Film Theory: Kinger's TRAGIC End is Near! (The Amazing Digital Circus)

The Amazing Digital Circus has told us exactly who the next person to abstract is, and it's all thanks to Socks. Wait, Socks? Hello, Internet.

Welcome to Film Theory, the show that's for mature Zoobles only. So, at this point, you probably all know about The Amazing Digital Circus. This show absolutely exploded onto the scene last year, and it's easy to see why people connected with it.

It's up to you to decide! Woo! Jax!

What? I thought we were supposed to capture all the ghosts. It's funny, thoughtful, gif-able, and most importantly for us, theorizable.

And today, I want to once again throw my hat into the ring. You know, funnily enough, this was originally going to be a mini-theory, just a little something extra I wanted to put out because of some interesting stuff I noticed in Episode 3 of The Digital Circus. But.

. . Well, you can see the runtime of this episode.

It's a full-length theory, baby! See, in the three episodes we've gotten from the series so far, there have been a lot of little hints about the backstories for this lovable cast. And in Episode 3, we got a lot, even from subtle hints or offhanded comments.

Like, take a listen to this line from Pomni. I knew it would end up like this! He just wants me to suffer.

I really am in hell. Did you catch that? Pomni knew it would end up like this?

He wants me to suffer? Who's he? Like, you might think it's Caine, but it doesn't really track with what Pomni said about Kane in the past.

And how did she know it would end up like this? Like, Gooseworx has said that characters remember their previous lives. It's just their names that they forget.

And this line implies that Pomni not only knew what she was getting into by putting on the headset, otherwise, how could she know it would end up like this, but she also knew that he, whoever he is, wanted her to suffer because of it. I'm gonna be real with you. I'm not sure what this means yet exactly.

We don't have enough information, but it is absolutely something we should keep our hundreds of all-seeing eyes on. So, if you want to get in on that discussion, you can go join the awesome community of theorists that popped up around this series over on the Digital Circus subreddit. Let me know what you think of it.

But even with that fascinating tidbit hinting at Pomni's past, the character we get the most out of this episode is actually Kinger. Yeah, everyone's favorite forgetful chess piece. And let me tell you, loyal theorists, what we see here from Kinger is sad.

This is not a character with a bright and cheery backstory. And if we follow the logical conclusion for this character, if we look at all of the hints we get in the story, and the lore, and yes, even the merch, Kinger is going to be a tragic character with a tragic end. Get your shotguns ready, friends.

We're turning this 57-second story into a Greek tragedy. So, the first thing I wanted to cover here that I promise leads into our discussion of Kinger, if we pay attention to this latest episode, we'll find that the appearance that the cast takes on while in the circus directly reflects parts of their personality and their backstory. Here, let me explain.

First off, we have Ragatha. She's a pretty normal, level-headed character, and is trying to keep everything and everyone calm. Therefore, she appears as a bit of a normal, raggedy-ann doll.

Okay, that's not much, but if you want something stronger, well, Gangel is coded as suffering from bipolar disorder, jumping between happy manic episodes and major depressive episodes. You can check out our recent video on the Inside Out tapes, where we talk about that in detail. But again, this directly parallels what we see with Gangel's switching between happy and sad with her comedy and tragedy masks.

Then there's Jax, the lovable jerk who is also a terrible person. Like, legit, in this episode, we're told that. In this world, the worst thing you can do is make someone think they're not wanted or loved.

That's constantly what Jax does. He's absolutely a bad guy. But more importantly, he's a big, purple rabbit.

Now, I likely don't need to tell you who else is purple, loves rabbits, and is a bad guy, but even beyond FNAF still haunting me, rascally rabbits are a consistent trope in media. You have the Tortoise and the Hare, Bugs Bunny, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Nabbit, heck, even the Trix Rabbit. All of them are tricksters or jerks reflecting what Jax is here in this series.

Meanwhile, you also have Pomni, taking the form of a jester. Historically speaking, jesters were used in the courts of nobles and royals to provide comic relief for their patrons, to make them laugh. And what do we see here with Pomni?

She's often the butt of the joke, the center of attention as she's stretched and smashed and put through the ringer in these new adventures. But even more than that, jesters were often the only people who could provide true, unfiltered feedback for the royalty that they serve, telling them tough truths as long as it was laced with comedy. So, paradoxically, despite their upbeat demeanor and appearance, they were often some of the saddest people at court, emotionally.

