‘Twisted Metal’ Recap: ‘DRVTHRU’

9/7/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

TWISTED METAL -- “DRVTHRU” Episode 106 -- Pictured: (l-r) Stephanie Beatriz as Quiet, Anthony Mackie as John Doe -- (Photo by: Skip Bolen/Peacock)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Six of ‘Twisted Metal’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

As we continue our journey through the world of Twisted Metal on Peacock, one thing is becoming abundantly clear. In that, this is a series that is going to surprise you every single step of the way. Because over the course of the past few weeks, we simply have not had a clue what was going to play out when we tuned in. Since we’ve been treated to stories filled with the incredible violence that permeates the fabric of the video game franchise the story is based upon. Or we have been plunged into a world-building tale that has explored corners of this universe we didn’t know existed. Or… we have enjoyed a grand character study, one that informed us of what this world does to people’s psyches and how it shaped them into the person we recently met.

Simply because, this series can do anything really, for the world of Twisted Metal is as much a playground for the writers as it is for Sweet Tooth and well, for its next episode, it turned out that ‘DRVTHRU’ opted to provide us with a hat trick of themes. Since this episode featured, a character study, an examination of trauma and a weird ass love story. For this story saw John and Quiet get stuck in an abandoned burger joint in the Midwest. Simply because there was a weird nuclear storm brewing outside and they had no choice but to sit and wait it out, and while in there… they came to realize they had a powerful attraction to one another that they decided to indulge in. Inside the ball pit. Several times. Because why not? And we came to learn… what it was that made Quiet so angry and jaded.

For it turned out that a few years ago, she and her brother decided to leave the fruit fields they spent most of their lives working in, by opting to sign a four-year contract of indentured servitude that would get them beachfront property and a better life. But it didn’t take long for them to realize, that signing up for work in a city full of Karens, since they were working in a former, well-to-do Sunny California town that apparently bred Karens after the fall… was a terrible idea. The kind that cost them both body parts and mental stability. And the revelation that no one escaped their work despite what the contract promised, pushed them both to fight back and escape, with damage in hand mentally. After all, they were scared, and scarred from their experiences and that laid he foundation for the jaded individuals we encountered early on in this story.

Of course… all of these ugly moments… left Quiet with unresolved trauma/PTSD as well. The kind that basically informed her, through John, that she was projecting that trauma onto Agent Stone in a dangerous manner that was going to get her killed, and that she needed to resolve it. Which led to some dramatic moments in this tale, where Quiet did just that, with John’s help. Giving rise to the reality that this world has done a lot of damage to a lot of people, and so many of them are likely suffering and unable to confront their pain. Which was a sobering revelation to behold, one that John made right by helping Quiet to find comfort and healing, and that was quite nice. Since it spoke to the importance of facing our trauma and our pain and the importance of being kind to others, and it was simply lovely to see some beauty play out amongst the chaos.

Which there will be more of, of course. Since this episode didn’t quite confirm that Agent Stone was dead, and he is definitely a lost soul that would want revenge if he survived, and he likely did. Because he’s that kind of guy. Plus, Sweet Tooth is still out there causing chaos and one does have to wonder now… if Quiet’s story about her time in that twisted rich ass community, and the show that was put on for John in New San Fran… are both harbingers of doom. The kind that will see our hero struggle mightily with lies and deception and the reality that this is a broken world where people are eager to perform dark acts to get ahead. And the only way to know if that will be the case, is to continue the journey. But before we dive into the next episode, we can celebrate one amazing and surprising tale. One that kept us laughing, via that wild love affair and a charred corpse, and offered up so much from a storytelling standpoint. Until next time.

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