Twisted Metal Season 2 wrapped up on Peacock, and needless to say, the show gave fans exactly what they wanted: a wacky, fun romp through a post-apocalyptic world filled with insane surprises and twists. Now, the showrunner and cast are laying it all out in the wake of Season 2's aftermath.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for the Season 2 Finale of Twisted Metal.
A lot happened in the final batch of episodes. Axel sacrificed himself to save Mayhem, Calypso resurrected Dollface into the classic video game character Minion, and Stu won the Twisted Metal tournament. Additionally, Sweet Tooth is set to be reunited with his murderous father, and the show's surviving heroes are now on the run from the entire world, which is out to kill them.
Thankfully, Twisted Metal showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith sat down with The Direct to help break down that insane finale. Also joining him to discuss their respective characters' journeys are several key cast members of Twisted Metal, including Joe Seanoa (Sweet Tooth), Saylor Bell Curda (Mayhem), Tiana Okoye (Dollface), Mike Mitchell (Stu), Patty Guggenheim (Raven), and Michael James Shaw (Axel).
Twisted Metal is streaming on Peacock. While the show has not yet been renewed for Season 3, showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith has an idea for Season 4 that will cause "fans to lose their minds."
Twisted Metal Showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith on Destroying That Happy Ending
"We Wanted to Give Them Exactly What They Wanted."
- The Direct: "With the finale, you give John, Quite, and Mayhem this nice, happy ending, and then you just tear it all apart. So, why did you do that?"
Michael Jonathan Smith: We wanted to give them exactly what they wanted. But they changed, right? Like, if John had gone straight to the cabin, he wouldn't have learned anything. Like if he had gone straight there, he'd be like, Great, I'm in a cabin. This rules.
But he wouldn't have met Mayhem. He wouldn't have met his sister, who wouldn't have had all of the emotional feelings and understood what family means, and he wouldn't have—because he goes into his childhood bedroom twice. And I think that is what the mirroring is. And I think we really wanted, if Season 1 is so much about finding family, and Season 2 is about what does family means and about him learning what it means to have family.
And I think that's what so much of this finale is about. What did you learn, John? Apply it. And I think that is what we really wanted to feel, is like, oh my god, they had it. And I really also wanted to lull the audience into a false sense of security, of like, oh my god, they got it. They got the cabin. They're happy. What is this going to mean?
Also, what did the explosion at the end of Episode 11 mean? What is all this going to be? And then I really wanted it to be surprising... I really wanted to feel what John and Quiet feel when the TV's turned back on and you hear that chime and be like, No! That's why it goes on long. You're just like, Oh, they're making dinner. Oh, they're shooting the fish. We really just wanted to load you into those dreams. They're happy.
In the show's finale, it's revealed that Tiana Okoye's Dollface, John's sister, was turned into Minion (an iconic character from the original games) by Calypso.
- The Direct: "Why was this the perfect direction to go into with Minion, but also just for John and Mayhem and Quiet's story, to be like, 'Oh, by the way, this monster is your sister?'"
Smith: Well, for a few reasons. One, I wanted there to be an emotional connection to this villain, so that when we see them in [a hypothetical] Season 3. I wanted you to run into this character and have there be like stakes to running into this villain.
Two, I wanted there to be like, what do we do? We can't just kill this thing. Now we have to figure out a way to get her back.
And then three, and this is the big thing. I really love the idea that now John and Dollface are reversed. At the beginning of the season, Dollface, all these memories of John, and John has no memories of her, and now they're in the complete opposite place. Now John has all these memories of Dollface, and Dollface has no memories of him, so it's a complete 180 between the two of them.
A fun moment at the beginning of the Twisted Metal Season 2 finale saw Anthony Carrigan's Calypso trying to pitch the idea of a Twisted Metal show to a group of television executives.
- The Direct: "We previously talked about the crazy Twisted Metal Easter eggs, and it gets even a little bit meta in this finale. And I just wanted to ask, did you ever consider making Calypso a developer of the original Twisted Metal games?"
Smith: We talked about it. We thought it might just get a little too insane. We like the idea of it being the TV show, since our show is a TV show, and it just got a little too like, Wait, so did he make the games that you see in the show? When we just thought it was really funny to hint at the fact that our show is expensive, and it felt very funny to be watching the show and hint at the show stuff.
So, we did talk about it at one point that it could be a developer. But then it got really confusing, because the games do exist, yeah, in the show's world. So it got, like, a little too confusing... So we did go down that path at one point, for sure.
