I'm not really into the show, and the episodes I've all seen are on various nights and I rarely watch the same episode in a row, so I have no real sense of continuity. However, I've seen just enough of it that I have a grasp on the ideas and plot points of the show.
This has left me with sort of an idle nagging (which may be a contradiction).
I was wondering if anyone here was familiar enough with the plot to produce some sort of summary of the climax and conclusion for those of us who don't really want to watch it, but want to stop wondering about it. Or if you know a website with some sort of plot summary, thats cool too. 'ppreciate it.
It's not something people hear about.
quote:
ACT 26: THE SHOW MUST GO ONBig Ear: "Understand, Roger, that this city was created to be a stage with no memory prior to 40 years ago. It's nonsense to ask if memories exist." Here's my interpretation: There was nothing before 40 years ago. The Event was the beginning. Speaking of beginning, there are two amusing tie-ins to Act 1 here. Big Ear brings up the "knight in shining armor" comment again. Also, back in Act 1, Roger made a comment to Big Ear that it was amazing that somebody could design an android that could almost pass for human, completely unaware that Big Ear himself is an android. Something unsettling about Big Ear's newspaper: it contains a picture of something that hasn't happened yet! Is that how he got all of his information? Does he know the future? (In twenty minutes, it will be revealed that the past and the future are not entirely different.)
The new device in Big-Fau's cockpit is called the "Big-Fau Dorothy Unit." Notice that it contains what appears to be an hourglass, and the centerpiece of it is in the shape of a cross. Another way of bringing up Alex's self-righteous comparisons to the son of God, if you ask me. Is he supposed to be the Antichrist?
The first few seconds of the battle show us how strong Big-O truly is. Those lasers of Big-Fau, which melted Bonaparte in one shot and nearly destroyed the entire Central Dome, do absolutely nothing to Big-O's armor.
Notice that from time to time, the hourglass in the Dorothy Unit tilts slightly. I'd venture to say that this happens every time Alex says another self-righteous remark. It flips completely over when Alex completely flips out at Big-O's return later. Alex is "unbalanced," so to speak, and "time is running out."
Dastun quitting the Military Police... Unbelievable. That one motion of his arm has more character development in it than some entire monologues from other anime. Amazing.
Dorothy begins to wake up immediately after Roger and Big-O are KO'ed. The question here is whether she is waking up in response to Roger, Big-O, or both.
Gotta hand it to the Military Police. They pulled through when it counted, directly disobeying Paradigm's orders in order to save Dastun. They actually thwarted a Big, if only for a moment.
Interesting how Alex, in his self-righteous power-hungry manner, declares that he's "not a puppet" shortly before Big-Fau sticks his wires into him. Big-Fau teaching Alex who's boss here? Also, notice the arrangement of the wires in his back; they're in exactly the same layout as Angel's scars. Will Alex become the equivalent of Angel in the next version of Paradigm City? Is he now Big-Fau's "core memory?"
When Angel's scars begin glowing, Gordon comments that "The memory desperately wants to be remembered!" Perhaps Big-Venus is seeking Angel out, or Angel is doing the opposite unintentionally?
So we finally have proof that Big-Fau is the water Big.
Dorothy snaps out of it and regains full consciousness. This is extremely significant. She has awoken without her core programming, meaning that she is no longer ruled by the memories and tendencies of the girl she was modeled after. She may not be human, but she is her own person now. She's free. Recall Beck's line from earlier: "Do you actually know who you are?"
Alex tells Fau that he is different from Schwarzwald and Alan, that he is a true Dominus. Fau, in reply, shakes the hourglass rather heavily. I think Fau disagrees with him.
By contrast, Big-O respects Roger enough to honor his opinion. When Big-O attempts to assimilate Roger, perhaps to save his life, Roger declines. Roger doesn't want to be linked; he doesn't want to be controlled. Roger is the true Dominus. Roger has "become the real thing" (Gordon, Act 13). Alex is just another rotten tomato.
