Recap: Things Come Full Circle in Epic Season Finale for “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”

While things wrapped up pretty nicely in the penultimate episode of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney+, the season finale left some story to be told. And while you might have thought you knew what to expect, the final episode went in a largely unexpected direction.

The episode opens with the football coach announcing to the whole school that the football team came up short in the championship game and that they’ll be holding tryouts for a number of positions, including quarterback, as they search for a replacement for Lonnie. Meanwhile, Pearl worries about Peter being late for class because they have to present their group project. Nico covers for him as we see Spider-Man on the phone with Harry while stopping a gang of car thieves.

Spidey wraps up the thieves and returns the car to the owner before Peter rushes to class just in time. They make their presentation but receive an A- because their diorama was damaged as Peter rushed to school. Pearly refers to Peter by his real name, and not Petey - a sign she might actually like him.

Back at Oscorp, Norman rounds up the interns to show them what all of their work has been for. He leads them and Dr. Connors to a massive lab, where he introduces Project Monolith. He explains that the project is a gateway to the cosmos, where they can explore and eventually harness the power of gods. Dr. Connors and all of the interns - minus Cho, who is thrilled - object to the project. Even Peter objects before Norman orders Wittman to open the portal.

A portal opens but Wittman informs Norman he hasn’t turned on the machine yet. Doctor Strange emerges from the portal and orders Norman to shut this experiment down. Peter recognizes Strange as the “guy from Midtown." Strange brushes it off but Norman realizes Strange is the one who was involved in the fight that leveled Midtown High. Strange says he was never there, so clearly there is some time travel stuff at play.

Norman's security blasts Strange with sonic weapons and they activate Monolith, opening a portal to space before Strange can free himself. They look into the void of space for a moment before a creature, the same symbiote from the Midtown incident, comes through.

Strange fights the symbiote as everyone else runs for safety. Peter wonders aloud how this is happening again before he goes and suits up. The fight damages Monolith and shuts down the portal. The symbiote attacks Wittman, but Spider-Man saves him and joins the fight, teaming up with Strange. Spidey is thrown through a wall into a lab filled with animals. We see that a case is broken and the spider Norman had injected with Spider-Man’s blood has escaped.

Strange and Spidey continue battling the symbiote until Spider-Man begins working to reopen the portal.

Spidey sees that Strange utilizes time travel in his fight with the symbiote. Strange accidentally opens a portal, not just through space but also time. He and the symbiote wind up at Midtown High on the day of Peter’s orientation. As Spider-Man works, we see the spider also make its way into the portal. So it turns out Spider-Man was created by a time paradox - a spider injected with Spider-Man’s blood creates Spider-Man.

Strange brings the symbiote back to the present day just as Spidey repairs the Monolith. As the portal opens though, more giant symbiotes try to make their way through. Strange holds them off as Spidey brings down Monolith to close the portal. He does so just in time, but we see a tiny piece of symbiote make it through the portal just before it closes. Looks like we can expect to see Venom in the future.

The news reports on Oscorp being in hot water after “a test gone awry." May mutes the television as Peter, Nico and Harry look on. May leaves to “run errands," leaving the kids to discuss the future of Spider-Man. Nico says Harry should start his own company for young geniuses to work without the fear of being exploited. Harry realizes he can do exactly that and he starts working on it.

Spider-Man finds Strange at Midtown High. Strange laments his time travel mistake that may have affected the lives of hundreds of people. Spider-Man says his life was affected, and that sometimes things are just meant to happen. He sways Strange, who shows some faith in Spider-Man being a hero, telling him he’s ready for whatever is going to come. As Strange leaves, we see the familiar silhouette of the Watcher, spying on this moment.

We then get a series of quick scenes wrapping up various storylines and setting up some new ones. Norman returns to the Monolith lab and finds the crawling symbiote, clearly showing interest in the alien goo. Harry works on an email to young geniuses regarding his new company. He sits in front of a whiteboard with a number of familiar names we have not yet seen in this series, including Ned Leeds and Max Dillon (Electro). After Harry sends the email, we see that his new company is the Worldwide Engineering Brigade, or WEB. We have seen WEB in the comics as well as in the WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure attraction in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure.

Asha shows interest in the email but Cho laughs it off as we see that he is sitting in his own office at Oscorp. Jeanne also reads the email but she’s interrupted by Daredevil. She tells him about Harry’s plan and it is made clear she has been working with the vigilante. Daredevil asks her to keep an eye on him and he even refers to her by her superhero name: Finesse.

Next, we see Lonnie on the phone with his mom discussing the WEB email. He also casually crushes a brick in his hand as he talks. It starts to look as though he is planning to turn his life around and leave the life of crime behind him, but as he hangs up, some of the 110 arrives to pick him up. He says their first move is to find a new hideout for the gang and he stops to throw out his signature varsity jacket before driving off.

Next, we see Nico in her room, with candles lit all around her. She holds some kind of seance, with her amulet at the center of it. A purple light glows in front of her as she says “it’s so good to see you again, mom." In the comics, her mother was a dark wizard, from whom Nico eventually ran away to join the young super team aptly named the Runaways.

In his prison cell, Octavius draws up the plans for his robotic arms and stands in a way that makes it appear as though they are coming out of him, foreshadowing the villain’s future appearance in all his octagonal glory.

May meets someone in a prison and they appear to have a friendly relationship. The mystery man eventually asks her how his son is doing. In this story, Peter’s father is alive. This is a story arc that has been retconned several times as Peter’s parents are typically considered to be dead.

To close things out, Spider-Man swings through New York with a newfound confidence, saying he’ll figure things out in the future.

You could have given me 100 guesses as to what we might see in this season finale and I would not have come up with this. Everything was very nicely wrapped up as things quite literally came full circle. A lot has also been set up for future seasons of this fantastic… er, amazing new series. Will we see Venom? What will WEB have in store? Will Nico let Peter in on her secret? Will Doctor Octopus emerge as the next big bad? What role will Peter’s father have to play? We’re going to have to wait for the next season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is now streaming on Disney+.