Joe Seanoa Explains How Sweet Tooth Feels About His Wins & Losses
Sweet Tooth Is "Addicted to Fame" & "Devoid of Shame From Being Defeated."
While Will Arnett is the voice of Sweet Tooth, it's Joe Seanoa who brings his physical performance to life on screen for Twisted Metal. The Season 2 finale featured him killing Mr. Grimm, getting his ass handed to him by Minion, and then being knocked out and dragged across the country.
Finally ending Mr. Grimm's life was victorious for Sweet Tooth during the tournament's final round. While talking about how his character felt after his rival was dead, Seanoa described his twisted clown as someone who is "addicted to fame," and "when that crowd roared, it was a sweet, sweet hit, and he loved it:"
Seanoa: Sweet Tooth is addicted to fame. And, I mean, it was—when that crowd roared, it was a sweet, sweet hit, and he loved it. But, you know, five minutes from then, he'd want an even bigger ovation...
He is a hopeless addict. He is addicted to being just adored and loved by the people for what he does best, and unfortunately for the world, it's murdering people.
Not long after killing Mr. Grimm, Sweet Tooth gets put in his place, getting crushed by Calypso's big boss twist, Minion. But, internally, how does Sweet Tooth take such a beating? Seanoa noted that he thinks Sweet Tooth is "devoid of shame from being defeated:"
Seanoa: I think he's devoid of shame from being defeated. I just think, anytime he kind of hits a roadblock, he's so sociopathic, it doesn't even register, and he just kind of sits back up and keeps walking forward. And I think that is the danger of Sweet Tooth, is just he's not unstoppable, but he is inevitable. And that's the best way I like to describe it.
As for Seanoa himself, he was thrilled to finally be able to shoot a chain gun:
Seanoa: I [also] got to shoot a chain gun, which is something I've always wanted to do in life, by the way, which I highly recommend everybody try at one point. I mean, the Jesse Ventura rotating chain gun. I mean, from 'Predator,' yeah, it's a life experience.
Saylor Bell Curda on What Was Going Through Mayhem's Mind in the Final Round
" I Think She's Just Really Scared, and She Doesn't Know How to Let Herself Feel That..."
One of the best new additions to Season 2 of Twisted Metal is Saylor Bell Curda's Mayhem, who grew close to both Quiet and John. However, before they all finally made up, Mayhem was quite mad at the two of them; these feelings got confusing as she watched the final round of the tournament from afar with Calypso.
- The Direct: "Were you a little sad not to be able to actually participate in that final round you just got to watch?"
Saylor Bell Curda: I have to be so honest with you right now, Russ, that was, like, actually some of my favorite moments, because, first of all, I did just get to see all of it, which was, like, even more fun. And I got to be all the way up there while I, like, saw Stephanie and Anthony, like tiny little people running around in the arena. It was awesome.
But the reason why it was like, honestly, it was one of my favorite days was because of Anthony Carrigan. I love him so much. Like, we had the best day ever when it was just me and him on set, like, fooling around. He's one of the absolutely, by far, one of the most talented actors I have ever worked with. And being in his presence and acting alongside him was just mind-blowing.
- The Direct: "Mayhem is obviously mad at Quiet and John, but you know, what she's watching is kind of crazy. But what is really going through her head, despite that anger? What is she really thinking as she's watching this unfold?"
Saylor Bell Curda: I think she's just really scared, and she doesn't know how to let herself feel that, because she's scared for other people, and I'm not sure she's ever felt that. I'm not sure she's felt any type of connection where she could even care a little bit if someone else wasn't around. I think it's genuinely just her stewing in her anger, having, like, never apologized in her life, or known what a fight even is, or heard from them at that point. She still thinks that they actually don't care about her even at all.
And it's just this really harsh internal battle of Calypso, saying everything that she feels. Like she has lived by so far in her life. Calypso is sitting there, his huge personality trait is that nobody should need anybody. He doesn't need anybody. And he encourages others whom he sees fit enough to try and be just like him. And I think Mayhem is a really, really easy target for him, especially because she spent her whole life being like, other people, no, like, I don't need them. I just need myself...
I think it's just like, it's just that snap moment of when she sees what's happening to them, and she knows she would kill everyone in that room to make sure they were safe, which is low-key, a little bit of what she does. She steals a fun little move from Quiet and slices the guard's head off... I think it's her literally just realizing, like, Wait—Shit, I want these people to live crazy thought, but that is what's going through her head. She's like, Wait, it'd be cool if they kept living.
