The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act

 Step right up, step right up, and come witness the grand finale of the indie animation sensation! Sure, you can pay nothing to watch it for free in about a week, but you can pay more to see it on the big …

[Annoying Narrator Program Off]

In layman’s terms, The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act pieces together the eighth episode of the YouTube series, which premiered in March, along with the ninth and final episode, which premieres independently next week. Now, how about we explain the premise?

Think of it as a cutesy take on I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Basically, a few humans are trapped as cartoony CGI avatars in the titular game and are forced to participate in whatever crazy adventure their AI ringmaster, Caine (Alex Rochon), has in mind. They can’t leave and they can’t die, but they can “abstract” into glitches if they mentally break. This unfortunate ensemble consists of Gangle (Marissa Lenti), the timid artist; Zooble (Ashley Nichols), the jaded cynic; Kinger (Sean Chiplock), the eccentric genius; Ragatha (Amanda Hufford), the cheerful one; Jax (Michael Kovach), the sarcastic jerk; and Pomni (Lizzie Freeman), the newcomer.

When Episode 8, hjsakldfhl, opens, they’ve about reached their breaking point. Caine, however, has completely cracked and takes it out on the cast. Kinger is actually one of Caine’s programmers, so he tries to quell his creation’s digital wrath. He accidentally deletes Caine, which actually makes things worse. Oops.

During the main event, which is currently untitled, the cast tries to carry on without Caine. When Jax finally cracks, Pomni tries to help him. This involves exploring Jax’s tragic backstory within and without the digital circus. The troupe gets help from an unexpected source and discover some big secrets. I think that’s it.

Caine provides a handy “Amazing Digital Recap” for those going in blind. That way, you’ll understand just about everything except the creepy talking fish in the pre-film intro. That fish featured in the seventh episode, which I only found out just now. It was intentionally designed to look crummy, but it especially looks unnerving up-close - I was in the second-to-front row. The upside is that it’s kind of funny, especially as it gives the uninitiated thirty seconds to catch up on the show. Just thought you should know.

The fish also said not to spoil anything, but I kind of already did. It’s hard not to, considering that the main event revolves around Jax. His ultimate fate has been met with a divisive reaction online, and if I have any issue with it, it’s how he cracks off-screen. It’s kind of an abrupt fate for one of the show’s most popular characters. The subsequent journey into his psyche is where we learn his full story. It’s not hard to pity him even at his most reprehensible.

Amongst his castmates, Gangle and Ragatha get the least focus, but their personalities shine enough. Zooble, meanwhile, gets some story relevance as we see how their friendship with Jax deteriorated. Kinger, as the main character of episode 8, is pretty compelling as he regains his bearings (even if it goes wrong). Finally, it’s easy to gravitate to Pomni due to her empathy. It’s saved her castmates multiple times across the show, which makes it rewarding when they save her. There's an impressive amount of work to visualize their cuddly designs. Ragatha's fabric, for example, looks realistic. Just keep in mind the cartoony body horror ... some of which is funny.

Surprisingly, however, I found Caine to be the most compelling character. Instead of being monstrously cruel, ala I Have No Mouth’s AM or even Terminator’s Skynet, he’s just as neurotic as the others. He legitimately doesn’t understand why his cast resents being stuck with him. About the only one who tolerates him is his assistant, Bubble (voiced by series creator Gooseworx), but he’s an AI too. Before long, he goes from despair, to anger, and even self-reflection (I think I spoiled again). It’s fascinating to watch an “evil AI” humanized like this. On a lighter note, his default personality is as fun to watch as it probably was for the animators to animate.

What else do we have? Gooseworx, amongst her many hats, also composed the music with Evan Alderete. They both helped compose Hazbin Hotel, another YouTube cartoon success, which has a pretty dynamic soundtrack (especially helpful for a musical show). No surprise that the music here is just as good. Caine's musical number, with lyrics by Hazbin alumnus Dave Capdevielle, is visually impressive, but my theatre's speakers overwhelmed the singing. When Episode Nine opens with a reprise of the Pilot's opening, the lack of Caine's narration is so unnerving it's kind of funny. 

The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act might not be to everyone's liking. I've already mentioned the issues with Jax's ending, but then we have the reveal of just who everyone is. That one, I think, makes pretty good sense, but you'll have to see it for yourself. All in all, I was invested enough in the cast to stay through the (relatively short) credits. I think you might be too.