OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)Caine sends the gang on a more mundane adventure, running a fast food restaurant, which brings back some of Gangle’s manic tendencies, for better or worse.OUR TAKEThe Amazing Digital Circus manages to give us one more surprise with their last episode of three for the year, this time giving some development to Gangle. She’s been pretty much in the background of the last three, mainly putting out a depressed comment or two, but this time she gets a new, happier mask, so now we get to see why she’s supposed to have a tragedy AND comedy mask; turns out she’s bipolar, or at least manic-depressive, going between energetic enthusiasm about her job as manager (which is apparently what her life was before entering the circus) and crippling self doubt due to her hinted at dreams of being a comic artist being crushed by life obligations. Though unlike Kinger’s big fleshing out dump last time, Gangle isn’t so ready to be open about her emotional struggles, but that doesn’t stop Pomni from trying to be thoughtful and let her clock out early. This leads to a strange but clearly evocative scene of Gangler discarding the happier mask and just running through the streets, some energy and whimsy having returned to her…before stumbling into tragic and apparently dying. So that was either supposed to be heartwarming but unfortunate or incredibly tragic and sad, I guess take your pick.Last time, when I covered the third episode, I had only watched the first three episodes for the first time (I may have mentioned that), so they ended up kind of blurring together as I got to know this setting and these characters. Now that I’ve given those a second viewing prior to watching this new one, I think it’s safe to say this show has managed to create a pretty solid start in giving its world a sense of identity that immediately sucks you in. We’ve had a handful of episodes by now that have helped to establish a noticeable pattern with regular episodes (obviously not including the pilot since that was to first introduce us to the story and cast). Characters are minding their business, Caine introduces a new “adventure”, most of the characters get dragged along with one or two being left behind to do a B Plot, the characters involved end up in a situation that goes to a dark existential place where one of them ends up sharing some personal information, then they return home to undo any emotional progress. Now I’m not in any way saying having a recognizable pattern or formula is bad, in fact the opposite. Having a routine that is easy for viewers to understand means that they are engaging with it, and so the eventual shake ups to that routine will be a pleasant surprise. Though I imagine that won’t be for awhile, since these episodes only come out every few months, but if they’re all as good as this one, it won’t feel like that long a wait when we get it!