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Five Thoughts on Raising Dion‘s “ISSUE #109: Storm Killer”

By | October 25th, 2019
Posted in Television | % Comments

On the season finale of Netflix’s Raising Dion, the Crooked Man stands revealed and is at Dion’s door – and he wants his help? Will Dion come to the aid of his unexpectedly vulnerable father’s killer? And will he join Esperanza and Jonathan in time for the science fair?

1. Physically and Mentally Ill

But first, a flashback to 2010, where it’s revealed Pat not only lied about staying in the yurt in Iceland, but was one of the worst affected, straying out of the protected area and getting hit by the radioactive meteor chunks directly, causing lesions on his skin. The next flashback in 2014 reveals Pat’s first victim was his then-girlfriend, who was also in Iceland, whose rejection of him caused him to lose control and devour her.

The Crooked Man is evidently a manifestation of his loneliness, his desire to please everyone and his anger when that doesn’t go his way, and it’s hinted it’s an unconscious one, with Pat explaining he was unable to stop his alter-ego from killing Mark, stating he wouldn’t have gone to New Orleans if he’d known about his best friend’s own issues. Thing is, Pat could’ve chosen to die instead of letting himself consume the others who were in Iceland: his moral degeneration is as apparent as the powers destroying his body.

2. Out of the Mouths of Babes

Dion truly proves he’s becoming a truly resourceful hero in the finale, finally learning to master his teleportation abilities – and more vitally, when Pat threatens to kill Nicole if Dion doesn’t give him his healing abilities, Dion uses the opportunity to approach Pat and set his coat on fire, allowing him and his mother the chance to run.

I enjoyed those ways the episode reminds us kids are often smarter and less predictable than we imagine, which brings me to a much more flawed example: eventually Esperanza realizes the Crooked Man can’t see Nicole, because his vision is energy-based (like a snake), meaning he can see Dion’s power but not Nicole sneaking up on him with an improvised lightning rod. How? Because Esperanza feels invisible – I would’ve shaken my head had I been in the writers’ room.

3. The Jordan Factor

Michael B. Jordan returns to help wrap things up: when Nicole is knocked unconscious by Pat, we get a flashback to their first meeting in the University of Atlanta’s library, when he was studying and she was was reluctantly working at the desk. I didn’t think this scene was that necessary, and may well have been written in in case Jordan was too busy to film season 2, but it’s a nice reminder he’s still with her.

During the climax, as Dion battles the Crooked Man, Mark starts breaking out of his body, meaning all three members of the Warren family are working together to defeat this evil that has torn them apart. The wounded Crooked Man releases all the souls he has absorbed, including Mark, who gets time to say goodbye before he dissipates. Mark warns his son the threat is not over, as energy never disappears, it merely changes, but Dion responds that must mean good will never truly be destroyed by evil, right? It’s a sweet, precocious way for Dion coping with his father’s departure with his inherited fascination with physics.

4. Rushed Denouement

So Mark gets a satisfying exit, between imparting some metaphysical wisdom to his son, and apologizing to his wife for his secrecy, but everyone else? Charlotte’s spirit doesn’t get to bid farewell to the friends she died to protect, and likewise BIONA – who totally got wrecked by the Crooked Man when they try to contain him with liquid nitrogen – doesn’t get a look in at the end (did Wu survive or not?)

Basically, I think the show’s ending moves too quickly from bidding goodbye to Mark, to teasing season 2, between Nicole noticing a surveillance van on her road, and what’s left of Pat bonding with Brayden. Look at this way: if the show isn’t renewed, then we’ll never know whether Dion and Jonathan have become true friends after sharing this adventure together; whether BIONA can get Kat her job back; or Nicole checking back in with Rashad — I’m much more interested in seeing that right away than next year’s threat.

Continued below

5. Final Thoughts

I definitely enjoyed Raising Dion, and I especially liked getting the chance to chew over the series’ twists and turns over two weeks instead of bingeing it in one weekend, but I decided not to give it up a thumbs up on my Netflix account, due to the inconsistent visual effects, and weird moments like Esperanza’s apparent omniscience, which indicate it’s still not sure how much of a kid’s show it should be. I’m confident the show will continue to improve in future, and will definitely be watching further seasons as it expands beyond the scope of the comic, but for now, I’ll wait and see before I give it my full seal of approval.

Bonus thoughts:
– We learn from Kat that her parents live in St. Louis, Missouri.
– It’s pretty weird Nicole takes Dion to hide at the lakeside cabin: if I were Pat, that would’ve been the first place I thought they were hiding.
– Nicole’s 2000s look in her flashback is absolutely spot on: the make-up, the tiny top and cargo pants with studded belt, it’s incredible how quickly fashion changes.
– Bryden bonding with the Crooked Man is definitely a homage to Venom’s backstory in the Spider-Man comics.

Alright, that’s it for now: let’s hope we’ll see Dion soon – and that artist Jason Piperberg gets some credit for this show’s creation too.


//TAGS | Raising Dion

Christopher Chiu-Tabet

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can't speak Cantonese or Arabic.

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