You can see this really well in the famous painting, Stanchik, by Jan Matejko, where a jester sits sadly after discovering some horrible news while the nobles in the room behind him just party it up. Now, this might not immediately seem like it would map onto Pomni, but think about it. Who is constantly questioning the adventures?

The circus itself. Who doesn't want to play along because they think the system is broken? What time period is this supposed to be again?

The NPCs aren't gonna become self-aware in this one, right? I HATE THIS STUPID ADVENTURE! Pomni, just like a jester pointing out that the king has no clothes.

But all of that being said, the clearest parallel here is Zooble. See, Zooble has an ambiguous gender identity. When asked if they were non-binary, Goosewox said that Zooble isn't sure what they are.

While the script uses they for Zooble , Zooble is comfortable with any pronouns. And some concept art humorously labeled Zooble's gender as Zooble. Now, far be it from me to talk about someone's gender identity.

I'm going to stay in my lane. But according to research, many trans, non-binary, and gender-fluid folk often feel body dysmorphia or gender dysphoria related to their gender identity. This is being directly reflected as a metaphor with Zooble 's arc in the digital circus.

They're unhappy with their body, uncomfortable with their limbs, and despite trying to switch out parts to find something that works for them, to the point that every time we see them in the different episodes, they have a different combination of limbs, they just can't. I hate this body. I hate all these stupid removable pieces.

I just want to find something that feels good. Also, it's played for laughs here that Caine just can't comprehend the struggle, but it makes sense, doesn't it? If Zooble is gender-fluid or on the non-binary spectrum, well, Caine is literally binary.

He's made up of ones and zeros. He can't understand this human struggle, and that struggle is being reflected in Zooble 's digital circus counterpart. It's great storytelling.

Regardless, all of this is to say that if this applies to the rest of the cast to varying degrees, it should also apply to Kinger. His appearance should directly reflect parts of his past and his personality. So, using that, what do we know about Kinger?

First off, he's dressed like a royal. He's a king chess piece with a beautiful, flowing purple cloak. Purple has historically been a symbol of wealth, since purple dye was difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to produce.

Kinger is also forgetful, perhaps reflecting a past that he doesn't want to remember, or a mistake that he wants to forget. Okay, so let me ask you, what else does all of that sound like? Baron Theodore Mildenhall, the ghostly villain of the newest level here in the digital circus.

Yeah, in this horror-themed haunted house, we're introduced to the character Theodore Mildenhall, a wealthy baron driven to insanity. Already sounds like Kinger, right? Well, the similarities run so much deeper than that.

First of all, we know that Mildenhall loved hunting, like he does just straight-up say it. Hunting has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. Although one could say it eventually became more of an obsession.

Fascinating that he would use the phrase, as long as I can remember, here, and Kinger has trouble with his memory. It's just an interesting parallel. Regardless, this does pan out.

Not only are there plenty of trophies hung on his wall, similar to what hunters would do with their notable catches, but we also see photos of big game, like rhinos and cryptids in his desk. This maps pretty well onto Kinger, who is surprisingly competent with a gun. And we see him hunt and kill a fly in this episode.

Plus, that fly was a flying, buzzing creature with wings and weird eyes, exactly like the angel Mildenhall hunted. What was that? What's what?

What? As Mildenhall became more obsessed, he also became more paranoid and jumpy. Jumping at every shadow, every noise.

And this also describes Kinger to a T. Just cue a montage of him jumping or getting scared by things he didn't expect. Ah!

Oh! Jax! Ah!

Ah! And all of that is without mentioning that some of Kinger's thoughts are literally finished by Mildenhall on these tapes. That wasn't so bad.

Which is what I would be saying if I didn't know that the creature was actually one of God's angels. There is, no doubt, a connection between these two characters. Secondly, the way Kinger reacts to a lot of the situations here in this haunted house is really suspect.

Like, he's either trying to remember his past or desperately trying not to. For example, when he first hears the Baron's backstory, it seems to jog something in Kinger's memory, but he can't quite grasp it. You know, I'm starting to think.

. . Then, when the lights fully go out and Kinger's able to remember more clearly, what's the first thing he does?

