The main channel video comparing Rose Quartz and Caine is better tbh https://youtu.be/FgakYpjm-hE

ALSO very interesting insight about why the series was as short as it was and why Gooseworx was the only writer that was Glitch's decision not hers https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/820494470502072320/do-you-think-that-shouldve-given-more-characters

https://www.tumblr.com/gooseworx/820492320782827520/whats-the-most-important-thing-youve-learned

Insane how an AI apologized for any wrongdoing before a human did

My biggest problem with the finale was the pacing. It felt like two or more episodes lumped together, with very little lead up to Caine's portion from Jax's. I think the show should have had at least three more episodes. Jax's mind portion was interesting, but it weirdly felt rushed.

I am fully aware that fandoms have issues with projecting theories into media and treating them as canon, but it really sucks that certain stuff was set up and then dropped with nothing else to say- like Jax and keys. The first two episodes have dedicated scenes (sometimes multiple in one episode) solely about how Jax has this ability to just get keys to places. And a lot of people thought it was a hint to Jax knowing more about the circus (dev keys for example) and then it just... never came up again. Not even in the last episode.

It's especially annoying given how Jax uses his procurement of these keys as a sort of introduction to Pomni about the archetypes in the circus (an archetype Jax maintains until the very end). It would have been a really nice touch if the characters go into his room and find a key that unlocks something of value within the circus, or something.

I know it's kind of a minute thing to complain about but it's such a perfect example of things being mentioned that hint towards something and then being dropped.

I mostly agree with you, I get being frustrated with the “they all lived happily ever after” then I remembered that Caine only learned about the humans through Facebook and Instagram so of course Caine only saw the good parts

16:22 Gangle did say, questioning herself on why she didn’t feel the need to cry when Jax got abstracted and of course she gets mixed feelings when she got emotional after all the abuse she’s gone through from Jax

I think we needed more of the other characters, Jax was the main character in the finale. I wanted to see Zooble/Gangle. Even POMNI the MAIN character didn’t get all that much screeen time.

Genuinely, the deceased Kinger idea you had for the presentation is genius, simply because it would make their reality seem a lot more real. Reality is ofc not all sunshine and rainbows, so there was a small part of my mind that was like “Hmmm awfully convenient that everyone is just living the good life”, like I think it would’ve been more impactful if some circus members weren’t having such great times irl, like “Leeroy is struggling to get by these days” or “Zoey fears the AI movement and how it’s impacting her coworkers around her” or what you suggested with Grant passing away.
Anyways, I liked the finale, and I completely acknowledge that it’s not perfect, there are a decent number of flaws that can amount to both inconsistency and prioritizing. Still, it’s a beautifully emotional piece and I appreciate the time they spent into making the circus members seem human.

Ragatha not being able to say Ribbit's name was also Pearl coded.

When Pomni told Ragatha "you were my first friend here" i was like "you befriended an npc, Kinger and Jax before you started opening up to her"

Okay but to be fair, it is pretty reasonable why no one tried hugging an abstraction before. Like it's an elephant sized creature covered in exes that causes physical pain when touched, little wonder that they are afraid of it.

I feel like this finale should’ve at least been 3 episodes…the last one being an hour long to really explore Caine and closure for the characters. That would fix the pacing issues and not have Jax take up most of it. Like I really wanted them to sit with the reality of what they are but it lasted 5 minutes it feels like. It would’ve also been more of a shock to see Caine alive after being dead for a couple episodes. I didn’t mind the things that happened I just was upset at the pacing.

I think this has to be the best critique I've seen of the TADC finale. You dissect the show based on what it's going for rather than what it wasn't, and I really enjoyed the alternate possibilities you proposed, like Grant Best being dead. I wanna add onto the Pomni and Ragatha scene you discussed as I think it would've been great had there been more of a visible/stronger conflict between Ragatha and Pomni falling apart (I know Ragatha's a people pleaser, but there could be a "straw that breaks the camel's back" moment) so that the scene we got feels more like "I never stopped caring about you, even if it seemed like that at first".

I think you made a ton of fantastic points in this video, and that's coming from someone who enjoyed the ending.

I am so glad you actually brought up ragatha not knowing how to make kinger sane. She knew him before he mentally cracked. She should be around long enough to see what the dark does. Especially episode two!

I feel like the finale could have been better if only they had made it the full 1 hr 30 mins, full movie length instead of showing ep 8  before it in the theatres. It would have given more time to make some of the more important parts (other than jax lol) have more weight to them

I’m so glad my feelings about this have been validated. I think this finale had some really great things, but it was all WAY too rushed. It should have, at the very least, been split into 2 hour-long episodes, one about Jax and their abstraction and one focusing on how the rest of the characters cope with the abstraction and Caine’s redemption.

Gooseworx insisting on 'no filler episodes' when she wanted to write a character focused story was definitely a choice. It sucks so much that every character basically just exists for Jax's character development.

Having Jax's backstory in the finale is like having Zuko Alone take place during Sozin's Comet

100%. Also I’m kinda confused about the logistics of all of this running on a 90s computer in probably an abandoned building lol

In the theatre I looked at my friend and said “Pomni is gonna Steven Universe Jax’s ass.” and I was just about right.