Hello there! Welcome to our recap of the Season Two Finale of Woke, the show based on Keith Knight‘s comix. In the season’s penultimate episode, Ayana (Sasheer Zamata) “ran away” and had a spiritual journey, while Keef (Lamorne Morris) discovered some 5G conspiracy theories are real. Be forewarned, this recap of Woke Season Two, Episode Eight, “Kill Keef Knight” is spoilerific.
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“It’s not nearly as exciting as killing you, but I’m in.”
We open right where we left off last episode. When Keef asks Ayana to kill him, Gunther (Blake Anderson) and Clovis (T. Murph) think he means literally. He clarifies that he means the KKP. Laura (Aimee Garcia) might have all the power, but she needs Keef’s image.
So, to stop her, the quad is gonna kill Keef’s image. Ayana and Gunther are in. But, Clovis is still confused (“You want us to shoot you in the face!?”)
Next, Keef is having a nightmare about his shoes; he’s burying his shoes while being buried by them. Marker (JB Smoove) stands atop his gravestone. He tells us that this is the story of how Keef “f***ed up everything he ever did.”
You know, it’s interesting how small a role the animated manifestations played this season. And apart from Marker’s narration, when they were used, it almost felt like Woke used them because it felt required to.
Keef wakes from his nightmare, only to see Tomás’s (Miguel Pinzon) caricature of him, now animated and sinking.
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“Congratulations, you’re an asshole.”
Keef goes to visit Tomás, and we learn that Ayana has already published a tell-all in The Bay Arean. Everyone knows about Keef’s “little corporate folly,” as Tomás puts it.
Keef wants to make it clear to Tomás that he was unaware of the 5G when he paid him to take the shoes. Tomás doesn’t think that fixes the sitch. He’s has been challenging Keef since they met, so Keef is hoping Tomás will join him in the new fight. Tomás says he’s working right now, so Keef’s gotta pay him for this conversation.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
Over at The Bay Arean, Gunther is playing with a bull horn. Ayana finds the first issue of her paper and bemoans that nothing ever changes. Always the optimist, Gunther says that, yes they do, but it can take a while.
Whatever, says Ayana, she no longer wants to write, she wants to fight. Umm, excuse me. The written word and art, in general, are excellent forms of activism and protest. It’s perfectly fine to want to do something else, Ayana, but don’t knock it …
Back with Tomás and Keef, Keef has laid out his plan, though we’re not yet privy to it. Apparently, Tomás believes the plan will make everyone hate him. Keef is aware, but he needs to make things right.
Tomás applauds Keef’s Revolutionary Suicide. A true revolutionary, apparently, knows they risk death, and still chooses to fight, as opposed to a reactionary, who is motivated by despair.
Tomás has finished his new caricature of Keef. Now, Keef sits on a throne atop a pile of shoes, wearing a cop badge. He wields two swords? scepters? made of shoes.
“Keef Knight Soled Us Out!”
Keef uses Tomás artwork — with permission — as the art advertising a protest against him. Gunther deems Keef’s new work “radical” and Ayana applauds Keef, in her way, telling him he’s doing more activist work now than he did with the KKP.
Tomás joins their group, having scouted out a regroup zone, in case the SFPD breaks up their protest.
Next, Clovis and Hype (Marquita Goings) arrive with shoes. They got them really cheap because they were made for a deal with Kwame Brown that fell through.
Just then, a process server (Ian Hoch) arrives and Keef is sure it’s for him since he broke his NDA. He taunts the guy and tells him just to say the three words. Turns out, those five words are “Ayana Gibbons, you’ve been served.”
“You’ve already ceased-ed and desisted-ed.”
Sunlink is suing Ayana for “defamation of character and false, garrulous charges.” Keef doesn’t understand how they can do this! The First Amendment, amirite? Besides, The Bay Arean is already closing.
Ha! There’s no way Ayana’s shutting down her paper now. Gunther wants to know how she could abandon her plans to soar and fly like a bird and all that. But, Clovis, Hype and Tomás all support Ayana standing her ground.
Keef would like a word alone with Ayana. He’s the one to blame; he should be getting sued. Ayana argues that she wanted to leave The Bay Arean to fight, but that sometimes the fight comes to you. I do remember that she also wanted a job that paid decently …
Keef says he’ll just talk to Laura and fix it. But no, Ayana says, she’s been employing the unhoused for years and now, if it weren’t for the guys, she’d be unhoused too.
He wants to know if she’s really gonna risk everything even if she might not change anything. Uh, yah, says Ayana, that’s every GD day.
