Raising Dion Season 2 Ending Explained | Screen Rant
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Raising Dion
Raising Dion season 2's dramatic ending unleashes new heroes and villains upon the world - and promises an all-out superhero war. The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has launched a new age of comic book adaptations, and Netflix has proved they don't need Marvel with hits such as The Umbrella Academy, Locke & Key, and Raising Dion. The last of these three is based on the comics by Dennis Liu, telling the story of a woman named Nicole whose son possesses superpowers.
Raising Dion season 1 was essentially an origin story, revealing that Dion inherited his powers from his father - who was one of a number of scientists exposed to cosmic energy when they witnessed an unusual Aurora Borealis event in Iceland. Unfortunately, all the people present at the Iceland event began dying in mysterious circumstances, including Dion's father Mark; Nicole eventually realized they were being targeted for their powers, by a being referred to as "The Crooked Man." The Crooked Man turned out to be Mark's best friend, Pat, driven mad with lust for power, and he betrayed Nicole and Dion in a heartbreaking twist. Fortunately Pat underestimated Dion, and he was apparently killed.
Raising Dion season 2 picks up two years after the first season, with Dion now much more practiced with his powers. The Crooked Energy returns to Atlanta, soon followed by Pat, who claims to be filled with remorse at what he has done. Now Nicole and Dion find themselves at the heart of an ever stranger story, one in which a mysterious infection is spreading through Atlanta turning men and women into monsters. Meanwhile, the Crooked Energy has taken a new host - Braydon, another son of powered people who possesses the ability to manipulate people's minds. It all builds to a dramatic conclusion, as the heroes learn the truth about the Crooked Energy - with Dion working alongside other powered people to defeat it once again.
Raising Dion season 2 redefined the Crooked Energy, revealing it has always been far more than a mere manifestation of Pat's own powers. The energy appears to be a malevolent entity that feeds on the darkest impulses of the human mind, and it entered Pat during the Aurora event in Iceland. In season 1, Pat explained the energy he now possessed was killing him, and he learned the only way to stay alive was to kill other powered people. Season 2 twisted this round, with Pat coming to understand he had only ever been a host for the Crooked Energy, which had manipulated him and used him as its puppet. Pat and the Crooked Energy were separated after their defeat by Dion, and for two years Pat has been living in the shadows, believed dead by the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the Crooked Energy had been gathering its forces.
Every location where Pat unleashed the Crooked Energy carries a remnant of it, a permanent taint. The strongest taint is at Atlanta, on the school field where Dion defeated Pat two years ago; this was the site of a battle during the American Civil War, and the Crooked Energy has been able to convert the legacy of anger and pain buried within the soil into something dark and dangerous. The scientists of BIONA discover a new ecosystem developing in a sinkhole that's emerged in the school field, and the spores released from plants in the sinkhole transform men and women into mindless monsters. Netflix's Raising Dion season 2 reveals the Crooked Energy's purpose in this matter; it has created them as puppets to be controlled, an army to be used against Dion. Heartbreakingly, Nicole too is infected, and believes she's dying.
Raising Dion is absolutely packed with superhero references, and in the season 2 finale, Dion puts together his own version of the Fantastic Four - four super-powered people who, together, are able to stand against the monsters. Dion is probably their most powerful member, still discovering his powers but using telekinesis, whirlwinds and fireballs during his battle with the Crooked Energy's monsters. He's assisted by Tevin, a powered person recruited by BIONA to act as Dion's mentor and who can manipulate force fields in a similar manner to the Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman. Janell is another teenager dealing with superpowers, who can break things down to their constituent parts - and in so doing even creates an antidote for the Crooked Energy's virus, which Dion injects into the ecosystem in the sinkhole, causing the whole process to reverse and freeing the monsters. She's even able to deconstruct herself into a gaseous form in which she flies through the sky, with the energy effect vaguely reminiscent of the Human Torch.
But the emotional heart of Dion's Fantastic Four is Nicole, who believes she's dying and so joins Dion in what she thinks is a final battle to keep her son safe. Nicole is the one who truly saves the day, confronting her own fears as a mother and expressing her heart - and in doing so reaching the orphaned Braydon, who pushes the Crooked Energy out of him. Raising Dion season 2 is filled with Star Wars references, with Braydon particularly enthralled by Darth Vader and the Sith; it's so appropriate, then, that Braydon is essentially redeemed by a mother's love, an inversion of Return of the Jedi where Luke Skywalker's love for his father redeemed Darth Vader. Nicole may not have superpowers, but she's more powerful than any of the people affected by the Aurora.
The final battle in Raising Dion season 2 takes place at the same time as a school show, with Dion's friend Esperanza due to perform. Esperanza has always called herself the "Invisible Girl," and now she must sing in front of a crowd; what's more, she does so knowing she's serving as a distraction to keep everybody inside the school while Dion saves the day. She has no way of knowing whether or not this is her last goodbye, and so in her song she confronts her love for her friend and her defiant refusal to let him go. It's a superb moment, expressing the heart of Raising Dion season 2, which is all about confronting fear. The heroes win because they have faced their fears, refusing to back down from them, with Esperanza's song symbolizing this triumph.
Raising Dion season 2 may have redeemed Braydon, but there's no redemption for Pat, who is revealed to be just as self-serving as he always was; clearly the Crooked Energy didn't have to exert much effort to corrupt him in the first place. BIONA's attempts to find a cure unlock the possibility of conducting gene therapy to grant a person super-powers, and Pat injects himself with a formula to give himself every ability BIONA had on record. He is more powerful than ever before - and, worse still, when the Crooked Energy is defeated by Dion it returns to him.
Raising Dion season 2 gives Pat a dangerous new ally, David Marsh. A ruthless scientist and businessman who works at BIONA, David didn't understand the moral imperative that drives the company, and instead attempted to figure out how to weaponize super-powers. The board dismissed him for his actions, horrified at the idea, but he is unrepentant - and approaches Pat, offering to work with him to create an army. Pat considers him his very own "Moira MacTaggert," an amusing comic book reference that shines a light on how he sees the world. Pat believes himself to be the Professor X figure, the true hero of this story, and he sees David as an ally. More recent comic books have revealed Moira MacTaggert kept many secrets from Professor X, though, so there's a dark edge to this hinting David Marsh will have his own agenda.
Raising Dion ends with a post-credits scene, in true superhero TV show fashion. This appears to be a glimpse of the future, with Pat - now dressed in a cloak reminiscent of Doctor Doom - advancing on Atlanta at the head of an army. He's confronted by a figure he doesn't recognize, who identifies himself as "Mind Mover" - the superhero identity Dion gave to himself. The post-credits scene is a mysterious one, because it's difficult to say just how far in the future this really is; season 3 surely isn't going to advance so far forward in time, so it's possible a future Dion has traveled back to confront Pat and his army in the present day. This time travel interpretation is supported by a lingering look at the wristwatch Dion inherited from his father, which he's incorporated into his costume design. If that is indeed the case, Raising Dion season 3 will see Dion confront his future self - and learn just why the future has gone so wrong time travel is the only way to put matters right.