First Things First…
After a fun premiere, I want to see if this show can keep up the same frenetic pace. It should get off to a fast start because we left off with the clown barreling down on John and his nemesis.
I’m assuming this season will mostly be John’s road trip to New Chicago and back, with lots of obstacles and detours, and many shenanigans taking place. Sounds like a rollicking time to me…
3 Things I Like
3. John’s Amnesia
“Hey, I didn’t pick it. I don’t know what name I was born with, or who I am really… all I know is my first memory is me waking up in my car with blood coming out of my head.”
John
Not a lot has been made of John not knowing where he comes from, or who he was before his milkman days. But it’s been in the background of both episodes so far, and I’m intrigued.
2. Quiet
John’s nemesis finally talks at just the right moment, telling Sweet Tooth his one-man show sucks. From there, her rapport with John really takes off.
These two have good chemistry. But I’m glad they’re staying true to the dog-eat-dog mantra that rules the outside world. Like, when John sees Sweet Tooth has captured Quiet, I thought his goodness was going to win out and he’d try to rescue her because it’s the right thing to do. Instead, he’s ready to leave her ass trapped until he sees she’s stolen his car keys.
And even after they leave Vegas and have come to an uneasy truce, she still regularly threatens him with his own gun.
I imagine they’ll warm to each other eventually, whether romantically, sexually, or just as friends. But right now, they’re only working together out of necessity. They’re frenemies, at best, and I’m enjoying it.
1. Welcome to the Law
“Smells good to me. Back in Seattle, they treated us like morons. Now look at us; we holding .30-cals, dude! Come on, baby, get your head in the game!”
Mike
I didn’t think the guys who Agent Stone and his men save from the butchers were long for this world. But Stone is telling the truth when he says he’s recruiting fresh lawmen.
The problem comes when it’s time for initiation…
Their task: stake out a supply truck and protect it from “seagulls”—i.e. murder anyone who comes near it, even if it’s just people trying to survive.
There’s a fascinating dichotomy, because Stu is clearly uncomfortable from the start. First, he asks, “Why do you call them ‘seagulls’? They just look like normal survivors to me.”
Then he puts himself in jeopardy by hesitating and missing his target. But Mike not only has no such qualms, he takes to their task with relish.
In fact, when the seagulls approach the truck, Stu whispers to Mike, “Dude, are we really gonna kill these guys?” Meanwhile, Mike shoots and kills the first seagull before Stu has even finished asking the question
This caught me off guard. I figured Mike would have a stronger stomach for doing whatever is necessary to survive. But he seems like as much of a psycho as the rest of Stone’s goons—and he fits right in.
I’m anxious to see if he turns out to be a genuinely bad guy. And I’m hoping Stu sticks around as the yin to his yang.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. Surviving Sweet Tooth
“There’s not a person on the West Coast that hasn’t heard of Sweet Tooth.”
John
Sweet Tooth was one of the main reasons I wanted to check this show out. The look is tremendous. And as I wrote last time, I love Samoa Joe and Will Arnett.
But now that we spend most of this episode with him, I wasn’t totally into it.
I like the performances—particularly Joe’s, who’s doing 100% physical acting because we never see his face.
It just feels like a bunch of writers tried to think up the weirdest shit they could to make him a psycho unlike anyone else.
Let’s see…
Sweet Tooth’s best friend is a paper bag… he remembers everything, including being born… he loves “Thong Song” … he performs a one-man play based on the in-room entertainment at the hotel they’re in… he lets John and Quiet leave because they gave him honest feedback on his play—that it sucks…
I don’t know… I really want to like the character. And there’s nothing wrong with making him weird. But through all his weirdness, he never comes off as menacing or as funny as he should. A lot of his laugh lines fell flat for me.
Tim Matassa
