Post Thraggmatic Stress Disorder

One thing I find really fascinating about each of Mark’s PTSD visions/hallucinations is that they can all actually be seen as referring or calling back to things that Mark has witnessed or experienced throughout this season since the start of the Viltrumite war.

The first vision of the invasion of Earth - The Viltrumites attack of Telestria (and/or also probably the events of Season 1 and the last episodes of season 3)
Thragg ripping Debbie’s head off - Mark saw Thragg ripping Thaedus’ head off right after they blew up Viltrum.
Anissa ripping William’s jaw off - Thragg literally slapped Oliver’s jaw off.
Thragg skewering Cecil - Mark watching Thragg skewer his dad.
Thragg popping Eve’s eyes out - Mark himself was the victim of that before Thragg stopped himself and let Mark live.

Each and every one of Mark’s visions can be seen as him reliving the horrors and brutality he witnessed and endured during the Viltrumite war over the past months.

I highly ‘enjoyed’ the portrayal of the PTSD. Instead of him freaking out, a lot of it is him spacing out and dissociating during the visions. Along with the hyperventilating. That was my experience with it and it was interesting seeing it portrayed this way.

Did you happen to notice that the way people were being hurt in Mark's PTSD hallucinations is the same way he watched people being hurt during the battle of Viltrim? Debbie was taken out the way Thaedus was. William's jaw the way Oliver was hurt. Eve's head the way  Mark's was squeezed by Thragg. Cecil the way Nolan was run through. All the hallucinations coincide with the injuries he witnessed.

A small thing probably but I love how you speak in a softer voice when talking about serious things that are more common and would affect more people

Something interesting I saw someone point out is that you can tell the Thragg in Mark’s visions wasn’t real because he was acting more like Angstrom than Thragg. Mark expected someone to come after his family with wrath and vengeance, without mercy or sanity because that’s also what he’s experienced in the past.

Thragg really only had one moment where he “broke character,” but quickly reverted to his usual demeanour around Mark.

Mark had no real reason to think Thragg would have a bloodlust this high, it’s just what he’s come to expect from everyone else he’s faced before.

Really glad to hear they are doing PTSD justice

On an unrelated note, 12:00 is why Cecil is one of my favorite characters

Dude, even after the PTSD moment with the flood, I actually DID think Thragg had found Debbie and was there and it was one of the few moments in my life I actually said out loud "no, no no!"

I appreciated that this depiction of PTSD communicates the fundamental hyper vigilance aspect of it.

Interesting detail is that the only time Mark sees Anissa at the university instead of Thragg is because she was the one who abruptly found him in a public place that was supposed to be safe

Something to note aswell. When mark has his episodes he doesn’t move, as if he’s frozen. Before if anyone threatened someone he loved he would act immediately.

Honestly, I'm suprised Mark didn't develop PTSD after his father tried to kill him in season 1.

The thing about Mark is that he's always been able to win his battles by being persistent and refusing to give up. When he finally realized that wasn't going to work against Thragg, he panicked and fled. This allowed all the fear he had been repressing over the years to eat him alive.

I've had PTSD flashbacks before, I was in a car accident two years ago that gave me mild PTSD. I was mostly fine day to day, but one moment in particular I remember hallucinating the smell of the airbag. It wasn't like the show where you actually think you're in that situation, but I could very clearly "see" the car wreck again in my mind's eye. The smell of the airbag though felt very, very real, like Mark seeing Thragg. Even if I consciously knew it was impossible to be smelling it and I knew it was a hallucination, that scent still triggers anxiety. Fortunately I only ever had one flashback, it helped a lot that I was able to limp into therapy the very next day with a therapist I trusted, definitely accelerated the healing process

I come home from serving a year in army, I had PTSD too, but my parents thought I was just lazy, I almost ended my life, thank god I survived this

2:57  "You may even be worried about traumatizing other people by sharing things that no one else would really want to or even understand other people that are going through it."
Feel like this is the lonliest part of experiencing pain and/or trauma. The extra fear and need to protect people makes it hard to connect. But connection is the best thing you can do for yourself.

I just wanted to say this video really helped me. I've been trying to work through very painful memories lately. Hearing all you said is helping me in my long efforts to find my mental balance, reintegrate and connect.
Thank you.

I really enjoyed the portrayal of Marks PTSD in that episode. The viltrumite war had an impact on his body in form of injuries (as we witnessed in that special "spaghetti" episode). It also affected his mental health. The episode seems really realistic to me. What a great show!
And thanks for this great analysis! ❤

I bet its satisfying as a therapist seeing media condoning that line of work in a positive light

Mark is such a wonderful protagonist because not only do we see him where he starts his journey in season 1 but as we progress through out the series we see the evolution of him where he used to be a naive and carefree young adult who wanted to be a hero, yet had to go through some traumatic shit and now he's an hardened soul who gets PTSD of not only everything that happened, but also what would happen to his loved ones and those on earth yet him unable to found a solution against Thragg  someone who could just send the whole viltrumite army on earth the moment he and his allies try to fight back really making him trapped against something truly unmovable and this perfectly foils the moment in season 1 where Mark didn't give a shit about viltrum but now 5 years later he does agreeing to Thragg's terms to protect his loved ones and the planet while damning the universe for that choice,

You explained this so well that I’m going to show my mom. She doesn’t know a thing about some “cartoon show”, so I’ll fill her in on the gaps. But my ptsd has been exactly like the way you explained it and I’ve been covering it up for over 2 years now. And what perfect timing as I am just now today signing up to see a therapist or group therapy. So, thank you.❤

PTSD flashes are some of the worst shit to deal with, I think it's great Mark sought help from Cecil to deal with it. It's going to be hard for him moving forward, though I'd be interested to see after he feels after his encounter with Thragg on Earth; poor dude is going to be so stressed out