This finale did a great job wrapping up these first two seasons while leaving things open for a potential third season. By the end of the episode Tandy and Tyrone have faced their literal demons and concluded their character arcs in a very satisfying way.
We see some of the carnage caused by Andre in the opening of the episode when people begin to disappear. It’s a bit reminiscent of a certain Avengers film from last year, but I won’t fault them for that. Even though Andre is seemingly dead/unconscious, he’s clearly succeeded in becoming a Loa since his music is playing over the entirety of New Orleans. In order to stop him they contact Evita who harness’s Tyrone’s abilities to create a portal allowing them to find Andre in the mysterious mall.
Meanwhile, O’Reilly is being looked at by Mina to find out what’s going on with the bond between her and Mayhem. They discover that Mayhem’s rage is still very prominent, but the compassion and empathy from O’Reilly is also still present. It hasn’t gone away completely. And as we find out later in the episode this can be taken advantage of when she’s confronted with Fuches’ ghost. O’Reilly acknowledges what he meant to her and is happy to see him, but the Mayhem part of her doesn’t let that emotion take over. She continues to protect Tandy, Tyrone, and Evita despite her own emotions. This is only possible because her two personalities have made peace.
Once Tandy and Tyrone find find Andre performing to his captive audience, he uses his powers to create visions of their worst fears. These visions are a great manifestation of the personal obstacles both characters have had to overcome. They also represent the growth they’ve made over the last two seasons. Tyrone is faced with “Perfect Tyrone” who has made all the right choices and become successful. This plays on Tyrone’s fears of throwing away his life and disappointing his parents and tarnishing his brother’s memory. Perfect Tyrone taunts him about how he should have been the one to die instead of Billy because he hasn’t done anything productive with his life. This is why Tyrone was playing the part of a vigilante hero in the beginning of this season because he didn’t want to waste his gift.
Their fight is concluded after Tyrone finally accepts who he is and the decisions he’s made. Tyrone says, “I’m not perfect, I never have been. Being angry at the world when you lean into it is okay, so long as it allows you to see the things that are wrong and change them. My friend taught me that. The expectations that I’ve been forcing myself to live up to are not mine. And they’re not real.” This is a huge revelation for the character because for the past two seasons he’s been trying to live up to his parents expectations of him and his idolization of his brother Billy. But he’s now okay with just being Tyrone. He’s not perfect and he’s going to make mistakes, but he’s going to keep trying to make the world a better place.
Tandy on the other hand is faced with her abusive father who initially tries to convince her that she doesn’t know the full story and that he may not be the monster she perceives. However, Tandy isn’t buying it and the two of them start fighting. One aspect of the scene that doesn’t quite work is that Nathan never abused Tandy. The anger and trauma that Nathan caused her is very recent since she only just found out about her mother’s abuse a little over 8 months ago. So the conclusion of her arc is a little less powerful because, unlike Tyrone, she’s not facing demons that’s she’s lived with all her life.
However the conclusion to Tandy’s fight with Nathan is still very powerful and touches on some very real issues. In the climatic moment Tandy tells her father that, “The things you did won’t define me. They’ll affect me for sure, but only as much as I let them. Now all I can do is level up. Be better than you.” Her father then says that he’ll always be a part of her but Tandy responds saying, “You’re right. But I get to decide how big a part. Me.” From some of the themes explored in this seasons Tandy’s statement is clearly meant to address anyone who’s been victimized and it’s shown, through Tandy’s story, that you don’t have to let that define you.
With everything wrapped up by the end of the episode we find Tandy and Tyrone on a bus leaving the city. With both of their arcs in New Orleans concluded this is a perfect ending because the series could easily end here, but it leaves the door open if they get renewed for a third season. And if we do see Tandy and Tyrone again, being in a new city will pose new challenges for our heroes which will help keep the story fresh and interesting. Even though it’ll be sad if we don’t see characters like Mina, Evita, and O’Reilly again I’m still excited to see where the show will go next.
VERDICT
5 candles out of 5.
Andre has definitely been the weakest part of the season, his character motivation was very thin and there wasn’t much depth to the character. However, that didn’t detract too much from the season or this episode since (for the most part) everything with Tandy and Tyrone has been very strong, especially in this episode. The speech that both Tandy and Tyrone have to their inner demons was very powerful and well done. It also built on a lot of themes that were explored this season giving the scene more meaning. This finale did a great job of concluding their character arcs and giving a satisfying potential end for the show while also allowing it to evolve into something fresh if they get another season.
ONE-SHOTS
- Tyrone smiling when Solomon refused the trafficked women was a bit odd. Of course Tyrone’s happy that Solomon and the gang he works for aren’t profiting on people’s suffering, but the women were still bing held captive. It’s not really something to be happy about.
- It was great seeing Tandy and Tyrone in their classic costumes again. The show has done a great job of putting their characters into their iconic costumes without making it feel cheesy or contrived.
- The Tandy-teleportation-sword-stab was awesome and a really cool evolution of the combined move they did at the end of the last episode.
- Nathan Bowen needs to go to the burn ward after he told Tyrone that this wasn’t his fight and Tyrone responded by saying, “What’s up? You don’t hit men?”
