Diksha Sundriyal
Paramount+’s ‘Knuckles’ expands the universe of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog,’ as it continues the story of the titular echidna who has now decided to stay on Earth and make a new home here. The transition, however, is easier said than done, and it takes Knuckles a bit of time to understand how the world really works here. Being a warrior and having fought powerful enemies and deadly battles for so long, Knuckles finds it hard just to sit and relax. Luckily, he receives a new project that not only changes his life but also of another character who will play a bigger part in the upcoming film. What makes things more interesting is the involvement of G.U.N and the impact it has on Knuckles’ journey. But what exactly is it? SPOILERS AHEAD
G.U.N Has a Complicated Role in Knuckles and Sonic’s Story
The Guardian Units of Nation, aka G.U.N., is introduced to the Sonic Cinematic Universe in the second installment of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog. This film goes beyond Sonic and introduces several other characters, including Knuckles and Tails, to expand the storyline, which will only get bigger in the third film. The arrival of G.U.N. is also part of that plan, as the organization plays an important role in the story.
After the events of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog,’ the world becomes aware of Sonic’s existence. His battle with Dr. Robotnik almost levels the city, and such an event does not go unnoticed by the government. The discovery of a powerful extraterrestrial being gives them a lot of food for thought and also makes them realize that when they battle someone like Robotnik, a genius but mad scientist gone rogue, the results can be devastating. While the alien and the scientist are only thinking about themselves during the fight, someone has to think about the civilians who will become collateral damage. More importantly, someone needs to make sure that this kind of event doesn’t happen again. This is where G.U.N comes in.
The organization is created to save the Earth in the event of an extraterrestrial threat, which is how they first see Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. After clearing up the misunderstanding about who really is the bad guy here, the organization decides to help the trio take down Dr. Robotnik and allows them to live peacefully with the Wachowskis, though it still monitors them. While they do this to keep the peace with the powerful aliens, this move also angers a lot of employees at G.U.N, like Willoughby. She had joined the organization after Sonic and Robotnik’s fight, but when her bosses decided to find common ground with the aliens and let them co-exist, she started to wonder what the point of the organization was and if they would ever be strong enough to stand up against the dangerous aliens. It is this fear that leads her to go rogue and triggers the events in ‘Knuckles’ TV show.
Willoughby and Mason emerge as the main villains of the season, putting their G.U.N knowledge and resources to use to catch Knuckles, or at least trying to do so. Because they are doing this independently, their actions don’t reflect on the organization, which means that there is still peace with the aliens, and we can expect them to be on the side of the good guys. However, this also creates a distrust. If two agents are rogue, who’s to say who else in G.U.N can change their mind about Sonic and his friends at any time? It is things like these that make the organization unpredictable and keep the mystery alive about where their loyalties truly lie and what their intentions really are.
Read More: Paramount+’s Knuckles and the Sonic Movies Timeline Explained
