After the previous episode of Twisted Metal, we saw the show nudge its steering wheel into a more layered form of storytelling that started integrating the wider cast into more regular adventures. However, this episode decides to change direction again to give as a far more intimate two-hander, interspersed with flashbacks, that flesh out the tragic backstory of Stephanie Beatriz’s Quiet.
While it may seem strange that the show has opted to go smaller the very installment after it’s tried to go bigger, it does still play in to the show’s off-kilter tone as it attempts the type of variety that shows with usually twice the episode count have space to try.
While John Doe and Quiet take five and use this break from killer clowns and psychotic police to examine their relationship closely (and finally bone), we get a good, long look at the harrowing events that explains why Quiet is the way she is.
After waking from the bruising events of Topeka, Quiet awakes none too pleased that John interfered in her ill-fated attempt at revenge. However, as pissed as she is that her on-again, off-again companion swept in and saved her life, she’s even more incensed that the callous Agent Stone most likely survived John’s missile-led sneak attack – but as her frustration mounts, the two find a time tested solution for the mutual frustration they feel for each other.
After having prolonged, imaginative sex in the ball pit of a branch of Astro Burger thanks to the copy of Granny Sutra obtained two episodes ago, the couple have calmed down visibly and get back to doing what they do best – bonding over conversations about childish shit. However, thanks to the violent, multi-coloured lightning strikes of something called a Watkyn Storm, the two have plenty of time to wax lyrical about alien life and whether or not the sea is haunted, but as they continually argue and make up, we finally see the events that caused Quiet’s inability to stick around.
Years earlier, Quiet and her brother were working in the O.C. as orange pickers which, while a simple and quiet life, was never going to guarantee them an existence where they wouldn’t be continuously working until the end of their days. However, Quiet hits upon an idea and suggests that she and her sibling volunteer for servant duty for the upper crust members of Orange County as there’s a stipulation that states that you are gifted land after four years in servitude.
Unsurprisingly, what with this being the apocalypse and all, things turn out to be far more harrowing than the pair could ever imagine with basic human rights, including them being allowed to even talk, being denied. But after living a life where penalties included a severed ear or finger were claimed, is it any wonder Quiet has gargantuan trust issues?
While the gonzo humor is still very present, Twisted Metal takes a noticably somber turn for its sixth installment as the show finally lays out Quiet’s existence before she and her brother ran afoul of Stone’s barbaric highway laws. The flashbacks essentially spell out a version of the O.C. that seemingly refuses to accept that civilisation has fallen, so the ruling class has tried to keep things running as close to normal as they possibly can by creating an under-class conned into bring slaves for the promise of land to settle down on once their contract is up. While spoilt wives still swan about, dressed in their finery like a God forsaken version of The Real Housewives Of The Armageddon, Quiet shuffles about in a drab jumpsuit, mute as the day we met her, with her will almost completely broken. It’s a startling change from the mischievous trash talker that’s slowly re-emerged over the last few days and Beatriz, god love her, sells it so hard it’s actually tough to look at her as her huge, haunted eyes virtually bug out of her pale, drawn skull.
As this thread continues and she’s granted a chance reunion with Loud who is working, coincidentally, in the burger house where her boss has chosen to eat and it’s here we truly see the horrifying details of what this servitude truly means as women decorate their earrings with severed fingers from their servants and fast food managers wear necklaces lined with ears cut from disobedient workers.
While Twisted Metal could hardly be described as being particularly heavy, its interesting to see the show treat its dystopian craziness with something other than darkly, childish glee for a change. There’s been some complaints that the show as a whole suffers from a wildly inconsistent tone, but I have to say, I found DRVTHRU to be an incredibly refreshing break from the usual, gruesome goofiness.
Oh, it’s still there, of course, with the Astro Burger formally being home to a death cult who committed mass suicide to order to transcend into space with one such corpse left wrapped in tin foil and decorated with a smiley face made of curly fries, but there’s a maturity there that allows some gravitas to actually take effect. As a result, the sillier stuff lands far better than it ever did before and the continued double act between Beatriz and Mackie feels stronger than ever, even when they’re bullshitting about their suspicions about goats and llamas being the same animal. Even though the episode (flashbacks aside) is mainly locked into one location, it still manages to squeeze in some visual flair thanks to the curious weather condition known as a Watkyn Storm that strafes the area with candy coloured bolts of lightning. The phenomenon has been apparently caused by the meltdown of a nearby nuclear plant and is a visually pleasing way of keeping the action on the lower end of the budget in order for more frenzied car shit as we get ever closer to the end.
There’s still the odd inconsistency here and there with John’s childlike attitude fluctuating wildly (he knows what a nuclear power station is but is convinced the sea is teaming with actual ghost ships), but a simple explanation is that everyone in this world is borderline nuts anyway, so anyone’s knowledge and belief system is going to be screwy as hell…
If, by the final moments, you haven’t truly been warmed by Quiet choosing not to duck out, then you might as well tune out now, because I think the show has taken it’s best shot at building these characters up to a point where we are truly invested in their relationship. If it’s failed, then feel free to travel another path – but if it didn’t, then feel free to stay on this road as we hurtled even further into the tongue in cheek dystopia…
Worked for me.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
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