Curda also talked about Mayhem, John, and Quiet's short-lived happy ending at the cabin in the woods, calling it extra special for Mayhem, with John finally accepting her:
Curda: I think by the time they get to the cabin, and she's just in that car thinking about how they're gonna go and live their happy lives like in this cabin, I think it's like really more of a moment than it seems. It felt like more of a moment than it looked like while we were in it, because it was this crazy moment of, very specifically John, accepting her and being like, come on, come into this cabin with us. And I think that's also why the last episode was one of my favorites, because it was just all three of us almost finally already, like living like a family and just being stupid and wacky and dumb, and it's the best.
Tiana Okoye Dives Into Dollface's Minion Twist
"I've Never Gotten to Be In a Super Suit, That's a Dream."
While Tiana Okoye's Dollface died before the tournament started in Twisted Metal Season 2, the big twist in the finale was that Calypso resurrected her to be Minion, his big bad final boss.
- The Direct: "So, how sad were you not to be able to participate in the bulk of the tournament?"
Tiana Okoye: I was devastated. Are you kidding me? I was so upset (laughs). Like, really, did it have to be the qualifying round where Dollface dies? It just looked like so much fun to be a part of. Also, as an actor, like the prom scene, I definitely think Dollface would have slayed her prom look, and maybe been prom queen. I definitely think she would have done well. So it sucks, for sure.
While Dollface may have presumably died early on, Okoye gets the last laugh, as, while a majority of her co-stars' characters are dead, she has a guaranteed role going forward. With Minion comes a fancy new superhero-esque costume, something that Okoye was stoked to take on:
Okoye: Actually, the process of getting that costume was really, really fun and exciting for me. I've never gotten to be in a super suit; that's a dream. I got to do the body scans. I got to do, you know, all of that. And that suit is fit for me. And it felt good. It felt comfy in there. I feel powerful.
I feel so good towering over Anthony. You know, I'm taking this whole brother sister dynamic to a whole new level. But, yeah, I think moving forward, it's gonna be a little tricky, but I think it will definitely bring some different layers to the character...
But what's cool about these costumes, I will just briefly say, is that there's like a cooling pack you wear, like a vest underneath. I'm sure you know this, but from like, super suits and... you have the vest underneath that has the water, and then you have the ice pack that can either pump cold water or warm water into your vest, so it will cool you off after stunts and everything. And, yeah, that's really, really helpful.
- The Direct: "I wanted to ask about Dollface herself. In your own mind, do you think that she was aware that any of this transformation was happening or was going to happen? Was there at least some period of time before it all happened, that she was aware of this all going down?"
Okoye: I don't think so. I think she had the harpoon right through the chest. You know what I mean? I think she was out. I think she was revived by Calypso. I could see her kind of like sitting in that lab, you see a little glimpse of it when Mayhem peeks in. But I definitely think that she was kind of just in a coma, being, you know, Frankensteined together. I think that's what was going on.
- The Direct: "I have a theory that I want to run by you about Minion, but I was just thinking about it. Do you think that Minion was never even going to be a thing until John went and made his double wish and messed up, and then that caused Calypso to be like. Like, I have an idea. That slip-up might have saved your life."
Okoye: Well, it definitely saved my life. I think Minion, and the idea of Minion was always a thing for Calypso. I think there was always going to be a final boss. And I think it was always going to be Minion. However, who Minion is, I think, probably changed when John went and made his wish and fucked everything up.
- The Direct: "In the finale, there's the moment when John whistles, and there seems to be that recognition. But when it comes to your performance and when you were getting into that space, what was going through her head when she heard John's whistle? What were your own directives to make that moment come to life?"
Okoye: A flashback. Like I just kind of had, like a little flash bulb memory, just like a blink of a memory. That brought me back. I mean, that day was very physically taxing, and it was towards the end of the four months, I think everyone was tired... It can be tough, and a very stunt-heavy day, especially with the big costumes, but I think it might have been just like a slight moment of relief. At least that's what, that's how I felt. I felt like it was just a little breath, or like a blink of relief, and then gone.
Mike Mitchell on Stu's Big Win
"He's Not a Likely Champion. I Was Definitely Surprised."
Audiences worldwide were busy theorizing throughout the season about who would win Calypso's grand Twisted Metal tournament. The finale shocked everyone by declaring its unexpected winner: Mike Mitchell's Stu.
- The Direct: "When the season first started, one wouldn't expect Stu to be the winner. But then you were the winner. So what was that like, and how long did you know that that was gonna happen?"
