Closing the Curtain: Zach's Thoughts on The Amazing Digital Circus (Episodes 7-9)

This post is not sponsored nor endorsed by GLITCH or any other business/organization. All views are the author's own.

I was a bit late to the bandwagon that was this fandom; but that does not mean I could not have fun and theorize and panic over what this show becomes/became.

Over the past 10 months, I have binge-watched the whole series twice over, and witnessed the world premieres of Episodes 7 and 8, as well as the theatrical release of Episode 9. I wasn't going to originally write a follow-up post from the one in August, but then the theatrical experience came and went, and I might as well milk the cow until the end.

This'll be simple. The post will be broken down per episode, and I'll give unbashed thoughts/critiques/commentary/etc on them.

A Win-Win!

WARNING: This post contains major spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus. If you would prefer to not be spoiled, I highly recommend exiting this post and reading something else from the Archive.

The Amazing Digital Circus's roots began in 2019 when Gooseworx (the creator), presented the show's concept and a quickly-written script to GLITCH, who approved the project as another foray into independent animation.

Pre-production began in 2022 with the pilot released on YouTube in October of 2023 (to test the waters) to critical acclaim. So much so that the series was immediately ordered to a full production season of 9 episodes. It was to be limited. I am of the belief that Hazbin Hotel walked so that The Amazing Digital Circus can run.

The Amazing Digital Circus tells the story of six humans who are trapped in a virtual reality simulator themed as a mini-game circus simulator run by an eccentric artificial intelligence called Caine. In order to pass the time and to fulfill his intended purpose, Caine develops wacky little “adventures” that end up being nightmare fuel for the participants. Along the way, they have to keep their sanity lest they become monsters known as “abastrctions”.

While you may presume that this takes place in some ultra-futurstic supercomputer, it isn’t. The graphics and design of it all imply that the game was built in the 1990s — the advent of CGI and gaming as we see it. It is also confirmed that the show takes place in the mid-2010s. So prior to the rise of our new large language model overlords.

The show's release schedule itself was rather sporadic. Which I don't necessarily fault. It's an independent production that ebbs and flows. By the end, the last few episodes were coming out every 3-6 months.

Pertaining to this post's focus: Episode 7 released on December 12, Episode 8 on March 20, and Episode 9 on June 19 (with a theatrical release combining the last two episodes coming out on June 4.).

For those looking for a more solidified recap, you can watch this bootleg version of The AMAZING Digital recap.

This episode starts off very self-explanatory. It shows the human characters enjoying a day at the beach. It allows the viewer to see them somewhat at ease. See: Gangle and Ragatha playing a slightly twisted form of hitting a pinata, Jax minding his own business like no one else's, and Ragatha, Pomni, and Kinger (aka. the ultimate dad character in fiction) playing in the lake.

Zach Hadel and another famous Internet comedian make an appearance in this segment, but I find it worth it to find out more yourself.

Eventually, one thing leads to another, and the humans meet someone who claimed to know the backend of the circus and could get them out of there. After a few somewhat corny (and also hilarious moments), the gang find themselves at a super-imposing computer where they are faced with the prospect of potentially being able to leave.

But wait! Why would they choose the simple option when Jax, who comes into the circus with quite the backstory, chooses to say "no", and keep them in the circus forever. Potentially devastating them all… if it wasn't immediately uncovered that it was an elaborate adventure by Caine to see if they really wanted to leave.

As one would expect, everyone was shocked, terrified, and so forth. With Caine having to quickly flee before the circus members begin demanding questions, and a quick cut to black occurs.

This episode is one big cliffhanger in my view. Yes, it does propel the story so far, but then it stops. It's the furthest they could have made it to escape, then to no avail. Character development takes a major backseat at the expense of moving the story forwards. Which by this point, is slightly needed, but there wasn't much of a rush.

Except for the fact that we are now over 2/3s done with the show. So if it wasn't now, then it would have been more of an issue.

I do have to say that in addition to Zach Hadel's appearance, there are a few memes/jokes that have dissipitated across the fandom, including but not limited to the Chinese Room.

For starters: we meet the original cast.

That's a bit of an exagerration. But the opening of this episode enables us to see Caine's "birth", a few other things, and then the arrival of Kinger's crew, and Ragatha. Our poor chess piece friend goes through so much, then is forced into isolation. It makes his character truly shine and the development go out in full force.

Oh, and Caine has his (first) crash-out. Which sees him tie back to the show's main inspiration, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. If that doesn't set up the tone of the episode, I don't know what does.

Most of the episode from here on out consists of the rest of the cast realizing that Caine has gone relatively rogue, and that Kinger knows more than he lets on. The team makes a last-ditch plan to try and calm Caine, all the while he's having the time of his life blasting out musical numbers and engaging in "non-stop fun" with the cast.

Speaking of "non-stop fun", there's a scene with Pomni that directly connects to one of the original trailers back in 2023. If you know what I'm talking about, then you get my jam and can see just how far the show has come in a few short years.

