Powers Review: Funeral of the Century (Season 2 Episode 2)

With Retro Girl gone, the big question is one that she asked after every fight.

“What now?”

That question is Powers‘ central focus in, “Funeral of the Century,” as the city of Los Angeles scrambles to figure out what’s next for them in a post-Retro Girl era.

As the gangs (yes, even superheroes have gang violence), do their best to intimidate one another with no one to hold them accountable, the Powers Division is just trying to keep the peace between them long enough for Retro Girl to have a respectful funeral without a riot.

That’s when an unlikely hero emerges in Calista, who’s taken it upon herself to become the next Retro Girl, putting on the iconic old costume and flying into action to break up the fights that erupt outside when those gangs DO infiltrate the funeral, despite Walker and Pilgrim’s best efforts at keeping the peace.

While Calista’s inaugural appearance as the “new” Retro Girl certainly gets people talking, and I can certainly applaud her mission, everything about this seems to scream, “THIS IS A BAD IDEA!”

Calista only just discovered her powers. She’s trained with them for all of, what, three seconds? Sure, there’s natural talent. There are young proteges like Zora. I just can’t conceivably believe that Calista is ready for what it will take to be the new Retro Girl.

I also don’t understand why Walker isn’t totally discouraging her. What does he know that we don’t? Is he desperate for a side project to take his mind off of Janis, and has decided that mentoring Calista is the way to go?

It’s nice. He’s taking her under his wing, giving her the cheesy Spiderman speech about responsibility. But is it smart? Is it really the best course of action right now?

I guess the real answer is that we need to trust in Walker’s faith in Calista.

Let’s face it, if Walker doesn’t have this to occupy him, he’ll just continue to sit alone in his apartment replaying his final moments with Janice in his head, and those words that continue to haunt him.

Janis: There’s this thing that I can’t cancel, but I tell you what, tomorrow I’m all yours; and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that…

Along with Calista, Walker is fortunate to have a friend in Pilgrim. She seems to keep him centered and focused on the things he needs to keep at the forefront. She helps him to put things in perspective.

Pilgrim is also feisty in all of the right ways.

As they track down the gangs together, her lack of knowledge as far as powers go comes to the surface – as does her disregard for that knowledge. I love that Pilgrim has enough separation from the world of powers to not totally know what she’s getting herself into, but that she’s fearless enough to not really give a damn.

And then there’s Zora, now out of the hospital, finding her image everywhere – and she’s not happy about it at all.

Zora’s seen the dark side of the fame that she once wanted. She’s been used and abused by the “celebrity,” of being a power, and she’s discovering that fighting back against it is going to be a tough battle…maybe even tougher than fighting Wolfe was.

Almost certainly a commentary on the way we treat celebrities today, there is a scene in the diner when Zora looks over at a table full of people laughing at videos of her on-line. Upon realizing who she is, that same group immediately wants her autograph and tells her how much they love her.

If this is what it’s like to be a celebrity, then I suddenly feel awful for anything that I’ve ever done to contribute to those actions.

Sure, there’s the, “You signed up for this,” argument that her former agent gives to her. But Zora isn’t wrong in her own rebuttal to him.

Walker thinks that this agent knows something about Janis’ death. After seeing this moment with Zora, however, I tend to think he doesn’t. I think he’s smarmy and out to make money, but I don’t see him as someone who’d play a hand in murder.

So who is the murderer?

Walker seems quick, a little too quick, to place the blame on THX. Is he just looking for a resolution, and willing to take whatever explanation comes at him? Because I ‘m not.

Call me crazy, but I’d want to ask some questions to Senator Brown. He’s made headlines for wanting regulations for Powers. We’re all just supposed to assume that these stories he’s telling about his days fighting alongside Retro Girl are accurate?

I’m wondering if they had some disagreement about it. It certainly seems like his regulation and accountability falls in line with Kaotic Chic…could he be the kingpin of the organization that took down Retro Girl?

I could also be totally off-base because, let’s face it, I’m honest enough to admit to you that I’ve never been very good at solving mysteries. I haven’t won a game of Clue in my 30+ years.

If it were me, I’d at LEAST question the Senator.

What did you think of this installment of Powers? Do you think THX is the murderer? Will Calista succeed as the new Retro Girl? Sound off in the comments below!

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New episodes of Powers are available for streaming every Tuesday on the PlayStation Network.

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