Fridge Brilliance
- In Friendly Shadow, the children look at Shadow with fear. Why? Likely because he is the first adult outside of their family whose true face they've seen.
- Initially, Shadow is told by Hive that his priority is dealing with the beast, not rescuing the girl. However, when he finds the beast, he's told to go find the girl and leave the beast where it is. In the latter act of the episode, we see Hive is not an individual, but a Hive Mind formed by all the Exceptional people captured over the years, debating over what to do with him. The fact that this argument is happening implies that this hive mind isn't as centralized, hence the conflicting orders.
- In "Being Pretty", the Uglies often have their damning trait written on their mask, such as "Disfigured" or "Sterile." In subsequent shorts, this is ignored in favor of simply "Ugly." This can be excused as Early-Installment Weirdness or to save animation, but Word of God states that the short takes place thousands of years before "Friendly Shadow." Even if Autodale is a cycle, it might've been considered more efficient to stop this practice. After all, what difference does it make why someone is "Ugly"? They all end up the same.
- If the Friendly Shadow is anything to go by, while children might have a little more leniency, they can still be branded Ugly. Considering as how mental illnesses and physical disabilities can get an adult branded Ugly, does Autodale enforce this on babies?
- What about children born out of wedlock? Are they considered Ugly?
- The two sons shown in "Friendly Shadow" are implied to be sent to a foster family once their widow mother is marked as Ugly; this implies that Autodale, for all its faults, will do their best to ensure that viable children are raised to adulthood, regardless of their origins. However, the parents might not be shown the same mercy.
- What about children born out of wedlock? Are they considered Ugly?
- All the residents of Autodale are white. This may simply be due to the factors of the region it was built in, but considering it seems to seek to replicate a classic 1950s American suburb and is very willing to kill anyone who doesn't fit that mold... the implications of the apparently racially-homogeneous nature of Autodale are disturbing.
- Considering the propaganda Hive spits out at the end of "Friendly Shadow", how often have they covered up his actions or glorified his escapades in such a manner?
- Neutral Hive isn't exactly a nice person herself when she was mortal, what with her admiration of the Mayor's murder machine and all. However, it's shown at the end of Friendly Shadow that the majority of the Hive is even worse than she is. How screwed is Autodale that the woman who looks at mass murder with glee is the most moral person of the entire leadership class?
