Feeling nostalgic for the ’90s? Not only does one of the opening scenes of Twisted Metal Season 2 feature Anthony Mackie as John Doe, playing some actual 1990s PlayStation games, but we also get to see binge-reading The Baby-Sitters Club. This simple juxtaposition sums up pretty much everything you need to know about the new batch of Twisted Metal episodes. There’s plenty of over-the-top violence and action, but it’s all tempered with a bit of love and a very specific brand of 1990s sense of both what is cool and also what is nice.
Twisted Metal Season 2 is fun, weird, and even more heartfelt than Season 1. It’s also an okay place to start with this wild franchise, as these episodes represent something of a soft reboot for the show. No spoilers ahead.
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What does Twisted Metal Season 2 feel like?
Calling Twisted Metal a ’90s teenage version of the Mad Max franchise wouldn’t exactly be fair, but it wouldn’t be wrong either. In fact, one scene early on in the first new episode of Season 2 will remind viewers more than a little bit of the 2015 hit Mad Max: Fury Road; vehicular carnage combined with sick needle-drops is the order of business in most great Twisted Metal scenes, which is why this show remains. one of the most surprisingly consistent videogame-to-screen efforts ever.
Picking up where Season 1 left off, with John (Mackie) separated from fellow badass driver, Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), Season 2 presents us with stakes that were perhaps a bit lacking last time around. We’re not worried about John and Quiet delivering a package for Raven this time, but instead, are already worried about whether these star-crossed lovers can reunite, and also, if John can figure out how to make peace with his bonkers sister, Dollface (Tiana Okoye). John’s de facto boss, Raven, played by Neve Campbell in Season 1, is now played by Patty Guggenheim, and yes, the show is going to talk about it, and yes, there’s a bit more to it than a simple recasting.
What is Twisted Metal Season 2 about?
In fact, the biggest strength of Twisted Metal Season 2 is its ability to shrug its shoulders about the most absurd aspects of this dystopian, car-centric universe. In the wilds of this world, the TV series has created a bit of reason out of the chaotic imagery of the classic games; naturally, you’d have to be more than a little crazy to survive in this context. And sometimes that means characters are basically good people doing bad things, and other times, it means characters — like Sweet Tooth (voice of Will Arnett, body of Joe Seanoa) — are just total psychos.
But the big twist with Twisted Metal Season 2 lies in a new interest in what appears to be magic. As the trailers have teased, this season will feature a massive battle royale tournament, in which the winner will be granted one wish. Organized by the mysterious Calypso (Anthony Carrigan), the secrets of this character’s abilities are one of the more compelling things about the season. Yes, we’re dealing with a world of cars that can be crashed, and people who bleed, but is this also a world of magic?
Related: ‘Twisted Metal’ Has a 3-Episode Season 2 Debut With a Fast-Approaching Streaming Date
Can you watch Twisted Metal Season 2 without watching Season 1?
Again, one of the greatest strengths of Twisted Metal Season 2 is that, in many ways, it’s a fresh start for the show. If you loved the 90s games, or you just are curious to see Mackie and Beatriz being charming and awesome together, the show is pretty welcoming. There’s a ton of over-the-top violence, but an equal amount of tongue-in-cheek humor, too.
Come for the carnage, stay for the love. Twisted Metal Season 2 is an action-packed thrill ride, and one of the most delightfully weird shows on TV.
