First Things First…
With John and Quiet partners now, they both have more to lose. That should make things very interesting as they’re about to enter New Chicago.
Also, after Episode 5 I wondered if Sweet Tooth would be in every episode now that he has a new mission, but he wasn’t in the last one. (Nor was Stone—it was just John and Quiet, plus the flashbacks.) But maybe we’ll see him and Stu again here.
3 Things I Like
3. Mr. Slam
“They call me Mr. Slam… ‘cause I can crush anything with my massive penis.”
Mr. Slam
The quote basically says it all. I don’t know what else I can add. It’s just a hilarious gag, in an episode that needs one.
2. Bar Brawl
The main reason this is here is because Andrew W.K.’s “Party Hard” is the perfect backdrop for a chaotic bar brawl like this, with over-the-top violence, where all but a few people die gruesome but kinda funny deaths.
1. Avoiding Relationship Cliches
“Riding with John is mostly irritating.”
Quiet
John and Quiet are cute together in the beginning of their “relationship.” John’s ex, Mary, mentions how John looks at Quiet, but she didn’t have to say anything. It’s obvious he really does look at her with affection.
But more than that, I like how they avoid a couple of clichés that would’ve been very easy to fall into.
One is that, in introducing an ex so soon after they started to be together, they could’ve made Quiet jealous. Instead, when Mary first spots John, jumps into his arms, and kisses him right in front of Quiet, Quiet smiles… kinda like an “Oooooh, what’s this?” type of smile.
And when John starts to explain his history with Mary, Quiet sarcastically says, “Oh my gosh, you weren’t a virgin when I met you? I could give two soggy dumps about your ex.”
She gets it. It’s a different world out there. And even if it wasn’t, she understands that whatever John was up to in terms of dating and sleeping with other women before they met has nothing to do with her, and there’s no reason in the world she should be upset about it.
The second cliché I was afraid of was when John and Mary talk about Quiet. I thought John was going to try to look tough in front of Mary and play down his relationship with Quiet, only for Quiet to overhear him and get pissed off. Instead, he admits to Mary, “Quiet saved my ass. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be road sauce right now.”
He even lets Quiet drive Evelyn at the end of the episode.
These two have had great chemistry all season, which I’ve continually praised. I’m glad they didn’t immediately drive a wedge between them after they finally got together.
3 Things I’m Mixed On
3. The Law’s Reemergence
Stone has taken a backseat for a minute now. He’s back in this episode, and he and his people kill Sweet Tooth’s followers, who are their escaped prisoners. He also has an informant at the pit stop, Pit Viper. She tells him John and Quiet are on their way to New San Francisco, and he wants to set a trap for them.
Stone has been a good character all season, so I’m glad we haven’t forgotten about him. But I still don’t care about the siblings working for him ever since Quiet killed his top lieutenant. And I’m not sure how I feel about Mike and Stu reuniting. I guess it’s in Stu’s nature to spare his old buddy, even though Mike literally just tried to kill him. But we’ll have to see how this plays out, because Mike really seemed to buy into being part of Stone’s crew.
2. Bloody Mary
“I would have followed that milkman anywhere. All he had to do was say ‘Come with me,’ but he didn’t! Okay, I suffered because of him. So fuck him if he thinks he can waltz into a better life!”
Mary
Mary spends most of the episode teetering on whether or not she’s crazy, and whether or not she’s a villain.
Turns out, she’s a little of both. And not without reason. But I wanted more for her.
It’s a fun performance, but it would’ve been more interesting if this woman who John never came back for, and who he never chose over his car, could’ve accepted the way things are, even if she was still a little jealous of Quiet. She’s tough and a badass all on her own. Too bad she doesn’t follow Quiet’s advice, and she lets her desire for revenge ruin a second chance.
1. New Chicago Letdown
Considering how pivotal New Chicago is to the plot, and that John has been on his way there since the second episode, I thought it’d come into play a little more.
The scene we get when John and Quiet pick up the package is fun—it’s kinda funny seeing how much Quiet enjoys the haunted house-style theatrics—but we’ve had so many detours and obstacles in other areas, and I really wanted to see what another city looks like, and how it would present problems for them.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Origin of a Psycho
We learn Sweet Tooth’s background, and I’m not a fan.
It’s a ridiculous setup fitting of this show—he was a child star on a sitcom, but his costar started getting more laughs than him, so he murdered him in the middle of filming.
So far, so good… right?
Well, the costar in question is a Golden Retriever named Billy. Even in a show so over the top and absurd, I can’t get on board with a gruesome murder of a beautiful dog. Granted, they don’t show the dog get killed, but that doesn’t matter.
My dislike for this isn’t just about being a dog lover, though. Aren’t we supposed to empathize with Sweet Tooth now that he’s more of an antihero? Despite his murderous rage, I hadn’t had any problems siding with him until I saw what he did to that dog.
This flashback is how the episode opens, and it put me in a bad mood the whole time.
Tim Matassa
