So at first, I wasn’t too sure about Twisted Metal and its TV counterpart, but I’m so glad to see it salvaged. I didn’t enjoy the first season at all, but decided to give Season 2 a shot after seeing Anthony Carrigan cast as Calypso playing the deranged yet terrifying trickster who runs the “Twisted Metal” competition.
Now, I’ll be honest: I have a high level of nostalgia for the original games, dating all the way back to Twisted Metal 2: World Tour from the 1990s. I played a copy of the PC version and instantly fell in love with the twisted storylines, crazy vehicles, and sheer mayhem.
I think the only part I genuinely liked from the first season was the “Barbie Torture Chamber” scene an interrogation sequence where they play the 1997 bubblegum pop classic Barbie Girl by Aqua. It was absurd, disturbing, and strangely fitting.
Just like last season, the show follows “John Doe” (played by Anthony Mackie), a delivery driver with amnesia who has no memory of life before waking up in a post-apocalyptic world. John travels between the walled cities of America making dangerous deliveries. At the end of Season 1, John earns a spot in “New San Francisco,” but quickly grows bored until a national broadcast hijacks every screen, speaker, arcade machine, and even street sign.
What’s the broadcast, you ask? A message from Calypso Industries.
Calypso (Anthony Carrigan) announces a new competition, calling on the best drivers from across the “Divided States of America” to compete. His invitation is clear:
“Assassins, mercenaries, vigilantes, joy riders… all are welcome.”
You might wonder: why would anyone trust a clearly deranged man? Well, this is a world where the old rules don’t apply. After America fractured into isolated, walled-off cities, people are desperate and Calypso knows exactly how to exploit that.
He ends his broadcast with a chilling promise:
“A single wish. No matter how rare. No matter how costly. No matter the consequence. Your deepest, darkest heart’s desire will be yours. At the end of my contest, one wish will come true. Will it be yours? Will you drive?”
Of course, longtime fans like me and probably some of you reading this know the truth: Calypso never grants a wish without a cruel twist.
For example, in Twisted Metal 2: World Tour, Mr. Grimm an embodiment of Death itself wishes to feast on souls forever. Calypso grants it… by wiping out humanity. Now Grimm starves for eternity, unable to die once there was no more souls left to feast on.
After watching Episode 5 of Season 2, where the contest is finally in full swing, I’m more excited than ever to see where this goes. With an incredible soundtrack (including 1998’s Dragula by Rob Zombie), and standout performances from Michael James Shaw (Avengers: Endgame) as Axel, Stephanie Beatriz (Hazbin Hotel) returning as Quiet, and Joe Seanoa/Will Arnett as the psychotic Sweet Tooth this show might just become the best video game adaptation yet.
Or at least the best live-action one.
Until next time,
Fly safe,
The Professor