The Petscop Investigation - Part 4

[@NightmareMasterclass]

If you like my videos, maybe think about supporting me on a monthly basis at Patreon: www.patreon.com/NightmareMasterclass

[@hotaruishere2133]

I just realized that the number 48 referred to in the collection of "pets" correlates with the number of states that HAVEN'T passed the Newmaker protection law. I feel like that might not lead to anywhere, but I found it interesting enough to bring up.

[@DieChesseFrau]

that's actually very interesting and likely worth taking into consideration, if not for the series as a whole, but certainly into the discussion of child abuse harboured by the webseries. if this connection is intentional (though given that Tony has admitted to not planning everything out so meticulously, that it may be mere coincidence, but i don't like being so dismissive!) then it may serve to show that this strange and unimaginably absurd situation presented in Petscop (or at least the idea/concept of „rebirthing“) may not be as uncommon, impossible or „out of this world“ as one would hope: 48 states have not yet outlawed this therapy malpractice and legal avenue for child abuse. while you may not be able to beat your kids into submission, there's absolutely nothing stopping someone like Marvin, in one of those states, from horribly mentally degrading their child(ren) and putting them through years worth of conditioning and psychological strain to force them into becoming exactly what their twisted, disgusting mind desires? take into consideration what happened to (or lack thereof) the people involved with the death of Candace Newmaker: her therapeutic foster parents were only given probation and 1000 hours community service. her adopted mother Jeane Newmaker had the charges of child neglect and abuse expunged from her criminal record after a 4-year suspended sentence (i.e. she would only serve prison time if she committed another crime in a certain time period specified by the court). the unlicenced therapist Connell Watkins, arguably the individual most responsible for the procedure's happenings, only served 7 of her 16-year sentence before being let out on parole under „intense supervision“. these people murdered a child and were faced with less punishment than what some people face for stealing food from a gas station. this connection would make the series a lot darker than it already is, in my opinion. we all already know about Candace's tragic and disturbing story and what little has been done to rectify it, but i don't think we often acknowledge the aftermath of that failure of action by said 48 states: to think that there's dozens, potentially hundreds or even thousands of Candace Newmakers out there, when only one should have been enough to convince the entire nation-yikes. very interesting point, thank you for bringing it up!

[@Brian-mj5gi]

@@DieChesseFrau fine extrapolation

[@SaiaiChan]

I had to pause for a moment at 59:50 and process some things. The proprietors are acting just like parental figures, hiding the truth from the audience with a smile and assurance that its for our own good. It hit me really hard...

[@dariepearjuicy1356]

Yes! Especially with all the censoring. They just want to preserve our innocence 😱

[@Hi-lq7xx]

Who knows, they could actually be Paul's parents or some other unspecified family members.

[@jacklander9584]

The video mentions Paul talking less and less as a reflection of his own slow conditioning and engrossment with the game. I think it also serves to toy with the viewer. The player’s monologue to the viewer is a major component of the Let’s Play format. The player serves as the viewer’s guide to the game or the monologue is used to create a sense of camaraderie, as if the viewer and player are exploring the game together. The latter is especially true of horror LPs. That illusion of companionship both draws the viewer in but also insulates them a bit from whatever horror happens in game. Paul starts the first video off as an authoritative figure. He thinks he’s seen everything the game has, he already knows the solutions to the puzzles and he’s leading us along, showing off. But as the series progresses that sense of authority and companionship rapidly diminish as Paul grows more confused and more quiet. The insulating layer of Paul’s commentary and logic falls away and even though we aren’t playing the game ourselves it creates a sense that we’re increasingly ‘alone’ with Petscop. That makes the game feel almost dangerous. I think this also parallels how a child struggling with abuse and neglect might feel, or at least the journey of Care herself. At the start of the series Paul appears to be a reliable guide and while the world might not make sense to us, just as the world might not make sense to a child, Paul understands most of it and is willing to tackle the parts he doesn’t understand thoughtfully. The strangeness of the game world is a novelty and to use the game’s terminology, we’re in A form. As the game progresses the world becomes increasingly dark and its quirks more disturbing while Paul becomes less and less engaged with the viewer, neglected even as the world grows more hostile and confusing. This can be seen as the child’s transition to B form in the game’s terms.

[@ErinJeanette]

Yes, totally agree

[@rumham2834]

Well, he's got it all figured out. Case closed!

[@NightmareMasterclass]

nooooooo

[@rumham2834]

Nightmare Masterclass lol

[@boilledwater_3306]

lol the davids reply got more likes than the comment

[@theminakins815]

Perfect I was looking for this info

[@derevo-the-derevo]

Pet Scott, Pet Scape, Pets Cab, Pets Cap, Pet Scout, Pat's Cap, Pets Gap, Pets Cow, Pets Cop, Pat Scott, Pet Scott, Pet Shop, Pets Cub, Pats Cop, Pet's Cap, Pat Scott, Pets Cub, Pat's Got, Pet Scot, and other curiosities of auto-generated closed captions. The installment is deep and thus great. People behind the theories often crawl on the surface of the game, but you managed to dig it up. Well done there.

[@darkestccino5405]

34:20 "Let's move onto another topic" *Ad for the emoji movie start playing*

[@thepurified8386]

*gasp* Look who just sent me a text! Addy McCallister? What should I say? Just play it cool (what I gotta say gotta be yourself gotta be yourself) Welcome to the world inside your phone Where everyone is expected to act one way their whole life.

[@Megamorphed.Dreadmaw]

lmao

[@nothereanymore3941]

This comment aged like fine wine. With a punctured cork in a musty cellar. Basically vinegar at this point.

[@riririnmaru5672]

this comment made me chuckle holy shit lmao

[@bobbythespicyboi3617]

Even scarier

[@paradoxxikal7327]

Garalina: appears in a random website Everybody: *Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born? Do you remember being born?*

[@tobysinbad]

I would totally understand why you might think receiving thousands of weird emails like this might look like a bot tbh!!!

[@thomasthetrain3375]

That poor website owner! They made a website for those dealing with grief and got spammed with some confusing messages. Hope they got some context

[@Deletaste]

One thing is sure. I get really anxious watching this series to the point that I think I'm being watched all the time. I guess you can say that the series made it's point of emulating this anxious felling of being a child in a unprotected place really well.

[@suey-suitu]

100%. It’s 4am, and I’m laying in bed with my flashlight on because I feel like I’m being watched. Im so spooked and feel so silly 😂

[@TheCleanProphet]

Hey, not sure if anyone is going to read this and this may have been covered in the video (I’ve only seen 3 minutes and will finish it after writing), but I don’t think anyone has mentioned that the designs on the windmill blades could correlate to instances of time. The repeated block pattern is vaguely similar to that of a calendar, and the 3x13 rows add up to 39, which iirc was how many minutes had to pass for the windmill to reverse direction in the camera (2 hrs 39 mins). The windmill could be a larger representation for time itself, so it rotating clockwise would be time flowing “normally,” and counterclockwise rotation would be time flowing in “reverse.”

[@jodibuchwald7886]

SaviorOwnSoul super late to this party but I love this theory.

[@riririnmaru5672]

holy shit thats so specific??

[@kklondikke9019]

I imagined the censorship as the repression of memories. When Paul sees the thing coming out of the present he is distressed and somewhat scared. The censoring could represent the act of repressing traumatic memories/experiences- censoring them in your mind.

