Film 6: "Friendly Shadow"

The Friendly Shadow is the sixth installment of the Autodale series. It was first posted on Jun 25, 2020 on Dead Sound's Youtube channel and as of October 2021 has over 3.8 million views. It is notable for being the longest of any of the other Autodale episodes (at 18:44 minutes, with the 2nd longest episode "Don't Feed the Freaks" at 6:18 minutes) and being the first introduction of the character of the same name.

Plot
While two Freaks over look Autodale, a voice (which sounds exactly like one of the Handymen) is making a public service announcement addressing "ludicrous concerns and whisperings" about "Silly claims of monsters, of unsightly and loathsome things living within our city" and assuring the citizens of Autodale that there are no monster and that Autodale's defenses will keep them safe. While the voice is saying that, the camera cuts to a crack in Autodale's wall.

We then meet a young girl in her family's backyard pushing a slice of cake with a birthday candle on it to a sewer plate. Soon after that, a child Freak opens the plate and looks at the the girl, with her then greeting the monster. However, the child Freak quickly goes back into the sewer hole, with the sewer plate quickly erupting as an adult Freak bursts out of it, with the Freak looking down on the girl. The camera cuts to the slice of cake with it being mostly eaten, but it is now splattered with blood. After some amount of time passes, we also see 3 Handymen broken, as well as there being no sight of the girl and the Freak.

We then cut to the entrances of the girl's family's house with a sign saying " KEEP OUT - Have a nice day!" on the door with 2 Handymen guarding it, The Friendly Shadow then walks in as the Handymen try to greet him (with The Friendly Shadow being annoyed by it)

The Friendly Shadow then walks into the backyard, where the girl's father can be found dead on the floor with a large stain of blood next to him. Shadow then contacts Hive, reporting on the event and asking for more info. Hive informs Shadow that they do not have a lot to work with, commenting on the fact that the man was killed as well as 2-3 functioning handymen, and noted that the Mayor was displeased about the latter due to the Handymen's supposed status as invincible protectors. Hive further comments that the dead man was the husband and father of the house' family, and how he was the father to the girl that had just went missing. Shadow then picks up the girl's book, with Hive commenting on how the Freak draws nicely, but the parent are drawn like monsters.

It then cuts to Shadow having an interview with the girl's mom, with the mom's 2 children watching. The mother notes how Shadow was not as scary as she remembered as child without his coat, before Shadow continues the interview. After asking the mom a few questions, the mom gives Shadow her son's drawing book, featuring a drawing of a Freak. Shadow then is seen outside next to the Freak's detached arm. After The Hive tells Shadow that the monster is their priority, not the girl, Shadow then continues the interview, in which he promises that the mom's daughter will be returned, but only to her brothers, as the mom comments that she will be taken away (because she is a widow, and therefore an 'Ugly"). Before he leaves, the mother thanks Shadow fondly for promising to protect her daughter, which Shadow hesitantly accepts.

Shadow then goes down into the sewer, immediately seeing a resting Freak with it's armed ripped off. He inspects the creature and prepares to kill it until The Hive tells him to leave it alive, so the Handymen can claim it and further experiment on the species. Suddenly, Shadow hears a small whimper, and goes to investigate the sound. He and the Hive are surprised to discover a small room filled with drawings and the little girl, weeping in the corner. Taking note of the amount of pictures and supplies in the room, Shadow deduces she must have been down there for weeks, only for The Hive to claim it made no sense since the girl couldn’t have been there for more than an hour at least. Shadow leans down to the girl’s level, telling her of the promise he made to her mother and offers to get her out, but the girl only shies away, still frightened. Suddenly, The Hive informs Shadow to turn to the drawings on the wall, where he notices a particular drawing of two Freaks. Realizing the presence of the second creature, Shadow whips out his gun, only for the face of a child Freak peeking out from one of the sewer pipes. As he prepares to shoot it, the girl gasps out in horror when the adult Freak bursts into the room and throws Shadow out, ripping off Shadow’s arm in the process.

The two engage in combat, ending with Shadow shooting the Freak multiple times before it finally dies. Just as he finishes, he turns around to find the child Freak from before, watching Shadow mercilessly kill it’s parent. Shadow, undeterred, shoots the creature once, and the child Freak flees into the room. Shadow corners the child Freak in the room, reporting to The Hive that the room and the drawings were not the girl’s, but rather the younger Freak’s. The girl steps in front of the child Freak and motions for Shadow to lower his gun, and Shadow realizes that the girl and the child Freak are friends, having been meeting in secret and drawing their meetings together until their parents discovered this. Shadow watches the girl comfort the child Freak, before turning his attention to the drawings. The Hive notes that the creepier detail of the drawings of Autodale and it’s citizens were merely drawn through the younger Freak’s perspective before adding that the drawings were more warped than the actuality of reality, only for Shadow to continue staring at the drawings, presumably recognizing the drawings as the truth. Shadow then asks what will happen to the child Freak, and The Hive replies that it will be further experimented upon, only to be interrupted by Shadow asking what will happen to girl. The Hive pauses, before responding that due to the girl’s “broken family,” association with the creatures, and her being traumatized to the point of being unable to return to Autodale’s society functions, she would not be reunited with her brothers and tells Shadow he will have to break his promise to the girl’s mother, implying that the girl and her mother will share the same fate. Shadow only stares at the girl, before hesitantly agreeing with The Hive.

The scene cuts back above to the City of Autodale, where the citizens listen to a commercial made by the Handymen about Shadow’s next film and comic: “The Friendly Shadow vs. The Sewer Beast,” which depicts the events that had transpired between Shadow and the Freak, but many of the scenes are altered to make it seem more like Shadow is the ultimate hero in the story, whereas the Freak is portrayed as a mindless and monstrous beast. The citizens continue listening to the broadcast, including the girl’s widowed mother, who is in line with the other “Uglies.” The Handymen continue with their daily speech that the people are safe in Autodale, only for the camera to cut to the scene where Shadow converses with The Hive in person inside the building. The Hive contemplate what to do with him for “following the wrong orders,” his promise to the girl’s mother, and comment that his humanity is slipping further away thanks to them as the rest of The Hive laugh. The Exceptional Girl (the main Hive) suggests rewiring Shadow before the other Hive members continue to laugh at Shadow for letting what little humanity he had left get in his way of following orders as they further argue over what to do with him. Shadow listens to this silently, accepting his fate.

Far outside of Autodale, the little girl climbs a mountain ledge with the child Freak, revealing that Shadow released the two from Autodale’s walls to save them from their gruesome fates. The children look back at their former home for one last time, before deciding to run away together and turn to find a scenic, natural road, where they can see the sun clearly for the first time.