Disclaimer:
This is a critical analysis of an animated video
that features grotesque imagery and rather unsettling moments, including:
- Blood
- Vomiting
- Elements of horror
- Verbal abuse
Reader discretion
is advised.
Salad Fingers is back and more disturbed than
ever [7]. It all started on Newgrounds back in 2004 with a strange green man
who likes rusty spoons. With dull backgrounds, creepy character design and
moments of shock factor, it is known as one of the most disturbing animated
series in the entire history of animation, especially cartoons on the internet.
For a while, it seemed like the series would end after the tenth episode aired
in late 2013 until the first act of the official Salad Fingers game showed up
in 2015 [6] [13] [14]. Supported by his Pateroids, David Firth, the creator of
Salad Fingers has released a new nightmare for many internet browsers to face
in 2019 that is simply titled “Glass Brother” [7]. I guess the fact that his official
YouTube channel now has over one million subscribers was part of his motivation
for creating another episode [1]. Since it has been a week since Firth
unleashed a new demon, brace yourselves for a critical, yet cautious analysis
of Mr. Fingers’ newest chapter.
 |
| Here we go again, folks... [7] |
Looking at the animation,
art style and effects throughout the series, you can tell that they have been
improving since about 2007 [5] [7] [11] [12]. You can see Salad Finger’s head
from more angles in the newer episodes, compared to how the earlier episodes
simply showed the front view and side view of it [2] [3] [8] [9]. His movement
in the newer episodes seems to be more complex in the newer episodes,
especially in Glass Brother. He is also an outline around his shirt and some
detail on it in the newer episodes, which is an example of the art’s progression,
along with the detail of various materials that make him seem quite lifelike [6]
[7]. I can see the shadow of the green creature that was not around in the
earlier episodes [2] [3] [4] [8] [10]. I see that Firth still uses the same
style of dull shades of grey, beige and brown for each background so that the
series’ atmosphere will always be remembered for being unnerving and making
the characters’ unsettling actions stand out [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
[10] [11] [12]. With livelier animation that lacks choppiness, good effects and
more detailed materials, such as the metal of a cooking pot, the improved
animation seems to enhance the disturbing nature of Salad Fingers’ life [7].
 |
| The art style in the first few episodes lacked much shading, had very little detail and did not make outlines of Salad Fingers' body parts even back in the 2000s. [2] [3] |
 |
| The outlines of Salad Fingers’ head and eyes may be very thick, but the effects and art style has really improved. [7] |
The plot of the new episode begins with the
iconic green guy showing his three finger puppets to his reflection in a
handheld mirror after greeting it [7]. I have always found the automatic
subtitles that flicker like a candle flame as the green guy speaks to be a
unique feature that makes the animation more uncanny for the audience [2] [3] [4]
[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]. Even though she is a finger puppet, I felt
quite bad for Marjory Stewart-Baxter when she was having her hair ripped out by
Salad Fingers’ revolting teeth as a punishment for “disobeying” him. It was
quite unnerving when he coughed out the hair, but what do you expect from a
mentally unstable humanoid? He must not like her new and more provocative
appearance very much. Hopefully she might still taste like sunshine dust [8].
So, Jeremy Fisher is apparently the best-behaved puppet in the new episode,
considering how he was accused of trying to seduce a lass in an earlier episode
[4] [10]. As for Hubert Jason Cumberdale, the puddle of water that spawned
around him is apparently tears of not being “a real boy”. So far, the plot
establishes who Salad Fingers truly is as a fascinatingly unstable creature.
 |
| Marjory Stewart-Baxter’s new look. [7] |
 |
| Such terrible abuse…and result of ripping hair off. [7] |
Later
on, Salad Fingers gives Cumberdale a very unusual upgrade [5]. I think Fingers is
quite creative for sewing pieces of flesh into Hubert, but it is not quite my
idea of “growing up a little”. And wow! Hubert gets an official voice now! I
have no idea where the applause came from before he manages to stand up and
speak, but Hubert’s voice sounds quite youthful as if he is just a young boy.
It seemed oddly refreshing to see a completely mute character…evolve like that.
