don't really care about them enough to react to that.

He was given an impossible task, and his lack of success is slowly driving him mad.

[guwix]

⬆️⬇️

I think everyone remembered the moment when Zooble began to "strangle" Jax, saying that at that moment he was "not breathing." At the same time, in episode 3, he says that "oxygen starvation" is not terrible for them. But, in parallel, he clearly did not like the fact that his airway was closed. Therefore, he tells us that "perhaps" he does not tolerate well without oxygen. Secondly, he is not an NPC, or he would not care if he breathes or not.

[xxinkys-ocsxx]

I just realised that one only person who's ever achally broken the forth wall is Jax because of the first time in episode 1

That could be brushed off as nothing since it was only once. But then in episode 3 Jax directly addresses the audience

Which causes Zooble to say "will you stop doing that?" showing he's done this enough times for it to be a regular thing

I personally think this is going to be a BIG detail in the future, and at this point I think we all know Jax is the most self aware but is probably (mabye second to Kinger) the most unstable when left alone. I don't really have anywhere else to take this post so I'll stop here and see what anyone else has to say about it

[bluebelleisabelle]

TADC episode 3 spoilers‼️

There’s something I noticed in the scene following Pomni’s possession. I’ve heard other people talk about Pomni saying “he just wants me to suffer”, and considering who the “he” is in this situation.

Now, I initially assumed it was Caine (which may be the case), but myself and others have begun to consider the possibility that it’s someone outside of the circus that forced/persuaded Pomni into putting on the headset. Which brings me to the real reason I am making this post…

Pomni says “I knew it would end up like this.” What does this mean exactly? She knew this particular adventure would end poorly? Or did Pomni have a feeling that putting on the headset was a bad idea, yet chose to do it anyway… potentially due to peer pressure or force.

I think you can see where I’m going with this. It lends into the theory of Pomni being an employee of the corporation that made the digital circus, potentially as a tester of the program. If what I’m interpreting is true, then Pomni saying “I knew it would end up like this” insinuates that Pomni had some inkling that putting on the headset was a bad idea, yet chose to do so anyway, likely because of this person that Pomni says wants to see her suffer. However, based off of the pilot episode, Pomni did not know that she would become trapped in the system, meaning that her uncertainty may have been due to something else.

Idk guys, thanks for indulging in my theories and considerations. This episode and its little moments of lore drops have me even more excited to discover what the digital circus is all about.

[lopsicle]

So after episode three of TADC come out and it was revealed that Kinger is able to act more stable in the dark, people realised that this moment from episode 2 was subtle foreshadowing.

So, how much do y’all wanna bet that this moment is gonna be totally decontextualised during Gangle’s episode?

[toastedclownery]

Interesting

[hhbluedynamite]

TADC Theory: Abstract Vision

I was watching a buuuunch of TADC reaction videos (I'm normal, I swear), which meant I've seen the pilot multiple times.

It was through these viewings that it finally clicked to me.

While Abstracted, this is what Kaufmo was seeing.

Now, its okay to take this with a grain of salt because this is the pilot and things can be subjected to change.

I do still wonder if this is what all the Abstracted saw. The environment of the tent is overstimulating already and this vision seems to have worsened it, which may be why the Abstracted would act so aggressive. If so, then its no surprise that Queenie calmed down in the darkness of Kinger's fort.

And, remember: Abstracted Kaufmo, who was in the darkness of his room, didn't start attacking until after Jax opened the door, letting the blurry and blaring light of the Tent in.

And they're not the only ones whose minds ease out in darkness.

Kinger.

There is an idea that since Kinger touched Abstracted Queenie, his brain has been somewhat on the frizz and that's why he's insane. This doesn't mean that Kinger has been slowly Abstracting, his brain is just glitching out, like what happened to Ragatha. And, for Kinger's case, the glitching isn't as bad as it would've been because Queenie didn't attack him like Kaufmo did to Ragatha. Because its technically Kinger's mind glitching out, Caine can't fix it.

It does make me wonder if Kinger's vision is somewhat similar to the Abstracted, just not as severe.

And that's way he can think more clearly in the dark.