The premiere of Twisted Metal's second season ignites in San Jose, California, hurtling us back to 1998. At a graduation bash, a youthful Raven arrives with her companion (and secret love), Kelly. The pair endure ridicule from fellow revelers as Raven delves into her tarot cards, a spectacle that swiftly transforms the ambiance of the party.
However, their mischievous scheme takes a dark turn when Kelly suffers a head injury and plunges into the pool. Upon discovering this, Raven dashes outside, only to find her friend lifelessly floating face down.
Flash forward to the present, where New San Francisco confines John Doe behind bars. Forced to hone his driving prowess on an arcade machine featuring Twisted Metal, John also struggles to maintains a humble existence as a delivery driver, amusingly adopting the alias John Dough. Yet, he remains under tight surveillance.
Raven, however, reprimands John, reminding him that he must pull himself together. The sole path to liberation lies in driving to survive—literally—and aiding in the rescue of Kelly.
Elsewhere, Dollface, Quiet, and their fellow Dolls relentlessly strike at supply lines, determined to dismantle the City's hierarchy. They are bent on disrupting the status quo and vow to demolish the City's Wall, aiming to redistribute wealth to those residing beyond its confines. As Quiet suggests near the episode's close, their strategy to achieve this is to compete in an all-or-nothing tournament.
The specter of death and survival smoothly transitions us to Sweet Tooth and Stu, where we catch them in their relentless quest of maiming and slaying. Stu, still an academy pupil in the art of Sweet Tooth-style killing, has yet to earn his stripes. Nonetheless, the duo is resolute in eliminating the more formidable killers and claiming that esteemed title for themselves.
On their relentless quest, the duo delved into the eerie legend of Big Baby, a monstrosity rumored to have annihilated an entire town in a solitary day, earning him the ignominious title of the region's most feared killer. Sweet Tooth and Stu eventually confronted this colossal figure, whose moniker proved all too apt. Armed with an ominous umbilical cord terminating in a brutal mace, he wielded it with terrifying prowess as they clashed. Meanwhile, Stu engaged in a fierce battle alongside the mother, the pair swiftly overcoming the killer… only to uncover an even more menacing adversary lurking in the shadows: the Trash Man, an unparalleled murderer whose reign of terror extended beyond the Mississippi. Realizing they couldn't continue to play a game of cat and mouse, Sweet Tooth devised a daring strategy, entrusting Stu with the mission to lure all the killers into their grasp.
Confined to his quarters, John Doe found solace in the pages of "The Babysitters Club" series. His search for Volume 89 led him upstairs, where he discovered a chilling sight—the book hollowed out and filled with illicit weeds. Among the clutter, he also unearthed a diary containing a cryptic map, potentially his ticket to freedom. With the unwitting assistance of a less-than-astute guard, John orchestrated an escape, swapping clothes to blend in seamlessly. In the dimly lit parking lot, he stumbled upon an ambulance housing Kelly, a figure still clinging to life but trapped in a coma, sustained by life support.
These disparate strands converge under the auspices of a unique broadcast emanating from Calypso. He announces a grand tournament, inviting all to partake in an epic survival battle commencing in a week's time. The victor stands to gain one wish, unconditional and boundless in scope.
As the episode draws to a close, John's journey out of the city in the ambulance is abruptly halted by the dolls. On the desolate highway, they expertly flip the ambulance over, leaving John vulnerable. Quiet seizes the moment, firing a shot that grazes his shoulder. John's displeasure is palpable when he realizes that it was Quiet who delivered the decisive blow. Yet, in an unexpected twist, a glimmer of hope emerges: Dollface might actually be his long-lost sister.
Before departing the chaotic scene, John ensures that Kelly and her life-support machine are safely deposited in the parking lot, much to Raven's visible relief. However, her fleeting sense of calm is shattered when she spots a torn page from the diary clutched in her hand, hinting at more turmoil to come.
