Spoilers ahead for the season finale of Mystery Science Theater 3000, out today.
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Today, the first new episodes of cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 in more than a decade were released, with a full 14-episode season dropping on Netflix this morning.
So far, the show hasn’t officially been picked up for a second/twelfth season (something most observers expect to happen soon enough), and so one has to wonder: after such a long hiatus, what do you do for a finale?
Do you provide an ending to the saga and potentially have to reboot completely if you get picked up next season? Do you just carry on as though nothing’s happening? Somewhere in between?
Well, in the case of Mystery Science Theater 3000, they…seemingly kill the main character.
Throughout the season, the show built up a subplot that Max (Patton Oswalt) was secretly in love with Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day). When she plans to marry Jonah (Jonah Ray) as part of a ratings stunt, Max can’t take it anymore and sics Mecha-Reptilicus on the mug in the yellow jumpsuit.
What’s that? Well, Reptilicus is a Danish kaiju film parodied in the season premiere, and along the way, a metallic version, loyal to the Mads, was developed.
Would they actually leave Jonah dead?
Well, first of all it should be said that if the series doesn’t get picked up for a next season, it seems to be a done deal. He’s “presumed” dead, so even if he isn’t, that’s the ending.
If the show gets renewed for another season, of course, that means they essentially have two choices: they can either leave him gone, or they can bring him back. Leaving him “dead” or “presumed dead” (ideally explaining that he somehow managed to escape rather than die in the attack) would mean they could recast a new Gizmonic employee for the next season, and would help set up the idea of hosting Mystery Science Theater 3000 as a short-term gig that they can recast at will, a la Doctor Who. Keeping him around would avoid he downer ending of Jonah being “eaten alive” and would be easy enough to explain given the hazy scientific rules of the series.
We’re betting on the latter.
Either way, it’s only one of a number of surprisingly engaging plotlines involving Jonah, the Bots and the Mads this season…!
More Mystery Science Theater 3000:
- Review: Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Netflix Reinvention Gets It Right
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 Trailer Released by Netflix, At Least One Episode Revealed
- First Look at Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt in Mystery Science Theater 3000
- Dark Horse to Publish Mystery Science Theater 3000 Comics
