Ron Does Stuff

Like I said in the previous post, the first episode of this show didn’t quite grab me, but maybe things will take a turn for the better in this second episode. Let’s go!

At the end of the last episode, Riri unintentionally had the AI she was making take on the form of a dead friend of hers, Natalie. At least Riri knows it’s just AI! A very independent AI, but AI nonetheless. She hides Natalie from her mother, who I automatically love because she doesn’t exclude girls from the people Riri could be fooling around with in her room.

Riri gets to the gang? team? meeting and it looks like the main target is basically a female Elon Musk trying to make that same electromagnetic tunnel Elon had made in LA happen in Chicago as well.

We get introduced to the team, which includes Shea Coulee as Slug, a hacker from Madripoor. Madripoor from Falcon and The Winter Soldier and X-Men lore! The Madrippor scne in Falcon and The Winter Soldier featured a Filipino artist, by the way!

There’s Roz and Jeri, the Blood Siblings, who I do not recognize from anywhere. Are these characters made for the show or are they new comic book characters? To be fair, I think the last time I read a comic book was…2019? There’s also Clown, who is a “pyrotechnics specialist”. Is she just a skilled arsonist or are the fires she sets magical? Because I had that impression in the first episode. The final member is John, Parker’s cousin.

The gang needs Riri’s suit done by tonight, but Riri needs some more parts to make sure that it’s working by the time the job starts. This leads her to Joe McGillicuddy, who apparently has stuff from the black market that can help her out. Lucky for her, Joe is a total doormat, so she at least gets to be driven where all his black market stuff is. They also sing Alanis Morissette in the car which takes me all the way back to my teen years. Yes, I am a creature from the past.

We arrive at Joe’s bunker where he hides all his black market stuff and I have a lot of questions. Where does he get his money? Who’s the dead father he wants to get close to? And where exactly is this all going? The actors are charming and charismatic, yes, but I’m still not getting the show itself.

It’s just missing that little something because even the TNNL scene with Riri just didn’t have that tension that would make me hold my breath. And as charming as the actors are, the characters aren’t really that well-drawn to me, even Riri. Just like the first episode, I can’t shake off the feeling that this is just a first draft of the show and there’s something better coming.

One thing I think this show does better than the other Marvel shows is the music. Granted, I haven’t watched all the shows, but this one has the best soundtrack for me, so far.