Ah! What happened? I just remembered a really funny joke.

Why did you scream then? Maybe it wasn't actually that funny. He instantly remembers something that makes him scream, tries to play it off like it was a joke, but then concedes that maybe it wasn't actually that funny.

Was he remembering something horrific from his past? Like, something similar to Mildenhall? Finally, the cinematography of this episode really makes a point to drive a parallel between Mildenhall and Kinger.

Like, just from the way the camera decides to linger on characters and when it does so. Take a look at this sequence. I took it upon myself to spend every waking moment doing all I could to protect my family from the creature, hoping that when I'd eventually killed it, I would be freed from this awful feeling.

It cuts to Kinger the second it talks about protecting his family. As here, when describing the creature that Mildenhall was obsessed with, the camera distinctly cuts back and forth between the angel and Kinger. It's going out of its way to create this connection.

So, okay, if Kinger is basically Mildenhall, and Mildenhall is being haunted by this angel, what's haunting Kinger? What's driven him down this spiral? Well, just like Mildenhall, I believe that Kinger is the reason that his wife died.

Again, the cinematography really drives this home. I ended up shooting the love of my life, mistaking her for the creature. The shot immediately shifts to Kinger when it talks about shooting the love of his life.

And what's more, we know that Kinger has already mistaken the angel for his wife. You look beautiful, honey. So, it's not a stretch to think that, just like Mildenhall hunted and harmed this creature and was banished to hell for it all while his family fell apart, so was Kinger.

But perhaps the best bit of evidence for this? When Pomni and Kinger are dragged down to hell and Pomni is possessed by evil spirits, what do they say? They're taunting Kinger with this.

He's the reason his wife got hurt. The reason she quote-unquote died. Even if these characters are not exactly the same, if their stories are not completely identical beat for beat, there are clearly parallels.

There was a reason Kinger was on this adventure and not like Gangle or Ragatha or Jax. But how? Why?

What is the purpose of all of these parallels with Kinger? What is this trying to tell us about him and his past beyond the metaphor? Well, it's tragic.

But I believe that Kinger may have gotten his wife to join the circus. Maybe it was to save her from some sickness or some disease or some tragic accident. To copy her brain into this computer so it could live on.

But either way, it backfired on Kinger big time. And like, it's not that this just fits with Mildenhall's story. In my attempts to protect her, I ended up becoming the monster myself.

But it also fits with what little we know to be 100% true about Kinger's origins. See, in a previous theory, we speculated that Kinger used to be a QA developer or bug tester for C&A, the company that made the digital circus. But as we've gotten more information, I don't think that's the case anymore.

All of the flags that we noticed about bugs and insects were actually pointing to his wife's interests. But that doesn't mean that Kinger didn't work for C&A. And I actually believe he was a higher up at the company for a few reasons.

Firstly, I explained earlier that I believe Kinger was a wealthy person before joining the circus. That would make sense if he was some sort of big shot at a tech company like C&A. But, in this episode, we also got this tidbit.

Seven years of computer science for this, huh? I don't know about you, but that really stuck out to me. And we know for a fact that this seven year time frame is important.

See, over on the Digital Circus subreddit, user NerdDiscourage noticed that this timeline wasn't consistent in all of the dubs of the show. In English, German, and Vietnamese, Kinger says seven years. But in most other languages, like Spanish, Japanese, and French, he says four years.

That's the time frame you'd expect to get a bachelor's degree at university, so that makes sense for being in computer science, right? But here's the thing. In the comments of this thread, one of the actual translators that worked with Glitch for the German dub left a comment.

User IAmProudOfReddit explained that the script that they were working with originally said four years, but was changed to seven years shortly before release. They assumed that most of the other dubs just didn't have time to record the new line, thus the discrepancy between the languages. But more importantly for us here, Gooseworx and Glitch originally had one timeline in mind, but made a point to go back and change it.

They thought that this seven-year time frame was so important that they had to go and make a last-minute change. Assuming that this is how long Kinger studied computer science in college, that's a long time to be going to school. Like, that's how long you would be studying if you were getting a doctorate degree, as in Kinger would be a doctor of computer science.

Dr Kinger! That would make him an attractive candidate at companies like Google, or Microsoft, or, say, a developer like C&A, almost certainly in a high position. Once more, we can also piece together a rough timeline here.