Imagine if the same transformation happened to Jeremy and Marjory. I personally
would not feel fresh and ready for life if I was a sack of flesh sewed together
that looked crude and strange, but I guess I can quite happy for Hubert as he
can talk in order to express his feelings. I also have no idea where the green
guy got the pieces of flesh for Hubert’s transformation from, but the way they
were sewed into a finger puppet and brought him to life sure expanded on the
weird vibes of the overall series. Remember when he was a sticky river [4] [10]?
 |
| The new and improved Hubert Cumberdale in his creator’s hands. [7] |
The green freak seems to be behaving like a
father-figure…until he tells his reflection in the vanity mirror that he is
just a “glass brother” who would not understand [7]. I really would not want to
do any favours for the bossy and verbally abusive elder in a rocking chair who
suddenly appears next to his reflection. She is apparently his mother…or glass
mother. She sounds quite like one of the Game Grumps’ humourously demonic Marge
Simpson voice from their The Simpsons: Hit and Run gameplay video [15], but
that still does not make her approachable to me. At least she triggered some
suitable audio choices, such as the scarily low piano tune. Those fingers are indeed
very long, which suits the series’ elements of surrealism and makes her seem a
lot like a relative of our green creep. I guess the negative portrayal of his
naggy mother must be the reason why he neglected the crying tree and used his
daughter Yvonne to “clean” a window in Letter [5] [12], so he really still
lacks a good family life and the series of abuse and neglect must be inherited,
causing him to take it out on Stewart-Baxter [7].
 |
| Mother Of The Year? I think not! [7] |
Even
though it is obvious that Salad Fingers could not give the bowl of dark grey
porridge to his glass mother because she is just a figment in a mirror, I felt
quite bad for him when he started to tear up [7]. I have noticed that Salad
Fingers’ own reflection confronting him in the mirror is similar to when you
fuse the dialogues of him talking into a toilet and him confronting Jeremy
Fisher into a bleak conversation in the sixth episode [4] [10]. It could just
be how he is able to put himself into different perspectives as a sign that he
is still mentally unstable with quite a poor grasp at reality. The viewers can
see that there is another house for the glass brother and glass mother, which
seems to be “home”, according to the verbally abused green dude. Similar to how
Emily Youcis’ crazy canine, Alfred Alfer has a dictator counterpart as a
hallucination [21], Salad Fingers is once again seeing a confronting version of
himself, which is indeed an alarming aspect of psychological horror [7].
 |
| I think the name “Andrew Hands” suits the rude glass brother better. [7] |
So
Salad Fingers goes outside with Hubert, the real boy to find another entrance
to the other home [7]. Again, you can see the details of the sky and ground
that were not present in the first episode [2] [3], which are other examples of
how the animation has greatly improved throughout the years [1] [5] [6] [7]. The
aspect of psychological horror continues when the green guy greets the glass
brother in the puddle and asks him to step aside, but the brother refuses. Oh
my rusty spoons, that uneasy breathing of the new Hubert while Salad Finger
tried to dive into the shallow puddle. His interactive reflection still does
not be a good brother due to how he bothers him by repeating the word “rasp”.
We once again see that the green guy is able to play more than one role in an
uncomfortable scenario that can be portrayed quite well. The way he can do so
provides some form of suspense, increasing the creepiness factor for those who
remember the unsettling moments in the previous episodes [4] [6] [8] [10]. At
least one of the green guys is not cannibalizing the other, unlike in the end
of the episode “Present” [4] [10].
 |
| Some splashing before the rasping. [7] |
The
scene of the horrible old woman forcing Salad Fingers to make disgusting
porridge and threatens him in a handheld mirror sums up the cooking progresses
and confrontations in Hell’s Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares [16]
[17] [20]. I like the blue water effects used for the hot water in the cooking
pot as it is yet another sign of the animation’s improvement. Nevertheless,
that does not overshadow the hag’s vicious behavior and how the porridge made
the green guy puke. The background of the shot of Salad Fingers taking a
spoonful of the porridge somehow reminds me of some of the splatters in the backgrounds
in the first few episodes, especially when the child enters Salad Finger’s home
in the second episode [2] [3] [8]. Seriously, what kind of mother would let her
offspring eat some horrific porridge that could definitely make someone throw
up?! Well, at least Salad Fingers did not take pleasure in touching a rusty
spoon in front of the old bag of bitterness [2] [3]. That would have been
embarrassing! I would be in a nightmare if I had to make porridge for the
monstrous elder, but the surprisingly calming shade of blue of the cooking
water can make me feel braver.