Mike Mitchell: I mean, yeah, he's not a likely champion. I was definitely surprised. And I know that the showrunner, MJ told me... I looked at the scripts, but we were also getting scripts as we were shooting. So, by the time the season was even a quarter of the way through, I think I knew that was happening, but I was honored to win the Twisted Metal tournament.
And, you know, Stu has a lot of heart, and I think that he's a survivor in the end. And also, his wish is really sweet. He just wants to be happy and away from this chaos. And I think that MJ has always said that a lot of the heart [of the show] is in Stu. And I think that shines through there in the end.
- The Direct: "You did win at the cost of your good friend, Tahj Vaughans' Mike. Do you think he's dead for real?"
Mitchell: I mean, I'll say this, and this will make a lot of the viewers happy: I think you just never know who will come back in the Twisted Metal universe. We've obviously introduced some supernatural elements. So, I think anyone could come back for sure. I mean, I love Taj, who plays Mike, and he's such a great guy.
Honestly, it was easy for me to be emotional because it was kind of like that thing at the end of camp where we were going away, and I was like, I don't know if I'll be able to do this with Taj ever again. And I was legitimately sad seeing him go. But I hope that I get to see Mike in some form in the future. That's what I would love.
- The Direct: "You mentioned your wish, and Calypso does twist it by sending you to space. To be fair, space is a safe place away from the apocalypse, provided you have enough food up there."
Mitchell: I think the writers had always planned on doing some sort of twist ending at the beginning of the season. I literally talked with MJ, and he was like, 'What do you feel about the character season?' I jokingly said, I want Stu to be strong. And it was like a joke on like, Samoa Joe is this big, tough wrestler. Stu was just kind of like a fool. But then he kind of gave me my wish in a weird, twisted way. And see Stu become a kind of stronger character as the season goes on, and at the end, there he comes in, and I wouldn't say he saves the day, but he definitely helps out. He tries to help out.
I know that they talked about a few different endings, and I love that he gets sent to space, like it just feels so much like the game that I got set up there, and I was thrilled that I came back. I was watching with my mom and sister, and when I got sent to space, my mom was like, 'No, this can't be happening.' And I was like, 'Keep watching, and you'll see what happens.'
But Stu has just shown this season that he's a true survivor. Somehow, he escaped space, even against all odds, and he even made it down from there. I think there was, like, space ice cream up there. He's probably eating some space ice cream.
- The Direct: "I also wanted to talk about that scene in the cabin. How satisfying was it to finally have a scene with John, Quiet, and Mayhem? And they remember your name! Was there some sort of satisfaction there?"
Mitchell: 100%. It's like the thing in high school, of like, all I want is you to notice me. I just want you to acknowledge my existence. And I think everyone underestimated Stu in a way, and that's how he snuck by a lot of people and ended up winning the tournament... I think that there are a lot of people who didn't expect it, and now they know, Okay, this guy stuck around long enough, and he's been an asset, in a way, and we should at least remember that his name is Stu.
Patty Guggenheim Gives a Tragic Look Into Raven's Final Moment
"I Think She Thinks She's Getting Her Wish."
Patty Guggenheim's Raven was a key character in Twisted Metal Season 2. She wasn't going to participate in the tournament until Anthony Mackie's John ran away and forced her to take matters into her own hands.
Raven's motivations were also tragic. Her main goal was to wake up the love of her life, Kelly, from the coma she'd been trapped in. Sadly, Raven never gets her wish; she's eliminated in the final round of the tournament.
- The Direct: "Now, that tragic final scene, where Raven's looking up at Kelly, at her wish that never came true. What is Raven thinking in that moment?"
Patty Guggenheim: I think she's pretty delusional. And I think she thinks she's getting her wish. I think she really thought she won. I think that this is what she's wanted for her whole life is to be back with this Kelly, and so I think she's getting what she wants, but maybe just not how she wanted it.
- The Direct: "What do you think Kelly would say to Raven if she could see kind of what she's done and where she is?"
Guggenheim: She would probably have some strong words, like, really? Go to therapy. I think she would tell her to get a therapist and move it along. Move on. But clearly that's not what she did.
- The Direct: "Just watching Raven throughout the season, she seems to really be enjoying herself in this competition. And it just made me question, why did she ever want John to do it for her?"
Guggenheim: Oh, yeah, no, that is a good question. I think she probably has been in New San Francisco living this kind of life, like, I think she has people dress her, and she gets people to do her dirty work, and so I think it was just in her nature to have someone do this. She doesn't want to risk her life unnecessarily, like she doesn't want to have to go that extra mile. But yeah, when she gets thrust into the world of it, she really is loving it.
