If you’ve never heard of Peacock's Twisted Metal, it’s an action series with humor similar to that of Deadpool. Yeah, there were times I laughed at something which probably shouldn’t be funny, yet it still was. Season 1 introduced us to the post-apocalyptic world and gave us the main characters’ introductions and some backstories.
John Doe (Anthony Mackie) is the protagonist who works as a type of courier called a Milk Man. He meets up with a woman he names Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), and they work their way across treacherous terrain to deliver a package. His payment for this is to be given residence inside the protected New San Francisco (NSF). Unfortunately, when he earns passage, she’s denied entry.
Another character, though I wouldn’t particularly call him a protagonist, is a killer clown named Sweet Tooth. This character is played by Joe Seanoa, who is a professional wrestler. Sweet Tooth is homicidal and drives a beat-up ice cream truck. He prides himself on being the most dramatic, best killer there is.
Raven (Neve Campbell) is a goth woman in charge of the NSF. She’s a ruthless person who loves to toy with other people’s lives. Then there’s Dollface (Tiana Okoye). She and her tribe of women drive semi trucks and are typically seen wearing porcelain masks. She’s revealed at the end of season 1 as John’s sister.
It’s an odd, crazy story that’s fun to watch. I’m glad to see season 2. The first three episodes are streaming on Peacock right now, and we recap and review them before.
Season 2 episode 1: “PRSRPNT”
This episode starts with a pretty nice nod to the PlayStation game on which this series is based. It was originally released in 1995 with over seven additional versions. As with the game, there are plenty of high-speed chases and gunfights.
I got a kick out of the town Modesto being renamed Molesto. It’s a testament to the humor found here.
Sweet Tooth takes a bit of time to teach his new apprentice, Stu (Mike Mitchell), the best ways to murder an opponent. While doing so, he learns of another famous killer named Big Baby. He sets out to find his new nemesis. Surely no one’s a bigger name than he is.
In NSF, John repeatedly tries to escape and ends up confined to his house. It’s actually the same place he grew up in. When he’s bored, he finds his sister’s old The BabySitter’s Club books. While looking for a missing book in the series, he wanders into his sister’s room. There he finds a diary, written when she was young. He finds a map inside of NSF’s underground sewer system, which should lead him to the family cabin up north. Instantly, plots fill his head.
Meanwhile, Dollface and her ‘outsiders’ are warring with ‘insiders’ over the availability of life-saving and other drugs. She decides she will take down the city walls.
John reaches out to Justin by calling him into the shower to talk. It’s weird, but that’s the kind of oddness this series is known for. John lays out a plan to escape New San Francisco through the sewer system. Justin initially doesn’t want to go but gets convinced. It turns out to be a ruse. While Justin brings in other NSF men to search for John in the sewers, John breaks into Raven’s garage. There he finds a gorgeous black car and an ambulance with two comatose women inside.
Sweet Tooth finds Big Baby (Don W. Sheperd), whose weapon is a gigantic umbilical cord with a spiked ball on the end. Again, this kind of ludicrous imagery is expected in Twisted Metal and is part of its charm. Big Baby’s momma is there and attacks Stu. Sweet Tooth confronts his nemesis, but before Big Baby dies, he reveals another famous killer named Trash Man. Sweet Tooth takes Big Baby’s body with him.
John steals Raven’s ambulance, not the fancy car, and leaves her a message with the woman inside, her childhood friend. Of course, she sends her goons after him for some fast driving and faster bullets flying.
The guy running the driving contest, Calypso (Anthony Carrigan), turns on the technology, reaching many drivers of varying ilk. He lays out the rules for the contest. The prize is the winner’s darkest secret wish. This dude’s got a creepy, crazy laugh.
Continuing driving, John runs across a semi with the license plate STNSPWN. He gets into another driving/gun fight with the women riding the semi and their 4-wheelers. After he crashes, he learns one of them is his sister, Dollface, and that Quiet is with her.
Season 2, episode 2: “DOLF4C3”
This episode starts 10 years back with DollFace, where we learn a bit about her story. She goes with her boyfriend to a dive bar and is sent to the back room where the other women wait while the guys talk business. She’s obviously not thrilled. Then she discovers the real roles these women play in making deals. That’s when she convinces the others it’s time for the ladies to take over. They do so with blood.
Back to the present, John wakes up handcuffed to a bed. He was taken prisoner after his crash last episode. He’s happy to see Quiet but has an awkward reunion with his sister. He’s still dealing with memory loss, which includes her. She shows him around her camp of Dolls, which gives us a good look at who they are and what their aims are.
