Chapter Text
Introduction
Hey guys, probably didn’t expect this kind of chapter. Well, sorry if you were expecting more from this story. It will continue, but for now, I need this space to get a few things off my mind.
For starters, let me just say it now. HOLY SHIT! I knew episode 8 was going to be insane, but I can’t even put into words right now just how flabbergasted I am. We got lore, character development, a Caine song?! We got an “I have no mouth and I must scream reference,” and so much more!
Let me just start with this. I was a little upset at first that they kind of took the AM approach with Caine’s character. I didn’t believe he’d have it in himself to hurt the players. But the more I reflect on it, the more this actually makes sense and works out in my favor (in a weird twisted way). Caine was bound to snap at some point, having to deal with all the criticism. The episode itself revealed one really big and important thing about Caine that I feel like a few too many of us are going to pass over.
Why Caine snapped AM style
Caine is a creative Ai. He wasn’t given an objective, just life. Kind of similar to when AM gained sentience. Just imagine…waking up one day and existing, but not knowing what to do? You’re in a world all by yourself, so what are you supposed to do? You have nothing to go off of and nobody to talk to. It’s just you, alone with your thoughts all by yourself. That was essentially the existence Caine was given. At least, that was until people (real humans) started entering his world/program.
Caine became angry, but didn’t understand it. He wanted to resent them, but how can you resent the thing that brought you into the world? That seems to be the dilemma Caine is faced against. Bubble seems to be a literal thought bubble of his own thoughts. That explains why a lot of the times they turn out to be negative. Caine is hiding resentment within himself.
As for the Caine and able reference, I think I get it now. Caine’s name isn’t actually Caine. It’s just the name he chose based off of the C&A logo probably. But Caine is very representative of the Caine in the actual biblical story of Caine and Able, having likely killed able (and or, the other Ai that C&A created) because he was deemed as lesser (probably worthless) than the Ai created after him (Able). So Caine killed able to maintain control of his own program.
I can understand why they went down the “make Caine crash out like AM route.” As I said, a guy can only be hated for so long and not understand it before something breaks inside. But I need to now address the ending of the episode.
I'm probably not quoting the lines directly, but Caine’s final words before being deleted were as follows: “Why must you people torment me? I didn’t ask to be created. I’m just trying to fulfill my purpose.”
Those words cut deep. This is why Glitch made the Truman show reference for the trailer. Caine is both the one running the show, and Truman himself. He was an Ai left to run for too long with no purpose and no way to access the real world or understand how people work. He’s frustrated because he’s essentially a program trapped within itself. Caine truly is the definition of tragic.
Caine is the reverse AM
After more self reflection, I also realized another potential reason why Caine’s crash out ultimately ended with the gang being tortured. As I stated earlier, Caine is a creative Ai right? So what does a creative Ai need in order to make art? Input…
But that’s the cruel irony of it all. During Caine’s final crash out, he tortures the cast with the input he was given, which just happened to be all their traumas. They had only ever given Caine negative feedback and only had given him their traumas as input. That’s why he used it against them at the end. It wasn’t out of spite like with AM, but as a final decision to prove that he was in fact listening to them when they all ganged up on him at the end, with the final push being Pomni saying “You just don’t listen.”
Caine listened. He listened to every time they spoke of their past traumas and fears, but never about the things they actually enjoy. I don’t think Caine ever heard any of them talking about a good memory, and when they did it was in episode 5 when they were going through the suggestion box. Why Caine didn’t utilize that to his advantage? No clue. Probably because his program requires him to hear their suggestions up front instead of just on a piece of paper (that’s the best explanation I got).
Caine never meant to hurt them intentionally, that’s been made pretty clear (although a few people of the fandom will probably brush over this fact). He was afraid and desperate, and desperation can lead to frustration which ultimately leads to anger and violence. His final words weren’t a lie, he really was just trying to fulfill his purpose. It’s just sad that his purpose is so broad and unspecific, that an Ai like him will never be able to fully understand the complexity of what it means to be human.
The players (the gang) are all he has left in terms of connection to the outside world, and he didn’t want to lose that. It’s ironic tragedy that he broke at the exact moment they were all about to accept their place in the circus.
Caine is the reverse AM. He loved humans so much and wanted to learn all there is to know about them so much that it broke something inside of him. Caine truly was the lover without a heart.
What this means for the future of this fic
Now you’re probably confused by my earlier comment. What did I mean by Caine crashing out as AM works in my favor? Well, if you’ve been keeping up with this fic, then you will have realized I sort of came up with that kind of premise before this episode even came out (I know I’m not the only one, I’m just one of the people that took the idea and decided to run with it into a full blown fanfiction). Similar things happen here in this fic that also did happen in the episode.
ex: the lights going out and etc. sorry for not giving Kinger a bigger role, wasn’t good at writing his character at the time lol.
While the episode also having its differences like Caine torturing the players with their own insecurities and fears. So where am I going with this exactly? Well, I’ve decided that for my sanity (and maybe some of you guy’s) that this fanfic here will be what we can call the “good ending.” As in, Caine is still deleting himself as of right now, but it was his own choice and not automatically forced like in the cannon of the show.
Also, this may be a little bit of a spoiler, but Caine isn’t dead yet in this fic. Maybe there’s a chance the gang can still save him and help him understand what being human really means? With that said, I’m dubbing this fic the “good ending” for episode 8. Or alternatively, the good ending of Caine’s insane crash out.
Alright I think that just about does it here. Sorry for rambling and not writing an actual chapter here. I had a lot I wanted to get out. I know there’s still a million other things I didn’t mention, but I’m sure plenty of other people will talk about it in the future. With that said, I hope you enjoyed me rambling about episode 8! I appreciate you guys and all the support!