Beck: "Memories! What the hell are they?!" Amen, Beck. Amen. "I hate them. Both of them. The black guy and the white guy." Simple slam at Roger and Alex, or subtle social commentary? Hmmm... "But..." It seems that Beck clued Dorothy in to Big-O's secret weapon here.
Gordon: "Memories by nature are unreliable. They'll degenerate and become fradulent while they're inside people's minds." Similar to how the reality that is Paradigm City degenerates into one weird VR-esque spectacle? "People subconsciously create these stories called memories." Is the story Metropolis a memory? A subconcious memory of Gordon's that was revealed to him in a dream? Or a memory of the "true" original author that was handed down to Gordon, who hands his knowledge down to Angel? Roger's memories of the past first surfaced in nightmares, and a prevailent line in season 1 was "Memories, like nightmares, sometimes come when you least expect them."
Angel: "I don't know what happened 40 years ago, and I don't really care." Gordon: "Yes, I understand, and because of that nothing will have existed 40 years ago." He's referring to the past in future tense. Very confusing, but I think what he means by this is that the Event was the beginning, and nothing existed in Paradigm City 40 years ago. Paradigm City had become "the only stage where humanity can continue to preserve their civilization." (Alex, Act 22). Refer to the Myst Theory below for an explanation on what this may mean.
Angel: "I just want to go back." Gordon: "With the memories of what time? At what point in time? You have the power to either contain or release them, even those memories of events prior to 40 years ago." Angel: "So then, now I'm the one making the choice?" Angel is now directing the course of events in this world. She has become the Director.
Gordon: "It's up to you, Negotiator!" Roger must now negotiate with the Director to decide what the future will hold for Paradigm City.
What is that ball of light that shoots out from the water? Is it Angel herself? Or simply the catalyst for the "reset"? Angel is now in control of Metropolis, and she has begun "erasing" what Gordon (or perhaps his predecessor) had written.
Roger's final flashback. Oh boy, here we go... Assuming that everything in it is chronological (and that might be a pretty big assumption), here's how it goes down: Gordon and Roger standing in front of what appears to be the newly constructed central dome of Paradigm City, an army of Big-O's marching through the burning city, a swarm of Big-Duo's flying overhead, wreckage of many Big-O's scattered about the ground with a Leviathan battling one, a victorious Big-O clutching the Leviathan's head, Big-Venus appearing (this time with wings), Big-Venus shooting lasers from its mouth, a destroyed Big-O with a Roger Smith in the cockpit, another Paradigm City with people spontaneously appearing and populating it, with Roger the Wanderer walking through it, and an assembly line of Roger Smith androids. The scene closes with Angel watching Roger on a TV screen, picking up a model of Dorothy, and staring into a room that appears to contain a young Angel and Vera, both clutching a red book. It then shows Angel holding Metropolis.
Whew... So what the hell does it mean? It seems that Paradigm City is doomed to be destroyed by a war between megadeuses, and every time that happens, Big-Venus intervenes to wipe them out entirely. What's interesting though, is that Big-Venus has wings in that flashback and apparently loses them before he resurfaces in Act 26. A bird whose wings have been plucked will shed all its feathers and turn into the beast it was before it evolved into a bird. (Check the Legendary Beasts section later for the relevance to Angel.) Now for the Roger-bots... I'm going to chalk this one up to pure symbolism, as the case seems to be that a new Roger Smith is incarnated in each "rewrite" of Paradigm City, and this fact is symbolized by an assembly line of Roger Smiths. Now, Angel in the "studio?" She has become "the Director," or in another sense, become the God of Paradigm. She has become the new author of Metropolis and is going to rewrite the story from the beginning, similar to how Big-Venus resets the city.
Alex: "What's happening to my world?" I'd venture to say that it's the Event all over again.
Roger wanted mouth-to-mouth? He so wants her. Just admit it already.
I'm pretty sure Beck is my favorite character of the series. If you're happy and you know it, clap your feet...
Alex: "I'll give you all that I am now!" And the hourglass turns over and turns red. Is Fau absorbing Alex and/or his memories?
