Table of Contents
You know, I had my doubts about the Twisted Metal TV series before the first season aired. Not, two seasons later, I’m a big fan. I do think there’s a place for a darker adaptation of the games sometime in the future, but the Twisted Metal series we have now is super fun. Check out some of my thoughts on season two below, and keep reading for some daily trivia.
TV Show of the Day
Instead of a movie today, I thought I’d talk a little about the second season of Peacock’s Twisted Metal series. I just watched the season finale yesterday, and I’ve really enjoyed the series overall. Beware of some spoilers below.
Like the first season, these latest twelve episodes were a lot of fun. Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz are wonderful leads as John Doe and Quiet, and their on-screen partnership is the best part of the show. I’m glad that the series didn’t take much time getting them back together after their separation at the end of last season. I do think there could have been more drama between them (more on that in a second), but I like that there weren’t really any contrived reasons for John and Quiet to be split up again. The show is better when they’re together.
The addition of Mayhem (Saylor Bell Curda) was also great. Since John and Quiet are pretty much settled into their relationship, Mayhem added a good amount of emotional chaos. I was happy with how their stories all came together by the end.
I also liked some of the other additions to the cast. Axel (Michael James Shaw) was awesome, and I would have been happy with even more from him (maybe a prequel spinoff series?). The way they handled the role of Raven being taken over by Patty Guggenheim was kind of clever, and Anthony Carrigan as Calypso is perfect. And of course, the returning Sweet Tooth (Joe Seanoa and Will Arnett) was super fun.
I enjoyed the first season of Twisted Metal a lot more than I thought I would, but the whole time I was wanting to see the tournament. So, with the teaser promising that the tournament would be in season two, I was excited. Overall, I thought the competition was pretty good. The car combat is very well done, and there are many great moments in every round.
I will say though, I wish the stakes were higher. The competition was deadly, but in a fun way rather than a dramatic way. John, Quiet, Mayhem, and Krista all went into the Twisted Metal competition with hopes of every one of them coming out alive, but to me that seemed like a setup for some obvious drama and tough life-or-death decisions. Twisted Metal is essentially a survival game, and in survival games friends inevitably have to fight each other. Usually to the death. But Twisted Metal chickened out when it came to most of the potentially heartbreaking moments.
For instance, there’s a round where John, Quiet, and Mayhem are all in separate cars, and they’re each given a specific person they have to eliminate. The precedent was already set that “eliminate” doesn’t mean “kill,” it just means that their car has to be incapacitated (and if they die, that’s okay). But, even in this round when Quiet is given Mayhem as a target, the story completely avoids having Quiet make a decision about whether she’ll actually attack Mayhem or not. The final round is similar, with John and Quiet in separate cars, but Calypso throws in a surprise finale that completely eliminates the need for them to face off against each other.
If I would change one thing in Twisted Metal, it’s that avoidance of having characters make tough decisions. I know the show is a comedy, but there’s still room for drama. It would add more depth to the characters. But, as it is, I still think the show is great. With the ending of season two I hope they get renewed for season three. I don’t like it when shows do cliffhanger season enders without already being renewed, but let’s hope it works out for them. The show is a lot of fun, and it makes me want to revisit all the games to win with all the characters I never have before.
Birthdays
Joe Swanberg was born on August 31st, 1981. Joe is known best to horror fans for his role as the condescending brother Drake in You’re Next (2011). He was also in the “Second Honeymoon” segment of V/H/S (2012), and he played the home invader in the film Invader (2024). Other horror movies Joe has appeared in include Blackout (2023), Offseason (2021), XX (2017), and The Sacrament (2013).
More birthdays on August 31st:
- Noble Willingham (1931) – The Howling (1981), Fire in the Sky (1993)
- Julie Brown (1958) – Bloody Birthday (1984)
- Jason Presson (1971) – Lady in White (1988)
Events on This Day
Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween was released on this day in 2007. The movie adds a lot more to Michael’s backstory, making it a very different movie from John Carpenter’s original despite hitting many of the same plot points in the second half of the film. To this day audiences are divided on the film (it has a 59% viewer rating on Rotten Tomatoes). For me, Rob Zombie is better when he’s doing an homage rather than a remake, and he’s even better when he’s not tied to any previous material. Halloween can be rented on Prime Video.
Mirror Mirror made its premiere in and around Detroit, Michigan on August 31st, 1990. The movie stars Rainbow Harvest as Megan, a teenager who is treated like an outcast in her new school. Megan recently moved to Los Angeles with her mother, and left inside her bedroom from the previous occupants is an old mirror. It turns out the mirror has the power to carry out Megan’s will, but the power begins to corrupt the young woman. You can stream Mirror Mirror on Tubi.