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Ooof. Mariachi music as a transition? What is this? 90 Day Fiancé? Keef meets Laura at her parents’ taqueria. He tells her they both know the case against Ayana is a “classic SLAPP lawsuit used by corporations to silence critics.” Laura just nods and says “mhmm.” Ew ew ew!
Unfortunately for Laura, continues Keef, California has some pretty solid SLAPPback laws. She’s not gonna win. See, Laura, Keef and I can both Google!
Laura knows all this and knows Ayana will probably win, but the point is that Sunlink has the right to defend itself. More importantly, it’s richer with more lawyers and can drag the suit on for years, essentially destroying Ayana in the process anyway.
“I know you don’t trust me, but I’m on the inside.”
Keef doesn’t understand why Laura is acting like she and Sunlink are separate entities. Umm, Keef, this is America, corporations are people, remember? Laura insists she’s just an investor and a board member. And now, thanks to Keef’s protest, her position at Sunlink is on the line. Boohoo.
Laura argues that it’s in everyone’s best interest that she stay at Sunlink. The company will move forward with their 5G project and if she’s not there to fight for the little guy, who’s gonna make sure Sunlink doesn’t sell data to the cops?
Does he really think that her replacement will sit and meet him for tacos? Laura asks him again to please work with her.
This is heady stuff, y’all. Laura has made a lot of mistakes, but she’s totally right that without an “inside man,” it will be that much harder to achieve their goals.
“I didn’t even use the recipe book. That’s the real anarchy.”
Back at the apartment, Gunther’s made more bricks. He joins Keef out on the balcony and lights one up. Keef join(t)s in. Y’all, weed is expensive, especially now that it’s legal. Where does Gunther get his money?
Keef just doesn’t know what the right answer is. No matter what he does, he “keeps screwing the pooch.” Gunther doesn’t “know what bestiality has to do with anything,” but he has often seen Keef as a “frustrated superhero because [he’s], like, super frustrated most of the time.”
Keef says he keeps thinking about what Clovis’s dad said: “Don’t get so caught up in the cause that you forget to take care of what’s in front of you.” Clovis pops through the window — he heard his name — to argue that there’s no way in hell his dad would say such a thing.
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The point is, Keef couldn’t care less about his own reputation at this point, but he wants to help Ayana. Clovis says he’s gotta use Sunlink’s weaknesses to his advantage. Keef doesn’t believe the company has any; if their technology works, they’re gonna sell it.
Gunther says that that is Sunlink’s weakness and to use it against them. Fight fire with fire.
“What if self-sabotage is my super power?”
Next, we head to the “We Care Fair,” which is being held right outside the Sunlink offices. Tomás is leading a chant against Sunlink on the megaphone, there are protest signs that say, “Sucklink,” and Clovis and Hype are trading out people’s KKP shoes for the new ones.
Clovis thinks they’re doing so well together at this event, he and Hype should consider going into business together. She nips that in the bud — what would happen if something goes wrong? He says they’d use their communication to fix it, but she’s still not so keen on the idea.
Meanwhile, Gunther is yelling, trying to rally people. Ayana wants him to calm down, but he’s got a plan — one that might get Keef actually killed.
So, Ayana takes over and leads a better chant: Ain’t no power like the power of the people (and the power of the people don’t stop).
“We have an opportunity to do an incredible amount of good.”
Inside the Sunlink offices, Laura is telling the mostly-white board that they’ve been bringing “power to the people in ways few have even dreamed about.” Laura concedes that, sure, the company’s narrative has gotten away from them, but …
The board blames her and Keef for that. Then, Keef bursts in. He apologizes for his lateness, but he’s there to be part of the solution. They allow him one minute — great, that’s all he ever needs!
Human beings, he says, have three very basic life cycles:
- You’re born and believe pro wrestling is real.
- You get older and find out pro wrestling is fake (Gasp!).
- Acceptance.
Outside, Ayana tells us that wages haven’t gone up since the 1970s because the people with money don’t want them to. Also, taxes and government services have been cut.
Upstairs, Keef tells the Sunlink board that the protestors are stuck in life cycle phase two. But, he and the good people on the board are in the acceptance phase; they’re just enjoying the experience.
See, when Keef first heard of the 5G thing he was upset, but then, he got it. They’re never gonna solve homelessness, but what if they reimagined it? What about … “Empowering the powerless to play a critical role in city-wide connectivity?”
“Those who once wanted a buffer from the unhoused now want to move a little bit closer … and why’s that? To stop from all the buffering.”