You'd think bombs that big would actually be able to do something, whether they penetrate Big-O or not. Geez, Fau was all hype after all.
Dorothy: "I was informed by a buffoon with curly hair and gaudy clothing." The fact that Beck was the one who allowed Roger to activate the BEST ATTACK EVER is truly ironic. Again, I love that guy.
Way to go, Roger. You wipe out all of Paradigm City but conveniently miss Alex. Whoops.
Enter Big-Venus. I'd like to point out something about this megadeus that you probably didn't notice. You only see it in its true form for about a second. It's normal color scheme is a dark gray / orange one, very similar to that of Big-O's. It only inverts into that white look when it's in the "rewriting" process. My sources stem from the only official full-color illustrations of Big-Venus, one in the official companion book (page 29) and the cover of Japanese DVD Vol. 7 of the second season. I bring this up because a lot of people interpret the color to mean that Big-Venus is the opposite of Big-O, and while that may hold truth as well, there's a possibility that they are more like twins as well.
There are implications that either Angel is the human form (or perhaps the memory?) of Big-Venus, or that Big-Venus is the megadeus form of Angel. Refer to the "Lengendary Beasts" section at the bottom of the page.
I'd also like to point out two significant edits that were made from the Japanese version to the English version. In the Japanese version, the whip marks on Angel's back had disappeared after Act 25. They fixed this for the US release and digitally added them back in. Also, the lights on Big-Venus's back were originally blue in the Japanese version. They were changed to red in the American version. Coincidence? I think it's supposed to draw another parallel between Angel and Venus, as the lights on Venus's back are in the same position as the scars on Angel's.
Y'know... Call me crazy, but I just got the impression that Big-O really looks a lot like Roger when his eyes lit up in this scene. Weird.
And now it's time for Roger to fulfill his purpose. It's the Final Negotiation. It can be assumed that what is happening to Paradigm City now is what happened 40 years ago, and maybe even 40 years before that, and before that, and so on, forever erasing the memories of the citizens, forever doomed to repeat itself. Roger: "I most-likely erased them of my own free will." Gordon said that the original Roger Smith had memories and was hired to negotiate with the Director of this world. Again, Roger is no longer Roger the Wanderer or Roger the Tomato. He has become aware of his purpose. He has become the real thing. He is truly Roger the Negotiator.
It's interesting that Roger outstretches his arms in the shape of the holy cross. Big-O and Big-Venus could be opposites, there is evidence linking Angel to Lucifer (see "Legendary Beasts") and now Roger to Christ. His line here, "You must stop denying your own existance! You have to live as a human being!" This brings a tear to Angel's eye. Roger doesn't wish for her to simply oversee the next world; he cares about her and wants her to enjoy life as well. She might have written herself into Paradigm City because of it. She might have changed her role as well.
Oh, and that other Roger and Dorothy in Angel's "control room?" I'd say that that was the same scene represented in a different way. In one, we have Roger and Big-O negotiating with Big-Venus. In the other, we have Roger directly addressing Angel. It's also worth noting that there's an actual promo poster for Big-O in the background of this shot, and that bugs the hell out of me. I hate the Truman Show theory, but I gotta admit that that really does make it one of many possibilities.
Roger's pleas to Angel about memories and the sake of the citizens of Paradigm City seem to have had a profound effect: Angel didn't erase the world completely. She didn't return Paradigm City to 40 years ago. She simply erased it back to the approximate time of Act 1, with a few noticeable changes. Remember that metal panel in the road that Roger drives over? In the end of Act 26, it makes a much softer noise than it had made before. Perhaps Roger's road is going to be easier in this version of Paradigm City? There's something about Angel and Dorothy that seem different as well. The two women might have a different effect on Roger Smith in this world.
- BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER -THE PARADIGMS AND PATTERNS OF THINGS
par·a·digm (n.)
1) One that serves as a pattern or model.
2) A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.
