Summary
The Twisted Metal tournament begins in earnest in “ONURMRK”, which delivers the biggest action set-piece of the season thus far.
Drivers, start your engines — the Twisted Metal tournament is officially underway. This is, of course, the major selling point of Season 2, and while it has taken until Episode 5 to get here, I’d argue the setup has been worth it. The three-part premiere had a fair amount of ground to cover, and that made it refreshing when the previous episode pumped the brakes and delivered a more focused chapter. “ONURMRK” is all about introductions, reunions, and a lot of setup for later, but it also delivers the biggest action set-piece of the season thus far for good measure.
The idea of Twisted Metal in general is about a lot of very eccentric characters all being bundled together, and you can feel the appeal of that setup very strongly here. The show is smart to recognise that, somewhat unlike the games, it isn’t just about how these characters look and what signature vehicles they drive, but about how they all interact as a group, and a lot of “ONURMRK” is about making suggestions in this regard. Some of the faces are pretty familiar, some, like Axel and Mr. Grimm, were teased in previous episodes, and some others are brand new. But, providing they aren’t all summarily killed off in the next couple of episodes, it should be a lot of fun seeing how they all get on.
Many of the racers have history. Mr. Grimm and Sweet Tooth have some kind of long-standing rivalry that we’re not privy to, for instance, and that’s to say nothing of the history between Sweet Tooth and John/Quiet, and Stu’s relationship with Mike. Yes, Mike is alive and has teamed up with a reformed cannibal butcher named Dave, which Stu is a little jealous of. He knows his partnership with Sweet Tooth was all about self-preservation, but Mike is nonetheless appalled to see them mating around like best chums.
Raven also turns up to enter herself after John’s escape from New San Francisco, and there’s no love lost between the pair of them. The Holy Men are also present, though apparently Preacher Jebidiah has now been reincarnated in the form of a cute baby. But there are also completely new characters like Vermin, who you can just tell is going to be around for a while.
Twisted Metal Season 2, Episode 5 also devotes a lot more time to Calypso, and Anthony Carrigan really shines here. Sure, he spends most of his time laying out the ground rules, but his presence is deeply felt, lending a lot of mystery to the underlying premise. What is he really up to? What does he stand to gain from all this, and from granting a wish, whatever it may be, to the winner? Hard to say. We’ll have to wait a few more episodes to find out.
In the meantime, there is, of course, a qualifying heat, the simple delivery of an explosive package that everyone must compete in. This manifests as a great-looking and I think largely practical — it certainly looks that way — set-piece that is of a scale and quality completely new for this season. But part of the reason why it works so well is that we’ve already met so many of the drivers, so their specific quirks and dynamics all come into play during the race itself.
When her protective instincts kick in, Quiet sabotages Mayhem’s vehicle so that she will lose the qualifier and be eliminated, but she steals another and takes to the field anyway. Of course, she immediately gets herself into trouble, so John and Quiet have to turn around to save her, which is where “ONURMRK” ends. But the tournament itself is off to a great, character-rich start, and with everything still very much to play for, we seemed to have arrived at Twisted Metal‘s raison d’être. Happy to be here.
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