Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Shane Gillis, Steve Gerben, and John McKeever, Netflix’s ‘Tires‘ returns for a third season with thrice the amount of creative flair and bromantic comedy, this time following Shane and Will’s rise within the ranks. Having taken their branch of Valley Forge Auto to new heights, both characters seem to be more confident than ever, but life has its cruel ways of throwing hurdles along the way. Across twelve episodes, Shane, Will, and the others battle personal and professional challenges, only to realize that this is a battle they simply cannot fight alone. When a new and relatively unknown tire company looks their way, a new hope emerges, and by the end of the season, it is do-or-die for the power duo. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tires Season 3 Plot Recap
‘Tires’ season 3 begins with business as usual at Valley Forge Auto, except for the fact that the profits seem to be dwindling again. Phil, ruthless as ever, wants Will to fire the people he deems the most unproductive, and the name they land on is that of Weir. However, firing him proves too hard for Will on his own, and, at least for now, the family stays intact. However, Dave still has some tricks up his sleeve and decides to hire an actress to pose as a damsel in distress and test the managers across Valley Forge Auto outlets. At every shop, the trick seems to work, but Dave’s mileage runs out when he gets to Will’s store, as not only is Shane able to figure out the trick, but Kilah calls the cops on him, just as he is masturbating in his minivan.
On another occasion, Will tries to join a women business leaders’ meetup by posing as Kilah’s assistant, hoping to find a partner. The plan seems to be going well until Shane crashes the place and reveals Will’s real identity. As it turns out, the women at the party were only hanging out with Will because they presumed that he was gay, and when that myth is busted, he gets labeled a sexual predator. Faced with a worsening public image, Phil decides to lock Will out of a major meeting with a Korean tire company called TakaTaka, which is hoping to enter the market here. Enraged that he is being left out, Will contemplates quitting this job and, coincidentally, meets an old friend who has become a multimillionaire with a major media company under his belt.
Though Will almost seals a deal to work with his friend, all of it turns out to be a major misunderstanding, as that friend was thinking of him as a potential customer this entire time. Meanwhile, Shane’s on-and-off relationship with Jill ends up reaching its boiling point when he sleeps with her daughter’s babysitter, Lucy. Though Lucy wants something more serious from him, Shane’s avoidant attitude brings things to a sour end. With all the characters hitting a low point in their lives, they meet for the TakaTaka presentation with a sizeable amount of frustration. Shane almost drives the group to their deaths while giving the tires a test drive, but finds that the tires have almost no damage. Seeing the potential of this product, Shane and Will strike an exclusive deal with TakaTaka just as Phil decides to take a sabbatical, leaving his two prodigies in charge. However, this coincides with a series of new twists and turns, some good and others not as much.
Tires Season 3 Ending: Will Shane and Lucy End up Together?
‘Tires’ season 3 ends with Shane as a co-owner of Valley Forge Auto, and, perhaps more surprisingly, soon to become a father. The messy, funny love triangle between him, Jill, and Lucy seemingly comes to an end with Lucy revealing that she is pregnant. What makes this more complicated is that this news is known to pretty much all of West Chester, as the text message she sent to Shane got shared as a part of the morning news broadcast. With this, Shane is met with a role he hasn’t even thought much about yet, but his reaction to it is surprising. Instead of running away from responsibility as he so often does, Shane decides to meet Lucy and have a heart-to-heart conversation about what their future looks like, and whether it is one where they end up together.
Lucy and Shane’s last encounter before the pregnancy reveal didn’t really end very well, which makes this reunion that much more interesting. This is a major step in Lucy’s life, and surprisingly, she doesn’t want Shane completely out of the picture either. Shane promises to be by her side based on her decision, but throughout the conversation, the future of their own romantic relationship doesn’t seem to come up at all. Lucy even teases that she might just raise the baby all by herself, but that doesn’t necessarily confirm anything either. Instead, what their reconciliation represents on a larger scale is a mutual sense of growth, especially for Shane, who seems to have moved past his avoidant nature ever since he began confronting the realities of age, life, and death.