3) A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.Usage Note: Paradigm first appeared in English in the 15th century, meaning an example or pattern, and it still bears this meaning today: Their company is a paradigm of the small high-tech firms that have recently sprung up in this area. For nearly 400 years paradigm has also been applied to the patterns of inflections that are used to sort the verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech of a language into groups that are more easily studied. Since the 1960s, paradigm has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework, as when Nobel Laureate David Baltimore cited the work of two colleagues that really established a new paradigm for our understanding of the causation of cancer. Thereafter, researchers in many different fields, including sociology and literary criticism, often saw themselves as working in or trying to break out of paradigms. Applications of the term in other contexts show that it can sometimes be used more loosely to mean the prevailing view of things. The Usage Panel splits down the middle on these nonscientific uses of paradigm. Fifty-two percent disapprove of the sentence "The paradigm governing international competition and competitiveness has shifted dramatically in the last three decades."
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.I'm pretty sure the first and third definitions could easily be applied to Paradigm City.
ENTIRE WORLDS WITHIN BOOKS: THE MYST THEORY
This theory was originally proposed by R Trusedale and has been paraphrased and ammended by myself.
In the universe of the PC game series Myst, entire worlds are created by writing code into special books. These self-contained worlds are called "Ages," and the author has free reign over the scenery and laws of physics in each individual Age he or she creates, in essence making him or her the God of that particular Age. "Linking Books" are used as a means of transportation from Age to Age; laying one's hand on the first page of a Linking Book literally sucks you into the book and transports you to the Age depicted within the linking code.
As applied to Big-O, the Myst Theory states that Gordon Rosewater's book "Metropolis" is the design for the Age known as Paradigm City. This provides logical reasons for two things: the memory loss and the lack of an ending. Not to mention all the weird bending of reality at the end.
If Gordon (or perhaps his predecessor?) wrote the Age of Paradigm City from scratch, then the beginning of existence for the city would have been the start of the 40-year cycle; nobody remembers anything before then because there was nothing before then. It would require far too much work on the behalf of the author to write out the memories of every inhabitant, and I doubt that any author would have the capabilities of completing such a task at any rate, so the vast majority were left as blank slates. Those pivotal characters that apparently did have memories at one point (Gordon, Wayneright, the senators, etc.) might be the only inhabitants of Paradigm City that once existed in the real world outside of Metropolis. I think that the real world may very well have been destroyed, and the Age written within Metropolis was a last-ditch effort to save humanity. The survivors of the apocalypse were transferred into Paradigm City, but from the many rewrites of Metropolis, their memories had begun to decay and slip away as well. The tomato experiments were initiated in hope of reviving them so that they could solve the mysteries of the Event and perhaps prevent the world from ending again.
Also, the book for an Age can only describe the physical aspects and laws of that world; no author has the capacity to fully write out its history, as there are too many variables to contain. Should an author attempt to write an Age's future, it is likely that a logical contradiction would arise and the fabric of that universe could very well be torn apart. This could be why Metropolis is unfinished, in the process of being completed as time passes by.
This would make Big-Venus somewhat of an "eraser," I guess... As the new author, Angel uses Big-Venus to return to a blank slate in order to rewrite the story from the beginning. Out with the old, in with the new. Maybe change a few things here or there to prevent a similar outcome.
One of the interesting things about the Myst theory is that the assassination attempt on Gordon by Alex is not unlike the relationship between Atrus and his two sons in Myst; both attempted to lock him away and gain control over the Ages he created for themselves.
The burned library in Act 13 may also be a connection to the burned library on the Island of Myst.
THE BIGS: LEGENDARY BEASTS
This theory was originally proposed by Hustion and has been paraphrased and ammended by myself. I would appreciate if somebody could point me to additional sources on this subject because I want to make certain that I have my facts straight here.
According to Jewish belief, Behemoth was the most powerful monster of the land, Ziz the most powerful of the air, and Leviathan the most powerful of the ocean.
