So we have these three in a VR simulation, one that basically analyzes each respective mind and tries to put them in a simulation of their most profound fears.
We got Olivia’s first, where we see the environmental consequences of Andrias and how her mother chastises her for not being able to continue their legacy and promise.
Then we got the grubhog, where Yunan has developed a phobia from a bad experience.
Then we got Marcy being put in a school setting, with her friends not wanting her in their lives anymore.
and this absolute piece of shit had the fucking AUDACITY to LOOK AWAY from his SACRIFICE of A CHILD WHO TRUSTED HIM
HE WOULDN’T EVEN LOOK HER IN THE EYE
I think this scene shows that Andrias definitely feels bad about hurting Marcy - but here’s the thing. He doesn’t stop. He is fully aware of how terrified this child is and how her body is going to be used against her - and he doesn’t stop. He’s in control of his actions, even if his master is urging him on - and he doesn’t stop.
Andrias isn’t unfeeling. And honestly, not only does that not justify his actions, it’s what makes me hate him even more. If he didn’t understand how harmful is actions were, that would be one thing - not excusable and certainly not okay, but it wouldn’t be quite as bad. But no, he fully understands Marcy’s fear and the fate he’s subjecting her to - and he doesn’t stop.
Look at his face. He feels guilty, refusing to look her in the eye.
See, this is actually what I really like about the slight canon confirmation from Matt about Sprig probably having ADHD, because it isn‘t just a thing that this man confirmed outside of the media and left it at that.
The writers continuously make it clear that Sprig is a hyperactive and impulsive boy. He isn’t just mentioned to possibly having ADHD and then just never showed again in how he acts or how it affects him or the plot. Instead you get to see how these behaviors become not only a strength in stuff like curiosity, initiative, and stubbornness to authority but how it could also be a struggle in resistance, impulse control, and attention span.
You get lessons where the people around him do get hurt for his impulsiveness and he has to take account for it. You do get lessons where his curiosity not only reveals new secrets and mysteries, but encourages other people like Anne to become her true self and fight for her identity, or have Hop Pop question his strictness.
It steers the behaviors away from the neurodivergency being mainly written as a comedy thing and more of something that’s just human for Sprig to go through as someone with a differently wired brain. He uses these different perceptions and views to be his strengths, his weaknesses, and this doesn’t mark him as a caricature (this could be debated of course, I am no expert on this topic).
For this instance through Hop Till You Drop, not only do we see Sprig actively get curious over every single new stimulating thing but we also see how absolutely anxious he gets when he resists and tries his best to hone his attention span to something else.
He knows he has to resist, but it’s just really hard and it takes so much mental effort just to do so, it honest to god stresses him out.
And even when he and the Plantars apologize for not being able to do well in the course, it’s really cool to see Anne say that her basically expecting to put them through intense training rather than letting them slowly ease into their own strategies wasn’t the best route. It shows it’s not fully their faults for not doing so hot.
They still need to keep account of themselves and the fact they’re in a new environment, but they also need guidance and a helpful hand rather than punishment when it comes to understanding her world. And I love that.
Like I don’t see what Matt said in the Q&A to be a full confirmation of his neurodivergency, but it’s really cool that the crew had something in the writing itself that showed they weren’t just saying this out of nowhere.
- SPRIG WITH THE TEXTURES IS GIVING MAJOR ADHD/AUTISM VIBES I LOVE IT
- How And Why did anne think taking them to the mall would be a good idea…girl
- anne’s parents are still great and i love them
- MARCY!!! NO!!! also olivia and yunan put her in the tank???
- sasha in this whole episode feels Very Fruity “i wanna be better. someone that deserves you” mhm yep sure (/hj but like this was my immediate thought)
- her redemption feels surprisingly natural for how quick it started but considering how much happened in tc it does make sense
- GRIME BEING WILLING TO SACRIFICE ALL OF WARTWOOD I’M SORRY??? should i be surprised at this? probably not
okay those episodes were SO GOOD!! I really enjoyed follies at the coven day parade, it had me stressing at times ofc but it was a perfect episode to kick off 2b! really excited to see where we go from here! also the lil sweet potatoes ;; and AMPHIBIA! that episode had me stressing also but it was so good, I very nearly cried a few times :”) can totally see how that episode was meant to be the mid-season finale
AU where the reason all of the minds in the core are evil and fucked up and insane is because the coding in the original machine body was just really corrupted and mutated.
After spending a few weeks in a normal human brain as Darcy they’re like “Hm Yeah tyranny and ultimate conquest IS kind of fucked up actually. Maybe let’s stop obsessing over it” and have some sort of weird redemption arc. They let Marcy have most, if not all of the bodily autonomy, and they have this funky symbiotic venom-esque dynamic going on.
The reason it’s symbiotic is because Marcy’s body is so physically traumatised and injured that she’d most likely be paralyzed or even bed ridden without the Core, and the Core physically can’t exist without a host of some kind. They COULD be transferred to a computer or machine of some sort, but then they run the risk of the code getting corrupted and the hivemind going insane again, which they do NOT want a repeat of.
Actually you know what? I’m just gonna tweak this and shove it into my future au
Sasha:Hey bro, what do you want to eat?
Marcy, thinking of the vine: A bag-
The Core: A bagel!
Marcy: Wait wha-
The Core:TWO BAGELS!
The Core: Marcy! We want McDonald’s!
Marcy:Well, too bad. We’ve already had it a whole bunch this week.
The Core:We fail to see how that is a problem?
Marcy: It’s unhealthy. You’re gonna send us into an early grave.
The Core: Health is not an issue! As long as we are here, our body will always be healthy!
Marcy: Well, I’m tired of eating junk food all the time!
The Core:
The Core:*Creates a migraine*
Marcy: Ow. Ow! OW! WHAT? WHY!?
The Core: We want McNuggets.
This would also mean that Marcy outlives everyone she knows and loves.
