Families

**"Families"** is the fifth and final episode of the first season of *Kings of the Road*. It is the fifth episode of the series overall.

## Plot

*With the feds closing in, the Wolff Brothers make their final stand as every decision they have made and every lesson they have learned comes crashing together.*

## Synopsis

Three months after rescuing Drew from the Church of St. Valentine, the commune have joined the remote community of Serenity in the Sevier Desert, Utah. Jim and Liza are still in a relationship, living in Jessica's RV, while Drew hangs around with the residents of the town. The commune have become close friends with the residents of Serenity.

[...]

James, now willing to confront his fate, orders Liza to take Drew back to Serenity, as he knows the feds will never find them there. Donning his goblin mask, Jim draws the feds away from the group and down to the train tracks. As the feds catch up, Jim realizes a train is heading straight for him. He stands his ground and prepares for the impact.

Suddenly, an unseen force pulls Jim to the side, shocking him as the train blocks the feds from reaching him. Refusing to be captured, he attempts suicide, but the same unseen force prevents his gun from firing. Jim reasons that his mother was right and that the Passenger is indeed a living force, driving him into his dark side, but also trying to keep him alive in order to continue feeding off him. Jim deduces that the only way for him to die - therefore killing the Passenger - is for the feds to kill him. Meanwhile, Drew wrestles away from Liza and Jessica's grip, running to the tracks to help his brother.

Jim sprints down the tracks, randomly firing to entice the feds to shoot him. Finally, one agent fires, hitting Jim in the back. Drew screams and he watches his brother fall to the ground as the episode ends.

## Credits

* James Wolff
* Drew Wolff
* Jessica Wolff
* Finn
* Elizabeth Hopper

## Deaths

* James Wolff - shot in the back by a federal agent

## Unresolved Issues and Open Questions

### Jim's Death

* Jim's death is left as a cliffhanger, inconclusive if he was truly killed by the agent's bullet; the last sight of him before the end of the episode was him falling to the ground.

### Wolff Family

* Do the Wolff Brothers suffer from shared psychosis, or is the Passenger truly a living being?
	+ Given that Drew's powers usually carry negative connetations for others, it is most certain that the Passenger in an entity.
* Upon seeing his brother being shot, did Drew fully gain control over his Passenger, unleashing its power in his scream?
* Why didn't Drew control the agent's minds to stop them chasing Jim?
	+ He was likely too far away or too panicked to do anything.
* What is Jessica's reaction to the possible death of her son? Is she even aware?

### The Passenger

Is the Passenger truly a being in and of itself?

* While Jessica appeared to confirm that the Passenger came into being due to Dennis Wolff's occult rituals, it is still possible that the brothers suffer from shared psychosis and that the Brother's experiences with the Passenger are merely delusions.
	+ Jessica could have told Jim the Passenger was its own being as it would be easier for Jim to understand and then explain to Drew.
	+ Jim could have subconsciously jumped out of the way of the train at the last moment, instead of the Passenger pulling him away.
	+ When his gun failed to fire, Jim could have stopped his own suicide, instead hallucinating the stopped bullet.

What is the extent of the Passenger's powers?

* The Passenger appears to have telekinesis, both pulling James from the path of an oncoming train and preventing his gun from firing. At the same time, it did nothing to prevent Jim from being shot in the back.
* Drew's passenger gives Drew several powers utilizing his own blood, enabling him to influence the minds and bodies of others.

Is the Brother's version of the Passenger different to their fathers?

* While the Passenger is responsible for the brother's heightened aggression and darker urdges, it appears to have different motives than that of their fathers, instead wanting to protect the brothers.

### The Feds

Why did the federal agent shoot Jim instead of arresting him?

* Jim was firing randomly to entice the agents into killing him, therefore ending the potential threat of his Passenger. Any one of Jim's bullets could have hit an agent and killed them.