In a previous theory, we speculated that the amazing digital circus was straight-up set in the 90s due to all of the ancient-looking computer hardware. But, that's probably not the case. In this episode, we see a grave outside of Mildenhall Manor that reads, RIP Peggy 2019-2022.

So, while this may be a game from the 90s, clearly time has continued on, and this story is almost certainly set in the early 2020s. According to Gooseworx, we know that Kinger is 48 years old. If we assume the series is set in about 2020, that Kinger went to college when he was 18 and spent seven years studying there?

That would mean he would have graduated in the late 90s, the perfect time to join, or found, a game developer like C&A in the late 90s. Kinger knew about the circus before joining the circus. He knew what he was getting himself and his wife into, but perhaps he didn't understand the torture they'd be under, the constant torment and insanity they'd be forced into, the abstraction that awaits them at the end.

If he wanted to save his wife like we speculated here today, then that would just add on to the guilt. He didn't end up saving her, he ended up killing her, just like Mildenhall and his wife. So, that's Kinger's tragic backstory, but what does this tell us about what comes next?

Well, after this episode, I think it's clear that Kinger is going to abstract, and it's going to be soon. First of all, he has death flags up the wazoo, like indications that he's going to be on the chopping block. I mean, how many characters have suggested that he's basically on the cusp of abstraction and that they're surprised that he hasn't yet?

I mean, no offense, Kinger, but I always thought you would be next. Thank you. And drawing parallels with more of Mildenhall's quotes, he says, If nothing else, I will slay the beast that took everything from me.

Is this talking about Kinger? Will he allow himself to abstract and join his wife in the cellar? And if all of that doesn't convince you, if you think all of that is a long shot, well, Glitch might have revealed his fate right under all of our noses.

In a previous theory, we noticed that Glitch tells us a lot about their characters' personalities, who they consider important, and also potentially the future of their characters through the merchandise they sell of them. So, the fact that Jax's pin was the only one where the pinback was torn to show the void behind him told us that he's likely going to have more than meets the eye. And, well, reddit user TheRedJayCatMama on our subreddit noticed that Glitch is now selling a pair of matching socks.

They're stylized to look like abstracted monsters, but one of the sets is lined with red, and the other with purple. Queenie's cloak was red, and what color is Kinger's cloak? Purple.

By the end of things, just like these socks, Kinger and Queenie are going to match again as abstracted entities. But the thing that really cemented this for me? Kinger's character arc is coming to a close.

See, something else that really stood out to me in this episode was this quote from Mildenhall. My paranoia had driven me to the point where I was no longer the protector my wife and theoretical children needed. Fun fact, we actually get a glimpse of this family here in the episode kind of hidden in the darkness if you brighten up the image.

But regardless, theoretical children is an interesting phrase, right? Like, it could mean something like a future child, one that hasn't been born yet. Or, it could mean an adopted child.

And tell me, who is Kinger very protective of in this episode, both emotionally and physically? Pomni. He physically protects her from the angel in this scenario that she's clearly terrified of.

But, he's also treating her with kindness, trying to help her process this awful situation she's in. Like, just listen to this. Sometimes it all just feels pointless.

But it's not. Not if you have people who care about you, cherish the people around you. You never know when they'll be gone.

That right there, that's Kinger doing his best, intentionally or no, to prepare Pomni for what's to come. Teaching her that even if someone's dead, that they're gone, while that's sad, it's going to be okay. And if you die, if you're the person who's dead and gone, as long as you made a positive impact, even just on one person, then you've done what you've needed to.

And finally, what does Kinger do here to help Pomni out of this horror show? Out of this literal afterlife like hell? He holds her hand and guides her through it.

He even glows like some sort of guardian angel transcending to the next life. Glitch could not be more clear about this if they tried. Kinger is going to abstract and soon.

And he's going to join his wife in the afterlife of the cellar. They'll be together once again. And even though it will be sad to lose Kinger, it'll be okay.

Because as long as Pomni and the rest remember him, he'll never really be gone. But hey, that's just a theory. A Film Theory!

And cut. Up next on Film Theory. The amazing digital circus just told us exactly where its story is going all from one single line.

I need a living host in order to escape the hall of the damned. And your bodies will be my only means of doing so.