All of these monsters are served at the banquet feast at the end of time. They were said to be created for that sole purpose, to be enjoyed by the saved after the apocalypse. And you probably already noticed this:
Behemoth: Big-O
Ziz: Big-Duo
Leviathan: Big-FauOne interesting fact about Ziz: While also being able to block out the sun with his wings, Ziz was also used to explain the occurances of meteorites. It was said that whenever Ziz was angry, he would swoop down, grab up boulders, and drop them down on humans from the sky. Ziz also appears in Arabian Nights, throwing boulders on ships and saving Sinbad from a shipwreck. Big-Duo crashes into the "stagelights" attached to the Paradigm superdome, which happen to be the equivalent to meteorites crashing down upon Paradigm City.
I know some of you are saying "Wait a minute. The Leviathan was the dragon megadeus in Act 17 and the Behemoth was the gold megadeus in act 25." True, but remember: These megadeuses had similar qualities to ARCHETYPES of Bigs; they could have very well been previous design ideas for Bigs before it was decided that they have a more humanoid form. The only scene involving the Behemoth is when it rises out of the ground with Big-O in Act 25. To me, this scene reinforces the parallel between them.
Recall the exchange between Vera and Roger in Act 23. Vera calls Roger "Behemoth!" She follows with "If there truly was a being that created this world, I would have to believe that he did not grant the right to live only to those born in Paradigm. After all, the Creator permitted the abominable Leviathan of the Sea and Behemoth of the Land to live." Call me crazy, but I seriously doubt that Vera was referring to two easily defeated megadeuses, one of which had a total onscreen time of what, 10 seconds? She is referring to Big-Fau and Big-O.
Schwarzwald's letter to the public in Act 17 contains an illustration on one side: God looking down upon the Behemoth and the Leviathan. It is said that these two monsters are supposed to engage in a battle during the end of the world. Interesting, seeing how Big-O and Big-Fau cause much of the destruction of Paradigm City in their battle before Big-Venus intervenes and erases the world.
Well, I just had my shit ruined. There are less than 24 hours before the premiere of the final episode as of this writing, and my perspective of Big-Venus just had a complete turn around. Here I am, hoping to guide others through the meaning of all of this, only to have my world shattered.
One hour ago, I had assumed that Big-Venus was the megadeus equivalent of God himself, as it has the power to recreate Paradigm City. However, I was glancing through my copy of the official Big-O companion book, and I stopped at the script of Act 26. I noticed for the first time that it has footnotes scattered here or there, so I skimmed through excitedly to see if I could extract any meaning out of the Japanese text. In page 105, in the third line of the right-hand side of the gray box, I read the following:
"Venus / Lucifer"
Holy. F***ing. S***.
But so much makes sense now. B666, for example, refers to the mark of the beast. Angel truly is a "fallen angel." She's LUCIFER! "A bird whose wings have been plucked will shed all its feathers and turn into the beast it was before it evolved into a bird." In Roger's flashback in Act 26, Big-Venus has wings and is destroying the city. It's wings are plucked, its mechanical body is shed away, and it is cast down to Paradigm City in human form as Angel. Gordon tells Angel that she is literally a "memory," as evident from the marks on her back. This could be a way of saying that Angel is an incarnation of somebody's former self entirely.
Well, at any rate, Alex was mistaken. He assumed that Big-Fau was the megadeus that had Venus's powers. (Act 24: "He who becomes Dominus of Big-Fau becomes ruler of the world. [...] Once [the battle] is over, I'm going to reset this city once again. I'll reset it with my own will and my own strength.")
As for the Archetypes, they seem to have either survived from a previous version of Paradigm City or were simply discarded failures in the creation of this version. The fact that Dorothy was able to link with the Archetypes and vice versa was very unexpected and alarming to her. She has the ability to link with megadeuses built by Wayneright and Bigs. She calls the Leviathan Archetype a "ghost" and exclaims to the humanoid Archetype that "That thing should not be allowed to exist anywhere!" Which brings up another issue...
Oh, and I believe I have put the age-old Dorothy vs. Angel debate to rest forever. Angel is Lucifer. Roger deserves better. Now I'm trying to figure out whether or not Paradigm City is Hell. Damn I need some aspirin.
