Billie Eilish particularly impressed critics with her lyrical acumen back in 2019, when she released a track entitled “All the Good Girls Go to Hell.” In that song, Eilish touches on feelings on loneliness, desire, and a general feeling that everything is f***ed, no matter how much good you might wish to put into the world. Patsy Walker would certainly empathize, especially since she still can’t tell whether she’s truly good or bad.
One of the driving narrative elements of Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lins, and KJ Diaz’s superb Hellcat miniseries has been the idea that Patsy Walker has never really been allowed to be the author of her own destiny. She’s been a teen heartthrob, dramatized in stories written by an overbearing mother and perpetuated by people who haven’t taken the time to get to know her. She’s always compared herself to other heroes, having trouble accepting that she can do good as she’s battled her own personal demons.
Even when she made the most final decision of all — to take her own life — it was ultimately a path that someone else forced her into, as her husband revealed his true and terrible form and drove her to madness. Now that Patsy has become the monster she’s always feared she was, how could there be any coming back from that?
This final issue tackles that question head-on, and in doing so, manages to solve a murder mystery that’s followed Patsy from the start of this miniseries. The result is an extremely satisfying conclusion that still manages to break hearts along the way.
Lins and Diaz go full-tilt with the gory and demonic imagery in this issue, showing us a heroine at war with herself, two wannabe devils flaunting their power, and a lovestruck man just trying to reach Patsy before its too late. Even with all of the goopy death and fiery thrills in this conclusion, it’s the human element that shines through most of all. The desperation in everyone’s faces and body language is palpable, and the final moments of this issue will leave you hurting for these characters as they’re faced with an uncertain future.
Most importantly, however, this final issue of Hellcat ensures that Patsy is no longer anyone’s puppet. I won’t spoil how it all comes together, but I found it to be just as cathartic as it is heart-wrenching. It’s hard to say where the character will go from here, but there are some loose ends still dangling in the night air, and if there’s one thing Patsy hates, it’s an unsolved mystery.
Is Patsy good or bad? Who can say. All I know is that this series was something special.
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