My Two Cents Recap And Ending Explained: What Happened To Montini And Giulio?

The third and final instalment of Italian graphic novelist Michele Rech aka Zerocalcare’s autobiographical animated fantasy, titled “My Two Cents” aka “Due Spicci”, pushes the scope of storytelling by bringing both vivid imagination and internal conflict which meanders through Zero’s mindscape, alive. The deeply introspective yet at times chaotically outlandish narrative imparts a pensive tone from the depressive reality of fractured postmodern existence. Zero doesn’t offer an easy way out while making his struggles relatable to viewers, or while showing the messy life of his characters. The story still concludes with the emphasis on hope, encouraging viewers to welcome possibilities instead of burdening themselves with the fear of failure.

Spoilers Ahead

How Did Wild Boar Get Trapped in Tartallegras Scheme?

Zero, a now well known graphic novelist/ journalist based in Rome, has always been a socially inept recluse who likes to find escape in nostalgia, imagination, 90s pop culture to avoid reality. Zero’s biggest fear is to open up to people close to him, and to keep them from seeing him at his most vulnerable, he has formed a barrier around himself. Whenever Zero faces a moral dilemma or emotional crisis, he seeks help from his imaginary friend, Armadillo of conscience, who is the personification of his deepest insecurities and social anxiety. As someone who is always too afraid to take a leap of faith, Zero is lucky to have friends like Sarah, Wild Boar and Secco. Sarah, Zero’s best friend, the bona fide moral compass of the group who once dreamt of becoming a teacher, but is now having a tough time making an earning due to past clashes with the authorities, and her toxic, on-and-off relationship with her girlfriend, Stella. Secco, the coolest, most composed member of the group, has distanced himself a bit from the world while keeping his responsibilities as a single father. Wild Boar, the carefree, rowdy, lothario has found stability in his life after marrying Christine ; but is struggling with finances after having kids while running his café. Zero’s uneventful, safe and monotonous life takes a turn when Sarah brings her friend, Zero’s old crush, Smerelda, and her pet dog, to his house to keep her away from her abusive boyfriend. At the same time, Wild Boar opens up to Zero about his aggravating financial troubles by mentioning he tried to cash in Zero’s blank cheque with the help of his Bangladeshi immigrant neighbour, Imram – and landed himself in deep trouble. Imram, along with rest of his Bangladeshi immigrant relatives, were forced to let Roman crime gang Tartallegras use their account to store their ill-gotten money. Chequing in the cash, they have risked their exposure, and as a result, Wild Boar has found himself drawing the ire of Tartallegras, who send their violent, psychopathic enforcer, Tripwire, after him. 

While Zero tries helping his friend to get out of this mess by financially aiding him, his interaction with Tripwire goes wrong when Secco uses pepper spray on the psychopath. Montini, one of Zero and his friends’ old classmates, who has lived a miserable life due to getting bullied by everyone, cracks under pressure when Tripwire pressurizes him and ends up revealing his connection with Wild Boar. As if things weren’t already miserable, just when things were going good between him and Smerelda, Zero learns Tripwire is her abusive boyfriend with whom she wants to patch up things all over again. Zero receives a brutal beatdown after Tripwire learns that he sheltered Smerelda, but she ends up saving his life. In the meantime, Wild Boar’s relation with Christina goes through a rough patch after she suspects his increasingly questionable, secretive behaviour. While Zero brings Smerelda to one of his secret safehouses, Sarah breaks things off with her girlfriend after finally acknowledging their relationship has run its course. Believing his days are numbered, Zero visits his mother, and reconciles with his unresolved emotional burdens by facing his insecurities head on.

Did Boar Get Freed From Mob Debt?

While Smerelda’s brothers, who share a bond with Secco, decide to get involved into the conspiracy to teach Tartallegras a lesson, things get sorted out quite unexpectedly thanks to Christina’s involvement. She sought help from Boar’s employee, Lemur, and a local named Carlito to learn about her husband’s predicament. Carlito, is an enforcer for rival gang Coccodrito, and he has helped Christina to pay off Tartallegras debt by taking loan from Coccodritos. Even though Wild Boar is not completely free from financial burden, now he at least has more time to pay off the debt, and has been able to reconcile with his wife. Also, Tartallegras have decided to call off their assault on Boar as Tripwire’s extremely violent streak was drawing unnecessary attention from the authorities. By now, Tripwire’s vendetta against Zero and his friends have become personal, but without being able to find them and having his employers call off the attack, he becomes more erratic than ever. Tripwire lets out his frustration by tormenting Montini and beating up his dog, Giulio within an inch of his life. 

What Happened to Montini and Giulio?

Zero was dismayed upon learning Montini had revealed his connection with Boar to Tripwire in the first place, but eventually he was able to recognize that poor Montini, who has been abused by his peers throughout his life, has not been able to escape the violent loop. Even though Montini tolerated Tripwire’s abuse, his violent assault on his dog broke something in him. Giulio was probably the only being in Montini’s life who showed him selfless love and affection, something the poor guy never received from anyone else in his life. After having Giulio admitted to a veterinary hospital, and learning that he will survive, Montini decides to meet Tripwire for a payback. 

Zero and his friends prepare for a final showdown with Tripwire when they find out he has been stabbed to his death, and the killer is none other than Montini. No one is particularly sad about the crook’s passing, given what kind of a degenerate he was, but Smerelda is probably afflicted with Stockholm Syndrome as she breaks down upon seeing her former lover lying dead in a pool of blood. Having a rough childhood, Smerelda never really escaped the darkness, and even though Tripwire abused her incessantly, she sympathized with him till the very end. Zero is caught up with mixed feelings as he doesn’t know how to respond to the situation. Later on, after learning of Montini’s predicament, he decides to step up and take responsibility for Giulio. Zero knows like everyone else, he too turned a blind eye towards Montini’s misery, and didn’t help him when he needed the most. He hopes to make amends by caring for Giulio while Montini serves his sentence in prison. 

A Hopeful End

The possibility of Smerelda and Zero getting together is squashed after the unexpected series of events involving Tripwire, and at some point, she decides to leave Rome for good. She hasn’t been able to get over her past, and even though she has feelings for Zero, she can’t fully commit to those feelings. However, later on, Smerelda and Zero cross paths once again, and it is hinted that a connection between them is possible. Zero has acknowledged his self obsessed behaviour had caused a rift between him and Secco, and has been able to reconcile with him. Selling his café, Boar has moved away from Rome and has started a food truck in a South American country with his family by his side. It remains unknown whether he has paid off the loan of Coccodrito gang, but in the final moments of the series, it is shown that a member of the gang has taken control over his café. 

In one of the most profound moments of the series, Zero faces an innocent question from Boar’s son, who believes the big bad wolf has taken away their house and wonders whether Zero has faced a similar situation. Zero realizes how young minds remain oblivious to all the myriads of issues and insecurities of adult life. Instead of acting like a cynic, Zero chooses to emphasize on the strength in togetherness, assuring the kid that he will stay by his father’s side along with their friends. The final moments of the series marks Zero’s growth as a person, as even while being marred with life’s miseries and disappointments, he chooses to believe in optimism and hope above everything else, and inspires the younger generation to do so as well. 

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