Geeking out with the Johnsons

Well, with all that GC madness out of the way, let's revisit Wednesday night and talk about another group of GCs - the Johnson brothers, who have found themselves in trouble with a goddess, a giant, a hammer-wielding maniac, another goddess and a really big stick, as we make our way to the final few episodes of the second season.

(Warning: Spoilers from Season 2 of The Almighty Johnsons, especially Wednesday's episode, follow.)

Okay, they aren't in trouble with all of those things - at least, not anymore - but the four brothers at the centre of The Almighty Johnsons are certainly in a state of turmoil, especially after the surprise kidnapping of Gaia at the hands of a van-load of mysterious masked assailants at the end of the most recent episode*.

And while the van probably wasn't being driven by the Libyan terrorists from the first Back To The Future film**, the true identity and motivation of these characters is something that we'll have to wait a week to find out.

But here's a legitimate theory: my dad thinks (and I agree) that the van is full of the Maori gods - a theory supported by a) the fact that the number plate on the van (R0NGO) is also the name of one of the major gods in Maori mythology ( Rongo is the god of food, and the brother of Tumatauenga (the god of war), Tane (the god of forests) and Tangaroa (the god of the sea), among others) and b) that promo at the end of the episode, in which one of the characters introduces the group as the "true gods of Aotearoa". Cross-mythology ahoy!

The timing of that scene was perfect, though. Gaia (Keisha Castle-Hughes) had only just accepted her fate, culminating in an emotionally-charged, destiny-questioning scene with Axl (Emmett Skilton) in front of the bar, and suddenly the poor girl - remember, at this point Gaia had just learnt she was two years younger than she thought, her father was a giant and an assassin, her supposed boyfriend was a dwarf, she was descended from Norse Gods, and she was destined to be Frigg, Axl/Odin's betrothed - was being bundled into the back of a beat-up old van.

It hasn't been the best couple of weeks for Gaia and things seem set to get worse.

The van-napping scene was also timed well in the course of the season, providing a cliff-hanger for this week's episode, an entry point for the final few episodes, and reminding us that this story isn't done yet.

I think plenty of viewers suspected that Gaia was going to end up being Frigg (myself included), even going back to the early parts of the first season, and there is a certain kind of satisfaction in leaning back in your seat and proclaiming "yes, I knew it!" - but the writers on Johnsons, led by creator James Griffin, are smart. They knew viewers would be expecting that.

By announcing Gaia's identity at this point, with three episodes left in the season, I think they're saying "hey, the quest for Frigg is important to this show, but it's only a part of the journey for this particular set of characters."

Of course, that's assuming Gaia is Frigg. My memory might be fuzzy, but I seem to recall that nobody knew Axl's god-identity before the ceremony in which he became Odin, all the way back in the pilot episode. Does the process work the same for goddesses? And if so, how could they be sure that Gaia would become Frigg? Isn't it at least possible that she could be inhabited by one of the other goddess spirits floating around in the ether of space?

Imagine if Gaia went through the process and ended up inhabited by the spirit of Agnetha. Or maybe she's going to be the reincarnated spirit of a Maori goddess - now that would be a great twist!

But I digress.

I'm also intrigued by the developing subplot with Michele (Michelle Langstone) and the big stick. Okay, its more than just a stick - it's The Stick, an off-cut from Yggdrasil, the magical tree of life that Anders visited in Norway, which grants healing powers in the hands of a goddess. While this explains how Michele was able to heal Axl a couple of weeks ago (and fix Mike's bruised ribs on Wednesday), we're still not sure what plans she has for the stick. I wouldn't be surprised if the stick turns out to have some kind of dark power associated with it, causing even more problems for the boys.

(By the way, is anyone else shocked by how easy it is to get into Anders' apartment? Does he even lock the door? Michele decides she needs the stick and the next scene is of her walking through his front door. Any locking mechanism he has in place is just decorative at this point, right?)

I feel like I need to plead to the writers on behalf of Ty, too: please let him be happy! A few weeks ago Ty (Jared Turner) lost his powers and subsequently looked happier than we've ever seen him - now he knows the lifestyle he is missing out on thanks to his Hod-powers, plus he friend-zoned himself with Dawn (Fern Sutherland) and Anders (Dean O'Gorman) has found his true love. Please stop the punishment, writers! Let him smile occasionally! I beg you!

Okay, enough geeking-out from me, time to hand this one over to you:

Are you watching and enjoying the second season of The Almighty Johnsons? What do you make of Gaia's newfound goddess identity? Who were the van-nappers? Do you think Michele will use The Stick for good or evil? Will Ty ever find happiness? Do you even want him to? Post your thoughts on The Almighty Johnsons (so far) below ...

(*) A couple of other random thoughts on Wednesdays episode: I thought Oliver Driver was fantastic as Eggther - the sight of him driving that tiny car was hilarious, while he stole the night with his phone call to Axl to clarify that, when he had said to come alone, he meant to also bring Gaia and the rotisserie chicken. It's nice to have the cast expanding, especially bringing Helen/Idun back into the fold (played by the wonderful Sara Wiseman), as well as the reappearance of Thor, a fan favourite from the first season.

(**) I'm not gonna lie to you: my instinctive reaction to Wednesday's final scene was to assume the van was full of the Libyan terrorists who tried to steal back their plutonium from Doc in the first Back To The Future. Yes, I'm an idiot.

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