[@silverdrag0n_]

expectation: an in depth video about themes we missed in petscop reality: *Philosophy Time*

[@HeyJudie]

This video was the best birthday present I received (it was released on my birthday) so a big *thank you* to you. There were so many great aspects of this analysis, and it helped me to realize some things about myself that I had not even noticed before. The most glaring self-realization that I had is that I'm not just addicted to these horror series / ARG's, but specifically to the ones involving child abuse and neglect. Like Johnny Truant of House of Leaves, I seem to be unhealthily pre-occupied by the compulsion to solve mysteries that probably have no solution. Maybe that has been due to a mystery within myself I needed to solve. Like Johnny, like AlanTutorial, like Care, like the child in Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, like Erik the Phantom of the Opera, and so may other of my favorite characters, I was abused (in a predominantly psychological way) by my parents, who were abused themselves. When you love your parents and feel empathy for them, it's hard to say this or acknowledge it (well, it's been hard for me). Unfortunately there were many times as a child that I felt nobody loved me, and so Petscop hit too close to home, and even today I must admit that I often feel nobody loves me (or should love me). Where my parents tore down my character, I have now in place an evil me to tell me what a POS I am all day. The effects of trauma from child abuse *indeed echo* into adulthood. There is a whole chapter on this in House of Leaves, which ironically contains a scene that ends with a focus on the word "Care." As the author Susan Forward of *Toxic Parents* notes, the worst of abusers see their children as non-entities and as a means to an end. Much like the way Paul is the main and seemingly only *real human* character of the game (the other humans are substandard and considered to be "pets"), an abuser is the main character of their own life and the people in it are merely a part of the game and a tool for winning. Whether or not an abuser is sociopathic, their focus on advancing their own life (and "winning" the "game" of life) causes them to behave sociopathically and ultimately in a way that is unconcerned for the well being of others. Would Paul even care about bringing Care from NLM to A if it didn't advance him in the game? If you think about the literal board game LIFE, every player is pitted against one another to achieve certain goals for their own interests. Paul is being goaded into behaving in a way that shows lack of concern for the pets. Many parents will be cruelly punitive with a child and then tell that child it's for their own good, and in a similar way, Paul leaves Care at the repository likely thinking that it is for her own good. Regarding eyebrows and expression (which is a theory of yours that I love), it is also toxic to convey a message to a child that their feelings are unimportant and not real. For example, sometimes my mother would smack me on a leg or an arm, and if I became upset and started crying (more from emotional pain than anything), she would say things like: "that didn't hurt," "that was just a little tap," "stop being so dramatic," "you're just doing this for attention," "*you're not hurt*," "you're too sensitive," "*you don't know the meaning of pain*," "my father used to hit me hard," "I've spoiled you by being too nice," and I could go on. She would say the same things if I expressed emotion after she hurt my feelings. On the one hand, I was feeling physical or emotional pain, but on the other hand, a person I perceived to be much smarter and wiser was telling me that I was *not* in pain. Feeling pain and being told repeatedly that you're not feeling it can really fuck with your sense of reality. Your pain is denied, your reality is denied, and your feelings are rendered worthless. Eventually, I stopped being able to *express* emotions without feeling guilt, which has caused a lot of problems for me. *It is like being trapped in a cell; whenever I begin to start to heal by processing emotions, I feel guilty and go back to pain and suffering.* It's almost like I've been conditioned to feel that I deserve to be punished because I am bad. Maybe that's exactly what it is. And if you can't help but feel bad, you're stuck-- maybe forever-- in the cycle. Paul ignores the pain of the voice of Tool by continuing to play the game. Instead of helping Care by showing her empathy, he uses her to advance in the game. He could have helped these people, but he didn't. When Erik The Phantom of The Opera is shown the love he was denied by his mother in the form of a kiss from Christine, he was shown empathy, and he let her go and stopped killing. He died of a broken heart, which was probably good as he was a murderer, but he sacrificed his own happiness for the happiness of Christine, meaning Christine broke the cycle. It's interesting that the figure Rainer is named so, because an object one might say is a rainer is a storm cloud. Often times, sad people are depicted as having a storm cloud follow them, raining on them eternally. If I accepted your personal theories to be true, I would think the game was made with the sole purpose of perpetuating misery. As you said, training people to lack empathy and do whatever possible to "move forward." It's further interesting to me that Paul makes the Newmaker step into what appears to be oncoming traffic-- an idea that any good pragmatist would argue is absurd. Why is he doing this, and why does the traffic stop? Finally, I think it's worth noting that people who have been lucky enough to gain a new lease on life have often (in poetry and songs) described themselves as once having died, or having died multiple times, and that they were either cleansed by rain or reborn or both (which led them to happiness or at least a sense of stability).

[@HeyJudie]

Haha it's K. I mean the fact that you relate is worth more than a like. It's also sad bc I wish deep down that not one person related to me, but also it feels good in the sense that I know I'm not alone.

[@Tokuijin]

Your parents sound like my parents. People wonder why I seem so guarded

[@ghostofthebravegaming5393]

Tldr, but happy late birthday dude.

[@thedemoncat4624]

Damn that was deep, Dangeresque. o_o And I feel you too on all of that. My mom was more...unstable. I don't think she meant to hurt me as deep as she'd done, but intention doesn't factor in at all to the damage done in the end. v.v

[@CaptainDeadpool53]

You are not alone

[@darkmumf]

A perfect hour and a half bed time story to make sure i cant sleep

[@TheProfet24]

Naul Blart : Pet's Cop

[@squirrel1331]

TheProfet24 stop

[@shafiraandzani6989]

God damnit

[@TheProfet24]

Marbles Cop Pet Hornets

[@Guruc13]

I would not be surprised if that joke is the entire reason this exists

[@balalaika9114]

TheProfet24 Don't mess with the Baul Plart Tart Fart

[@LunarShimmer]

Found your channel through Petscop. Hadn't actually watched the series at the time, so the first 3 videos were literally my introduction, but your syntax and the sheer level of your artistic analysis got me hooked on this spooky webseries. Sort of binge-watched the rest of your videos afterwards. (Imagine my hype when, internet down at 3 in the morning, I check youtube on my phone out of desperate boredom and see this bad boy. Oh man. This thumbnail got such a freak-out.) Just wanted to offer some glowing praise for your content, especially for this video, since you entertain feedback and I wanted to get my ten-paragraph essay of a comment out there. And because I never even thought to go this seriously in-depth on this game; got too caught up with the craziness of the mystery and the screaming wait for part 11. (For the record, the deal with the website was atrocious. Last I knew the guys on the subreddit had a couple websites listed with a few question marks dotted after them -- nothing this irrational and foolhardy.) Anyway, I haven't watched your Hannibal breakdown just yet (out of procrastination, and because of the simple fact that there's _no more of it_) but I've seen the full series and I'm actually pretty impressed with what a piece of work that show is; it filled my empathy cup to the top and got me looking at everything and everyone differently, very reminiscent to your style of analysis. Kind of interesting how this work seems to be representing the very opposite thing, at least in your interpretation. I like it a lot better than the standard spooky-scariness of a guy getting absorbed by his own ARG. The new text added as a result of the website absurdity does seem like a pretty clear message to sit tight and be patient, but it also seems a little sinister in and of itself, after hearing your take on all this. That creepy smiley face in the old description doesn't even _compare_ to the "excitement" portrayed by that exclamation point -- "We are waiting patiently for Paul!" It brings to mind the signs at the beginning of the game, and Amber's description (which creeped me out from the very start, since I immediately read it in the context of a human), with that ominous 'we' again as well. The "proprietors" seem like the same people who wrote the early in-game text, at least to me. The perplexing punctuation also seems to reinforce the fact that some change, whatever it is, _will_ happen to Paul, be it obsession with the game's secrets or some other equally dehumanizing quality. Turning on the light seems more like a clearer message from the actual creators, that there _will_ be another episode, or some kind of payoff somehow. The two might be connected; both we and the "proprietors" are pretty expectant of some big turnaround. One thing I thought of just at the end of this, that I'll probably slap up on Reddit just to see what others think. Paul's gone from the channel icon; think it's possible he tried to put _himself_, or his character at least, in the child library? That's all I got. Didn't want to just say "hey good work" and leave. That said, love your stuff to heck and back. Keep on keepin' :)

[@garfieldfan2005]

Wow, I was expecting this one to be much shorter than the others, but it was actually much longer! Can't wait to watch it fully.