THE ORIGINAL ROLE OF TIMOTHY WAYNERIGHT
This section is mostly speculation, but there's no doubt about it that Mr. Wayneright was an important figure before the Event. I'd venture to say that he even had a large hand in the creation of the Bigs. Let me cite what types of megadeuses that his most famous creation, R.Dorothy Wayneright, has been shown to be capable of linking to:
Dorothy I (another creation of Wayneright's)
humanoid Archetype
Leviathan Archetype
Big-O
Big-FauShe also knows exactly what Big-Venus is the moment after it surfaces.
I for one think that Wayneright designed the Bigs as well, thus explaining why Dorothy can serve as the key for many of their powers. The tale of the Nightingale is about an emperor of an ancient country. Wayneright could have been a very prominent figure in the world pre-Event.
I guess it doesn't matter that much, but it is an interesting thought.
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING: WHY IS IT CALLED THE "BIG-O"?
I wrote most of the following when I was sitting in my Computer Science lab class. We were learning about search and sort methods for arrays and matrices of data, and up until this point I wasn't really paying attention, but my instructor said something that snapped me out of my stupor:
"To measure the efficiency of these paradigms, we use big-O notation... I hate this stuff. It gives me nightmares, and it's practically all you'll be doing if you ever take CS 320."
After listening to the lecture for half an hour and trying to sort out all the information, this is the meaning I've come up with:
In my computer science class, standard well-established algorithms and methods for problem-solving have sometimes been dubbed as "paradigms." Big-O notation is used to obtain a rough estimate of the time required for an algorithm to run from start to finish. Hence, big-O notation is used to determine the efficiency of various paradigms in different problems and situations, which in turn allows us to determine the ideal paradigm for accomplishing a certain task.
Trying not to get too technical (and while still trying to get a good grasp on this myself), I'll try to cover a few details. The number 'n' is used to define the number of data entries that a given algorithm must evaluate before it finishes. An equation is written to relate the number of entries 'n' to the amount of time 't' required to evaluate them. Let's say that this amount of time is defined by the equation "t = 2n^2 + n - 5".
The part of the above equation that is most essential to determining the value of 't' is the n-squared term. In big-O notation, the most significant term (the biggest order of magnitude) is the only element used to determine efficiency. In the above equation, efficiency would be determined simply by evaluating 'n^2':
O(2n^2 + n - 5) = n^2
So in other words, big-O notation takes into consideration only the most-significant factor in execution time and ignores all other elements.
Perhaps Paradigm City is one of many ideas, attempts, or experiments, and Big-O is a sort of evaluation tool?
witwerg adds: "So... On a similar tangent... In Act 25, with all the debris falling down and desctruction being wrought, we could say the paradigm was crashing. So the question is... What's going to blue screen and who's going to press the reset button?"
Yeah, but... adds: "I think Paradigm might be a sort of simulation, a way of trying to keep another Event from occurring, or at least finding ways that might bring about another Event. Roger and Alex declaring all-out war on each other could certainly lead to the destruction of Paradigm...again."
R Trusedale adds: "interesting idea. How many other computer terms are there in the show?
1. Big O (great idea)
2. Paradigm
3. Memory (obviously)I may have another one. When Roger delves into memory sequences in R.D there seems to frequently be a wall of flame that represents a barrier or stopping point. Thats right folks, its a firewall."
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE
Clearly, nobody can dismiss all the theatrical terms and elements used in Big-O: "showtime," "action," perhaps even "cast," the stage lights, the movie Winter Night Phantom, Angel's "home," Angel's "control room," and all the references to Paradigm City being a stage and all the characters merely being actors playing out their roles.
I must have heard a million references to the Truman Show when Act 25 was first aired. The similarities are there, yes, but I wouldn't jump all over the idea of Paradigm City literally being a reality show just yet. The fact that the whole superdome transformed into a grid and everything within it was erased should make you reconsider. Also, Schwarzwald refers to the superdome as "abandoned equipment," which leads me to the following thought (somewhat borrowed from Bentar): there is no audience, there is to director, there is no one at the helm!