By the end, as the characters try to distract Caine, they drop any remaining nice facade that was left, and went on an epic tirade against their overlord. Who in turn, went onto his second crashout, and gave everyone even more PDSD and traumatic flashbacks.

At the end of the day, Kinger (a goat in this situation) deleted Caine, leaving everyone trapped in a desolate netscape.

It is also in this episode where the cast accept that there is no escape, and one of the best themes of the show coming into action: being together. In a place where they are unwilling to be there, accepting each other and being there for one another is their only hope for "survival". Which leads to a few wholesome character dialogue lines and some nice moments.

Again, as with the previous episode. It's primarily story-focused, and the characters take a back seat. But we still see them, and are satisfied with how they are evolving. This episode did genuinely keep me at the edge of my seat, and flew right by.

Which is an interesting sentiment to have, considering it coupled with the last episode to create a cinematic spectacle.

In case the last episode didn't have any time jump: this one went straight into the point; which is good and not good. As there was not much more.

As the cast comes to terms that their hopes are dashed and that they are actually brain scans while their real selves are frolicking about outside, they slowly start to rebuild their lives and the circus; except for Jax. Who abstracted off-screen, and led us down a rabbit hole of his memories followed by the classic "I don't want to go" followed by his "death".

On the rabbit hole: it was a very good dive into Jax's character and seeing the true motives and ideas around him. We got flashbacks with passed characters as well.

Then! Caine survived the deletion and was defenestrated to the void, has a change of heart, removes the evil from himself, and makes his way back to the circus to be forgiven by the cast after a period of time. But not before combing through social media (somehow?) and showing the cast what is of them now. The rest of the show consists of Caine and the cast being forgiven and eventually living a decent life; with the Circus being zoomed out and Pomni bidding us farewell.

Oh, there is a quick scene of all of the humans getting on a bus not knowing each other. Which confirms the parallelism that is occurring in this universe.

Note that I didn't say fulfilling, as they're still in the circus. But they're content with themselves now, and that's what matters in the long run.

Another (and final) major aspect of this episode that I want to draw particular attention to is the animation. Every single scene is well-crafted above what has been seen in other episodes. Not just the rendering, but the choice of scenery in storytelling. There is a particular segment with Caine going back from the void towards the circus that I believe deserves particular praise. It may be one of the best segments of television animation I've seen, period.

Overall, I thought that the ending of the show wrapped everything up well. The characters were being rooted for, there was a real sense of emotion that the audience could feel (I swear half the theater, including me, cried during the last 10 minutes).) The show ended up slightly sappy in a way. But it all felt real, and it was the work of very good storytelling.

There are two distinct items related to the show, that I want to draw attention on that I wish to critique:

While the initial few episodes had Pomni as the original main character, Gooseworx confirmed that Jax was also the other main character. Which I feel like makes the circus have two main characters (three if we'll count Caine for all intentions and purposes) and then the rest of the ensemble who are just there for the ride.

While yes, the other ensemble characters are fleshed out to varying degrees, only focusing on these two characters does a disservice to the others; and considering how the show started: I wish that there was a bit more effort and energy put into the remaining characters. (Yes, Ragatha and Pomni hugged, and Gangle and Zooble hugged... with a bit more, but that was pretty much it.)

A good third of the finale was focused entirely on Jax — which means it was a good thing that the finale was 58 minutes in length, but I still believe that the ensemble being more there as a whole could have been beneficial.

Many shows nowadays are very mindful with the episode count and how much material is being pushed out. Gone are the days of 26-episode seasons, and now everything has to be carefully planned out, polished, then published.

I am not advocating for the 20-episode 4-season sitcom to be applied here. I think that the series went from "goofy one-off episodic adventures" to "EPIC WORLDBREAKING SAGA" a bit too quickly. Even one more episode that could be used to flesh out the characters a little bit more, and explore the world beyond just the circus (perhaps the Digital Carnival?).

Even if there was one or two shorter videos that were published (think: the Helluva Boss shorts), that give us a glimpse into the world that isn't a clear-cut sequence. Even just a 3.5-minute clip showcasing the characters shenanigans. It feels a bit rushed at times as a whole, is what I'm saying.

Do I think that these two issues overrule the pros? Of course not. The Amazing Digital Circus is a testament to independent animation and storytelling that will likely be used by future players of the entertainment industry. The show beat the odds, and created a magnificent culture.

If you are looking for a relatively quick watch, and want deep character development: then this show is for you. Full stop, and cue the curtain.

I wasn't originally going to write a post about the finale. But then I watched it, and said: "Yes".

There will hopefully be a commentary post coming out in the next few weeks. If that isn't the case, then it will likely be about my new technical "ventures" that I've been cooking up for the past few months at this post.

Regardless of what happens. Thanks for reading. Have a great upcoming week!