[@loonachan]

I think maybe one aspect that most don't look at as closely is the concept of ownership when it comes to children. Today and everyday there are probably a large number of people who have said "you can't tell me what to do with my child!" or some kind of sentiment like that. Let's change one word in that, though. "You can't tell me what to do with my person!" Suddenly the sentiment is quite different! Even the words "my person" would be considered abhorrent- the idea that any other person is yours to do what you please with. But for children we've been taught this is natural and good. Children "belong" to their parents who are responsible for them. This concept of children as pseudo-property of individuals until they reach a certain age is enshrined in law and in society in a very real, direct way. Hit your kid, it opens up a debate as to whether or not corporal punishment is okay and whether or not it could be abuse. Hit someone else's kid- it's nth-degree assault with potential jail time. We also associate having parents with having loving parents- if you have a kid, it's just assumed that you'll love them and care for them with the best of your ability. If you take care of someone else's kid- it becomes more like you're performing a charity. But there's no actual fundamental difference between them. It's just adults looking after children! Think about how they wraps into the idea of "gifts". A gift isn't something that is lent or rented out, and of course it isn't bought by the person who receives it. But it's still a title of property. "Gifting" is a concept even in law- a transfer of property with the mutual understanding that there will be no compensation for it. So in our system where kids are essentially property of their parents, adopting is certainly akin to "gifting". This is also a pretty big theme as far as catching "Pets" and humans. So I think that one message out of the many is just like Paul does what he does because he thinks he has to do it and hurts for it, we continue to support this harmful society that views children as the individual property of their parents and hurt for it. And perhaps the most radical concept it has to offer is not something as mundane as "don't abuse kids"- but rather that the entire way we see children, regardless of whether they're adopted or not, is pretty fucked.

[@Tokuijin]

This. I agree with this

[@loonachan]

There is no requirement that a parent teach their kids life lessons or come to their ball games. Or treat them with even a modicum of humanity. There were many slave owners across history and cultures who felt sincerely and righteously that they were doing their slaves a favor, they loved them and knew what was best for them. These kind-hearted slavemasters were the ones who pushed for laws limited the abuse and unjust killing of slaves, just as we have laws against abuse of children. And just like slaves, you can still physically and psychologically abuse them more than your average free person, because you own them. There's nothing really left or right wing about this. You're the only one mentioning binary politics. The Candace Newmaker story could (and has) easily be spun as an overreaching government that ripped a girl away from her family and gave her to an adoptive mother who ended up playing a crucial role in her murder. But there are plenty of systemic issues in this. Jeane Newmaker felt as if Candace should be "her's" due to a society which teaches us that being responsible for a child makes them something akin to property, but also a society that says that one's birth parents are the only ones with these inherent rights of ownership. What is lost in all this, and what I think you're not understanding, is that it's not about you. It's not Jeane Newmaker, it's not about parents, hell it's not even about society at large really. It's about affording children the same level of humanity as the rest of us. Banning rebirthing might have saved Candace's life, but it would not have saved her from a society that was obsessed with who owned the deed to her personhood, it wouldn't have saved her from society telling her she was some kind of unwanted animal that had to be dealt with rather than loved. It wouldn't have saved her from a society that told her that her emotional problems were her fault, rather than a natural result of the psychological torture she's been subjected to from every direction.

[@loonachan]

This isn't about treating kids like adults- it's about treating every child as if they are as valued as the rest. This is something that objectively does not happen today. Orphans are only one part of this, anyone who doesn't have their dad in the picture is made to feel like they're not being raised right, and you could say they are disadvantaged by being generally less wealthy. Having any sort of broken or assembled family is looked down upon. It does depend on your definition of abuse, I suppose. If you define abuse only as beating the shit out of your kid or raping them, then sure, modern society generally has no problems saying that is wrong (although even this is a relatively new development, especially on the physical abuse side). In my view however, raising children is an incredibly complex and difficult thing to do in modern society. Rearing children is really a specialized skill that requires a degree, not something you can just hand off to someone with only the most general of general education, and sometimes not even that. No one would ever let a high school dropout be a kindergarten teacher, yet they are allowed to take an even bigger role in a child's life so long as they came from their loins. I think close to a majority of children are exposed to treatment that is objectively bad for them in some way over the course of their childhood, often for a long period of time, and the parents aren't intentionally doing anything bad to them- they just don't know any better because they don't have degrees in childhood development. There are alternatives, but ones that most people would likely not accept on its face- the biggest one being communal child-rearing. Having biologically reproduced a child does not give you any special mandate over that child, children in my mind should be collectively cared for by professionals. We already sorta do this with compulsory schooling- we recognize that most parents can't be counted on to effectively educate their children to a modern standard- but yet we turn around and say it's okay to treat them however you like outside of school so long as you're not savagely beating, raping, or doing drugs around them. Think about what that would have meant for a girl like Candace and many people from single-parent or "broken" homes. They would have grown up like any other child, raised by people who knew what they were doing and able to nurture her the same as any. Candace spent many of her formative years with the adults around her arguing over who was responsible for her. To me, that is abusive. *Society* is responsible for her and should ensure that she has the same opportunity as any other child- not just do the bare minimum and pass laws to punish her abusers more after she's been abused for years or found dead. She should have never been put in that situation in the first place, nor should any other child. The idea of communal child raising isn't really all that new or radical. The only ones to truly formalize it are the Kibbutzim in Israel, but society doing all they can to take care of orphans is quite common after wars and other calamities where parents often end up dead or unable to take care of them. Individuals typically have to take on this responsibility themselves, showing one doesn't even need some communist government to do it- all it takes is some overall societal recognition that children are just children and all adults should be responsible in making sure they get as much as can be given.

[@loonachan]

"The family unit is biologically ingrained" - citation sorely needed. If this were true, then absent fathers would be a very rare occurrence. There could be said that there is biological reasons why children are attached to their mother and vice versa, but beyond that there is little. Before the advent of modern medicine, mothers dying in childbirth was a sadly common occurrence, which meant that being biologically raised by your mother meant you were someone lucky. But even if it were "biologically ingrained"- that's irrelevant, as rape and sexual violence is also biologically ingrained. Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for much longer than the age of civilization has existed. Little we do is a result of what our genes tell us to do, and most of that is purely practical. But even if that point is conceded, it says nothing of the nuclear family, that is truly the irregular thing about modern life. Functionally speaking, I was raised by four different adults living with me. This is the case for people all over the world, as you typically have more than just a single parent-child dynamic in one dwelling. Paleolithic man took this to an even larger extreme, most people in tribes/clans were related to each other in some fashion, and children were raised communally within the clan, what one could call a natural hybrid- both communal and familial child-rearing. If anything this is closest to our "natural state", and there's certainly no evidence that putting the entire burden for raising children on the two people who made them is any kind of natural or ideal arrangement. The experience with public education is largely an American phenomenon, due to a number of factors, the biggest of which people capitalism. The idea of "debt spending" and "government programs" only exist in capitalist societies. School funding and salaries as adults also assumes capitalism. Before you call me a communist, once again, consider the past. There was no such thing as capitalism, debt spending, salary considerations, or public/private/home schools before the modern industrial era. During the feudal days, it was a similar dynamic. Most people got substandard education if they got any at all- and a privileged few learned as much as there was to know. What you describe simply sounds like not much has changed, but we like to pretend it had. But again, America. In many places in the world, public schools do quite well. The disparity is a large, complex issue I'm not going to go into now. But if you believe in any sort of compulsory education, then you believe a certain amount in communal child rearing. This is true for capitalist societies like our own and theoretical communist utopias, as workers cannot be expected to spend the day teaching their kids, they have to work. So this balance of being raised partially communally and partially by your parents is something that came about more as a practical necessity during the industrial era, rather than any biological drive. But this system fundamentally privileges only those with at least two parents who have enough enough time and money to truly support their well-being, with neither parent ever being abusive physically or psychologically. And how many children are raised in situations that aren't that? Do you think that number is growing or declining as income inequality grows? As parents are forced to work longer and harder to simply make enough to afford to live? Maybe the nuclear family was sustainable for a few decades in the 20th century in certain parts of the western world, but outside of that, leaning more into extended families and communal raising is something they have to do, not some collectivist theory.

[@balalaika9114]

hentropy this is good, but there are some holes, I will not cite where as I don’t want to make myself look idiotic, but they’re there.

[@Nexpo]

Commence hype.

[@taskeshou2567]

Nightmare Expo Indeed.

[@nakselion]

Hype is out of maximum capacity.

