First Things First…
I’m excited because it’s season finale time. But this is an especially interesting one…
We left off with John and Quiet trapped by Stone and the law, and with Sweet Tooth barreling in with Mike and Stu. Obviously, they’ll get through this and reach New San Francisco, but this is still a MAJOR part of the season to wrap up. How are they gonna do it? Will they defeat Stone once and for all? Will Sweet Tooth help them?
Then there’s still the New SF issue. We know Raven isn’t on the up and up. I can’t imagine she’ll be receptive to John arriving with an unexpected partner…
3 Things I Like
3. Metal Madness
It looks like next season will be tournament time! And I love a good tournament—March Madness… the World Cup… King of the Ring…
I don’t know if this is what the video game is about, but this tournament filled with all the best drivers, competing to the death, has a very Mortal Kombat vibe. And John is gonna be in there with a bunch of drivers we already know, including enemies AND friends. We see Bloody Mary, Watts, Cocaine Jesus, and more, so he’ll have his hands full.
Plus, just like one delivery that involved getting to New Chicago and back in 10 days gave structure to Season 1, this tournament could give structure to Season 2.
2. Quiet Hood
Quiet leaves John for his sake, but she ends up finding a larger purpose for herself—disrupting the cities’ fucked-up system by terrorizing milkmen, sabotaging deliveries, and giving scarce resources to poor outsiders.
Even though I prefer them together, this is a good look for Quiet. For whatever length of time they’re separated, she’s just as important as John is—both to the show and within the world of the show.
1. Anarchy in the Arena
I loved everything about the opening sequence. There’s stellar teamwork between John and Quiet… the help they get from Watts and Convoy… John finally learns what Jell-O is… Stu and Mike turn against Sweet Tooth after he loses any semblance of being an antihero and returns to full psycho villainy… and, of course, Quiet leaves Stone with the same choice he left her and her brother.
(It definitely won’t be a surprise if he’s not really dead, though. We hear the gunshot, and he already has a hatchet buried halfway into his face, but we don’t see the death, so it’s always possible it’s a swerve.)
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. Throwing Away the Memories
I understand the show’s need to have John force Raven’s hand, so she reveals her true intentions for him. But for a guy who’s spent at least two decades trying to remember who he is and where he comes from, and who is finally getting some answers, I don’t buy that he’d throw that away so fast. No matter how much he likes/loves/misses Quiet, he decides that his past doesn’t matter to him, and that he still wants to walk away from answers, in a matter of seconds.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Lovebirds Fly Their Separate Ways
Again, I understand the need for this to happen so we can get where we’re going. I’m even on board with Quiet shooting John to prevent him from giving up his spot inside because they won’t let her in.
But the first half of the episode—from solving the Stone issue all the way to the arrival at the gate of New San Francisco—is much more enjoyable than the rest of the episode. I can’t help that the show is simply more fun when John and Quiet are together.
Tim Matassa
