A year has passed since Gary “Eggsy” Unwin and the secret agency Kingsman saved the world from Richmond Valentine’s neurological wave broadcast. He has since taken his late mentor Harry Hart’s title of Galahad and lives with Crown Princess Tilde of Sweden. On his way home he is ambushed by Charlie Hesketh, a former Kingsman trainee who lost his arm and vocal cords during the Valentine incident. Eggsy dodges Charlie and his minions in a car chase across London, but Charlie’s cybernetic arm hacks into the Kingsman servers through Eggsy’s car’s computer system.
After a missile strike, Eggsy and Merlin follow an emergency protocol which leads them to Statesman, a secret American intelligence agency hiding as a Bourbon whiskey distillery in Kentucky. There, they discover that Harry survived Valentine’s gunshot a year earlier due to timely medical attention by Statesman, but has lost his left eye and suffers from amnesia. Eggsy and Merlin are briefed by Statesman head agent, Champagne about a secret drug cartel called The Golden Circle.
Poppy Adams, head of the Golden Circle, broadcasts a message revealing that she has laced every recreational drug available with a toxin that causes users to develop blue rashes, before progressing through mania, paralysis, and ultimately, death.
After several failed attempts to cure Harry’s amnesia, Eggsy triggers Harry’s memories by threatening to shoot a Cairn Terrier that resembles Harry’s late dog, Mr. Pickle. It is broken by Whiskey when The Golden Circle’s henchmen ambush the agents during their escape. Suspecting that Whiskey is playing both sides, Harry shoots him in the head, but Eggsy— believing that Harry is mistaken and not yet fully mentally healthy— saves his life with the same treatment that Statesman had used on Harry. Eggsy, Harry, and Merlin discover the location of Poppy’s hideout, “Poppy Land”, in Cambodia and fly there to steal the remote control for the antidote drones.
By Hannah Zolezzi
The Claw 