Solving The Mystery Of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared - Inside A Mind

Red just casually grabbing Roy and aggressively honking the horn at him before throwing him out of the car absolutely killed me

In Episode 5, I think the stange black liquid that the Car Man was drinking was supposed to be a joke about oil. The reason he says the gang can't make it because "it was forged under the Earth by the ancient ones" is because oil is literally made underground by the remains of ancient animals.

Duck telling Red to do something and all he comes up with is "you're fired" kills me

The Image of Roy, mumbling "yum, yum" ominously,...walking out of frame,...then screaming "YUM YUM YUM"(vocal fry and all) while blood and sinew splatter against the still closing door...is hands down my favorite moment in DHMIS. Period.

I’ve always interpreted the car’s explanation of his drink as a description of petrol - or, to be more accurate, oil. “A liquid forged deep underground from the remains of ancient ones” is exactly how I could imagine someone explaining what oil is. It’s made from plant matter and animal remains from long ago, placed under extreme heat and pressure within the earth.

For me the appeal of the episode with Warren the eagle, is that we ALL know someone who's just like Warren, he embodies the most relatable aspects of hanging out with an asshole who tries to be your friend for his own benefit or ego, which makes it more satisfying to see him getting roasted and every other character acknowledging how much he sucks

I just realized the whole thing with Yellow Guy and the batteries is a lot like the book “Flowers For Algernon” (idk if I spelled that correctly). He learned enough to realize that he had been unaware of the world around him, then had it stripped away in front of his eyes leaving him feeling vaguely empty without being able to process why

A thing I noticed in the TV series is that in Episode 6 Red, normally the one to push back the hardest, more or less falls in line with the lesson quite quickly. I think of it as him being chastened by episode 5, whether he knows it or not; he tried to break out, tried to take control of his life, and was rewarded with only desolation and waste before being thrown back in the house. I realise it could also just be that Yellow's sudden shift in personality disturbs him and he's reaching for what's known and familiar in response

I do have to say I adore that the trio of DHMIS is canonically called a Clump, they’re just this strange little collection of toys who have to all be played with together to tell stories or make the lessons work.

DHMIS feels like it exists in a very similar artistic space to The Stanley Parable and Pathalogic. They're stories that tell you up front that there's no true meaning to find and no true lore to uncover, but do so in a way that invites you to look for one simply for the sake of looking.

I liked when Lesley said “You’re not my real son!” I feel it added to the strangeness of her character. The sudden piano bang and harsh vocal shift made her come off as very intimidating, making her seem unhinged as she quickly shifts tones. You can say it is too direct but I don’t mind that, in fact, it could serve as an experiment. A lot of people think the case is cut and dry but seeing how a show can twist something in a way that makes sense but was also unpredictable and thinks outside the box in a way only the creators can is always fascinating to me. I really feel her character wouldn’t have impacted myself and others as hard without that scene. This series is more than just lore after all, and to ignore that closes out some interesting possibilities the creators may wish to explore.

This was a journey. My friend showed me this series maybe 6 years ago? She didn’t make it to 2021. The world wasn’t prepared for her eccentric brilliance, and she was endlessly lonely for that. The meta frustrations expressed by the artists reflect her struggle so vividly. Truly high art.

You missed in the TV show ep II, when the duck is killed we see maggots coming from the corpse, much like the duck in the grave earlier in the episode, so it's very likely they wanted fans who watch closely to see that it is the original duck who was killed. Of course we see in episode 6 that duck is replaceable, interestingly there is only one drawer, so maybe only duck is replaceable?

