"Well, congratulations, you three. You finally did it. You win. Now what?"
The Season 2 finale of Meta Runner. Unmarked spoilers ahead!
Tari and MD-5 are in the endgame with their mission to bring down TAS Corp. Will they finally triumph... and if they do, will it even be the end of it?
Episode 20 provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Tari quietly chuckles when Theo says "M'lay" to Lamar's body pillow.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Lucks says this to Belle and Sofia, and in turn, Belle delivers one to Lucks.
- Bittersweet Ending: Moreso on the bitter end. MD-5 finally succeeds in exposing Lucks and taking down TAS Corp. But just as they’re about to leave Lucks for the police to arrest him, Masa’s arm suddenly gets hacked and he’s forced to kill Lucks, framing him for his murder, and Belle decides to stay behind with him as the rest of MD-5 are forced to flee from the police. Marco then comes to rescue Tari, Theo, Sofia and Lamar, but his motives for doing so are left ambiguous. And then there’s the revelations in The Stinger…
- Bloodless Carnage: Averted. While Lucks’ death isn’t explicitly shown, some blood ends up on Masa’s face.
- Boom, Headshot!: Lucks ultimately meets his end by getting shot point blank in the head by his own gun.
- Car Fu: Lamar once again rams his car into a TAS Corp holding van to free his friends, but their armor has been reinforced since the last time, resulting in the front getting totaled and him being temporarily knocked out.
- Cliffhanger: The Season ends with Lucks' misdeeds getting exposed, he himself getting fatally shot in the head with Masa taking the blame, Belle staying behind with him in part due to her involvement with TAS Corp, the rest of MD-5 attempting to escape only to run into Marco, and Evelyn given an offer for Tari’s abilities by Tari's creator, Dr. Sheridan.
- Face Death with Dignity: Just before Masa is forced to kill him, Lucks chuckles and praises the one pulling the strings.Lucks: So you are behind this. Hm. Well played.
- Foreshadowing: Some notes of the Season 1 track “Dr. Sheridan” are heard in the moments before Lucks is killed, giving a clue to the identity of the one who hacked Masa’s arm before the stinger reveals it.
- Gory Discretion Shot: The camera cuts to Lucks’ gun as he gets shot in the head, and then to a far-away shot as his body collapses.
- "Hell, Yes!" Moment: Sofia's reaction to Marco coming to MD-5's rescue, in contrast with everyone else's... less than certain looks.
- Heroic BSoD: Masa freezes up after his arm glitches and forces him to shoot Lucks, forcing the others to leave him behind before the police arrive.
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: Masa closes his eyes and turns his head away as he was about to unwillingly kill Lucks.
- I Choose to Stay: Belle stays with a traumatized Masa after he was forced to shoot Lucks, while the rest of MD-5 make their getaway. She felt she didn't belong with them and still had dirt on her hands from her involvement with TAS Corp.
- Internal Reveal: MD-5 and Belle are finally made aware of the fact that Lucinia has been kept in stasis and has survived her death, first hinted at in Season 1's stinger.
- Not Quite Dead: Both Lucinia and Dr. Sheridan are revealed to have survived the Project Blue incident that kickstarted the events of the series, though it’s a bit more complicated in Lucinia’s case.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: On top of her Big "SHUT UP!", Belle delivers this to Lucks.Belle: SHUT UP. You really are a special kind of messed up, aren't you, Lucks?! You lie so much, you've even managed to convince yourself you're not a monster! What happened to Lucinia happened under your watch. You knew what Sheridan was doing was dangerous, but you allowed it anyway! Then, instead of taking responsibility for what happened, you lied, manipulated, and threatened us to cover it up! All you ever do is look out for yourself!! Well, where did that got you, Lucks?! Right here. Alone.
- The Reveal:
- Tari is revealed to be a mixture of the AI downloaded into Lucinia's Meta Runner arm during Project Blue and fragments of Lucinia's consciousness, all in an artificial body of her own. Also, her name is actually an acronym for "Turbo Artificial Rapid Intelligence."
- Not only is Dr. Sheridan alive and well, but it is also revealed that he has been posing as Masa's neighbor the whole time, as well as the person who made him kill Lucks.
- Season Finale: Of Season Two.
- The Stinger: Evelyn is riding back home in her personal ride, still upset over back-to-back defeats at the hands of Tari, wishing she could have her abilities. Then she gets a call from Tari’s own creator, the still-alive Dr. Sheridan, who’s not only set up to be the new Big Bad of the series, but offers Evelyn a chance to get back at Tari.
- Villainous Breakdown: After learning that Evelyn failed in defeating Tari and Theo, Lucks loses it.Lucks: I gave you both EVERYTHING this world had to offer! I housed you, trained you, made you stars. And THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!
- Villainous Rescue: Marco shows up at the very end of the episode before the stinger to offer MD-5 a ride to escape the police, although what his intentions for them are is left up in the air.
- Wham Episode: The death of Lucks, the main antagonist, AND Dr. Sheridan turning out to be a Greater-Scope Villain turns the entire plot of the first two seasons on its head.
- Wham Line: Many in this episode:
- When Lucks demands that MD-5 hand over the server and Tari refuses him.Lucks: I'm not asking you, Tari. I'm telling you!
Tari: N-no, I mean it's- it's...
Masa: Its too late.
Newscaster: We have breaking news… - When Masa tells Lucks that he will be jailed and the world will know about everything he's done, including Lucinia's death.Lucks: (chuckles) You always did have big plans, Masa. Just one problem though, Lucinia's not dead.
- When Belle asks why Lucks hasn't found the AI that was downloaded into Lucinia's arm.Lucks: We did. She's standing right next to you.
- Then, there’s the post credits scene, which is probably the single biggest bombshell in the entire series up until that point, which is saying something.Oh, getting into Meta Runner arms is easy if you know what you’re doing. As for who I am, well, I’ve gone by a few names and aliases recently, but for you, my dear, you can call me… Sheridan.
- When Lucks demands that MD-5 hand over the server and Tari refuses him.
- Wham Shot:
- The purple sparkles reappearing after Tari sends Theo back to the real world, materializing to form Lucinia.
- When Masa considers shooting Lucks, MD-5 are able to talk him down... then his arm starts shorting out.
- The mysterious caller in The Stinger being none other than Dr. Sheridan, sporting burns similar to Lucinia's, who took control of Masa's arm and killed Lucks, and plans to use Evelyn as Project Blue's newest test subject. We also see an Expressive Mask on the table he's sitting at, revealing he was Masa's nosy neighbor, and fans on the series' subreddit quickly discovered he was in multiple episodes in Season 2, making him the Greater-Scope Villain of not just the season, but the entire series.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Lucks has been outed as a criminal, TAS Corp is bound to collapse as a result, Theo has been rescued, and both the fate of Lucinia and Tari’s origins are revealed, so all the major plot points seem resolved... but then Masa loses control of his arm and ends up killing Lucks, essentially framing him for murder, Belle decides to stay behind with him due in part to her involvement with TAS Corp, the rest of MD-5 end up on the run from the authorities, and to top it all off, Dr. Sheridan is not only still alive, but he’s set up as the new Big Bad of the series as he offers Evelyn a chance to get her revenge on Tari.
