The Mirror - Spider-Man Noir S1E8 (Spoilers)

Hello everyone and welcome to the Cinema Slime Podcast, my name is Harrison and today we are going to be going over Season 1 Episode 8 of Spider-Man Noir entitled, The Man in the Mask - The Season finale of Spider-Man Noir. In this episode we see the end of Silvermane’s reign on New York, Cat’s true motives are revealed, and Ben… just keeps on living.

We open up on Silvermane and Cat sitting in the club, a classic in this series. Silvermane is reflecting on where he came from and how he was able to achieve his greatness while so many other faltered. It’s his gamblers heart, that itch he can never scratch, he’s never comfortable and always wants more. Cat is absorbing all of this and I see this as the moment where Silvermane has just created his worst enemy. He has continually kept her trapped in her little bird cage and made her feel that this is best her life can get. After he leaves she stands up and refuses to be comfortable with what she has, and meets up with Janice and lays it all out. She wanted the antidote made so she could help Flint. She loves him and wants to ride off into the sunset with him.

The next sequence of events is where I feel this episode falls apart. Silvermane brings in Ben, negotiating with him for Ben to bring the Spider to him. There’s this whole hullabaloo with Ben throwing shade at cat, Silvermane working it out that Ben is the Spider, then Robbie showing up dressed as the Spider. This scene takes up the dominate part of the episode and it feels incredibly stretched out, full of awkward glances from Silvermane, stale commentary from Ben and Cat, and overall it felt like we were waiting for something to happen that never occurs.

Once Robbie is beaten down by Silvermane’s thugs, Ben reveals to everyone that he is The Spider and the fight begins. While Ben is taking care of his goons, we see Silvermane hobbling off with his cane and Cat chasing after him. We then get this shining moment within this episode where Silvermane hides within this house of mirrors. As Cat stands there confidently, shooting down these images one by one, Silvermane taunts her with this imagery of all the different versions of who Cat could have been. She eventually shoots him dead, but before he falls he says that he is gold it was her who killed him.

The climatic fights is out on the streets with a huge audience that feels like a strange addition. I think we have just come so used to heroes taking their fights outside of the city to avoid bystanders being harmed, that it’s weird to have a crowd reacting to what is happening, and that feeling of wondering why no one is doing anything is thick in the air. Eventually Megawatt is thrown in front of speeding train, Flint is administered the antidote, and all is well. The last shot we get is Silvermanes funeral, Cat running off into the sunset with Flint, and Ben Reilly returning to the Private Eye he always been

I think the most disappointing part of this series is I feel like we are going through the journey with Ben, getting into his psyche and how he feels about being The Spider. It boils down to him not wanting the responsibility, wishing he could lose his powers and living that normal life he has always wished for, Yet every time he needs to show up, he does, but the motivation behind it feels so hollow. He never has a turning point where he takes on the mantle willingly, he doesn’t get a moment where he hangs up the suit forever, he doesn’t have a conclusion to this story that feels like he has grown in any way.

Overall, I’m happy I was finally able to finish up this series. I like the journey we went on, the black and white aesthetic really helped with the vibe that the show was going for. I think the twists on the classic Spider-Man story were executed well, and I appreciated the shifts in tone throughout the series to make it feel fresh. Going from a super hero origin story, to a street tough noir mystery, and even to a straight up horror film right in the middle where we get to learn about Ben’s past. It’s just a bit disappointing that the story wraps up and led to the worst thing a finale can do - a casual shrug as the credits role