"Film Theory: Jax ls NOT Who You Think He Is (The Amazing Digital Circus)" Reaction

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Hello everyone, Undertale Fire22 here.

[00:00:03]Uh, today we're going to be reacting to Film Theory. Jax is not who you think he is, The Amazing Little Circus by The Film Theorists. Now, I haven't watched them in a while because, well, Matt Pat, he's not dead, but like he left the channel, but like I ended up watching them again, and they're still pretty good. Um, I like the the new the new people in each um channel like Game Theory, Food Theory, etc. So, uh, yeah.

[00:00:29]and I saw this and I thought it was pretty cool. Like I'm uh I watched it.

[00:00:34]So uh yeah, let's just go ahead and get it started. But first, if you have not seen this video video for yourself, be sure to watch for yourself first in the original video link in description below. But if you've already done that, we can go ahead and get this started. 3 2 1 and go.

[00:00:47]>> From the amazing digital circus is not who he appears to be. Sure, he's hidden his true thoughts and feelings for this entire show. Beyond that, there might be an even bigger secret that this purple rabbit is hiding. And to find it, we >> uh stuffed kids into animatronics.

[00:01:05]>> Hello, internet. Welcome to Film Theory, the show that can escape if you just push that big red subscribe button. Go on, just slap it. But please, it's right there real quick. But special announcement, in the near future, you're going to see an entire movie get uploaded to this channel. Studio Lionsgate reached out to us. I have to see if it's where I'm where I'm at, though.

[00:01:26]>> It's in the US, but like in the US movies completely for free, and I said, "Yeah, of course." So, I I just didn't want that catch you completely off guard. Here's your heads up. Also, expect to see a bonus theory about that movie later in the week. It's a fun experiment. But anyway, back to The Amazing Digital Circus. So, the finale for The Amazing Digital Circus is almost here, and and man, it's just such an exciting time to be a fan of indie animation.

[00:01:52]>> I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm going to watch it if it's like not where I'm at cuz then I have to dodge spoilers for a whole two weeks and I'm not I'm not a fan of traveling just to see a movie. I'm going have to I'm going have to weave some spoilers.

[00:02:04]>> Digital circus fandom and subreddit are some of the most passionate out there theorizing and dissecting every second and frame of this show. And you know, I I wanted one last go at it before this finale drops. Last time we talked about I had to call it that needed to be its own video. So, here we are. Let's not waste any time, loyal theorists. The circus is falling apart, and along with it, so is Jax. So, grab a bucket and throw it on your head, cuz we're diving.

[00:02:30]>> Oh, he is so getting abstracted.

[00:02:31]>> A lot has been going on with Jack since we last really checked in with him and and talked about how his character was going. We've learned about his philosophy in the circus, about how he believes that the castmates all fall into archetypes and they can just embody them. About how he used to be close friends with other characters like Rivet before she abstracted. About how so much of his prickly jerk persona is just armor that he wears so he doesn't let anyone else in. And in episode 7, we see Jack pushing >> he doesn't want to let all sin cuz he knows they they're going to eventually abstract and it's going to hurt.

[00:03:05]>> Just like kind of like ribbit. abstracts at the beginning of that story in a scene that accurately recreates how it looks and feels to not sleep for a few days. Shout outs to Insomnia. It's not a fun time, kids. Yeah.

[00:03:17]>> At the climax of this adventure, when it looks like the cast may have a chance to actually escape, Jax rushes forward and pushes the button that means they all stay. It's a huge moment for the character and and >> I thought I thought that Kane controlled his mind to do that. that also reveals just how feudal the attempt to escape even is since nothing about this adventure or escape was even real. And somehow it just doesn't end there for new insights we get into Jax. There's a great moment in episode 8 where the cast are doing their best to distract Kane while Kinger goes into the code of the circus to change Kane. However, Kane starts to catch on.

[00:03:54]>> If I didn't know any better, it seems like you're trying. See, he knows that Kanger was a programmer and so he's like, "Where is that programmer? I can't lo I can't lose track of him. He can [ __ ] me over."

[00:04:09]>> Where's Kinger? Just terrifying line delivery there, to be honest. And in a lastditch attempt to keep Kane's hundreds of allseeing eyes off Kanger, Pomny makes a pretty dangerous choice.

[00:04:20]>> We think your idea sucks.

[00:04:21]>> She start antagonizing Kane as a last resort. Behold the power of rage bait.

[00:04:27]>> And the others follow suit and they just really >> they were mostly venting though that they make fun of his adventures behind his back. They vent about their real feelings. And as we've talked about in the last episode, this really pres on Kane's weaknesses and fears and stabbed with knives. A figure stands at the head of the table resembling a distorted version of Ragatha herself.

[00:04:47]>> I thought it was her mother.

[00:04:48]>> Start flying into Ragatha's doll body.

