Rock Candy Reviews

Final Act review

This is a non spoiler review for the final act. It is for fans who want a series review, but have only watched episodes 1-8. The full review with spoilers will be posted on June 19th.

Many fans, as well as haters, will not be ready to hear this, but The Amazing Digital Circus is about intimacy. It is not about right, and wrong, or anything involving morality. Fans who debate about forgiveness and who the main characters truly are, have truly missed the point of the show.

Every episode has been about connection and closeness between all the characters. Even the pilot episode is introduces the characters as isolated individuals, to further emphasize how alone Pomni feels. The characters clearly are not on the same page in terms of goals and dynamics. This creates the starting point for the characters to realize the importance of human connections in the later episodes.

For instance, while each episode focuses on one specific character, their interactions with the other members of the cast is what leads to them progressing or regressing in their respective arcs. (Yes, character regression can serve the story. Not all characters are written to develop in the same direction.)

Each character has moments where they accept or reject intimacy from each other. Pomni specifically takes opportunities to connect with others, and when she does, it always leads to changes in the other person.

Another thing to note is that whenever the characters try to connect to an NPC, it doesn’t lead to any realizations or development. This is specifically because those NPCs are not real humans. Caine doesn’t truly understand humans, and Gummigoo gets deleted right after Pomni chooses to connect with him rather than the main cast. It is not until Pomni starts to genuinely interact with the human characters that any real character development happens.

The final act of the show displays the results of human relationships in an inhumane world. All the highs and lows of human interactions is what the show focuses on. Instead of putting characters into moral dilemmas, it simply states that human connection is what keeps us all grounded. Even if there are parts of relationships that are messy or lead to regrets. When the characters put effort into human intimacy, that is what allows them to avoid stagnant complacency. When the characters are isolated or refuse to accept any connections, they risk becoming consumed by their own doubts and insecurities.

The point of the show isn’t to tell a grand epoch of defeating a bad guy or conquering an opposing view, it is to question our mentality around the value of human intimacy, and the full spectrum of relationships. Many people will not find this satisfying, because they are looking for something to be mad at in terms of what they think is deserved. These people are more interested in being proven right than actually discussing the themes the show presents.