[@bschneidez]

Hey, this is the first of your videos I've seen, and I love your thoroughness. Frankly I'm an individualist, but I don't disagree with many of your points either. Society is mixed for a reason. From this alternative perspective, I wanted to point out something that you might find interesting... I don't agree that a societal overhaul is necessary or that it would even beneficial (as opposed to the inverse of such a situation), but I agree that this is a major influencing factor in the case of children. To explain it in the simplest possible terms, a household is ideally intended to function as an independent commune, under the purview of societal rules and regulations. Within a family unit, particularly in the cases of children, safety is paramount and the type of freedom (including the freedom to fail) intrinsic to capitalism is introduced slowly over time. If this freedom is introduced too quickly then the child will be traumatized, though if it is done too slowly then the child will not learn to become self-sufficient. This is my take regarding why the bulk of your points could easily be interpreted as salient regardless of my disagreement regarding the necessity of societal change. I mainly only disagree with you with regards to wether such abuse is necessarily driven by capitalism or could "happen in a vacuum," which I think was a well articulated perspective on your part despite the fact that I think it most certainly could..... though at the end if the day, I'm not here to debate on my disagreements with Engels, just to share my perspective :-p At the end of the day, I do agree that the "comodification" (I'm coining that term, if it isn't a thing already) of children within the home is certainly an interesting and quite plausible interpretation of the story, even despite my differences with regards to society at large. To bring it all full circle, again, well donem

[@kqt_scratch]

Hype shall be commenced.

[@-rockguinea-]

Nightmare Expo With the naming of the objects as pieces it could be a possibility that with the games reference of ending the "loop" and the ingame character as "newmaker" could be in reference to the character being a creator of something new or newmaker and hence is ending the loop of child abuse and is thus picking up the pieces

[@Aquelll]

Petscop will be remembered as one of the great works of art of this time. It will one day be analyzed in universities. It is a work of art that only interactive medium can achieve.

[@dreamemulators]

what if petscop was the friends we made along the way

[@Guruc13]

The Newmaker Plane was inside us, all along

[@fungamesandstuffwhy2516]

Did u make any friends?

[@robertcalifornia9641]

Don’t spoil it for those of us who haven’t read the manga

[@PKMNTBLACK]

is... is this a FWOB reference?

[@poopnach]

It turns out, the true petscop was inside us the whole time.

[@PuissantAlgernon]

Absolutely loved the sociopolitical commentary toward the end - it's so important that we start examining the systemic, structural and ideological implications of both of art and of individual actions. This is an incredibly thorough and clear explanation of how these elements are at work, in a way most people would completely miss.

[@tomturnbull9884]

I don’t comment on many videos, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate your videos. The quality of your videos really helps them stand out and proves your channel to be among the best of its class. Keep up the good work!

[@Asbaestos]

I want to let you know how much I've enjoyed this series over the years. I have lost count of how many times I have rewatched it over the years. Your research and analysis is so thoughtful, your narration very soothing, and the music absolutely impeccable. Thank you for the hours of enjoyment you've given me over the years.

[@diiasze3743]

i think u are right on the spot about this dread faced by abused/neglected children, i was always afraid of reporting the truth to any teacher or anyone else. I was more afraid of what would happen if i was taken away and getting lost in the system or being taken to a worse estrange family

[@jadendafinger]

something happen?

[@Breadclipp]

With regards to the note "She'll appear from the darkness" and your point about figurative language I always read the phrase "shoot her in the head" not in regards to firing a gun but shooting film. The camera in the Newmaker Plane alternates between waist and head height, and the limping is in part references Toneth's broken leg. Even if this is the case (which it might not be) Rainer phrases it in the most violent way possible, which is telling even if the act itself isn't violent. Also the fact that the channel description references two distinct days (Christmas 1997 and 2000) yet refers to both as the SINGLE longest day of our lives feels really important. Potential reading here but it's possible that the two people running the channel both had relations with Rainer separately, one before June 1997 and the other before June 2000, and both received copies of Petscop at Christmas those same years, hence the ability for them both to have the singular 'longest day' of their respective lives.

[@Arrakiz666]

I believe you are correct and to expand on this, I think death and rebirth as mentioned in the series are always symbolic. Moreover I think it connects to the concept of "losing eyebrows". When Reiner states that they will "shoot the child in the head" I think they talk metaphorically about dealing a sort of final blow to their compassion. I believe when Reiner says Care "isn't growing eyebrows" they are talking about Care growing distant and losing her sense of compassion. Which to Newmakers, who I suspect in the lore of the setting are adults devoid of compassion to the point of being able to subject children to a cruel process of "rebirthing", is desirable. Reiner intends to remove their compassion completely, thus priming the child such that they are ready to be recreated, "made anew", into a docile being. Into a _Pet._ I believe Paul is largely subjected to the same process. He is being "groomed" by Reiner to become a Newmaker, to that effect, his compassion is being drained from him. The game takes this for granted, referring to Paul as the Newmaker at all times. A Newmaker is something of a consciously malicious person- one that understands the dehumanizing process they underwent themselves but rather than fighting against it, they conceive compassion as an illusion. To a Newmaker, compassion is pointless. In that sense a Newmaker is like a dark reflection of a consciously empathetic person. A person defined by "an over-compassing sort of nihilism", as David puts it. And Reiner certainly appears to be one such person and we know they are a Newmaker just like Paul is.

[@Breadclipp]

There's a lot of strong ideas in this but I think it's more complex than the Newmaker merely being a stand in for a malicious, apathetic adult. When Paul catches Care NLM her 'description' says "You're the Newmaker. You can turn Care NLM into Care A, and close the loop." There's an implication here that the name "Newmaker" is not necessarily a moniker to describe cruel adults, because to me it reads that only a Newmaker could turn Care NLM into Care A. In my mind a Newmaker is just that, someone who Makes new, someone in a position where they are capable of affecting change for better or for worse. Rainer as a Newmaker probably only changed things for the worse, but that doesn't mean that Paul or somebody else could affect change for the better.

[@Arrakiz666]

Anton All that assumes that "closing the loop" is a compassionate act. Weeee have no reason to believe that's the case. In fact I would make an argument that "closing the loop" refers to completing the process of transforming a child from a lashing, hysterical, but _feeling_ person into a docile and obedient pet. Note that the loop is not "broken" or "fixed", it is "closed". It implies a completed "process". Don't misunderstand me, I think Petscop, the series as whole, presents a possible or at least a hopeful loophole for breaking out of the circle of abuse. Breaking out of the loop. But it only presents that possibility to us- the audience. WE have that ability, if we act now. But within the setting itself, it seems that the characters involved do not consider that even a possibility. There exists a malicious and complex system, specifically designed to drain compassion from people at a very young age. Within the lore of the game a Newmaker seems to only be really compassionate towards themselves. The only reason you even assume "closing the loop" is a good thing is that it's a course of action suggested by Tool, Paul's only ally in this strange and dark world. But Tool is just that- a communication device. Do not assume that whoever is speaking through Tool necessarily has pure intentions, in fact you're better off assuming they have nefarious intentions.

[@instinctivelychelsea2905]

@@Arrakiz666 side note tho the losing eyebrows thing ,I actually think someone plucked them out for real because there's tweezers on the table in the children's room that changes,I cant remember who's room.

[@ingavarh]

It could also mean that they perceive that length of time as a single day and the whole length is the worst day of their lives from the point he was gone, the beginning of the day (christmas 97), and returned and subsequently killed himself at the end of the day (Christmas 2000)

[@feralcatboy7628]

I feel really bad for the person who owns that website, if they are indeed not gamejackers nor the people who run Petscop...

[@jamiegomez899]

Not PunPun Yeah people take it too far sometimes

[@Arrakiz666]

Why? They received a lot of strange questions via their form, that's it. It would be easy to come out officially and state that the site has nothing to do with the series. Instead they considered themselves victim of dubious harassment. Even if the attention was uncalled for, the owner of the web page acted in a truly stupid way. They could have solved the issue in a moment and decided not to. There is no reason to feel bad for someone acting this way. Unless this is a case of game-jacking.