1:24:10 I love when Roy shows up and says “it’s Roying time” and Roy’s all over the place

57:43 I think what made Clayhill feel so different to the first series wasn’t the lack of being stuck in a closed room and the claustrophobic feeling it brought with, but actually the idea of so many new characters living in such close quarters with the main three. These characters would take away from the solitude of the original web series that made it so unsettling- just 3 of them with little else existing around them. Of course, there are the teachers, but they were objects or bugs that were suddenly animate and vocal. Everything they said made little sense, frequently cut off the other characters and invalidated their opinions on the topics, only to return back to inanimate parts of the set or leave all together. They weren’t companions, they alienated the main three; confused them and there was seemingly no one else out there who could explain anything. This created that disturbing sense of the unknown and there being nothing else out there. Just a cycle of nonsensical lessons that end in horror. Clayhill didn’t capture that feeling, being a whole town with so many new characters existing amongst the main three. I do also acknowledge that perhaps this was exactly what they meant by claustrophobic- being stuck in this world, alone and perplexed. Struggled to get out my thoughts there so good luck deciphering whatever the hell I was thinking.

I really don't see how episode 4 is weak because of Warren (that's his name, not 'Eagle'), in fact he's what makes the episode the best one in my opinion thematically and meta-wise. Warren personifies toxic friendships, he makes everything about him without any consideration to what his 'friends' want, while also claiming that Yellow Guy's actual friends are horrible so he can isolate him; he's a literal parasite who gets in Yellow Guy's head and makes him depressed. Its also why he calls himself an eagle when he's a worm, he's pretending to be somethin he isn't. Warren also represents those 'zero tolerance' anti-bullying programs in schools, and its also why he targets Yellow Guy who is depicted as being child-like; because that's who those programs wee claiming to help, when all they ever did was make the adults who put them in place feel better about themselves without them actually having to do anything. His advice on how to be a good friend is as shallow as a puddle and harmfully vague, and its clear he's just doing it for his own gain (he isn't affiliated with 'OK Stop' anymore but still uses their marketing) The show isn't going out of its way to make Warren annoying, because that's literally what toxic friends are like, and I kinda feel like people who dislike episode 4 have never had to experience those types of people. As somebody who's had toxic friends, it's so cathardic for DHMIS to constantly dunk on Warren and point out what a prick he is. Plus suggesting that the episode just be 20 minutes of the main trio being on the computer would have missed the point of the episode being called 'Friendship', if you want an episode where the trio are on the computer the entire time just watch the internet episode from the webseries.

The episode four slander is deeply upsetting to me, given it’s my favorite episode of the new series. I know not everyone gets it, but I think Warren is an absolutely hilarious character and he does actually have a deeper meaning. He’s a parasite. When he shows the slides depicting his backstory he paints his friends in an extremely negative light even though they don’t do anything to antagonize him. He’s deeply upset when they’re paying more attention to a kitten than him, and later when he shows them his business idea and they don’t invest in it he insinuates that they’re stupid and didn’t even listen to it. Because of how egotistical he is he loses his friends and his membership to the OK Stop organization, but continues to use their materials to give his manipulative lessons about friendship credibility. Since he’s generally annoying he’s desperate for friends to leech off of, which is what gives him the appearance of being sympathetic. That’s exactly how he draws people in. He gets into Yellow Guy’s brain and begins slowly taking over as soon as the characters in Yellow Guy’s mind begin showing him praise. Eventually he drives everyone away aside from Yellow Guy himself, who’s starting to catch onto his rouse. He tries to escape, and is chased by the grotesque worm form of Warren before finally being saved by Duck, one of his real friends.

I'm sure others have also mentioned this, but if you look closely at the duck who was decapitated, you can see worms surrounding his body. The only other time we saw worms that episode was in the coffin with the real duck, suggesting that some of the worms and burrowed into him and came out once he was killed, also seemingly confirming that it was the real duck who was killed.

As someone who grew up with an abusive father I'd interpret Roy as a representation of an abusive/neglectful parent. Yes he does sometimes help his kid but most of the time he just ignores his kid or makes things worse

I love episode 4 because of the return of the computer. It made Colin my new favorite character because he always sounds so happy (even when insulting Warren lol) and he's so much more friendly and supportive. I also love his full character design and the way he moves around. Also the "I love you! Goodbye!" Is my favorite thing ever it's so cute