Raising Dion: Ending Explained, Twist Breakdown + Full Spoiler Review

Throughout this, I’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about the ending of Raising Dion and it’s twist reveal.

There will be heavy spoilers, so if you haven’t had a chance to watch Raising Dion and don’t want anything ruined then I highly recommend that you turn off now.

With that out the way, thank you for clicking this, now let’s get into our ending explained breakdown of Raising Dion!

Raising Dion

Raising Dion follows Nicole Warner, played by Alisha Wainwright after as she raises her super powered son Dion in the absence of his father Mark, played by Michael B Jordan.

Dion is a modern Marvel, pun intended, and possesses a whole host of superpowers including the ability to teleport, move things with his mind, turn invisible and heal things. Whilst initially this skillset seems like it could be a dream come true for the character, we quickly learn that being a superhero sure isn’t easy

The series deals with all the trials and tribulations that would come from having a son with special abilities and it’s a pretty unique aesthetic, that though heavily explored in Brightburn, develops it far beyond its cinematic counterpart. From the off the main focus is Nicole’s worry that her son has been tasked with a huge responsibility and just as much as his actions matter, so do hers. She has the potential to raise the world’s greatest hero or it’s biggest threat and this is something that she struggles with throughout, guiding him down the right path whilst outside forces try to corrupt him.

There is a real sense of this being steeped in comic books, even down to the episodes being called Issues with the corresponding season and episode number instead of simply ‘Episode 1’ or whatever. They all have comic book related names that range from things like ‘Why so Vomity’ to ‘Days of Mark’s Future Past’ and ‘Fortress Of Solitude.’ This tone very much carries throughout the show with there being the usual superhero origin story archetypes including the death of a parent and so on.

However at it’s heart is the fact that anyone, no matter their age, race or background can become someone important.

Raising Dion Season One Plot Recap

The start of the season begins with Dion really struggling to fit in at school and his mother Nicole has to deal with life as a single parent, overwhelmed by her son’s abilities. We learn early on that Mark passed away after saving a woman from drowning but in doing so sacrificed himself. There is a real back and forth throughout the season as to his true fate and the real events that lead to his death and his absence becomes a big driving force. Even though the truth about his passing remains a mystery for the opening episodes, it’s really heartbreaking watching both Nicole and Dion dealing with the fact that he is out of their lives. However, he definitely isn’t a bad force and the fact that his death was due to heroic circumstances influences Dion in many positive ways.

When Dion’s abilities emerge, he has difficulty controlling them and on a trip to his lakeside home, he pretty much wrecks the ecosystem there and almost kills himself and his mother. He also lashes out at a boy at school for stealing his father’s watch it becomes clear that his emotions get the better of him.

I guess with great power comes great responsibility and this also draws the eyes of ghosts, including his father who warns the pair to getaway. They remain put though and after a woman disappears in the area, Nicole suspects that there may be other forces at work. In addition to this she discovers that before Mark’s death he was visiting the woman that he saved. Initially, she believed that they were strangers but this reveal paints a different picture especially after it’s revealed that she went off the map the day that Mark died.

Single Mother With A Superhero Son

Upon returning home, Nicole is forced into basically a juggling act of getting a job, looking after her son and keeping her home tidy and it’s rare that we get a depiction of life as a single mother in superhero centric storylines but Raising Dion does an excellent job of giving this perspective some life and actually making it engaging. Nicole says it best when she refers to it like having a toddler all over again but he can crash cars with his mind. This nails the core of Raising Dion and makes it easy to connect with. All of the performances here are grounded, believable and easy to connect with and even characters that I thought I wouldn’t find common ground with, portrayed their lives in ways that were easy to relate to.

The human side of Raising Dion is definitely its strong point and this elevates the show massively early on. It also drives the plot which eventually sees Nicole catch up to the woman that Mark was in contact with and she learns that Mark had powers too which explains how Dion inherited them. Charlotte Tuck divulges that everyone who went to see the Northern Lights in Iceland during a meteor shower received powers. This is known as the Aurora event and it granted all of the onlookers with superhuman abilities. Mark was present at this and like the rest of the group, received a specific super-powered skillset that they have had to hide from society.