[@Arrakiz666]

Amelia Bee There's not being web-savvy and then there's insisting on keeping radio silence and going out of your way to NOT respond when people are attempting to contact you in good faith. It's not like anyone harassed the owner of the site in any way- people filled the online forms. It really should be easy to contact the owner of a site that is supposed to serve as online help for people, the fact that the owner isn't transparent is a bit suspicious.

[@Arrakiz666]

JOSHUA KANE Sure they don't. But let's not pretend like they were a subject of some kind of malicious harassment, they weren't. People filled their in-site forms with nonsense and that's it. In fact if it was so uncomfortable, they had the perfect opportunity to solve this issue by coming out. They didn't, which just goes to show that they weren't really that inconvenienced by the whole situation. Inconvenienced enough to put a Captcha, a solution that cannot possibly work, and call it a day. I'm not saying that they "deserve" what happened to them, I'm trying to say that what happened to them was trivial and mundane and it's not really worth feeling sorry for something like that. If anything it would be insulting to the person in question. Hope that makes it more clear.

[@Arrakiz666]

Amelia Bee Because people have presumably contacted them one way or another, be it via the site, contact info or any other way and informed them what Petscop is and what the nature of these messages is. I am living under the impression that in the digital age this person surely must left some kind of contact info somewhere, being the web-page owner, especially a web-page who's purpose is ostensibly to help people. I would think someone utilizing a site like that would be transparent. I know I would be. If this person is a paranoid sperg who owns a web-page designed to help people but lives in utter obscurity, going out of their way to make it impossible to find or contact them, then there's a whole host of things not to be sorry for in of itself.

[@Tokuijin]

Well, if it ain't time for me break out my crocheting and a blanket. This is gonna be good! Update: I really get your message here but you also forgot how the systems in regard to the foster care and adoptions are, as people, half of the time, take in the kids for monetary reasons (in the latter case) and, sometimes, the system doesn't throughly check into where the kids are going to, along with that, a good chunk of the time, when social services are called, they either don't intervene (I would know because I've called them before), intervene too damn late (as in numerous cases), people don't report the abuse/neglect, or people make false allegations and that leads to fuckery. Basically, everything needs to be amended to keep things like what happened to Candace (my heart weeps for her) from ever occurring again. Update 2: Also, I just remembered that, up until the 1870s, there were no social services or even laws to deal with child abuse, so, in the case of Mary Ellen Watson, an abused little girl, she was classified as an animal and her "mother" (either an adoptive mother or a stepmother) was jailed for animal cruelty and she was removed. Since then, Henry Bergh, the founder of the ASPCA (and by that extensive, American Humane Society) went on to find the first CPS agency. The idea of connecting pets to children might make more sense if one remembers this.

[@troyithy]

Not only is this eight months late and not related at all, but how did the crocheting go?

[@journeysfable13]

This reminds me of something. Note, I'm 14 and some pieces of this may be wrong. So take a few things with a grain of salt. (tl;dr at the end) My grandmother used to run a daycare. One day, one of the kids was bullying someone. Mother of said kid reports her and says that she was abusing the kids, especially her own. So, CPS comes to my school and finds my uncle. He's autistic and according to my grandmother "says what people want him to say." So he says that my grandmother really did abuse him. So he gets taken away along with my other uncle. My youngest uncle wasn't officially adopted but my family was working on it. My oldest uncle(the one with autism) and the youngest get taken away. The real tea here is despite every fucking bit of evidence, the reports that my older uncle was autistic and lied about being abused and the evidence that some crazy lady lied about the abuse, my family had to fight tooth and nail to get them back. We got my older uncle back but I haven't, and most likely, never will see the youngest ever again. Because some lady lied about abuse and got away with it. Tl:dr: (Quote from my grandfather) "(my grandmother) ran a daycare with no problems until she tried to stop a bully." Some lady lied about abuse because her son was a dick. Got a family member taken away. And my family had to fight their hardest despite every single bit of evidence to the contrary. What is wrong with people? Oh, and, I've once heard about a boy literally saying to a police officer's face that he was being abused and the officer didn't do shit. No one did a damn thing until the poor boy died. So, uh, yea. The system needs some work.

[@robertcornhole5197]

I've been thinking a lot about the "tool" lately. A tool for what, exactly? And then it struck me what the tool reminded me of- a Ouija pointer. Used by curious kids to ostensibly communicate with the deceased. In the same way, "tool" is a tool of communication. Is Paul literally speaking to the dead? Not sure, but he is communicating "across planes" in the terminology of Petscop. The dialogue box that requires him to move his cursor around to select letters is a lot like the way a Ouija pointer moves across the board letter by letter, as is the way the green tool in the school traces patterns across the screen.

[@Pink000h]

I think this was suggested in one of the first few videos but I could be wrong. If not it's a good point. Also they're called planchette(s? Idk what the plural for the word is)

[@pyro3207]

also 'tool" is a pinoa tuner

[@bucketts6148]

Then maybe when it says “Marvin picks up tool and hurts me” it means contacts the dead person

[@quackquackimgay2434]

@@lizlazmccringe2043 and that would also make sense when it comes to Tool being used to cause pain. Getting stabbed or scratched by an awl would be incredibly painful. Theres also the fact that Tool was in one of the rooms (Care's room i think?) So that would explain part of her pain if Tool was used to hurt Care.

[@derekspradling7452]

judging from the theories provided in this video, this is my conclusion on Petscop. This might sound overly simplistic, but I think this ARG has a moral. "What goes around comes around." This developer "Rainer." (please forgive any misspellings) was physically, mentally, and spiritually abused as a kid. Rainer, being the younger person living under the authority of others, knew he couldn't return the favor of abuse to his abusers directly, however he does know them so well, that he knows exactly how to break them. Just as Petscop is full of references to real life abuse cases, it must also be full of references to inside family jokes and incidents. It's the only reason why I can think of for this game having such a profound effect on Paul's psyche. All the references and bits of story we can gleam from these uploads is, if we're lucky, only half of the story. The other half speaks to things that only Paul and the proprietors know about. The censored items in Petscop 10 probably spells it out in plane site. This is just MY thought process on this ARG. There are probably some GAPING holes in my logic, but these are the conclusions I have come to personally.

[@Otakutori]

There is nothing beter to wake up to than a petscop video

[@balalaika9114]

otaku tori Do you mean better or “hey 🅱eter?”

[@sillysurgeon]

Best analysis series on youtube. You are eloquent without being condescending, and thoughtful without being convoluted

[@JazmoTheKitty]

My theories: 1) TOOL is an acronym, it is always in caps. 2) The Newmaker Plane is a plane of existence. Newmaker being a person of child abuse in the real world, The Newmaker Plane is the Plane of Reckless Child Abuse. 3) Pink TOOL may or may not be Mike. It may be a ghost communication device or it may not be Mike at all.

[@tarkovskijnoir]

Man, the "kaptcha"-incident interpretation is so thorough and interesting, especially as it confounded all of us when it happened. Super great work there!!

[@sandraweilbrenner67]

just when you think you know all the answers they keep changing the questions

[@systemgroove3406]

*_"The most important thing to a question is what we ask."_*

[@TheZenytram]

i wanna hear your thoughts about the newest petscop video,

[@TheMightyPika]

Me too.

[@thecomicman6890]

Check his post in the community

[@tomimn2233]

is possible for link to his post? where did he post? petscop subreddit? under what username? thanks!

[@thecomicman6890]

tomimn2233 go to his community page on his channel

[@bryanbussolari2059]

He says make your own thoughts, while I agree, I love his petscop videos. I love the pacing, and the format of his videos, with the footnotes. He always finds something I miss. I love the series

[@MassiveTestes]

This whole series of video essays was nothing short of masterful and a pure joy to watch from beginning to end. Thank you so much for taking the time and putting in the effort to produce it all!

[@blueangel8229]

yo.. i clicked on this video only to realize, at this very moment, petscop 11 was uploaded an hour ago. merry christmas, everyone, here's to the next installments of this brilliantly terrifying piece of art!

