Paper and Stone
Episode 2 of Jupiter’s Legacy picks up right where we left off with Blackstar very much alive but several casualties hanging heavy over our heroes. Brandon admits that he’s the one who smashed the decoy’s face in. Blackstar calls him out for double standards, with Brandon allowed to stay alive while he’s locked back up. Either way, with the group desperate for answers, the people outside begin to grow restless. Recent polls suggest that 78% of Americans support the notion of executing villains. This obviously isn’t helped by what’s happened with Brandon. Sheldon eventually confronts his son, telling him he needs to step up and do better. Brandon scoffs at the notion, ironically pointing out that Chloe is the wild-child here but he’s the one being blamed. “Killing is never the answer,” Sheldon reminds his son, as the weight of the world hangs heavy over this family’s shoulders. During flashbacks in 1920, we see Sheldon and Walt arguing in the wake of their father’s death. However, Willie suddenly bursts into the room brandishing a newspaper. Within this, it details how Chester Sampson was ripping off the workers. It even rings with the headline “The Death Of Capitalism.” Sheldon is irate but his rant before the workers results in a bleeding nose and needing to retreat for now. Sheldon storms back into the office where Walt gravely confirms their worst fears – Sampson was definitely messing with the books. And the only way to salvage the company now is to lay off the staff for five months. Sheldon is completely against this but unfortunately he’s also the one who has to break the news to the workers. They’re understandably angry when they find out. Back in the present, Petra speaks to Fitz and struggles to control her fear. She isn’t sure if she can deal with the pressure of being a hero, so Fitz suggests she hang up her cape instead. Meanwhile, Sheldon tries to patch things up with Chloe, heading over to her apartment to talk. He asks about her photo shoot, throwing jokes her way which falls on deaf ears. The real reason for Sheldon’s arrival though is to ask for help. He’s struggling to connect with Brandon and doesn’t know how to fix this. As they talk, Chloe brings up Sheldon’s patriarchal rule over the family and how he fights back and picks fights with them all. Ironically Sheldon’s desire to be Utopian has caused a big rift, one that seems like it can’t be fixed with an easy solution. As the funeral begins, Chloe tellingly fails to show up. As the priest speaks, it brings back moments from the past for Sheldon, specifically when he collapsed at his Father’s funeral. When he awoke, he had a strange vision, with Chester encouraging him to head to an island. Anyway, Sheldon snaps back to the present as Brandon steps up and speaks for Briggs, Vera and Barry – the three deceased heroes whom this funeral is for. Brandon says sorry and apologizes to them all that he couldn’t do more. As the funeral comes to an end, there are obvious hostilities brewing and a changing attitude from the people. They want to see justice, and even the police officer on hand reveals that all the villains should just be lined up and shot in the head. With the supervillains changing the rules, it puts pressure on Sheldon to try and keep his ranks in check. Is his Code too archaic for this ever-evolving superhero landscape? And could we see an insurrection brewing?
The Episode Review
Jupiter’s Legacy is an intriguing enough series, mainly for its slant on superhero and supervillain attitudes. This is, of course, a reflection on society as a whole as Sheldon struggles to keep all of his heroes in check and prevent anyone else from being killed. Blackstar certainly has a point too, and his angry outburst about double standards is certainly something that the other heroes must have picked up on. Having said that, the jumps back and forth through time can be a little confusing at times, and the haphazard way they’ve been spliced in here doesn’t help the pacing of this show at all. That’s a shame because the story is actually quite good. This slant on superhero fiction, complete with obvious xenophobic roots, has been done before and there are tinges of Invincible, X-Men, The Boys and Doom Patrol all blended together here. This is a difficult field to stand out in and so far the verdict is still out whether Jupiter’s Legacy has done enough to keep itself afloat. What could this mission be at the island? And how does that tie in with the current, present day storyline? There’s certainly lots of intriguing questions hanging over this one, so we’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the season has in store for us.
