Just like its immediate predecessor, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, the new View Askewniverse entry Jay & Silent Bob Reboot is a celebration of everything and everyone in Kevin Smith’s personal cinematic universe.
As expected, Reboot is loaded with cameos and references to the previous movies. By bringing back some familiar faces, Reboot finally reveals what these guys have been up to since the last time they were seen on the big screen. Here are the fates of the 10 View Askewniverse characters in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, ranked. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
The Cast Of Clerks Are Going For Their 25th Anniversary
When Jay and Silent Bob are running from security in Chronic-Con, they hide in a room where the cast of Clerks are waiting to start the movie’s 25th-anniversary panel. The cast (including Brian O’ Halloran and Marilyn Ghigliotti) appear in monochrome, temporarily doing the same to Jay and Silent Bob as appropriately ‘90s music blares.
Since Kevin Smith, the filmmaker, exists in the Askewniverse, this somewhat explains how Clerks exists as a movie. Maybe this version of Smith made a movie based on Dante Hicks’ crappy day from 1994? Who knows? All we know is that if we think about it too long, this creates a weirdly humorous plot hole.
Suzanne Is Doing Well
When they (inadvertently) carried out some animal rights extremists’ plans, Jay and Silent Bob make an unexpected friend: Suzanne, an orangutan that was a lab test animal. The two take Suzanne on their adventure to Hollywood, but Suzanne is never seen afterward.
Reboot reveals in some off-handed comments that Suzanne isn’t just alive but still in touch with Jay, who apparently gets the chimp’s occasional well-wishing cards in the mail. Suzanne beating the crap out of Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek has never been forgotten as well, with Jay fondly mentioning it and the two actors still being bitter about everything that they endured in Strike Back.
Dante Hicks Still Shouldn’t Be Here
The perpetually unlucky Dante Hicks returns in Reboot, although Lady Luck has yet to bless him. This time, he’s apprehended by the police when they conduct a raid on Jay and Silent Bob’s sandwich joint, which is located right beside the Quick Stop.
Dante hasn’t changed much, as seen by the fact that he still manages the Quick Stop (which he bought and reopened at the end of Clerks II) and wears combat boots as he did back in Clerks. Once again, he claims he shouldn’t be there when things hit the fan and he still has to deal with some jerk who keeps sticking gum in the Quick Stop’s locks.
The most audiences get about Dante’s heterosexual life partner Randal is that he’s still up to no good, as implied by Dante promising to tell the cops where he is.
Brodie Rents Space At The Mall
The last time Brodie was seen in the View Askewniverse was in Strike Back, where he was managing his own comic book shop. He’s still doing this in Reboot, although even he fell into some hard times despite the superhero movie craze.
Due to the rising cost of rent, Brodie relocated the Secret Stash to an aging Eden Prairie Center Mall, which is where Mallrats took place. Brodie off-handedly mentions that while malls may be dying out, they’re still the more practical option. While Brodie may not exactly be at the top of the world, at least, he’s doing well for himself.
Loki Roams The Earth
At the end of Dogma, the disgraced angel Loki gains a human conscience (something foreign to angels) and is killed when he tries to stop his fellow angel Bartleby from ending the world. Reboot reveals that Loki actually got a second chance at life and a literal clean slate, thanks to God (who looks like Alanis Morissette).
In his one scene, Loki explains that the next thing he knew after dying was that he crash-landed in the ocean and was rescued by Italian fishermen. Loki’s mind was blank at the time thanks to amnesia, but he soon regained his memories. As atonement, Loki has to live as a human until the end times. By the look of things, he seems to be taking this pretty well.
Silent Bob Is Still Silent
Outside of losing some weight and going vegan (a reflection of Kevin Smith’s own life changes), Silent Bob hasn’t changed much in the years before Reboot. This doesn’t mean he negatively stagnated as a person because, if anything, Jay and audiences like him just the way he is.
Just like old times, Silent Bob never leaves Jay’s side, even if the latter can be incredibly obnoxious and loud. Silent Bob helps out Jay whenever he needs a hand, whether it’s finding a way to connect with his newfound daughter or figuring out what to do with their last remaining god-tier blunts.
Justice Gets A New Life
Before Reboot, the last time audiences see Justice is at the end of Strike Back when she’s arrested by the police. She’s first seen in Reboot on a TV at a Mooby’s, as she now works as the local weatherperson. And yet, this isn’t the best thing that happened to this reformed animal rights extremist and diamond thief.
Later, it’s revealed that Justice gave birth to a daughter with Jay, Millennium “Milly” Falcon. Since Jay never visited her in prison, Justice moved on and found a wife in Reggie. The two have been living together happily in the time between movies, much to Jay’s bittersweet approval.
Holden & Alyssa Are Friends Again
Chasing Amy ended on an open but bittersweet note, where it’s implied that Holden and Alyssa were on their way to rebuilding bridges after a rocky relationship and break-up. Reboot reveals that not only did they (thankfully) get back to being friends, but they became a family, albeit not a traditional one.
In the time between movies, Holden donated his sperm to Amy and her wife (still played by Virginia Smith from Chasing Amy and Strike Back) so that they could have a kid. The trio have a daughter named Amy, named after Silent Bob’s anecdote. Additionally, Holden wrote about the events of Chasing Amy for an award-winning book that’s about to be adapted into a Netflix show.
To see this once bittersweet ending get a happy closure is more than satisfying, to say the least.
Jay Becomes A Dad
The last person in the View Askewniverse that long-time fans would expect to grow up and change is Jay, Silent Bob’s lifelong heterosexual life partner and eternal weed-selling slacker. While he doesn’t exactly mature, Jay does change as a person by Reboot’s end.
The heart of Reboot is Jay finding out that he’s actually Milly’s father. While struggling with his insecurities and the lack of a father in his formative years, Jay initially tries to keep Milly away but then realizes that he does love her. Reboot ends with Jay (of all people) passing down some wisdom to his daughter, starting by telling her not to bum in front of the Quick Stop’s walls for most of her life.
In Loving Memory Of Stan Lee
The most bittersweet return in Reboot is none other than the late great Stan Lee, the man who all but became the face of Marvel Comics. Before appearing in almost every single Marvel movie ever made, Stan Lee had a pivotal cameo in Mallrats, where he offers Brodie some life-changing advice.
Stan Lee passed away before he could shoot any scenes for Reboot, so his iconic sweater and glasses appear in a little shrine in Brodie’s comic book shop. He does get a mid-credit scene, which is really a clip of his interview with Kevin Smith for IMDb. It’s here that Smith promises to give Stan an important role for the then-upcoming Reboot, which sadly never came to be.
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