[@mcbadrobotvoice8155]

blue angel that was the best Christmas present of all

[@j-lon3564]

On Christmas too! Remember the game was gifted to “them” on Christmas after “Rainer” had been missing since June.

[@elsad5810]

May I point out, that the character Paul plays as resembles an odd looking pet. Pets are viewed not as antagonists most of the time, but as victims. Even the colour and design (and you pointed this out in a previous video) seems washed out and unfinished, like the Newmaker Plane level of the game. It said in a note or something that the Newmaker (at one point identified as Paul, the player) wanders the Newmaker Plane. If the Newmaker Plane is supposed to represent loss, is Paul supposedly the victim? Paul might be a real life victim, and kind of shown as a victim in the game, but Petschop is still taking away his empathy and human characterists, as it was meant to. The game was designed as a device to torture the perpetrator of abuse, then maybe there is a secret to Paul and his mother in the sense that it was meant for her, but accidently played by Paul, the victim, after her...? Also, I think Paul might even represent all of us, because all of us could be victim, or twisted by society, or even doing the haneous acts ourself. This is part of the creepy and horrific aspect of the game. In a sense, any one of us could possibly be Paul, the real victim, and the real villain in this story. In this case, that kind of makes the story a lot more sad. 😕 Huh.

[@typecasto]

"it is vitally important to the work that roneth is unobtainable" boy that aged well didn't it lol

[@sinistersilence489]

Oh a most wondrous day. Master has given Us a video.

[@p0ltergeists]

Excellent work as always, sir. You are by far one of my favourite channels on KZbin. Always happy to see you upload, and I love the level of attention to detail you have given to such a complex and great series. Fantastic.

[@crownedbythewatcher347]

I got chills with that Twilight Zone-like premise of Petscop! Brilliant, really well done

[@The.HarroweD]

A rather creepy coincidence just stood out for me. In the beginning of this video, you state that you'd like to collect information from the viewer, saying to leave their thoughts in comments (input), or better yet, make a video (commentary) as "your feedback is invaluable". In the newest 13th installment of Petscop, at the very end, it states "Your controller inputs will be useful" (comments) "but your feedback will be even more useful" (commentary). Super strange to me how these things seemed to line up so well.

[@roadkillrandy5926]

>_>

[@jo-5571]

these vids are delivered in such a measured, matter-of-fact tone and yet i still feel on edge every time i watch

[@manicmax7909]

I love how detailed and scientific you approach everything. It's mesmerizing and I love it! I'm so excited to see the next analysis with 11, 12, and 13!

[@Erndea]

I really like how thorough you are with your subject matter. You're very well-spoken, and you keep me interested to the point where I didn't notice your accompanying music fade out. Keep it up! :)

[@VirtualCrickets]

Props for the discussion at 1:20:00! In my opinion, the most compelling thing about Petscop is how it stands out as a catalyst for thinking about/discussing empathy

[@seagoddess9937]

This is not probably being talked about anymore, I'm a bit late to the party. But it's noteworthy that eyebrow loss can be caused be infection, skin conditions, hormonal changes an overactive immune system. This is now where it gets interesting as it can also be caused by nutritional deficiencies, physical trauma, and emotional stress which are all signs of a child being abused.

[@holdingmyown]

gosh I'm watching through this series and can I just say how much I appreciate these videos??? the whole postmodernist notion of the metanarrative and digital culture and all that is one of my favorite things to talk about, and you do such a thoughtful investigation. it seems to me like the idea of the question being more interesting than the answer-the fact that there's an ambiguity at all-really adds layers to your understanding and perception of the series. i'll keep watching through the other videos but i just felt so strongly i wanted to let you know :)

[@AyrisX86]

Hey, do you think that "Rainer, Newmaker" may refer to 2 people signing the note, rather than Rainer assigning himself the title of Newmaker?

[@milesmemory]

Fascinating never thought about it like that

[@saturnsringfinger]

I’ve been thinking the same thing, why else would he include a comma?

[@teekay851]

@@saturnsringfinger ...because that is commonly how people's names are written? Check an academic journal or a reference list for a published work some time...

[@ThereMakeBeSnakes]

@@teekay851 Sure, for “Last Name, First Name”, which would make him Newmaker Rainer. I wouldn’t say “First Name, Last Name” is common at all, though.

[@CecilyRenns]

the last 30 minutes were some of the best written youtube content ive ever had the pleasure of watching. simply a perfect ending and conclusion; not even just as a theory for the story of Petscop, but as a profound statement about people in general. im incredibly glad to have found this, thank you for writing it

[@the500mphtortoise]

The website mentioned is created by someone at the university of arizona (wont mention out of respect for privacy). If one were to recall Michael Hammond (the dead kid) works at that same university.

[@russellmoore8187]

I went to UA. It’s great

[@Rayberri_Baeberri]

U of A?

[@Dragonatrix]

You went to UA?! Damn dude, you must have a slick Quirk. Plus Ultra!

[@user-me7hx8zf9y]

@@Dragonatrix 🤮

[@AniematedSteph]

Watching during quarantine. Still one of my favorite videos on the site.

[@ErinJeanette]

I only vaguely heard of it through game theory but I'm so glad I got curious again and clicked this play list because I am hooked!

[@saikyocentral]

I just finished Doki Doki Literature Club and was going to attempt to go to sleep. Now it's 1 AM and now an hour and a half. This is too much meta horror for one night, oh god. Let's do this.

[@ohsaintends]

kinda late to the "party" but i just wanted to let you know that this is LEGITIMATELY one of the best analysis videos i have ever seen. As a psychology student, hats off to you, I got chills multiple times while watching from the deduction in action you showed. Bra - f*ckin' - vo.

[@Offdopp]

I can relate.

[@monkey0180]

Is it possible the child library is like an orphanage? Does adding this element explain any details in the story?

[@Dorian_sapiens]

That's what I think, too. There's a comment on Part 1 of this series that says: _One thing nobody seems to have touched on regarding the word "scop": in Old English/Anglo-Saxon, the letter combination SC was usually pronounced like Modern English's SH, meaning that "scop" would be pronounced the same way as "shop"._ So, I think the child library and the "pet shop" both are twisted ways of referring to an orphanage.

[@stanvbs]

@@Dorian_sapiens ohhh thats an incredible point

[@Mathee]

I think the series is gonna return around Christmas. Would make sense since Rainer apparently disappeared twice around the same time the Petscop channel stopped updating, but reappeared in time to give someone the game as a Christmas present. Actually, the idea that Petscop might become available to the public would fall in line with that, since it would be Paul giving the viewers the game as a present

[@nomnombr]

Mathilde Bruhn here it is

[@juliadapper3010]

oh boy a new masterclass petscop video! (sees that it's over an hour long.) N U T.

[@halloweenz]

A new petscop video from you? AND it’s over an hour long? SIGN ME THE FFUUUUCK UP

[@jadehulse9535]

When you talked about there possibly being a copy of petscop released and the music stopped, I got really spooked.

[@elsad5810]

That was amazing! 😄 Wow, I'm blown away by this series! Great great fantastic awesome amazing terrific job!! All of the ideas expressed, even abstract perspectives way out there, were just so well put, you deserve an applause!👏👏👏 I loved this, and I appreciate the tons of effort you put into this serie analysis. Thank you for this!🙂

[@robertcornhole5197]

You really were onto something. Paul "came back" on Christmas. And there's something wrong with him. He casually mentions Rainer was someone he actually knew, at least as an acquaintance. And it didn't AT ALL bother him, seeing that kid's name in this Playstation game? The guy is detached from reality in some way.

[@robertcornhole5197]

Something VERY off about Paul in video 11. He's so deadpan or silent through all the freaky stuff that happens in the game, like it's not entirely registering. But when he has to wait in Care A's closet, he sounds very agitated and disturbed, even though nothing seems to be happening.

[@Lisa-cj9cd]

Also the whole bathroom “that was an experience” thing really creeped me out, why would he do the exact same thing with the exact same reaction, twice?

[@robertcornhole5197]

Up until that, I'm pretty sure all the strange occurrences have been happening with the gameplay. What's uncomfortable is that might be the first direct footage we have of something "off" or not right happening in the physical world too.

