Killjoys Season 2 Finale Thoughts

"How To Kill Friends & Influence People"

The Killjoys Season 2 finale was the perfect wrap up to an amazing 2nd season run. Not only were central plot points tied up alongside satisfying end points for significant characters, but the finale, as any great season finale with a cliffhanger should, opened up the doors for new and interesting storytelling directions.

Let's start with Johnny Jaqobis who ended up being one of the strongest characters this season due to the Potter character adding in an emotional layer that completely took him to new heights. Not only did we see Johnny going through the life threatening lengths to settle personal vendettas, but we finally saw him fully take on a new role as essentially a criminal on the run abandoning his team for their own safety. This is definitely not the type of direction that one would've imagined being taken back in Season 1 which makes this twist all the more shocking yet organic considering the way that they've presented his passionate sensibilities.

We also get to see him team up with Clara in the end (who I theorized from the Season 2 premiere as being a possible future love interest), so it's great to see the writers bringing her back after a pretty entertaining introduction during the premiere. Killjoys has done a magnificent job at fully utilizing and integrating every major or minor character that they've introduced throughout the series whenever necessary, so it's cool to theorize where these two will end up in the upcoming season.

There was also that heart string pulling scene where Johnny gives his final farewell to Lucy and vice versa which I personally thought was brilliantly showcased. I absolutely loved the way in which they utilized Lucy having control over the ship doors in order to present an emotional image of her making it difficult for Johnny to leave without saying goodbye. It's pretty amazing to see a disembodied voice having such a strong enough presence as a character as well as a sense of history via a great performance by Aaron Ashmore in addition to the nicely integrated visual metaphors with the ship itself.

"Human shield bitches!" - D'avin

As for the rest of the team, it was interesting but definitely understandable to see D'av essentially taking sort of a backseat in the finale as he did play a major role for the majority of the season already. Fortunately, we're still given his traditional witty moments during shoot out scenes with the new addition of having him team up with Fancy (another character that made a highlighted return in the finale). I'm interested to see what the writers have in store for D'av in the upcoming season as we didn't really get to see any implications for his unique "I'm a wizard!" situation escalating anywhere of interest here. I can literally go on forever about things that we can look forward to with Season 3. That's the beauty of this finale. It gives you just enough to satisfy as a standalone episode while setting you up with a list of things to get excited for.

What we do get to see however is the conclusion to Dutch and Khlyen's story here (although I do hope that we get to see him in the form of flashbacks or some other organic means in the future). Khlyen was one of my favorite characters since his debut in Season 1 as this equally powerful and fascinating villain who always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone. However, what I loved about this episode in particular is the fact they took the time to show a much more humanized version of the cold and calculative mastermind via flashbacks with Dutch aside from actually showing a more sentimental side for Dutch and the Quad's sake. In the span of one episode, we actually see a round of emotions (albeit slightly less stoic presentations of emotions) from Khlyen such as fear, sadness, and joy which was really refreshing for fans of the character.

His constant robotic and self preserving flare was now met with signs of light heartedness during the scene where he jokingly smiles at the sight of Dutch killing security guards. We also see signs of acceptance and sorrow when he began reciting the opening lines to the stories that he told Dutch as a child in his ultimate moment of self sacrifice. It was nice to see such a significant antagonist being given a fulfilling death scene especially given the way that the writers went full circle on the character reminding us of the powerful bond that he shared with Dutch. 

I also like the fact that they made sure to point out that the impact of his death will indeed have some affect on Dutch in the future. We actually get to see hints of the toll that it will take on her during her conversation with Johnny towards the end about not having to forgive the thought of loving the people you hate.

Speaking of significant villains, one of the most masterfully executed things within this season is the way in which it slowly but carefully introduced us to what just might end up being Killjoy's biggest villain yet, Aneela. We've only been given a few seconds of onscreen moments with her via flashbacks from D'av and Khlyen as well as one of the final shots of the finale spotlighting her in all of her glory as she walks offscreen drinking plasma from a fancy glass inside of a uniquely designed ship. Seriously, let's not let that awesome ship design go unnoticed. We also heard stories about how dangerous she can be through Khlyen's warnings as well as the legendary "Devil" title given to her by the Scarback monks of the past. If that's not a powerful soft introduction for an upcoming season villain then I honestly don't know what is.

One of my favorite things to see regarding storytelling in general is whenever a mysterious villain is being hyped up through several outlets for a long period of time leading up to their eventual grand reveal (which by then would have a ton of weight behind it). Because of this, I do have to give credit to the writers here for doing such a fantastic job at presenting us with a brand new character worthy of getting excited about as not only is it visually interesting to see an evil mirror version of Dutch, but also a villain with a major historical background. 

Aneela's background interestingly stretches out to various parts of the universe which the series stands strongly upon such as Scarback lore and the mysterious green plasma. We're all anticipating that confrontation scene between Dutch and Aneela, and going by what we've seen so far with the character, it's definitely a moment worth getting amped up for when the 3rd season eventually flies around.

Overall, this season has been a major step up as far as storytelling goes and world building which was one of the smaller nitpicks that I had about Season 1. Not only does the overarching plot feel a bit more focused and highlighted throughout this season, but each of our central characters felt as though they've undergone a major transition to some degree which is always nice to see when approaching a new story arc. 

The visual FX have improved in certain areas and the fun, lighthearted, and campy sense of humor has successfully continued on despite having a more dramatic and character-wise intimate atmosphere this time around. With a new war and fugitive themed adventure to look forward to as well as a major villain beautifully teased and introduced, I simply cannot wait to see what Season 3 has in store for us. Killjoys has surprisingly become one of the more fun and equally investing shows of 2016.

Episode Rating: 9/10