Synopsis of 2×08-10: We’re at the end when all the pieces come together. We finally meet the boy, Ken gets a promotion, the Mage gets his just desserts, and Dirk finds out his true purpose.
Dirk Gently has often reminded me of my beloved TV show, Doctor Who. And this season leans into the Whovian mantra that no one is unimportant. Every little bit, every little thread connects, and the most unimportant of people are the ones who wind up saving lives.
Take, for example, Ken, who was sitting in a cab the first half of this season. Once he proves himself useful, he works his way up to supervisor of Blackwing. He’s gotten political; he gets his hands dirty. We met Ken in Season 1 has a hacker, who became a trusted friend to Bart.
Ken’s transformation into Blackwing’s leader doesn’t quite make sense to me. The joy and the kinship he felt for Bart makes it difficult to believe he’d turn evil. Especially when they have an adorable reunion via iPad. But even in that moment, Bart knew something was wrong.
Ken never struck me as a control freak, so I have a hard time believing that he wants to control all of the holistics at Blackwing. I hope his friendship with Bart will bring him to his senses. Then again, with Bart, you never know.
Speaking of Bart, we didn’t get to see a lot of her this season. Which makes sense. Last season she was a piece of the puzzle. This season, she’s a tagalong, an addendum. She spends most of the season in a jail cell, making a new friend.
She does sit in for a showdown between Panto and Blackwing. One that leaves Mr. Priest looking like Tyrion Lannister from the books. But only in these final two episodes does she come into her own as a holistic assassin. And boy, when she finally lets loose, it’s bloody. Her reunion with Ken is less than satisfying (for her at least) as she finds herself at Blackwing, a prisoner to her old friend.
Even Freidkin, who’s such a moronic character, gets his moment to shine. He recognizes that 1) he is stupid, and 2) he is the bad guy. And when he becomes the good guy, he does it just right. His ending was certainly a twist, but it seems right that he should understand the universe since he spent so much of his time this season fighting it.
Our small town cops prove their importance by helping defeat the Mage. First, Tina uses some drug-intervention skills to find out where Hobbs really is. And she has an adorable little monologue about how Hobbs is her best friend. *wink wink*
They run to the quarry, only to be attacked by the Mage. After a doomed shootout at the quarry, Farah manages to blow him up. It seems a bit of a cop-out (pun intended) for the most magical creature in both realms to merely be blown up, but that storyline was pretty much over once Susie made her way to Wendimoore.
I really wish we had gotten to see a Susie versus Lady Dengdamoore battle. Susie would have won, but still, Silas’ mother is terrifying. Susie mostly ran around, did magic, and was generally scary the last few episodes. She murdered many characters we came to love (RIP Watki and KNIGHT). But hey, that’s the show!
Speaking of Farah, there wasn’t enough of her in the back half either. She was mostly stumbling around, trying to save Tina. But Farah, reliable as ever, does save the world from the evil doings of the Mage. And she had one of my fave lines of the season: “I’m not losing two fights in one year!”
It’s too bad Farah never got to Wendimoore. I think she would have liked it there. I did like the backdrop of two families being played against each other by a third evil party. And this was truly one of the most fun and creative fantasy realms I’ve seen. Last year’s time-traveling left a little to be desired, but this fantasia realm was wildly satisfying.
In the end, Dirk, Todd, and Amanda save the day, with the help of their friends Mona, the Rainbow Beast, and the Rowdy 3. Everyone played a part and everyone lives happily ever after. Sort of (more on that later). The boy, who speaks like a child attempting an adult voice, is an adorable character. And he enlightens Dirk on his place in the world; Dirk is meant to fix reality’s problems. That’s it. That’s his purpose.
Perhaps the best, and most important character in this season was Amanda. She really came into her own as a magical creature and she is the spine of most of the plans in Wendimoore. Her visions are still there and they say something bad is coming. Alas, we’ll never get a season 3 to find out what that is.
Oh, and Susie Boreton? She’ll pay for her crimes in the train in the sky. No magic, no beauty, no people. It’s a fitting demise.
This season was certainly a step up from the last. I feel like I spent most of season 1 bashing show writer Max Landis, and season 2 surprised that it all worked out. While it’s sad to see the show go, Max has gotten himself into hot water so I’m not sad to see his exit.
I’ll miss Samuel Barnett (Dirk), Jade Eshete (Farah), and all these other cast members. Elijah Wood will choose some other bizarre TV show to star in, I’m sure (P.S.: I loved Wilfred). It was a short run, but a worthwhile one. And I hope the show inspires its fans to read the original Douglas Adams books. It certainly inspired me.
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