[@robertcornhole5197]

Also- On re-watching, "That was an experience" really bothers me. WHAT was an experience? The second-or-so cutscene of a zooming TV? Why did that, of all the things he's seen in Petscop, leave an impression on him? Is Paul seeing things we aren't? And are we seeing things he isn't?

[@isawadelapradera6490]

Robert Cornhole *"Is Paul seeing things we aren't? And are we seeing things he isn't?"* Exactly. I feel like the game is toying around with time continuity more and more evidently and heavy handedly. Like remember how the initial section of Petscop 9 is a demo arguably portraying the overworld's correspondence to the newmaker plane petal-pulling in episode 2? Well, let's go back to "That was an experience". Paul goes into the bathroom. An animation plays moving *towards* the TV. Then Paul says "The hell... that was an experience" for no apparent reason and explores the bathroom. He goes into the tub, and... Everything fades. Paul is gone. The cheerful "Petscop - Press start!" screen awaits, and as nothing happens (more the reason to believe Paul is gone - gone in _what sense_ I can't tell) the game goes into demo mode with the _clearest_ loading screen obscured background up to this point. First person perspective is introduced for the first time, perhaps very purposefully (First person could be equalled in a way to greater _immersion)._ Also for the first time ever, communication is introduced. Communication with the inhabitant of the game, Marvin, no less. YET, STILL no trace of Paul. More first person shenanigans, and... Paul goes into the bathroom. An animation plays moving *away from* the TV. Then Paul says "The hell... that was an experience" for no apparent reason and explores the bathroom. This is theorically his second time in the bathroom, but bear with me on this, _it is not for him._ For him this is his first time in the bathroom. The "first" and "second" instances merged into one. His conscience gone during the gap, it's perhaps trying to repair that gap itself by merging the entry and exit points. Or perhaps it was done "purposefully" by the game itself. Or, perhaps he lived both instances at once. He mentions how he "could have sworn" he saw a symbol cube above the bathtub. Notice how he points out this entirely irrelevant change, while he doesn't even seem to realize a largely more important change: the dissappearance of the ramp that would allow him to enter the tub. This huge discrepancy could easily be due to artifacting caused by the merge - like how when recording over a cheap VHS tape with a poor-quality set you may get ghosting of the old video over the new one. Basically his conscience instead of properly recording everything was forced to stop, rewind, and re-record from the point of entering the bathroom, in *very* simplified terms. This is I'd say the biggest messing with time continuity in the series but you'll be able to find more. I've tried to explain everything in very simplified terms to keep it short and this is still a fucking wall of text, so if something sounds stupid, I'd love to keep the discussion alive and explain myself properly, but for now... *The hell. That was an experience.*

[@MissingNo99]

I hope that there'll be more episodes of these series :D Because I love hearing your observations and opinions too

[@happydogb2517]

Dude so I'm in intensive therapy and just, man you treat this subject so incredibly well and respectfully, while Also sharing very important information, and tbh, the newmaker plane is actually a Really similar to a spot in my mind where I faced my trauma (past therapy work was strange) back when I was around 8 lmao and it's been with me since, just an observation on how accurate you are lmao, good day thanks for entertaining me for Hours

[@Pleasestoptalkingthanks]

Excellently worded analysis. I totally agree on your observations on how the game feels atmospherically and emotionally. Whoever's running this series is good, really good.

[@Site_42]

Jesus amigo, I thought these videos were comprehensive before I got to this one and discovered an hour and a half of video. I can barely write 3 pages for my video essays, so major respect bro!

[@audreyeyeye1272]

Never clicked anything faster in my life

[@morganj426]

I liked your analyses - binged all your work on Petscop today. Then you started discussing politics of systems and suffering, and I LOVE it. You're doing some of the best work on internet series & horror that I've seen

[@theobscenekiwi]

I hope your channel will grow fast and wild David, you really have talent!

[@HeyJudie]

Would love a NMMasterclass on House of Leaves.

[@maeveriden8887]

Dude.. I think I'm in love with your brain.

[@GayBrain]

hey what about me

[@carnigob42069]

david, thank you for making this series. i've been rewatching these videos regularly since they came out. it's these types of perspectives on art that keep my brain fresh and curious and receptive. thank you.

[@lasmirandadennsiewillja9435]

I find it still weird how the game is probably about child abuse in general but only is less subtle about one specific case. I wondered if maybe observations are too US-centric and if the numbers and hints maybe refer to hideous examples of child abuse, or even some kind of child abuse through "twisted love" from places outside the US. The first coming to my mind was the Kampusch case, about a girl who was abducted in Vienna at the age of 10 and managed to run away from her captor eight years later but the numbers don't work, her nightmare started in 1998, not 1997, also, as mentioned, eight years, not the ever present seven. Next, I looked up the Fritzl case (Austria, again). A man who locked his daughter up in the basement for 25 years, starting 1984. But her nightmare started when she was 11 and he raped her for the first time, in 1977. Also, during the time she was locked up, the sexual abuse resulted in seven children, three of them stayed in the basement with their mother, one died after birth, the other three were adopted by, well, their biological father who said his daughter joined a cult and just abandoned the kids in front of his doorsteps. Her mother just silently let it happen. He let one of the girls living in the basement go when she was sick and needed medical care. This started the end of the whole horror, in 2008. And there any possible connections to the game's obsession with the 7 ends. More numbers: They fooled the CPS every time they "found" another child of their daughter and pretended they'd been called by her several times. They were believed every time and could easily adopt the children. There were 21 entries of them contacting CPS from 1993 and 2007, six visits by CPS (who never found anything suspicious), the last one in 1997. It's still sickening to read, especially when you remember how many abused children grow up to be abusers themselves, as Fritzl states he was heavily abused (beaten until he would bleed on a regular base) by his mother (a KZ survivor), who he, of course, locked up at some point for 21 years! He also already got jail in 1967 after being accused of rape. I don't know how the daughter and her children are doing but it's probably safe to say that this is a story of horror and abuse that's been clinging to the family for at least three generations.

[@princesspasta]

this series was the most in-depth review i've seen for petscop. really enjoyed it.

[@SerMattzio]

The Garalina definition is really creepy. I noticed the hook when watching but the sinker flew over my head...the resemblance is too uncanny to be a mistake. The people making this series really have put an incredible amount of work into every detail, wow.

[@jkelly6225]

I know this video is from four years ago so I don’t know if you will see it, but I just have to say how influential this video has been to me. Thank you.

[@TotallyRadicalShow]

My body is ready.

[@Guruc13]

My god this was an essay and a half. I'm impressed by the amazing work of the makers of Petscop and your deft analysis of it. Well done NM, I think this is one of your best videos yet

[@adamwillis908]

"Good Grief!" -Charlie Brown, 1997

[@user-gk2sc4ky4i]

When you started going off abt the real world effects of what poverty does to children and families I went damn outloud. I love this series A LOT you do not skimp out on how petscop has very real themes so you in turn are being up very real problems that would cause these themes. Love it

[@broskimoski9775]

Pants are off in preparation

[@buffystar3]

Broski Moski hol up

[@Daneh97]

You're the type of person that reminds me why my parents told not to swear "too much." When you keep a clean and eloquent vocabulary like yours, the occasional f-bomb makes so much more impact. When you say Paul is "fucked" it has more impact than if you had used yet another articulate word. Instead, it reminds the viewer of the emotionality of what we're talking about. That said, I never did get in the habit of following that advice. haha

[@roccowalsh3131]

I see Rainer as the Proto man to Paul's Mega man. An older relative who ran away, adopted a new name, and becomes a mysterious figure.

[@galleryofdescent9646]

Keep taking your time and build up these massive in depth explorations. Over time the work will be worth it I promise

[@britipinojeff]

lol that beginning bit sort of feel like a jab at Game Theory and how MatPat always tries to make sweeping statements and SOLVE things like Petscop.

[@riririnmaru5672]

ironic how its supposed to be a theory but he always wants to solve it

[@algorithmannihilator9444]

Highly anticipated, and I was not disappointed. VERY powerful outro. If the game is really released you gotta do your own cryptic playthrough.

