Summary
Episode 2 continues with the interesting theme of high standards and morals. The head of the family struggles to maintain a grip on his children in an ever-changing world.
This recap of Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, episode 2, “Paper and Stone,” contains major spoilers.
The opening chapter of this Netflix series adapted from the comics gave the audience plenty to chew over — the base is set. Let’s go!
Episode 2 opens with Blackstar looking at what looks like a cloned version of him — he asks the important question: “who killed him?”. Blackstar claims that it’s not him and that it’s a cheap copy. Brandon is frustrated, remembering hearing his father’s words that he will “never be ready.” Blackstar mocks Brandon, stating he would have swallowed him whole — he’s soon dragged away to return to maximum security prison. The Utopian is keen for answers, and Walter feels they need to cut the corpse open to find out. Outside, the press is curious as to who the Union was fighting if it wasn’t Blackstar. Grace fields the answers to the journalists. There’s a single question that irks The Utopian due to a poll that claims 78% of Americans agree with Paragon’s execution of the supervillain.
This feels slightly familiar to The Boys, where the relationship between superhero rules and the media is questioned.
Sheldon tries to reason with his son
Of course, the fallout over Brandon’s kill spills into a father/son problem.
When the dust settles, Sheldon tells Brandon that his actions reflect the family. Brandon argues that he had to make a choice — his father or Blackstar and asks Sheldon if he would do the same. Sheldon avoids the question and states one day he will be gone, and Brandon will be the new Utopian — he reminds him that the only thing they have left is the Code. The father and son keep on disagreeing. Sheldon tells his son to stay at the farm while things calm down.
1929 — a bad headline for the father
In a flashback, Sheldon prepares for his father’s funeral with Walter. Discussions turn to business, and Walter raises how the board wants to shut everything down. Sheldon is furious, but Walter reminds him that their father is not around anymore. Sheldon sees a newspaper article that claims their “father ripped off his workers” — it was written by journalist Grace Kennedy (his future wife). He confronts her about it in her workplace. She tells him that everything in the article is true. Sheldon gets angry about the headline, “The Death of Capitalism” — he tells all the journalists that capitalism built their lives and asks how they are helping America. Sheldon tells Grace and the others that they should be ashamed of themselves.
However, when Sheldon speaks to Walter about it, his brother claims the reports are true — he reveals that their father used the pension fund to back the expansion of the mills. Sheldon doesn’t buy it, but Walter states that he bought his father’s bullshit. Walter wants to shut the mill, which causes angry commotions from the workers who want their pensions.
It’s interesting how Walter was a symbol for moral rules in the past, and Sheldon was not as sensitive to similar issues. While in the present, Walter wonders if their moralistic code still works.
Present-day — Sheldon tries to reason with his daughter.
Sheldon visits his daughter Chloe in her apartment. He asks her if she’s coming to the funeral for those who died against the clone Blackstar as Brandon is struggling and needs support. Chloe tells her father to give his son time and that he was tight with Barry. The discussion turns into an argument quickly, and Chloe tells her father that he cannot stop attacking his children. All she wants to do is fight him. Sheldon states he is not trying to attack her and that he wants solutions — he is tired of her pointing fingers.
This was an interesting scene — you can tell Sheldon is conflicted with his sense of authority and importance, but he also loves his daughter — he really wants to build bridges, but he finds it hard.
The funerals
Before the funeral, Grace tells her son that “he can do this.” It’s a glum ceremony, and Sheldon remembers the day he buried his father. He looks up at the sky, and he’s upset that Chloe didn’t come. Flashbacks show Sheldon collapsing at the funeral and having a seizure. In the present day, Barry does a speech about his friends who died in the fight. He feels like he failed. After the ceremony, Fitz Small thanks Brandon, claiming he did the right thing or his daughter Petra Small would have died.
The ending
As episode 2 closes out, it heads back into the past — Sheldon wakes up in the hospital, and his fiance and Walter tell him what happened at the funeral service. Sheldon is happy to be alive. He tells them that he saw something — “an island” — he believes he saw some message from his father. Behind Walter and Sheldon’s fiance, a figure stands there looking severely injured. It’s Sheldon’s father.
Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, episode 2 continues with the interesting theme of high standards and morals. The head of the family struggles to maintain a grip on his children in an ever-changing world.
Additional points
- Petra Small talks to her father Fitz Small (The Flare) and wonders if she can have the superhero life. Fitz tells her he is proud of being better than him “in so many ways.”
