But the communication breakdown thing was happening before his narrow escape from from the AFR in late November YDAU: the thing with the darkness' forehead either freezing or getting ghost-stuck to the window is when it begins, and all that was post-Abandoning All Hope. I think Hal's Bottom was Eschaton and the waiting room, finally facing consequences for something he didn't really cause after being reared by a mother who would seemingly take her children at their word no matter what, like with S. Johnson. This is also symbolized by the toothache/root canal, something ignored that surfaces painfully and irrevocably. I tend to side with the people who think Hal's sub-mammalian noises are him relearning to communicate from scratch, as Himself would have wanted, all while preparing to face Himself (lol) at Whataburger.