[00:04:50]Gengal is thrown into a room full of art representing her kind of tragedy masks while Zubil is taken to a room with hundreds or thousands of body parts trying to drag them down all while being forced to look in a mirror. Oh, hey wait. Do you see that thing in the mirror? What is that? These situations is terrifying. But if you've been following our theories, you'll also know that each of them have an additional layer. Each of the castmates bodies have been created to perfectly represent their mind files as Kane put it, but that also means that they've incorporated much of their own insecurities and mental struggles into those bodies. We've talked at length about how Zubel struggles with body dysmorphia similar to many non-binary folks. And though we can't diagnose her, Gengal does exhibit many of the symptoms of bipolar disorder represented by those masks. for Ragatha. Clearly, this is showing us some form of familial trauma.

[00:05:44]Being at this dinner table is the opposite of a safe place for Ragatha.

[00:05:48]And this figure in the shadows, this silhouette, which may represent her mother or matriarch of this family, is hurting her. She's disappointed it in some way. Or perhaps, >> and with those alternate eyes, >> this is a reflection of Ragatha, and he's worried that she is like this or becoming like this. Perhaps turning into her mother. There's a lot here, but the vision that Jax sees and why we spend so much time talking about how >> he got skinned alive.

[00:06:16]>> Fascinating. See, in his space, he's surrounded by silhouettes that are laughing at him. And at first, they appear to just be regular default people. But as they spin and spin around Jax, we see them approach and turn into silhouettes resembling Pomni, Kofmo, and Ribbit. Yeah. The clown who abstracted in the first episode and the frog we've seen in other flashback material. As the story has gone on, we've seen how close that KMO and Rivet were to Jax. These three were a group of good friends, which also makes it tragic that Jax find themselves in at the end of the episode.

[00:06:51]See, in episode 7, when Jax freaked out and chose the option that would keep the cast in the circus, even though it didn't end up being a real choice, the rest of the characters were furious with Jax for the adventure and their chance to escape. If it was real, they he would have [ __ ] them all over.

[00:07:08]>> Not it actually would have worked.

[00:07:10]>> Well, really hate to say it, guys, but I told >> Don't you even do not evening begin to say that sentence like you didn't try to keep us all trapped here forever.

[00:07:20]>> So, will the cast offer that same energy to Kinger for quote unquote messing up too? And when they likely won't, will that make Jax angry that they weren't upset at Kinger like they were at him?

[00:07:31]Honestly, it's enough to make me worry about >> I would Okay, unlike Jax who like in their minds just did it out of his own valition. He ran and smashed the button. But here's the thing that like in their perspective, he did it on his own. And Jax doesn't really deny that. Like he doesn't really say how I was controller. I was in my in my mind to to justify it. He just he just uh uh makes fun of the scenario. I was like, well, really hate to say it, guys, but I think and they're like, um, what do you call? So, I think that they they won't get on Ker for considering the fact that Ker is more he literally said, I accidentally killed Kane.

[00:08:19]Um, implying that it wasn't intentional.

[00:08:21]We even see that it he didn't mean to do it. Uh, I I forgot, but it's something in the code that did it, not him.

[00:08:30]Uh, I don't think they're going to go on about it.

[00:08:34]>> This might this might piss Jacks off, but just saying.

[00:08:38]>> And that's only been compounded by other details that keep popping up. See, the poster for the theatrical release of the last act does feature all of the characters, but one more prominently than the others. Yes, Pomny, Zubil, Kanger, Gangal, and Ragatha are all walking through this maze, but Jax's head and face are all over this. In fact, this whole topsyturvy version of the circus is like coming out of his head like an MC Cher painting. Likewise, the thumbnail for the trailer for episode 9 is just a closeup on Jax's face, but it's different. Gone are the emotions, the fear, and the funny. And in its place, we see unnaturally wide eyes and an uncanny smile. This right here is the look of a horror villain.

[00:09:20]Now, to be clear, they've used imagery and shots of these characters that didn't make it into the final episodes as thumbnails for the trailers before.

[00:09:28]So, that doesn't necessarily mean that this is going to be in the show itself.

[00:09:31]But just like they used an image of Kane standing in for Truman in a thumbnail inspired by the Truman Show, they are clearly signaling intent here. Jax is the villain, the bad guy, or at the very least the antagonist for the final >> that's going to piss a bunch of circus fans off >> part of this story. Now, to be clear, I'm not trying to say that Jax has secretly been plotting this, that he's actually an evil AI buried deep inside of the circus that wanted King.

[00:09:57]>> I know that's what y'all theorized a long time ago >> and is now unshackled and can torture the rest of the cast. While I did think that might be the direction they were going at some point, now it's a much better story if Jax is himself a tragic character that can't deal with this new reality and steps up into that sort of ringleer role here in the broken circus.

[00:10:18]We know that characters can all conjure or change things like Kane could, but they're just not as naturally good at it. Well, that leaves open a lot of space for one of them to really step up into that role, to become that good and to use those conjuring powers to become the next king, so to speak. And of everyone, even Kinger, Jax seems to have the most control here in the circus.

