The Doomies Episode 8 details thread (and whatnot!)
I don't usually write posts like this, but this particular episode is truly breathtaking and it feels illegal not to talk about! I seriously recommend checking the series out!!
Spoilers for episodes: 5, 7, 8(duh) and 12:
Let’s start with previous episodes that connect to this one. I love that this episode is centered in previously mentioned concept of the conjuring crystal. It is also established that using it comes with a price. And while watching ep 8 you can’t help but wonder: what kind of price? Was they only mean soul or smth else?
The next shot is definitely foreshadowing and it truly shows how Romy is always protecting Bobby by getting him out of sight (basically what happened in episode 8):
Also I think showing Romy’s lively household in ep 7 was a deliberate choice - to contrast all that noise with Bobby’s quiet and empty house in ep 8. Basically: a house where everything happens vs. a house where nothing happens.
I also chose the living room for the second picture cause of how vastly different the moods they convey: children’s curious nature vs. tween’s drained one. (Living room more like dying room…haha) (My friend said that the pic where Romy’s sister drawing on the wall reminds her of Bobby drawing on the floor, but that is just coincidence…or is it?)
Okay, now onto ep 8 discussion:
That TV channel-changing scene was heartbreaking (just like the rest of the episode), but it really shows what Bobby truly desires: “maternal love.”
--- I'm headcanoning that Mordam was the one behind “you never felt maternal love” message through changing channels cause he is already so tormented… --- Bobby’s constant “Remember me?” while calling his mom just further proves that not only (in this case) did his mom forget him, but he also feels forgotten, which supports the idea of “there is nothing darker than a forgotten child”. (Ig I should also mention previous episodes here, cause in the ep 1 EVERYONE (including Romy) forgets his birthday, aka the day of his existence… I'll say no more.)
So Bobby didn’t wait for his mom to answer, asking her to see him “one last time” because:
And here comes the conjuring crystal with its main themes:
1) “Pretending”: both mentally (Bobby’s bottled up feelings towards his real mom) and literally (momster, aka “fake” mom). And speaking of her…
2) “Real” or “fake”? Momster’s whole concept is to be a fake mom, so why did her love feel way more “real” than Bobby’s real mom? The only thing she couldn’t fake is her caring momster nature. And it’s no coincidence that her last words towards him were: “It’s been real”.
The whole episode felt way more real too. Bobby knows his mother is flawed, but he can’t help himself but love her cause despite everything, she is still her mom.
(P.S. Ig you could also put these two themes into one, since they deeply correspond with each other)
So Bobby decided to summon a fake mom, with weird marks all over his body… how does Jenny respond?
Bobby ignored Jenny’s “appearance” as well 😭 BUT did you also notice Bobby’s reaction to Jenny and Mael hanging out in the end of the episode?
The Lafrousse family doesn’t know the difference between giving someone space and being ignorant (this also includes Susan ignoring Bobby’s calls). In the series, Bobby tries his best to break the cycle that runs in his family by showing support towards his friends (e.g. in ep 12 he wants to reach out to Kim… but at the same time, ignores his own “problem” in the form of Mordam). So in this episode, Jenny is ignorant towards Bobby, while Bobby gives his aunt and Mael some privacy (especially after ep 4 where Jenny saw Bobby not giving her personal space).
And when momster finally appeared it’s clear that Bobby is so done with his life that he doesn’t even care about being eaten by a monster. But i noticed that his environment also convinced him of his impending death (not on purpose tho):
By the way, at the start of the episode, the colors are grayscaled and muted: literally showing Bobby’s depressive state. But when momster appeared, Bobby’s world became full of color: the palette either has warm (sunset/sunrise) or bright colors (like a blue sky instead of a grey one etc.):
Speaking of color… THE ICECREAM TRUCK SCENE AGH! I love the fact that they were both shocked and that Bobby literally welcomed her with open arms. This scene also showcased how momster has changed: here, she transforms from her monster look to a human one - not to pretend, but to be real… for him.
The sunset scene also brings up many interesting details. Momster doesn’t trust Bobby’s environment cause they left him all alone. But in the end, momster trusts Doug, not only describing him as Bobby’s friend, but also pronouncing his name correctly.
When Bobby said that evil would soon be out of his life, momster got sad cause that would also include her. She is still evil, despite being kind.
I am NOT normal about at the fact that they were playing games and eating pizza together to the point where Bobby fell happily asleep.
His “best day ever” was spent with a “fake” mom.
This parallel KILLS ME:
- Momster’s wide smile feels way more sincere and natural (or should i say “real”) than Susan’s awkward one.
- I think it could just be to save time in production, but why are there only two photos of Susan and bobby being together? And they’re the same one? Do they really not have more photos together?
- Momster was summoned with an apron on, despite Susan not wearing it later in the series. I guess the only image of mom Bobby had in his mind was this one. And it breaks my heart.
Also a headcanon, but i think momster knew what would happen but she didn’t want Bobby to worry about her:
Guess the real price for using conjuring spell to feel the void was having to face the truth: he finally got the maternal love he always needed. Not from his real mom, but from a “kinda-mom”. And he only got a taste of it before having to say goodbye.
I wanted to share some midpoint Artfight attacks Ive done!! I think I'm figuring out this whole "making pretty art" thing lol.
in order (left to right, top to bottom)
Pourtia for @mai-artwork Viscountess for @dvdexe Fredrick "the Forever" for @leftysage IND-E for @sepsis-tank Anddddd Marry Marrow for @yobat
Thank you guys for all the kind things said about my work! It has been an honor to draw for you all.
(on that note if you'd like the artwork removed thats cool just let me know!)