She also explains that there is something in a storm that killed Mark and absorbed him and this sets up the villain of the piece known as The Crooked Man. The Crooked Man is a being of pure energy that constantly hunts the superpowered citizens. Aware that he is coming, Charlotte agrees to train Dion and this is very much the point in which Dion finally begins to gain control of his powers.

The Aurora Event

Pat, Nicole’s friend, works at the same company that Mark used to and we discover that they have several citizens that received powers under surveillance in and from here Nicole and Pat build a database of contacts that they can go to to discover more information. This corporation seemingly has ties to the crooked man and has been keeping tabs on all those present at the Aurora Event which allows Charlotte to track them down.

Pat quickly becomes a father figure to Dion and in some ways, he guides and raises him through the values and beliefs that he inherited from comic books.

It really takes the story from quite a simple one about family to one that is about the ins and outs of pressures that come from dealing with extraordinary gifts. The show ramps up episode by episode, going from a simplistic tale to one full of corporate espionage, privacy invasions, and supervillains that far outmatch the majority of the characters in the show. Raising Dion really got its hooks in me and at just 9 episodes I found myself binging through the entire piece in less than a day, desperate to find out how it would conclude and which characters would make it to the end.

Braydon And The Crooked Man

Charlotte discovers a boy named Braydon that inherited powers from his father who was also killed by the Crooked Man, similar to Mark. Unlike Dion though, Braydon takes the death of his father really badly and his aunty, who now takes care of him, enforces the belief that her father possessed demonic powers. This sets him off down a dark path and the finale of the show begins to paint him out as a nemesis of Dion should a second season come about.

As the season progresses, Pat becomes attached to Dion and Nicole but the latter rebuffs his advances which anger him and he forms the opinion that he is being used. Pat was also at the event that Mark gained his powers and though he denied receiving any due to being in an observation deck we learn in the final few episodes that this is infact a lie and that Pat is, in fact, the crooked man. He has been manipulating Dion to follow in his footsteps and see the world his way and has secretly coveted his healing powers as well as a relationship with Nicole.

After the constant rejection from her, Pat finally loses it and we learn that with his powers came a curse that constantly makes him sicker and sicker, thus he must consume other powered people in order to stay alive which explains his motives in the show. He has had his eyes set on Dion because he wants him to become strong enough to heal him even though it could probably kill the boy.

Raising Dion Season One Ending Explained

In the end, this leads to a showdown between Dion, Nicole and Pat who manage to seemingly defeat the Crooked Man due to the appearance of Mark, who materialises in the final battle to help save his son. After the fight in which the Crooked Man has been defeated, Mark manages to hold his son and even kiss his wife, explaining that energy never really dies. As Einstein Discovered, this is true of all things and thus it allows Mark to come back to see them one final time. However, he also comes with a warning that due to the previous statement, that also means that the crooked man will still be out there.

Dion promises to find a way to bring Mark back and going forward I believe that this will be a big focus of the second season as well as the cliffhanger that comes at the end.

This centers around Brayden who we join at his home to discover his aunt is dead and that Mark is now using him as a vessel, tapping into the boy’s dark side in order to control him and manipulate him much in the same way that he tried to with Dion throughout the show.

Whilst Brayden is possessed I do think that he will have some say in the matter and as mentioned earlier he will likely take on an arc that mirrors Dion’s just for bad instead of good. With Pat being his only guiding force now and no Nicole to balance it out he will likely turn to the dark side and I think this is all ramping up to a showdown between Brayden and Dion for season two.

Now, Brayden does have hope still and he’s at an age where there is still time to change so I can imagine that during the conflict he may reject Pat and with the help of Dion use it to finally destroy the crooked man.

Either way I’m really excited for a second season and I can’t wait to see what happens in it.

Raising Dion Season One Review

But what did I think of Raising Dion overall? Well whilst I think that the CGI fell flat at some points and there were some arcs that could have been left on the cutting room floor, overall this is a fun superhero origin story that uses it’s heart and message to elevate above the trappings of slightly lacklustre effects. This is definitely Raising Dion’s strong point and it’s a unique take on the superhero story in a world that is full of them.

Raising Dion is a really good ride and I’m annoyed at myself for taking so long to get round to it. Overall I think everyone will find something to enjoy here and that’s why it gets an…