- The Direct: "Looking back, for you, what do you feel is your favorite part of that journey and maybe how she evolved?"
Guggenheim: I think the part that surprised her on this journey, the part that she ended up liking the most, is that she actually did kind of make some friends, like, she kind of formed relationships with these people in a way that very begrudgingly... She's kind of like, okay, well, these people know my name, and they want to hang out with me, and for a minute, even for an episode, they get kind of close. And I think she secretly, really, really loves that.
There's that moment where Stephanie [Beatriz is] under the barbell, and Raven the power lifter helps her up. And that is so like, not what she would normally do, but I think she just sees it as a means to an end. Like, we need to take down these guys. But I think she also is, like, I don't know, maybe this is kind of fun to have a friend.
- The Direct: "Stu's wish went horribly wrong. So, if Raven did get her wish, how do you think Calypso would have twisted your words?"
Guggenheim: He probably would have brought back Kelly and either made Kelly not like the Raven that she sees and probably want nothing to do with her. And that's probably even more heartbreaking than having her in a coma, is having someone actually be alive and actively choose not to be with you.
Michael James Shaw Explains That Axel-Mayhem Twist
"He Ruined Her Life. He's Forever Trying to Rectify That."
Michael James Shaw plays Axel in Twisted Metal, a man whose hands were taken away from him after grueling experiments. This left him with metal gauntlets strapped to a one-of-a-kind metal wheel vehicle.
The big twist for Axel this season is that he's the one who killed Mayhem's parents when she was only a baby. He then took care of her and watched over her briefly before getting separated from Mayhem. In his final moments, Axel sacrificed his own life to save her from a fatal energy blast.
- The Direct: "My first question that I wanted to address was that big twist with Axel's backstory and his connection to Mayhem. How did that realization of who she was change how you played the character, and how Axel himself kind of acted around everyone?"
Michael James Shaw: I'm a weird actor because I like to not know as much as possible when working on something, and I didn't really dig into that piece until later in the season, because I felt like it definitely played a part in his journey. But the audience didn't need to know that until they knew that.
And I felt like, if I was digging too deeply into that too early on, it would have softened them to him a bunch. So, I was trying to hold off on knowing that information for as long as possible.
But it was a beautiful twist to see that they were connected in the way that they were connected, and how his interaction with Mayhem, even though she was a tiny little baby at the time, how it changed him and sent him on a path, is, yeah, it was kind of a beautiful, like tragic moment in his life that just shifted the balance for him... It's the reason why he ended up the way he was, that baby.
- The Direct: "Then you had your big self-sacrifice in order to save Mayhem. Talk to me about that moment, because that must have been really fun and interesting to film."
Michael James Shaw: I think the coolest thing about that moment is that Mayhem never knows who Axel really is, or why he's doing the things he's doing. And I thought that was really powerful.
Why they wrote it that way, I was really trying to understand why, and it was really special because, he didn't want to give her the burden of his pain or his trauma, you know, but if he could help her in any way that he could, I mean, he would give his it was life, and he did.
But I thought that was really beautiful, that he sacrificed himself without taking credit for it, so she can go on and live a beautiful life and not be burdened by any of that stuff that was going on to keep her safe, keep her alive.
- The Direct: "Mayhem doesn't know about this the whole show, but what do you think she would have said to you or just done if she learned who you were?"
Shaw: I don't know. And maybe the memory of me is so faint in her history that she wouldn't even know. And I think that's probably what Axel was going through, yeah, the guilt of taking away her parents, even though they were not great people. But he did—He ruined her life. He's forever trying to rectify that. It's like that thing, of like you never forgive yourself for that one thing. And that was the thing for him. He never forgave himself for that one.
- The Direct: "Everyone made wishes throughout this tournament, and we don't learn Axel's wish. Do you know Axel's wish?"
Shaw: You can probably guess. I think getting to the core of it is, you know, he was in his past life, he was a baker and a hit man. He worked a lot with his hands. It was an identifying quality that was taken away from him, and that was kind of the beginning, well, the baby, and then Zimu trying to swindle him. It was the beginning of his downfall.
So, I think resetting himself back to his human, resetting himself back to the normal, was the thing that was at the back of his mind, because he, I don't know, I felt like there's a part of him that views himself as a freak, and he's trying to own that. Anyone who's slightly different, it's an advantage in warfare, but day to day—I can't even wash my fucking ass. I can't even open the fucking plastic wrap sandwich. Yeah, it's a struggle. How does he take care of himself with these metal hands? It's a bit of a curse.