I take most of the theatrical references as metaphors. I don't think Paradigm City is literally a show in the same manner that the "tomatoes" are not actually tomatoes! Was Paradigm City a project or experiment that has been abandoned? Is it doomed to forever rewrite/reboot itself until things fall into place and it is able to sustain itself indefinitely?
CAST IN THE NAME OF GOD, YE NOT GUILTY
God damn it's late. I'll talk about this one later.
ROGER SMITH IS MY DAD
This has absolutely no relevance to the show whatsoever, but my parents' names are Roger and Dorothy Smith. Seriously. No joke. Isn't that awesome?
Here's the proof I can come up with: [EDIT - You know, looking back, I think this might have been a bad idea to post this information on my site, even if it's relatively easy to find on one's own...]
Moving on...IN CONCLUSION: "THERE PROBABLY IS MORE THAN ONE TRUTH."
I hope this page has been of some help. When it comes down to it, though, there's no way for somebody to know the absolute truth about everything in the series. All the symbolism of so many different things make it impossible for there to be one and only one interpretation of many aspects of the show. While understandably frustrating to some, this is the main draw of the show for me. It's refreshing to sit back and analyze something as entertaining and thought-provoking as Big-O, and I for one have arrived at my own personal truth, my own explanations for nearly everything I've observed in the series. It's been a wild ride, and who knows; maybe Cartoon Network will lay down the money for the show to be extended further. I can't say that I'd like the idea of a third season to continue the plot from this one, as I believe that would stretch out the story and water it down, but I sure wouldn't mind a movie, or perhaps a prequel to elaborate on some of the deeper mysteries of the show. I'm satisfied for now though, and I'm in much better mental health than I was when the conclusion of Act 13 first aired. Hope you've enjoyed it as well.
There is, however, one more source that you can turn to for answers. The Official Companion Book is a very concise guide to the entire series. It includes concept art, staff interviews, episode summaries, biographies, and more, all written by the producers and staff of the show. The only problem: it's all in Japanese, and I'm having one hell of a time translating bits and pieces of it. One notable fact that I've pulled from it so far is that the Event occurred on April 13th, 2018 (bottom of page 33). If I manage to draw enough significant facts from this book, I'll make sure to post a section about it here.
But if you're still yearning for more of a conclusion, the Reciprocal Paradigm team has pretty big plans for the conclusion of our story. I can't say for sure how long it will take before we finally bring it to a close, but I've got a feeling that fans of Big-O will definitely not be disappointed.
quote:
Katrinity had this to say about Robocop:
Here is what I found from a site still in cache on Google but no longer working. Summary and analysis of the last episode and a few different theories on the whole series:*TOO DAMN LONG*
Wow. That was a lot of words. That has to be the longest non-spam post I've ever seen. Ruvyen fucked around with this message on 05-05-2005 at 08:07 PM.
quote:
Ruvyen painfully thought these words up:
Wow. That was a lot of words. That has to be the longest non-spam post I've ever seen.
quote:
Katrinity had this to say about Knight Rider:
Here is what I found from a site still in cache on Google but no longer working. Summary and analysis of the last episode and a few different theories on the whole series:
(SNIP)
Thank you for that Katrinity. That, by far, has been the best explanation of the ending of Big O that I have seen yet.
I took a more literal approach, rather than the metaphorical (like the one above). I suggested that the reason things were centered around Roger was that this was the equivalence of a reality show that people didn't know that they were on. Like the Truman Show only its about an entire city.
I like this persons conclusion that roger was to destroy the world then it was to be rebuilt by another (as he had done in the past). This explains why people couldn't remember what happened 40 years ago. Because before that roger destroyed everything and everyone got a new role in life. And it repeats like that forever.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
quote:
Katrinity Model 2000 was programmed to say:
Here is what I found...
Thanks for that. It was really interesting.
