How the 'FUBAR' Finale Sets Up a Season 2
Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of FUBAR.Well before the season finale of FUBAR Season 1 ends, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led action-comedy spy thriller resolves the conflict arising from the presence of its treacherous antagonist, Boro Polonia, played by Gabriel Luna. In a choice between his family's safety and the life of the kid whom he once tried to salvage, Arnold's Luke Brunner decided not to let Boro walk away from the nuclear reactor in Sardovia. As the nuclear reactor hit critical mass, resulting in an all-consuming explosion, Boro Polonia's plans for world domination are put to rest by FUBAR. But this short-lived death of Boro only allows the momentum to briefly slow down before FUBAR readies itself to prepare the setup for a potentially even more exciting Season 2.
With the curtain about to fall on Season 1 of FUBAR, Luke Brunner starts looking at his retirement dream once again with glistening eyes, only to be left stranded when Boro makes a return with the intent to cause lethal damage to Luke and his daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro). While Boro does not end up achieving much even after being extended a second chance, he does have a devastating effect on the future of the Brunner family as the hostage situation created by him leads to some shocking revelations for the other unsuspecting members of the family, including Tally Brunner (Fabiana Udenio). Luke and Emma's history with the CIA no longer remains a secret tightly kept between the father and daughter alone. In fact, with their real identities exposed, they find themselves in a situation where they might have to say goodbye to their old lives forever. By leaving its primary set of characters, who have enjoyed the security provided by anonymity for far too long, vulnerable to dangers they bravely welcomed once, FUBAR Season 1 finale sets up the characters for a tedious journey in Season 2. Most importantly, the finale sabotages Luke Brunner's plans for a happy retirement life that he intends to spend cruising his "ship" (a yacht, but Luke prefers calling it a ship) named Tally Ho.
Gabriel Luna Returns From Death to Set Up 'FUBAR' Season 2
In what eventually turns out to be a pre-climax scene, Emma and Boro join hands to find a way out of the nuclear reactor in Sardovia, with time running out quickly in the face of an imminent and devastating explosion. For mutual benefit and survival, the two decide to set aside the differences caused by their career choices. Boro helps Emma find a way out into the hands of her protective father Luke. However, enforced by the same protectiveness and compelled by Dot (Barbara Eve Harris), the Regional CIA Director, Luke chooses to leave Boro behind to be burnt to death. With the threat of Boro's nuclear weapons reaching the wrong hands taken care of, Luke and Emma return to their country. Having removed Boro from his life, Luke finds out that he is on the verge of losing Tally forever and decides to spill the truth in front of her. However, the emotional moment is disrupted by a planned attack by Boro, who's revealed to be alive in what ultimately turns out to be the climax of FUBAR Season 1.
Once Luke and Emma take care of Boro's armed men, Boro emerges from the shadow, holding Tally hostage. After Luke and Emma's bewilderment at seeing Boro alive phases out, an expression of confusion takes over their face as they express their amusement at being traced by Boro. Dousing Emma and Luke's curiosity, Boro explains how he took a hint from Emma's engagement ring and used her name to track her down through an engagement announcement put up by her fiancé, Carter (Jay Baruchel). After all, as established in Episode 3, "Honeyplot," Boro had an army of black-market hackers at his disposal. While Luke and Emma quickly handle the danger posed by Boro to Tally and their near ones as they take down Boro soon after, the threat created by Boro does not vanish with his death. Moments after Boro's bloody demise, Luke receives a call from their workplace friend, Tina (Aparna Brielle), whose transfer back to NSA was stopped thanks to Barry (Milan Carter). She lets Luke know that they have been "burned," a term to indicate compromised identities. Consequently, Luke, Emma, and others present at the venue rush out in a transport van arranged by Tina.
Luke and Emma Could Face Bigger Enemies in 'FUBAR' Season 2
Having spent years as a CIA undercover operative, there's no end to the list of enemies Luke might have made. It would be safe to say that Boro would not be the only one whose father he killed. The same can be said for Emma given her reckless way of handling situations. With their identities compromised, not only do they become direct targets for the enemies they have accumulated over the years, but also, they end up placing their families on the crosshair. As proven by Boro already, targeting families is anyway a common approach among criminals and terrorists. To say conclusively, Boro's actions leave Luke and Emma Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition (FUBAR), forcing them to scatter in search of a safe haven.
By the end of the Season 1 finale, the future of Luke Brunner and his family seems to be in the dark as they stand to face unprecedented dangers, perfectly setting up the context for Season 2. Moreover, the struggles of working around a family aware of the risk involved would just make it more difficult for Luke and Emma. In the surrounding chaos, the finale episode anyway does not provide the opportunity to perfectly capture the reactions of Luke's family members and friends who just got exposed to possibly the biggest secret of their lives. Season 2 of FUBAR could explore the complexities being faced by Luke and Emma on the survival front and the family front.
'FUBAR' Season 1 Keeps One Final Twist in the Form of Songbird
FUBAR Season 1 finale does not leave it at just one twisted revelation. The final moments of the series reveal that Tina, the ex-NSA agent, is the "Songbird," a mole planted inside the CIA by the Russian intelligence agency SVR. In his meeting with an SVR agent, Boro comes to know about the Songbird when he's offered the real identities of Luke and Emma in return for his nuclear weapons. Although Boro claims that he worked out the identities all by himself, it stands to be revealed whether Tina had a role to play in "burning" Luke and Emma. Also, given now that she has established her place within the CIA, most likely by manipulating Barry (yes, it was not true love, Barry), Tina's influence within the CIA seems to have grown by the end of Season 1 of FUBAR. Her true intention of joining the CIA also remains a mystery at this point.
As the identities of Luke and Emma remain out there on the dark web to be easily accessed by people looking to hunt them down, the Brunner family will be forced to come up with an emergency plan in Season 2. The Season 1 finale makes it clear that Luke's retirement plans will not take off just yet as some dangerous enemies may rise from the horizon to take him and his family down. A new challenge will await the father-daughter duo, especially considering that now even their families are not safe. Moreover, their confidant inside the CIA, Tina, is a double agent with her own interests. With the situation being as FUBAR as it can get, Luke and Emma and their group of dysfunctional CIA operatives are set up for the mission of their lifetime in Season 2 — one that would determine the chances of their very survival.
FUBAR Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.
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