#except now instead of processing his guilt about ribbit. hes going to be dealing with both ribbit and ragatha.

[rantsofabookworm]

tadc e5 spoilers below

i have Many Thoughts.

so I've seen a lot of people talking about jax and ragatha ofc. bunnydoll shippers yeah but also a surprising number of theories that they're siblings.

if im gonna be completely honest I can see the sibling dynamic angle there but I don't think thats the case here??

that being said they definitely have some kind of relationship thats different than with the other characters. it seems like they know each other more closely than anyone else--theres a level of casualty in their interactions and in their reactions to what the other person says to the rest of the group sometimes.

like for example the bar scene when ragatha is talking about her mom and jax looks away. im sure that means something. he knows something else about that info that ragatha isn't sharing with the rest of the group. and then again when ragatha brings up jaxs friend (dont worry ill talk about them in a minute) and apologizes for it later? theres history there obviously but also. they know how to hurt each other in a way that I don't think they can with anyone else in the show. jax gives everyone shit but its always like. generic. its not personal in the way that ragathas jab at him in the fireflies scene was. and before that when he's talking to pomni about her. he's saying real things about ragatha (and then catches himself and finishes with lol she's Dumb and she Looks Weird haha) and

idk it just seems a lot more personal between them than other characters but its Way too antagonistic to be a ship imo. so I have constructed a working theory that they are exes. they used to date and theyre still kind of trying to be friends? just because. theres only like six people to talk to in the circus and whatever. so theyre semi amicable out of necessity but theres still that conflict there, beneath all the layers of bullshit jax and ragatha keep putting on over their real selves. they hate each other. but theyre also the only ones who really know each other.

ANYWAY

lets talk about ribbit :)

obviously they were jaxs friend. maybe his only friend? and they abstracted. what actually happened there isn't clear but I think it was jaxs fault based on his reactions when ribbit is mentioned or that part where their door is shown in the intermission.

so there are some interesting layers to that theory.

now if jax caused ribbit to abstract (like kinger potentially caused queenie to abstract? which is why he doesn't remember it cause he blocked it out) he's probably really guilty about it. maybe not consciously but every time ribbit comes up he gets quiet.

maybe he knows it was his fault. and he feels guilty and all that. or maybe that only exists in his subconscious--maybe he believes that he didn't do anything, and he acts out and. is a dick. to suppress the part of his brain that feels guilty. Either way this has the grounds for a complete breakdown if he's pushed in just the right way.

now it gets a bit interesting. maybe jax got close with ribbit after breaking up with ragatha? maybe they were friends before, but after that breakup ribbit became jaxs Only friend.

or the more fun (not fun for jax) option: Ragatha Blames Jax. after ribbit abstracted, ragatha confronted him and broke up with him because of what he did/said to ribbit.

lets pivot a little bit!

people seem to think ragatha is heading in the direction of abstracting next. there are mixed feelings about this perceived outcome in the show, but I think theyre right.

ragatha has been slowly breaking down over the course of the show as her optimistic facade is getting dismissed more and more. this episode, we got to see her leave it behind a little bit, in her jabs at jax but also opening up at the bar a little bit and opening up to pomni in the dugout. pomni encourages her to drop the facade more and show her negative side.

at the end of the episode ragatha is alone. this is where she sees the effects of her optimism and fake cheer and how theyre driving everyone away. whether this drives her to finally ditch the optimism and express her real personality or whether she doubles down on it to try and get people back on her side is still up in the air but either way I think we're heading for a total ragatha breakdown in the next episode or two. she's been suppressing herself for so long that I think any expression of negative emotion atp is going to explode in everyone's face like it did with jax and pomni in the dugout, only on a larger scale. and when that outburst happens, it could be just enough to tip her over into abstraction. and on the flip side, if she doubles down and keeps herself suppressed and people-pleasing to win the group over? that wont hold forever. and when she finally cracks, she'll crack hard.

now the actual abstracting itself? I think it'll be everyone's fault. they all have a hand in abandoning her, undervaluing her, dismissing her. but the thing to really push her over is going to be jax. we all know it'll be jax. they've been highlighting a jax vs ragatha conflict since the very first episode and we've seen time and time again that they are better than anyone at getting under each other's skin.

so ragatha will explode at everyone. and jax says or does something that Just pushes her over the line, and thats it. she's gone. she abstracts.

so yeah the next couple episodes should be fun :)