One of the biggest internet phenomena of the last few years has been The Amazing Digital Circus, an animated indie web series produced by Glitch Productions and created by Gooseworx. The series is planned to conclude on June 4 with a theatrical release of the ninth and final episode, called The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, before releasing on YouTube and Netflix on June 19.
Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, The Last Act leaked online from an early screening in Brazilian Portuguese, leading to a torrent of spoilers flooding the internet and Gooseworx responding on Bluesky with "ehhhh, who cares?" in a since-deleted reply, drawing backlash from fans.
When Glitch Productions announced this theatrical release, it was already controversial with fans, since it had previously assured them that, during its deal with Netflix, all episodes would be released on YouTube first. Now, fans had to wait two weeks if they couldn't catch the episode in theaters, which was initially limited to the United States, Latin America, Japan, and Canada.
Thanks to the studio encouraging fans to contact their local theaters, the release was at least extended across the United Kingdom, Europe, and other territories. But the controversies didn't stop when Glitch Productions hesitated to collaborate with South Korea over fears of leaks, leading the indie studio to abruptly terminate its contract with the distributor in the region.
Gooseworx Responds to Amazing Digital Circus Episode 9 Leaks
Gooseworx clarified in a following post on Bluesky that she knows "people are upset with my response" about the leaks, but that she "kind of just wanted to make a cartoon" and that The Amazing Digital Circus had "ended up being way more trouble than it's worth:"
"I know people are upset with my response, which is fine, but I kind of just wanted to make a cartoon, & it's ended up being way more trouble than it's worth. I really just can't keep my heart in this thing anymore. It's gotten too much bigger than me, & I probably shouldn't be the figurehead of it."
It's understandable how and why Gooseworx became disillusioned with the series after working on it for more than three years, amid multiple episode delays, not to mention the venomous reaction from certain fans that has spawned from it. Those same fans who watched the leaked spoilers were dissatisfied with the ending of The Amazing Digital Circus and disappointed that it didn't meet their many expectations or answer any of their burning theories.
Thankfully, others understood the stress and pressure Gooseworx must be under, and that she had absolutely no control over this leak. Not to mention that many other fans appreciated the ending, despite its open-ended nature.
Warning - The rest of this article includes spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act.
TADC Episode 9 Spoilers Make Their Way Online Ahead of 'The Last Act' Release
Leaks revealed that, after Kinger accidentally deleted Caine, thanks to the rogue AI's attempts to stop him, he remembered what they all were: brain scan copies. Something many fans already predicted, while others found the reveal dissatisfying, since it meant there was never a chance for any of them to escape the circus.
The revelation caused Jax so much distress that he almost immediately abstracted, leading everyone to blame themselves for not doing more to help him. Wishing to correct her mistake, Pomni leads Jax's abstraction into the dark to calm him down, like Kinger did with Queenie, and tries to help him. When she threw herself at Jax, she entered his subconscious, exploring his past and his imagined scenarios of other circus members abstracting.
This takes up the majority of the final episode, leading to the biggest criticism from unhappy fans: that it's focused almost entirely on Jax. This is despite Gooseworx already confirming before that Pomni and Jax were always meant to be the main characters. As Pomni explores his mind, she discovers how his friendships with Ribbit and Kaufmo deteriorated, and how he'd react to other members of the circus abstracting.
When it was Ragatha, he was shown attempting to strangle Pomni, likely blaming her. In Gangle's abstraction, it's treated with more levity, showing Zooble chasing Jax and ending with them falling off a cliff like Wile E. Coyote. For Zooble, Gangle is shown organizing their funeral, only for Jax to dress in a maid's outfit and invite her to his room.
Eventually, Pomni meets the real Jax in this mindscape and learns that his friendship with Ribbit ended because of his insecurities stemming from his abusive mother. He had told Ribbit about his parents' divorce, leaving him with a mother who berated him for being unmanly when he didn't fight back, ending with him pushing his mother, uncertain if he had killed her. It led to him being homeless and likely finding the headset to the circus.
Ribbit attempted to reassure him, telling him that his secret was safe with her, giving him her ribbon. But upon Kaufmo knocking on the door, he throws the ribbon away, and his relationship with Ribbit gets worse as he antagonizes her more and more, similar to how he tried to push Pomni away in Episode 6, even telling Rabbit he lied about his mom. It eventually ends with Ribbit abstracting from his hurtful words.
Pomni finally meets the real Jax, hugging him and apologizing for not being there for him, letting him vent to her, before she's pulled out of Jax's abstracted form by the rest of the circus, who all help lead Jax to a shack they made for him to stay in. Something that Jax fans had a problem with, even going so far as to equate his treatment to that of a dog.
Caine was also sent to the void after being deleted, who had conflicting feelings about it before quickly realizing he was in the wrong for how he treated everyone. After deleting the other AI inside him, he gained access to the circus members' full brain scans, revealing their real names and even their social media accounts.
He returns to the circus, asking everyone for forgiveness and offering them a glimpse at the lives of their original selves, where we finally learn all their names:
- Abigail (Pomni)
- Susie (Ragatha)
- Zoey (Gangle)
- Riley (Zooble)
- Grant (Kinger)
- Leroy (Jax)
In the real world, Abigail continues to explore abandoned buildings, but with friends. Susie left behind her abusive mother and lived out a happier life. Riley had opened her own bar, which Leroy frequented. Gangle recovered from a truck accident and went on to publish her manga-inspired webcomic online. Leroy, no longer homeless, found a job as a delivery driver. Finally, Grant remained married to his wife and had two girls, continuing his career in IT.
While Caine attempted to address them by their real names, Abigail declared that inside the circus, she was just Pomni. The film ends with a montage of them all going on adventures at their leisure, such as Ragatha playing softball with Ponmi and Caine, Zooble opening a bar in the circus and making drinks for everyone, including Caine, and even the abstractions were moved out of the basement and into the Aquarium from the losers' lounge seen in Episode 6.
The movie ends with their real-life counterparts waiting together at a bus stop and Pomni walking alone in the circus before waving goodbye to the audience.
While the ending may not satisfy everyone, especially those who deem the series pointless with the characters being digital copies, it aligns with what Gooseworx wants people to take away from the series: "That there's meaning to be found in a stagnant life."
Since The Amazing Digital Circus is coming to a close, Glitch Production will have to depend on the success of their other shows in the pipeline, such as Knights of Guinevere, co-created by outspoken Disney alum Dana Terrace. Hopefully, the indie studio will be able to avoid future leaks like this and provide better support to its creators.
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