[00:10:42]>> You can pretty much do whatever you want. Just let loose. But there may be another reason why Jax would be a good fit to step up into this villain or antagonist role into the ring leader.

[00:10:54]See, despite being the most important character in the show behind Pomny, how much do we actually know about Jax and his backstory? Like hard facts. What has he told us versus how much that we've had to infer? We know.

[00:11:08]>> I mean, we we saw in the flashback that was like flashing images of a car, so like a car crash.

[00:11:15]scared of corn. We figured out that he was close to Kofmo and Rivets. And we know that his cruel personality is more of a coping mechanism than what he actually is and wants to be. And it doesn't seem like he actually has anyone that misses him or even knows that he's in the circus.

[00:11:31]>> What's the rush? You got someone waiting for you outside, don't you?

[00:11:35]>> You'd be happy if you stayed where you are in life and job forever. The answer is >> in the circus.

[00:11:45]>> What's the rush? You got someone waiting for you outside, don't you?

[00:11:49]>> Starts freaking out. He's hyperventilating and like we said at the top of the episode, he freaks out and aborts the adventure. It's possible that he's terrified to leave because he's lonely or doesn't like the life he left behind. But what if he doesn't actually know a life outside of the circus? Like, he literally didn't have one. On top of that, >> nah, bro. was a homeless man like, "Spare change, spare change."

[00:12:13]And CNA just found him on the street and just like, "Hey, uh, put on this put on this headset real quick."

[00:12:21]>> Jax's reaction here during Tinker's exposition dump.

[00:12:24]>> What is going on right now?

[00:12:25]>> He's not being his typical self. He's not making snide comments or sniping at anyone else. He looks genuinely confused. Now, this could be for a lot of reasons. I mean, they are getting pretty life-changing information here, but Jax's typical reaction to even that is ridicule. It's to laugh in the face of the terrible circumstances they're stuck revelation. Listen to this.

[00:12:45]>> His circus name was Scratch. That man was a genius.

[00:12:49]>> Wait, uh, >> notice how Jax is basically hyperventilating.

[00:12:52]>> Is he an assistant to the developers >> here at mention of Scratch and his real life at all of this backstory lore info dump about how the circus was created and who created it? Well, given the idea that we think Scratch helped create the circus to find a way to live despite the tumor in his brain. Well, what if it worked? What if somehow Jax is Scratch?

[00:13:14]A new version of this character somehow recycled and resurrected back into the circus. Does that sound out there? Yes, it absolutely does. And and I wasn't even >> tin foil hat. Tin foil. No, it might be canon. I wanted to talk about it until I heard this. Yeah. The thing that solidified this idea for me was the fandom pointing out that when you play the clip of Pomney saying Jax's name from the episode 9 trailer backwards, it sounds like she sang something else.

[00:13:44]Listen, >> hold Jax.

[00:13:50]Scratch. It could say a little bit. Jax, but it's a the X has a bit of an F sound and scratch.

[00:14:01]>> Scratch. Did you hear that? Listen again.

[00:14:06]>> She's saying, >> "Hold up." Oh, there there might be a way to No, never mind. Usually, usually you could do a what DVT does and reverse yourself saying it, but no.

[00:14:18]>> Scratch. Now, part of me is still skeptical here. I I mean, we've tried to theorize time and time again about the deep secrets of the series only to be met time and time again with no as an answer. I I just can't get around the fact that some hidden lore and complex way out of the situation just doesn't seem to be the direction this series is going. This is very much a show about accepting the hand that you've been dealt. Finding meaning in a life that isn't glitzed up to the max and being happy with the good things that you do have hesitant to plant a flag and say something like and I is secretly not Jack. It's like what it's like what Kane says. It's like don't bite the hand that feeds when it's the only hand you're getting.

[00:15:00]It's like that.

[00:15:02]>> But the connections here are a lot. It's enough that I'm planting that flag and I can't wait to see if I'm right or so. So So >> I'm rooting for you. I hope you're right.

[00:15:12]>> I I'm not going to lie. It would be absolutely crazy if it was revealed that Jax is actually secretly an AI and and I would I freaking crashed out. I'm not going to lie. But >> I know some cultural I know some cultured individuals uh at school that would literally do a Saitama table flip.

[00:15:32]>> Hey, that's just a theory. A film theory and cut. Up next, >> what >> non film theory? Kane from the Amazing Digital Circus is dead and gone.

[00:15:44]>> I might watch that. Um but uh anyway, that's it for today's video. Now, what did I think of the video? It was good.

[00:15:52]Uh, great theory as always. Um, I do want to think that Jax is actually Scratch. That would be hilarious. Uh, cuz you're you're coming back from being extracted and you're returning as a a sarcastic purple rabbit.

[00:16:10]Um, and I do end that message. is uh well tracks with with how the show has been.

[00:16:19]But uh yeah, that's it for today's video. Uh I'll see you all next time and be sure to subscribe to the film theorist in the channel description below. Give them the love. They so very much as and I'll see you guys in the next video. Peace out everyone.