‘Twisted Metal’ season 1 ending, explained

One of the more surprising video game adaptations to come out in the last year has to be Twisted Metal, the carnage-filled PlayStation racing/destruction classic. It’s a surprisingly fun and engaging road trip show starring John Doe (Anthony Mackie), Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), and Raven (Neve Campbell), as well as numerous cameos from the game. Here’s what happened at the end of season 1.

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

The big plot device over the ten-episode arc is that Raven wants John Doe to pick up a package for her and deliver it to New San Francisco. During their journey, Doe and Raven meet a whole lot of characters from the game.

One of the weirder plot devices is the distinct lack of the Twisted Metal tournament itself, but it turns out that was just something showrunners were building toward all along. The last few minutes of the first season depict exactly what the series is named for, and it’s a pretty good preview of what we could see in the second season.

In the last episode, John gets welcomed into the New San Francisco community after delivering the package to Raven. He tries to bring Quiet into the community and initially refuses to enter without her, but she shoots him, forcing him to get medical attention.

Soldiers want Quiet to be their new Milkman, but she refuses as well (a lot of refusing in this show). Things initially go well for John inside the walls. He starts dating, gets a ton of toaster strudels and while everything seems catered to him, he just can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

The package turns out to be a macguffin. It’s just Rocky Road ice cream and was just a symbol to see if John could handle Raven’s true intentions: a ticket to the actual tournament itself.

Before that, he tries to escape from the community and is taken prisoner while Raven reveals her true intentions for making him stay. Previously, she revealed that he grew up in New San Francisco and that he had a sister who was out there somewhere. Related: there are rumors that Dollface could end up being his sister.

We also get a sneak peek at Calypso, the creator of the tournament, and someone who’s rumored to grant any wish to the winner. The show ends with Mike and Stu (Tahj Vaughans and Mike Mitchell) settling down by a campfire after all the chaos.

The peace doesn’t last because a really mad Sweet Tooth shows up and attacks them with a machete, dragging Stu with him. Mike’s fate is as of yet unknown. Regardless, season 2 (if and when it’s announced) is all set up to be the best one yet.

All ten episodes of Twisted Metal are streaming on Peacock.