[@renandes.santana3487]

I want to congratulate you for all the effort you've put in this series. Those subjects are of special interest for me (as a psychology student and as a human being). If it wasn't for your videos petscop would be no more than a strange horror series with a weird looking avatar, from my point of view. Thank you. last thing: I would love to know what you have to say about Yume Nikki

[@loonachan]

Thank you so much for this. I feel like you've contributed far more of real meaning to this series than any other source. I know even bringing it up starts fights now for some reason- but I can't help but be reminded of Undertale, and I personally don't think it's a coincidence that this art project was dropped on us roughly a year and a half after that game- it would have taken about that long to put a game like this together with a small team. And the themes you took from it at the conclusion remind me a lot of the no-mercy route. Undertale proved you could get countless people (including myself) to strip away their empathy in order to complete a game. For me, beating the no mercy route was hard, but I never felt the need to brag about it, instead it just left me with a sense that I had actually done something morally wrong- despite my IRL brain knowing it was just a game. It could be that this project is meant to take that idea even farther, piling on multiple levels of stripping away empathy, just as there multiple levels by which we interact with the story. Even the act of poring over this seemingly horrific story for clues and puzzle pieces is one that requires you to disconnect from the actual human suffering it is trying to draw some attention to. But that brings up the next point- could it be that stripping away this empathy for a fictional experience actually enhances one's empathy outside it? Perhaps actually getting to play Petscop- or at least "finishing" the video series shouldn't be seen as a good thing, to get people to think critically about the real suffering by holding a mirror up to what happens when you don't.

[@zerozero1zerozero100]

Need more Nightmare Masterclass in October

[@FreezingMocha]

Puerto RicanTetley Spoopy one too

[@cappyanon6086]

The "maybe think twice" line is pretty neat, good job on that.

[@itryen7632]

paul is sans

[@distantsea]

Paul is Ness

[@תומרקחלון]

paul is the man behind the slaughter

[@adamaster198]

I discovered this channel this morning. This is one of my favorite KZbin channels now.

[@L16htW4rr10r]

Don't read it if you haven't watch Petscop 13. I found it interesting that in this video, you keep telling us that it is impossible, or at least, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for Paul to understand empathy. I would agree wholeheartedly of this theory when there is no indication of this. But if you watch Petscop 13, you can finally see the changes in Paul's personality, for the better. When the game told him to keep turn the playstation on, for the first time ever in Petscop history, he didn't comply to that order and turn off the playstation. He started to see the flaws in the game and in his logic.

[@thefatherrabbit]

Or he turned it off as an experiment to see what happened in which case that's not empathy.

[@GhostofGriever]

This is absolutely the best video analysis of Petscop. I can’t wait to see your take on the most recent episode. I’m also excited to check out your other content! I made myself dinner and settling in for a binge watch.

[@imnullandvoid1224]

15:04 why does everyone keep reading it wrong. It says he gave the gift on "Christmas 1997 AND 2000" That's two seperate days. Two different Christmases. Not one single day. So when they say "it was the single longest day of our lives" what are they referring to? Which Christmas, if it was either of them at all? My theory, Rainer is Michaels uncle. He made Petscop for Michael as a gift before he died. But why did Michael die? Marven. His father. Rainers brother in law. Marven has two children a daughter, Care and a son, Michael. After his friend went missing at the windmill, Marven married her sister, who is Rainers sister also. Then when they had care I suspect that she looked a lot like the sister who went missing, only Care HAD eyebrows and the missing sister didn't. So possibly stircken with a deep seated grief and warped sense of reality, by being hit with memories of his missing friend, Marven decides to pluck Cares eyebrows so she would look exactly like his missing friend. His wife notices that cares eyebrows aren't growing, but shrugs it off as possibly something genetic. Meanwhile Marven is excited by this. He tries to teach Care and force her into believing she's his friend. He believes his friend has been reborn. But something happens. Care starts getting bullied at school for having no eyebrows. She cries and decides to run away after school. So now Marvens friend has gone missing again. So what does he do? He repeats the same process with his son Michael, only Michael doesn't respond well to the treatment. So Marven starts punishing Michael with the tool. (This is why you see the tweezers and tool in Michaels room) one day it goes too far, and Marvens accidentally kills Michael. I think Rainer has figured this all out. He knows about the whole thing. He knows what happened to his sister and his niece and nephew. I think he found out after the Christmas of 1997. And when he went back in the Christmas of 2000 he tried to confront Marven and his living sister, only to be ... Forcibly silenced. That's why they state in the discription "We're not worried about that anymore." They're not worried, because they know Rainer isn't going to be able to blackmail them and their secret is safe. I think to an extent Marvens wife knows parts of what's happened. I think she and Marven had something to do with the missing friend. I don't think she knew what Marven was doing to their children, nor do I think she would have agreed with it. I get a vibe like perhaps she may have been jealous of her sister and estranged from her family, because if not then she probably wouldn't kill Rainer if he was a brother she truly cared for. It seems to me like Marven had more of a thing for the missing friend than the sister. And married her as the next best option.

[@imnullandvoid1224]

So who is Michael and Cares mother and Marvens wife? Jill. How did Paul get this game? Knowing that he would likely get into some trouble blackmailing Jill and Marven, Rainer gave a copy of Petscop container secrets and the truth to his wife to keep safe. Years later Rainers son, Paul finds the game and begins playing. That's why he states his mother had the game in the early 2000's. When he learns that there is a character named Jill in the game, he becomes audibly distressed and says he needs to call Jill, his aunt. Upon realising that there is a copy of the game containing the truth about what they've done, Jill and Marven take over Paul's KZbin page, edit the videos and give him a list of things within the game that he needs to censor in an effort to hide the truth. And then, seemingly Paul goes missing, just like his father did in 2000 after he threatened Jill and Marven. That's why Paul says he admits he resembles the missing friend. Because she was his aunt. It makes sense for him to look somewhat like her, because they were related.

[@emilyswarts543]

Listening to this series is like reading an award winning research paper - im in *love* with this!

[@ayonixanimations]

About the whole repeating cycle, fear will truly hit me when we get a type of Petscop 2 from someone releasing videos of the game in 2037

[@giraffes_are_awesome8988]

Your analysis strikes me, on the whole, as excellent. The fact that it is so calmly and matter-of-factly presented makes it that much more credible and easy to digest. (Also, if I may say, the extent of your vocabulary is truly refreshing.) First, I wish to make something clear: I am //not// making this comment in the hopes that a particular game, an interest of mine, can simply piggy-back off of the established interest and discussion surrounding Petscop. I in no way wish to detract from the deeply serious nature of Petscop's subject matter or divert any attention away from it. That being said, certain of your observations throughout your investigation of the work of art, the experience, that is Petscop, have resonated with me in regards to a particular computer game: the game OFF, by Mortis Ghost. Yet, I fear that explaining in more detail just where the parallels lie might be venturing into the territory of spoilers (potentially end-game ones) for that game, so I hesitate to mention them outright. I have little doubt that, were you to play OFF yourself, you would easily draw the same comparisons, but I am not certain whether playing it is an experience you would be inclined to have first-hand. After all, given the nature of the medium, OFF requires a certain kind of interaction in order to progress, and I have little idea as to whether simplistic turn-based combat à la early Final Fantasy titles is your metaphorical cup of tea. Perhaps, too, OFF's potential messages are nowhere near as hidden as other works'; however, enough material is present to spark much fan speculation, and though some details have been revealed quite willingly by the game's creator (in answer to comments on DeviantArt, for example), there is much fundamental to the game for which connections are never explicitly drawn. I bring up this title because it seems like the sort of in-depth analysis (if, indeed, there is enough material to the game to warrant such probing) which looks to be your forte--particularly as the subject material, in this case, can be at times decidedly unsettling. Is this examination of the game one you would be willing to undertake? (Regardless, thank you for your time spent in reading this note, and in maintaining your channel in general. Wishing you all the best.)

[@CutePuppy351]

I've always admired OFF by Mortis Ghost. It's so good to see somebody that's also seen it and loves this game as well.