Keef says that people will open their doors to the unhoused, once they’re the ones carrying the WiFi. They’re gonna “change the NIMBYs into the YIMBYs”
Meanwhile, downstairs, Ayana asks the crowd who among them hates Keef Knight.
Upstairs, Keef tells the board he must tell them truth of himself, and he repeats that he comes from the long line of “[offensive terms for Black people],” that Darque Noir (Nathan Lee Graham) revealed to him.
Keef says that he “literally has accommodation coursing through [his] DNA.” That makes him the perfect Sunlink spokesperson. He slams the desk and declares, “No tablet left behind!” Oh my, this is gold! What a way to tie all the ribbons scattered throughout the season.
Laura gets what he’s doing through all this, and the subtle acting that Aimee Garcia Is doing here is great. She’s got this sly grin under the surface. Really nice.
Then, Keef stands on a table and starts rhythmically chanting “No tablet left behind!” The board joins in.
Downstairs, a much different chant is going on. The protestors are shouting “F*** Keef Knight” while the SFPD stands watching, waiting and sort of joining in?
“All we have is La Croix!”
The two chants are intercut for a bit until all the stomping Keef’s doing with his shoes causes the 5G chip to catch fire (or so he says). Fight fire with fire!
Then, we go to slo-mo with an operatic version of “Ave Maria” laid over. LOLOLOL. One of the board members flicks La Croix at Keef’s burning shoes. Finally, Laura gets the fire extinguisher and saves Keef.
Cut to the ER!
Laura visits Keef. He’s gonna be fine; he’s just got some “minor” third-degree burns. She’s glad Keef’s gonna be OK. But, now, she wants the shoes he was wearing. He says they’ve disappeared.
She doesn’t believe that the shoes spontaneously combusted after his big speech. He says that that’s gonna be the story he sticks to if Sunlink doesn’t withdraw the lawsuit against Ayana.
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Laura tells him he won’t win that battle; he’s not planning to, but a “little birdie” once told him these cases can get caught up in court for years. Plus, with all the 5G-related conspiracy theories out in the world …
“Is this the recovery room for one Huey Keef Newton?”
Laura tells him she really does care about the work and is still gonna find a way to make it happen. Just, not with Keef. She still thinks they could’ve done so much good together. Good Lord, she’s gonna die on that hill.
Keef’s real friends come in to visit. Aww, Gunther’s even brought one of his plants! Clovis wants to know how Keef got such a sweet hospital suite when he has insurance through the city? Well, Sunlink paid for his room.
Ayana wants to know why Keef didn’t tell her what he was doing. She thought he was “Keefing up again.” He said she’d already risked so much with the protest.
Gunther, for his part, is fired up and wants to know who they’re taking on next. Keef’s still thinking but says whatever they do, it’s gonna be low-key.
“We’ll try to keep it going as long as we can.”
Next, we head over to the new Bay Arean, which is 100 percent edited and distributed by the unhoused community. Tomás is in charge. The building is paid for for a few months since Keith has donated the rest of his KKP funds there. Can he do that?
Tomás thanks Ayana for entrusting her baby to its new staff and promises to do right by it.
Over in Keef’s hospital room, he’s checking out his social. His followers have reacted pretty favorably to his stunt with the fire, but then he deletes his account.
Clovis comes to wheel Keef out but warns him the hallway is filled with reporters. Unlike the end of Season One, Keef doesn’t engage with them. He and Clovis escape out the back to meet up with Clovis’s dad, Mr. Jackson (Isiah Whitlock Jr). Road trip, sans Clovis!
Mr. Jackson asks if Keef is ready to get into some “questionable mischief.” Or, as Keef puts it, “good trouble.”
Black out. Then, noises of the ignition not firing, and Mr. Jackson asks, “Hey Keef, you got any peanut oil on ya?”
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Ha. Keith Knight himself wrote this episode. I had a feeling. This was by far the cleverest episode this season, though Episode Seven was a close second. Even for all its excellence, I don’t think it remedied the few complaints I’ve had. If Woke returns for a third season, I hope at the very least Clovis and maybe Gunther get the development that Ayana did this season.
Speaking of Ayana, she was the true MVP of Woke Season Two, and Sasheer Zamata crushed it. All in all, I truly enjoy Woke for the points it raises and the humor with which it does. Thanks for joining me for these Season Two recaps of Woke, here on Geek Girl Authority! Hope to see you for Season Three!
Season Two of Woke is streaming on Hulu now.
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