Seven years after the release ofThe Fate of the Furious, there is still one scene that makes no sense and is removed from the unbelievable car stunts the franchise has become known for. While the wait forFast 11’s storygoes on, many are turning their attention back to the earlier films in the franchise. The discourse surrounding the franchise and how it is viewed in retrospect is certainly interesting, with some viewing the pre-Fast Fivestories as thebest-rankedFast & Furiousmovies, while others prefer the high-octane, exaggerated action films that have spawned since then.
When watching theFast & Furiousmovies in release dateorder, it wasFast Fivethat ushered in this change. The more immediate sequels to the 2011 movie,Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7,andThe Fate of the Furiouscan be seen as the films that capitalized the most on this change.F9andFast Xhave since been received more negatively, as the over-the-top stunts reach new heights. Regardless of howFast & Furious’sensationalist villainsand excessive stunts have defied belief, there is one scene removed from all this that still baffles the mind, and it came inThe Fate of the Furious.
Deckard Shaw Showing Up At Toretto’s Barbecue In Fast 8 Still Doesn’t Make Sense
Shaw Was Miraculously Forgiven For His Past Sins
The scene in question regardsJason Statham’s Deckard Shaw. Shaw was introduced as the primary villain ofFurious 7, a hitman shown going after each member of Dominic Toretto’s crew one by one in retribution for his brother’s defeat inFast & Furious 6.The first reveal of Shaw’s vendetta came in the post-credits scene ofFast & Furious 6,which retconned Han Lue’s death fromThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Driftto show that the former was responsible. This caused many to despise Deckard, as Han has long been a fan-favorite character in the franchise.
However,The Fate of the Furioussaw Deckard return to the franchise in an anti-heroic role, leading to the aforementioned nonsensical scene. At the end ofThe Fate of the Furious, Dominic Torettto hosts one of his fabled family barbecues. Deckard Shaw arrives to reunite Dom with his son, whom the former saved in the film’s climax. However,Deckard stays for the barbecue celebrations, seemingly being welcomed as a member of Dom’s family despite killing Han and trying to murder everyone else presentin the movie prior.
Dominic Toretto Forgiving Shaw Made The “Justice For Han” Campaign Justifiable
Fast & Furious' Fanbase Was Not Pleased With Shaw’s Forgiveness
This moment inThe Fate of the Furioussingle-handedly made the “Justice for Han” campaign warranted. “Justice for Han” spawned out of the character’s death inFast & Furious6, but gained more credence inThe Fate of the Furious. The reveal that Deckard Shaw was somewhat of a hero in the franchise’s eighth installment caused fans of Han’s character to feel aggrieved that the former faced little consequence for his actions. Although Deckard was imprisoned afterFurious 7, it was not for very long givenThe Fate and the Furious' prison break involving him and The Rock’s Luke Hobbs.
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Deckard’s heroics even continued beyondThe Fate of the Furiousthanks to his spin-off.Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shawsaw the character return once more as a hero. Despite the dynamic between Hobbs and Shaw being fantastic and still antagonistic, the character should have been resigned to this role rather than being involved in Dom Torreto’s family. In making the latter a reality,the seeming death of Han was made more insulting, as Dom’s commitment to family should never have seen him forgive Deckard to this extent.
Han Returning In F9 Didn’t Really Fix The Fate Of The Furious' Deckard Problem
“Justice For Han” Saw F9 Try To Fix The Deckard Issue
In light of the “Justice for Han” campaign,F9: The Fast Sagatried to rectify the problems raised by resurrecting Han. The film retconnedThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Driftto reveal that Han was working for Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody, also explaining how he survived Deckard’s assassination attempt. The body of Han present in the exploding car was revealed as a hologram, with Han returning to aid Dom and his old crew, thus officially rejoining the family by the time ofF9’s climactic ending.
In the eyes of the franchise’s creators, Han’s return inF9was enough to fixThe Fate of the Furious’Deckard problem, as was the confrontation between the two characters inFast X. However, in-universe, Dom’s forgiveness of Deckard in the eighth movie still does not make sense. At the time, Dom and his team were unaware that Han was alive. Similarly,Deckard’s attempts to kill Dom, Brian, Mia, and the various other characters inFurious 7still happened and were never addressed inThe Fate of the Furious.
If Deckard facing the consequences of his actions on top of saving young Brian had been included, perhaps the film would have done enough to justify this…
The explanation for Dom’s forgiveness of Deckard comes from the latter saving the former’s son from Cipher. Usually, this would have been a valid explanation for Dom and Deckard being considered even, at most. That said,The Fate of the Furioustook it many steps further with Deckard joining Dom’s barbecue and being all-but-officially welcomed into the family. If Deckard facing the consequences of his actions on top of saving young Brian had been included, perhaps the film would have done enough to justify this. However, seven years later, these consequences are absent, and the scene still makes little sense.
The Fate of the Furious
Cast
The Fate of the Furious is the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, released in 2017. Vin Diesel stars as Dom Toretto, who is drawn into the world of crime by a mysterious woman, pushing his loyal crew, including Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez, to face unprecedented challenges.