For Shane to become a father marks a major evolution in his character arc. Throughout the first and second seasons, he, much like Will, wrestles with having a better relationship with his dad. Even by the end, their dynamic largely emerges as a professional one, where Shane wishes to prove his worth in a company that his father owns. Now, with Phil leaving the reins to his son and nephew, there is a major generational shift. Whether Shane chooses to follow in his father’s footsteps or actually learns from both their mistakes and becomes a better parent will largely determine where his journey is headed. While he and Lucy might not be ready to end up as a romantic couple just yet, the door remains open for them to find a deeper form of friendship and trust, if not love.
Will TakaTaka Tires Break the Deal? Will Shane and Will Sell the Shop?
While the third season of ‘Tires’ ends on a high note for Shane, the future of his and Will’s company seems to be in turbulent waters, to say the least. After the disastrous news read with Shane and Will, Valley Forge Auto appears to have become a bit of a laughing stock for the entire town, much to the embarrassment of TakaTaka’s founder. Their original deal is already not a perfect one to begin with, as it rests entirely on Will and Shane’s ability to keep the auto shop relevant all over town. While the duo has always created the most memorable ad campaigns, they do seem to have a knack for marketing, and that might just be what TakaTaka needs right now.
Though Shane seems to believe there is no such thing as bad publicity, the finale does end with a mess-up that almost forces TakaTaka’s owner to get up and leave in embarrassment. With Cal getting arrested during a major bust, the company briefly comes under the spotlight for being a potential front, and Kilah’s comments about the van in episode 2 don’t seem to help either. While Cal is soon cleared of all charges, this isn’t even the biggest hurdle standing in the way of Shane and Will. The finale also introduces a new tire company that is planning to open shops right in the heart of West Chester. Valley Forge Auto is no longer the biggest fish in the sea, and a bigger corporation landing its stores right next to theirs can easily be game over.
In a curious turn, the new company proposes to buy off all of Valley Forge Auto’s stores and use that infrastructure to launch its own shop. When Shane and Will instinctively reject the idea, the company’s words soon turn into a threat, and our duo is left unsure as to what decision they should make. While this season ends without the question being raised again, it is something Shane and Will will inevitably have to deal with, both on a practical and a psychological level. After all, they spend most of the show wondering if they even want to be in a tire shop, but sometimes, it takes a greater enemy for several disparate forces to come together.
What Happens to Will, Phil, and the Others?
While we can more or less see a clear path ahead for Shane, Will’s future seems firmly in the dark, at least for now. The TakaTaka deal being in peril is not even what worries him the most right now, as much of his struggle is on the personal front, especially the romantic one. After being met with multiple rejections all throughout the season, there is hardly anything that Will wants more than to have a partner who truly understands him. Dave, on the other hand, finds the sweet spot in his marriage to Barb as they decide to pursue a somewhat polyamorous relationship going forward. Kilah’s arc, on the other hand, hardly progresses with this season, and that might just be the point. On some level, she seems at ease with how things are flowing, and no amount of episodes can displace that sense of calm.
The most surprising thing in the final stretch of the season, apart from the pregnancy reveal, is Phil’s decision to step out of the company and travel the world with Bonnie. This marks a complete turnaround for his character arc, which has, for the past two seasons, been about him solidifying his role as the leader of the ship. Instead, that responsibility goes to the two people he can trust the most, Shane and Will. Phil, on the other hand, seems to have realized that there is more to life than just toiling away and making money. Almost ironically, he gets to explore all the fun stuff as the next generation takes on the burden, and hopefully, all the spoils. In a way, Bonnie’s supposed ability to do magic does manifest in one way or another, as the lives of all the characters take a turn for the better.
Read More: Valley Forge Auto: Is It a Real Repair Shop Company?
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