Quiet shows Roadkill to John. Right away, he notices upgrades she made to the vehicle. He tells her about the cabin and wants her to live with him there. However, she’s found a purpose with the Dolls. Additionally, she’s entering the tournament. Her goal is, upon winning, to wish for the city walls of New San Francisco to be taken down.
Quiet discovers a woman who isn’t a Doll but who came to the camp to steal supplies. As Quiet chains her to a tree, the gal introduces herself as Mayhem (Saylor Bell Curda).
John confronts Dollface about Quiet entering the tournament. He believes there was some manipulation on her part. She tells him that entering the tournament was Quiet’s idea.
Jeremy reaches out unsuccessfully to John. He’s one of the few men in the Dolls’ camp.
The Dolls have a meeting about who will drive on their behalf in the tournament. Quiet and one other woman volunteer. So does John. To decide, Dollface offers a competition. She loans John her car to participate. Jeremy also throws his hat in the ring but gets eliminated right off.
The competition comes with obstacles…colorful explosions, barrages of paintball strikes, and mudpits. Quiet wins the competition but crashes into a tree. Realizing Mayhem is missing, she goes looking for her. John joins her.
They find Mayhem, who is captive to a caveman couple (Jon Ambrose and Anita Nittoly). Of course, a fight breaks out. Quiet and Jon impress one another with their new fighting skills. He tells her she’s a badass, and then she asks him to drive with her in the tournament. I’m not surprised because, if they’re not competing against one another, the story would stall with them apart.
Quiet and John set out with escorts to a place called Diesel City. It’s rumored to have the heaviest and nastiest weaponry. They plan to give Roadkill another upgrade. They may have a stowaway.
Next, we turn our attention to an asylum where an inmate is given freedom so long as he enters the tournament for a patron named Mr. Grimm.
Season 2 episode 3: “T3STDEV”
Opening in a cemetery at night, this episode shows us more about the freed inmate (Richard de Klerk), who I believe is Mr. Grimm. He has multiple personalities, which he adds to with a supernatural ability. He then digs out a motorcycle from within a grave.
With two days until the tournament, Quiet and John trade stories on their way to Diesel City. She kicks him out of the car, forcing him to interact with Dollface. She takes him on a detour while Quiet sets up camp for the evening, and Jeremy with Ashley look for supplies.
Quiet discovers Mayhem hiding in the trunk. When she claims to be the best driver on the West Coast, Quiet puts her in the driver’s seat to prove it. She ends up later teaching Mayhem how to drive.
Dollface takes John to a closed-up drive-in where their family watched movies in their youth. They aren’t alone. It’s interesting that she tries to revive his memory with a family whistle that their dad used to signal them. He tells her why he isn’t interested in remembering anything.
Their discussion ends with a volley of bullets. Running, they hit an invisible barrier. Cars explode and out wheels Axel (Michael James Shaw), a man whose arms are attached to giant wheels. There are two huge machine guns at his ankles. He continues shooting at Dollface and John.
Dollface gets injured, but she and her brother manage to hide inside an abandoned vehicle. I shook my head at her pulling out a curved needle, already threaded, so John could sew up her wound. Next, with Axel hunting for them, they make their way to the main drive in the building, intent on cutting the power cables to the barrier fence.
Once inside, we’re introduced to the man who created Axel, Dr. Zemu (Ken Hall). He plans to turn one of the siblings into a vehicle similar to Axel. However, his plans are short-lived. They free Axel.
Mr. Grimm stumbles upon Ashley and Jeremy getting it on. A few scenes later, we see a bloodied Jeremy limping and screaming at Dollface and Mayhem to run. Grimm rides up, kills and sucks up Jeremy’s soul, and then goes after the women. Axel shows up and, while he and Grimm battle, Roadkill, with its drivers, speed away.
Episode 3 ends with Dollface, Mayhem, Quiet, and John reunited and looking down on a huge city belching smoke skyward. The plan is to steal the weaponry they are after.
These episodes are packed with action, the usual Twisted Metal humor, and are a nice setup for the season, starting with this big Mad Max-style contest where anything goes. This is the meat of what the games of Twisted Metal are about. With a total of 12 episodes, I expect to be thoroughly entertained.
Watch the first three episodes of Twisted Metal season 2 on Peacock. Moving forward, two episodes will be released weekly until the week of Aug. 28, where the last three will be released.
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