 |
| Where is Gordon Ramsay when you need him to defend you from a nasty old lady who wants you to eat bad porridge?! And where’s the lamb sauce?! [7] |
 |
| That porridge will definitely NOT be just right for Goldilocks. [7] |
At
least the new Hubert came to Mr. Fingers’ aid by kindly informing him that he
is willing to clean up the vomit, aside from those somehow unpleasant sounds of
flesh squishing and uneasy breathing noises [7]. I can see that he has some
clearer and somewhat interesting character development, thanks to his new
ability to speak. That same background appears again when the glass brother
shows a desire for owning the fleshy Hubert, which is probably there to
increase the creepiness and suspense, quite like in some shots of the
characters in the first few episodes. Oh no, poor Salad Fingers when he had his
flesh boy stolen by his glass brother. What a rather shocking moment to
witness, especially his cries of despair and the nasty old woman’s suggestion
of making Hubert a broom-lad! He has owned Hubert for a long time and had him
taken away after helping him evolve. The choice of audio for the moment is
excellent, including the terrifying music. I do not think Salad Fingers should
be near mirrors anymore so that he will not lose a precious sack of flesh
again.
 |
| NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! [7] |
After Hubert’s kidnapping, Mr. Fingers quietly
sneaks outside and pulls a Deep Sea Girl in order to prepare for getting him back
[7] [18] [19]. I think Firth chose quite a suitable pattern of jagged waves that
is quite noticeable in the deep black water that suits the twistedness of the
Salad Fingers series. I thought the other house had a suitable location because
I bet the viewers did not expect to see another house that highly resembles
Salad Fingers’ home to be underwater. You can say that I was rooting for the
green creep to release Hubert as he is now a precious flesh boy to him, but he
suddenly gets caught by the glass brother. I know this is the eleventh episode
of the series, but the close-up of the glass brother’s literal row of nails for
teeth was absolutely grotesque and horrifying. But I digress as the scary
moment of his rapid fidgeting, along with the glass mother’s scream sticks to
what made the series iconic [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [8] [10] [11] [12]. I was quite
relieved as the rightful owner of Hubert managed to send him back to the
surface by tossing the jar into the galactic-looking puddle before saving
himself.
 |
| I do not think Hatsune Miku would be comfortable with singing “Deep Sea Girl” in THIS sea. [7] [18] [19] |
 |
| The beginning of the most disturbing moment of the episode. [7] |
Did the
other house have a handheld mirror too? If so, that would explain how the
disgusting hag can still shout at Salad Fingers through his own handheld right
after the glass brother’s fingers get pushed back down by the real deal [7]. The
moments when she hostilely wriggles her fingers through it truly make her
character more dismaying. After she crosses the line, her poor son breaks the
mirror...but can still see that angry face in the pieces, causing the
distressing verbal abuse to continue. So, he has to smash it again…and again…to
make her stop. Oh, and not to mention that he grabs his beloved flesh boy,
wipes his head in the other pieces of the mirror and…licks the pieces off his head. Ewww. It is horrific how the hag suddenly carries on insulting him
with hints of profanity, even after the handheld mirror has been smashed, yet
the green freak remains calm and cuts his finger on the piece to spread his
blood all over it. But at least it was quite satisfying when our green creep
closed the box, possibly never having to be verbally abused by her again [7].
 |
| That’s seven years bad luck, Salad Fingers! [7] |
 |
| He must still like it when the red water comes out. [7] [8] |
In
conclusion, the overall outcome of the newest episode is revoltingly refreshing
and quite a chilling and thrilling way to introduce the green guy to new
viewers [7]. I thought the Salad Fingers series might have officially ended at
the episode “Birthday” and many of you probably have thought so too [6]. But I
supposed that there is still enough room for some…unpleasantly unfinished
business to do, including a sudden new character with the ability to hurt with
words. We perhaps have learned more about the uncanny examples of parenting in
the series’ setting; both encouraging and downright abusive. Perhaps if Firth
wishes to animate more episodes, it would be frighteningly interesting to see
Jeremy and Marjory as flesh children or a completely new scenario. Otherwise, a
bad experience with two family members in the green creep’s perspective might
as well seem like a decent conclusion. If you are a fan of disturbing animation
and a dose of psychological horror, I quite recommend the latest episode of
Salad Fingers. You can see how much the series has evolved since the first
episode with decreased audio quality, lower art quality and a high-pitched
voice for our green freak [2] [3].
 |
| I guess it will be time for our green guy to have some fun with a rusty items later. [7] |
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