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What just happened?
That can’t be the end of Average Joe.
But if it is, what a way to go.
Average Joe Season 2 has been a bumpy ride, with three seasons’ worth of plot shoved into one.
It was fun at times, frustrating at others, but always entertaining above all else. The laughs always flowed, the character arcs were wonderful, and the action remains some of the best on television.
When it came time to wrap everything up into a neat little bow, Average Joe Season 2 Episode 8 chose violence instead, which is profoundly fitting for a show that thrives on making you squirm at any given moment.
With everyone at Sipho’s castle, there was a lot of business to take care of, and the hour wasted no time getting to the main crux: defeating Sipho.
In a show like this, the question is never whether the good guys will prevail, but how they take him down and whether they’re able to do so while keeping everyone in one piece.
Sipho’s monologue, where he waxed poetic about being some kind of Robin Hood mixed with Jesus, was such a fascinating look at how his childhood shaped him into the man he is today.
He’s convinced himself he’s some martyr, above all those who harm his people, while he gives back to the community, yet he failed to mention the way he floods the streets with drugs that debilitate his neighbors.
Sipho’s desire to get back his heroin meant that he was willing to kill anyone in his way, and with everyone within his grasp, he had all the ammunition he needed.
The flashback showing us that Teddy was the one who killed Imani’s mother was one of the least shocking things ever, because one hour spent with Teddy showed us that he’s the worst person on the planet.
It’s become increasingly clear that Teddy never truly cared about anyone outside himself. And maybe he cared about Joe in his own twisted way, but it’s hard to quantify what that care was because it’s wrapped in so much crap.
Joe and everyone he loves could have been hurt so many times playing Teddy’s games. So saying Teddy loved Joe doesn’t feel right, because someone who loves you doesn’t do what Teddy did to Joe.
And leaving him some money doesn’t make up for all the harm he caused.
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At the end of the day, Imani was the key to everything, and the only thing that was going to make Joe crack was Sipho harming her.
I kept wondering if we were going to get an unexpected and tragic death in the finale, and for a moment, when Sipho had a knife to Imani, I feared she would be the sacrificial lamb.
Joe grew up knowing his father was trash, but he still cultivated a relationship with him and sometimes wanted to believe things could change, though he ultimately understood his dad would never be the man he wanted him to be.
Imani, on the other hand, had the good, fraudulent Teddy. She had the one who made her feel safe, and finding out it was all a lie must have been devastating in a way that Joe’s experience with Teddy wasn’t.
She was betrayed in a way that’s unfathomable when you truly think about it.
Teddy didn’t even seem fazed when Sipho cut her finger off, and sure, he broke free of his shackles and helped disrupt Sipho’s reign of terror, but he also ran out, protecting himself first and foremost.
I’ve never been more impressed with both Touch and Leon than in this hour. And that’s saying something because they’ve had some truly heroic moments in the past.
Touch was in his hero bag big time, first saving Akinyemi and then saving Imani from losing both a finger and an ear.
Phyllis coming through to get help taking out Sipho’s men, coupled with Touch and Leon going full-on Rambo, was Average Joe at its best. It’s a little fantastical, but it’s part of the show’s charm.
There is no reason that a handcuffed Leon should be able to get the drop on trained killer bodyguards, and yet he does because sometimes the rules of reality take a back seat to sheer audacity.
Once Sipho was on the run, Joe had to be the one to end him. And it was full circle for Sipho to die in the church, the place where his life was irrevocably changed.
Average Joe loves a little poetic justice.
When Sipho died, there was still so much time left in the episode; I started to wonder what they had up their sleeve. And one thing I did not see coming was the confrontation between Teddy, Cathy, and Imani.
I have ragged on Cathy for a large part of the season because her greed and selfishness are matched by no one but Teddy, and I’ve been right all along because why was her first instinct, amongst all the chaos, still that damn heroin?
Pulling a gun on Teddy is one thing, but it was only done because Cathy’s brain has become fixated on the drugs and the profits. Leon doesn’t matter. None of the innocent people around her matter. And it’s sad, honestly.
Cathy and Leon have been such an interesting case study in a relationship between two people who love each other but don’t know each other.
Leon never wanted to believe Cathy was the devil she was made out to be, and Cathy never wanted to believe that when push came to shove, Leon would choose his friends over her.
But did Cathy really give him a choice?
This wasn’t a case of Joe and Touch poisoning Leon against his wife. Cathy did everything in her power to push Leon away. And it worked.
With guns pointed everywhere between Cathy, Imani, and Teddy, it was fascinating to see the lengths Teddy would go to to save himself. But if we learned anything from Imani going after Sipho, it’s that when she feels wronged, she’s going to take the shot.
Teddy’s death was shocking in a way, but also not. He’s been such a mythical figure throughout both seasons, but we also thought he was already dead, so his actual death somehow doesn’t feel as significant as it should
Still, I gasped loudly when he was shot, and even more so when Cathy turned around to shoot Imani and instead was met with Leon.
Can you imagine if she’d actually taken that shot? Part of me truly wondered if she would because Cathy’s a lost cause at this point.
Instead, she was on the run, and the boys, along with Imani and Phyllis, were essentially given a new lease on life.
I adore when a show does something super obvious, but then throws in something unexpected at the last minute, and that’s exactly what happened at the winery.
Joe was always going to find that heroin. Everything has been leading up to it, and every clue led him to the moment when he was surrounded by the things he stole on his quest to be the worst man on two continents.
Cathy coming up behind Joe surprised me because I thought for sure it was going to be Afghans coming to collect, but no, Cathy was husband-less, all alone, and STILL trying to get her payday.
But even bigger than that shock was Leon and Touch coming out of nowhere!
Seriously, where the hell were they hiding? I love suspending disbelief when necessary to enjoy a nonsensical plot point, but magic is literally the only explanation.
Without confirmation of another season, it would have been very easy for Average Joe to wrap things up tidily, with the Afghans taking the heroin, and maybe Cathy too, while the guys cruised down the streets of South Africa with a trunk full of money and gold as ‘Lovely Day’ by Bill Withers played us out.
Instead, the series ended on a cliffhanger, and while it’s easy to get frustrated by that, I’m glad the show stuck to its identity, which has never been to play it safe.
The Afghans taking Angela and Jennifer means that, should we be blessed with another season of Average Joe, the core four will have to team up once again to either avenge them or free them, and that’s a story I’d love to see.
Whatever you thought about this season, at the end of the day, Average Joe gave you everything you could want in a finale: gunfights, betrayals, deaths, and just enough ridiculousness to leave you wanting more.
Extra, Average Notes
- What did Imani whisper to Joe? Secrets, secrets are no fun, people!
- Phyllis was such a real one for making that whole bar feel bad and getting those men to step up and murder other men like that. Exactly, Phyllis!
- Leon already making jokes about Imani’s missing pinkie had me laughing out loud. Out of everyone, I am going to miss Leon the most!
- I’m hoping this isn’t the end of the road, but if it is, they ended on their terms and on their best episode of the entire show.
- Akinyemi found a little bit of peace. I love that for him.
It’s been a pleasure covering another season!
Please leave all your thoughts about the finale and the season in the comments.
I’d love to hear from you!
You can watch all episodes of Average Joe on Paramount+.
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The post Average Joe Season 2 Episode 8 Review: A Wild Ride To The Very End appeared first on TV Fanatic.
