Summary
Bringing plenty of drama, tension, and last-minute twists, Panic signs off in style with a highly fuelled season 1 ending.
This recap of Amazon original Panic season 1, episode 10, “Joust,” — the ending explained — contains major spoilers.
Well, it has been a journey with plenty of crazy plot points and twists (some predictable, some not) that have kept this high-octane YA series going. Staying true to itself, the ending of Panic season 1 keeps the audience tense in the right moments.
The final episode opens with the last challenge — Joust. However, the game is no longer controlled by the teens, and Heather (played by Olivia Welch) knows it — this is not a simple situation anymore. It requires the finalists to head down the road in opposite directions — the person who swerves off the road loses — if neither person swerves, they’ll hit each other. Heather speaks to Ray (played by Ray Nicholson) about her findings — it is Sheriff Cortez betting on the game. Ray believes that Luke was beaten up as a punishment. Heather tells Ray not to lose the last challenge, and he agrees. In fact, he doesn’t want to play, feeling it isn’t worth it.
Sheriff’s inner circle is figuring Cortez out
And luckily for the teens, the Sheriff’s villainous ways have been figured out, which adds another dimension to the finale of Panic.
Melanie Cortez meets Dodge’s mother, Jessica Mason — she asks her how far she would go for her child and reveals that Jessica isn’t the Sheriff’s only secret. Sgt. Christine Langley talks to Capt. John Williams about Sheriff Cortez — they know their boss is manipulating the game to pay off his massive debts.
Anne is disappointed in Heather // Ray and Dodge have an understanding
Oh, and it’s easy to forget that there is a tiger on the loose — we knew it would come in handy, and it’s used in the plot more than we believed it would.
Anne wants the truth about the tiger and speaks to Heather about it — Heather explains to Anne that her sister thought she was playing Panic. She admits she was playing Panic, and Anne is disappointed; Heather tells Anne she’s afraid that she will never leave the town. Meanwhile, Ray speaks to Dodge, and they finally have an understanding — Dodge reveals that Sheriff Cortez will be riding the car in Joust.
Joust prep
Late in the night, Dodge tells Ray to give him the car keys to the truck for the joust, and the pair end up arguing. Ray says they should split up because Cortez cannot find them both at the same time. Meanwhile, Heather figures out that the Sheriff led Lily to the tiger compound — this is now personal and becomes the true turning point of the finale.
As for Dodge, after he was split up from Ray, he was knocked out unconscious by him. Natalie rings Heather, and she explains that Sheriff Cortez will be the one participating in the Joust challenge — Heather tells Natalie to call her father and tell him “anything” because this has to end this night. I was loving the build-up here from Heather — this character has come far since episode 1.
The Joust
Heather heads to Joust and finds keys to the truck. As for Dodge, he’s on a boat with Ray — he apologizes to Dodge and tells him he’s saved his life. Ray then asks Dodge about the bomb under his car and wonders if it was a Christmas decoration. At the Joust, Heather turns up with the truck, and everyone thinks Ray is inside the vehicle. Ray reveals that the bomb is in Dodge’s car, the one Sheriff is riding. The cops and Natalie find Dodge and Ray, and it dawns on Natalie that Heather is in the truck for the Joust. Natalie texts Bishop and tells him that Sheriff’s car has a bomb on it, but it’s too late; the game begins.
Heather and Sheriff head towards each other in their vehicles, but then Heather sees the tiger and puts on her brakes — the Sheriff swerves out of the way and rolls out of the road. The Sheriff climbs out of his car injured, and he sees the bomb under the car. As for Heather, she’s faced with a tiger ahead of her. Heather remains calm as the tiger approaches her. The car explodes, so the tiger runs off.
This was mental but incredibly entertaining. It felt like anything could happen.
The aftermath
The police turn up, and everyone checks that Heather is okay before celebrating — she technically won Panic. Dodge looks at the car wreckage. Heather looks over at Ray, who is smiling at her. The Sheriff walks through the woods on his own, but then he sees the tiger — suddenly, Melanie finds him and shoots him square in his chest; she then gets into the car with Jessica, and they drive off. It looks like the tiger has its meat for the night. The villain got his just desserts.
Calm after the store
Panic season 1, episode 10 then calms down for the first time in the series, giving the characters a rest as they navigate the next part of their lives.
Heather narrates that the opposite of fear is not courage, it is believing. In the hospital, Ray is delighted because his brother is slowly coming out of his coma. As for Bishop, he prepares to leave the town and tells Heather and Natalie that he will miss them — Natalie and Heather appear to be friends now. In private, Heather watches Ray’s video where he confesses his secrets at the rail bridge challenge — he admits to having strong feelings for Heather but that it’s bad news for someone like her as he is “dead weight.”
Heather gets a text from an unknown sender — the judges have awarded her the winning pot — she has officially won Panic!
The ending
Dodge thanks Natalie for the evidence she gave to his family because it has given them peace. He’s not sure what he’s going to do next, but Natalie is going to LA — he said he’s going to figure out what’s next and not have a plan. Dodge jumps on a motorbike and heads off, but it doesn’t feel like a true end for them both.
Heather meets Ray near the river, and she tells him she saw his video and then kisses him. Ray tells her he’s scared of everything — he is scared of her the most and that he’s falling in love with her. Heather tells him she’s scared too and that they don’t have to fall in love — it looks like it’s too late. I can imagine many viewers will be frustrated that Bishop seems easily out of the picture, but let’s be honest, we all felt the vibe between Heather and Bishop.
As the episode ends, Heather narrates that nobody knows who invented Panic –she is being followed down the road late at night as she drives. A scarecrow-looking figure lands on the front window of her car with a symbol on it — she narrates, “no-one knows how to stop it either”. This is definitely a tease to bring a new set of characters for a second season…
Bringing plenty of drama, tension, and last-minute twists, Panic signs off in style with a highly fuelled season 1 ending.
What did you think of Panic season 1, episode 10, and the ending? Comment below.
