John and Quiet find themselves in the clutches of Agent Stone and in a lot of trouble.

Twisted Metal still has a tone issue, in that it can’t quite seem to settle on one. That being said, this is a slightly less elastically toned episode than the previous, as we find out a little more about the origins of Agent Stone through flashbacks interspersed with the struggle of John and Quiet in the present day doing their best to stay in one piece and sane while caught in his clutches.

And to be fair, the inherent wackiness of the premise – being tortured in a highly unconventional but apparently effective way – doesn’t jar quite so much here because it actually sits well with what those flashbacks reveal about the lawman antagonist. Stone is clearly a sadist and a bully, but the flashbacks peel back those layers to leave us in no doubt as to exactly who he is, where he came from, and exactly why he is cosplaying as some sort of arbiter of justice in the post apocalypse. The end of the world brings chances for all, for those willing to take them.

Tied in with all this is the ongoing conflict between Mike and Stu, who find themselves assigned to the torturing. The former is still enjoying himself way too much for the liking of the latter, and things are certainly getting uncomfortable. When Stu is confronted with a stark choice, it seems obvious which way he’ll go, but whereas he’s a sympathetic character he’s also a difficult one to root for.

As for Quiet and John themselves, we finally get a little more interaction of the verbal sort between them as they find themselves fighting for their lives. We also learn that Quiet has a vicious (if entirely understandable) streak as well as a talent for manipulation and hiding her true motives. I honestly don’t see these two riding off into the sunset together but they certainly have a genuine, if slightly wary, mutual respect.

None of which hides that this is another episode in which our protagonists find themselves caught and having to live on their wits. I get that the post-apocalyptic wasteland is a dangerous place to be, but I’m starting to wonder exactly how John has survived any length of time at all as a milkman when he seems so easy to ambush?

Verdict: Still fun, still gross and still equal parts serious and silly. 7/10

Greg D. Smith