The Fast And The Furious Family Last Updated February 5, 2020

The “Fast & Furious” franchise has taken us on a wild ride spanning seven films (soon eight) and dating back to 2001. Along with sparking an international tuner craze, the series has shown us that even when things get hectic, Brian O’Conner, Dom Toretto and the rest of the “Fast” family stick it out through thick and thin.

More than just a leader, Toretto has on multiple occasions displayed that his toughness is derived from heart — but in “The Fate of the Furious,” it seems Dom has lost his way. Seduced by the menacing cyber terrorist Cipher, Dom has clearly landed in an irreconcilable situation. He will be the most formidable opponent the team has ever faced.

What could make such a committed man turn his back on family? Has Dom truly fallen for this new antagonist, and can Cipher’s leverage over Dom drive him to destroy the very family he built? Relationships are never easy in the “Fast & Furious” universe, that’s for sure. Just take a look at the drama that unfolded in the previous films.

The Early Days

Back when Brian was just developing his love for tuna sandwiches, it was all about earning respect. But despite long odds, O’Conner did just that by defeating Johnny Tran and even convincing Dom not to stove his head in with a torque wrench for dating his sister, Mia. Along with O’Conner and Toretto, Letty and Mia form the backbone of what will become the “Fast” family in the initial film.

“2Fast 2Furious” picks up where the opening film leaves off, with O’Conner’s defection from police work to make a life in the streets. When it turns out he can’t evade his civic duties so easily, O’Conner selects childhood friend and parolee Roman Pearce as his partner for a daring FBI covert op.

Tej parker, a veteran racer turned promotor, makes his first appearance while arranging races for Brian and crew. Roman and Tej are the key additions to Dom’s crew in this film, even though Dom himself doesn’t make an on-screen appearance.

Connecting the dots to the third film in the franchise can be a challenge. “Tokyo Drift” flashes forward in the franchise’s chronology to tell the story of gearhead ne’er-do-well Sean Boswell. The film centers on Boswell’s rise through the ranks of Tokyo’s underground drifting scene under the tutelage of veteran driver Han Seoul-Oh.

After Han is killed during a high-speed chase, Sean transplants the motor from Han’s old car into a vintage Mustang, which he uses to defeat drift king Takashi and earn the right to remain in Tokyo. He also becomes a part of something larger by befriending Dom Toretto, a close friend of the late Han.

The Fast Get Faster

With higher stakes and a bigger cast than ever, “Fast & Furious” picks up five years after the events of the first film. Dom, Mia and Letty are back on the scene and are joined by Han from “Tokyo Drift” as well as new crew members Leo, Santos and Cara. Letty, however, makes an exit when she is allegedly killed at the hands of a heroin trafficker named Fenix.

Brian O’Conner joins the action through his FBI involvement tracking the activities of drug lord Arturo Braga, but as in the earlier films, tensions run high between Toretto and O’Conner, with controversy surrounding Letty’s undercover involvement in FBI activities. Toretto gets his revenge on Fenix, but can’t escape the long prison sentence that comes as a result of his actions. Luckily, Mia, Brian and crew arrive to free Toretto and flee the country.

With Dom on the lam, the crew is transplanted to Rio de Janeiro. They quickly find themselves in the crosshairs of the American DEA and new franchise bad guy agent Hobbs. Roman, Han, Tej, Leo, Santos and Gisele from the fourth movie round out Dom’s crew, and we have the beginnings of the full troupe from the franchise’s later films.

Vince from the first film also drops in to mixed reviews from the newly expecting Mia and Brian. Though he proves his intentions are good, Mia’s former partner is fatally shot while evading Hobb’s DEA team. While Hobbs’ team does eventually catch up with Dom’s crew, the two sides join forces to level a mutual score with crime boss Hernan Reyes.

Hobbs looks the other way and allows Brian, Mia and Dom to remain at large as thanks for their assistance in taking down Reyes, and through a mid-credits scene, we learn that Letty might not be as dead as we thought she was.

In High Gear

“Fast & Furious 6” sees the “Fast Five” crew enjoying relative respite in various points on the globe, but when Hobbs pulls a favor in exchange for not incarcerating their entire crew, Dom agrees to assist the DEA in bringing down special ops operative Owen Shaw, who is collecting components to build a high-tech weapon to sell on the black market.

While looking for Shaw in London, Dom is reunited with Letty, but in a plot twist, Letty shoots Dom and flees with Shaw. It’s later revealed that Letty has suffered amnesia. In a tumultuous series of events, O’Conner, Dom and Roman nearly kill Letty (again) but Toretto saves her and is able to restore her faith in him by returning a cross she once wore as a symbol of their relationship.

Mia is kidnapped by Shaw, who we learn has an operative working in Dom’s crew (Riley). Dom, Letty and Brian pursue Shaw aboard an airplane and are able to rescue Mia and extract a computer chip that’s crucial to Shaw’s superweapon, but the cost is high. Gisele sacrifices herself to save Han.

With Hobbs satisfied, Dom must reconcile things with new love interest, Elena, now that Letty is back in his life. As the credits roll, the setup for film seven shows Han’s killer from “Tokyo Drift” making contact with Dom for the first time.

In the seventh franchise film, Dom’s team — including Brian, Roman, Tej, Letty and Elena — have finally made good with agent Hobbs and can return to living in the U.S. Their peace is short-lived, however, as Deckard Shaw — brother of “Fast 6” villain Owen — sets in motion a plan to exact revenge for his brother’s incapacitation at the hands of the “Fast” family.

Dom travels to Tokyo, where he means Sean Boswell and recovers Han’s body. Returning to the States, Dom and Deckard Shaw are poised to face off when a covert ops team led by Mr. Nobody intervenes. Dom strikes a deal with Mr. Nobody to secure the God’s Eye, a high-tech surveillance program the source code for which is being held by hacker Mose Jakande in Azerbaijan.

The attempt to recover the flash drive that holds the God’s Eye is unsuccessful and Mr. Nobody is injured and forced to stay behind in Azerbaijan as Dom’s team heads back to LA. A high-intensity struggle for control of the program sees its creator, Ramsey, step in and shut the God’s Eye down. At the same time, agent Hobbs takes early leave from his hospital stay to help Dom’s team bring down Jakande, who’s been assailing the team using a stealth helicopter.

In the end, Hobbs takes the second Shaw into custody, Dom escapes a flirt with death to see Letty get her memories back and Brian commits to a family life with Mia pregnant for a second time. The “Fast” family is as complete as it ever was, and perhaps will be.

What Will “Fate” Hold?

Trailers and cast interviews have shown us enough to know that the core team is once again back, but Dom’s apparent treachery throws a serious wrench in the proverbial gears. Hobbs also comes back for “Fate” and is joined by additional teammates, who are presumably needed to take on Toretto and Cipher.

We know that Vin Diesel has alluded to “Fate” not being the final film in the series, so while fans would certainly prefer to see Toretto return to his family, it’s possible we’ll have to endure the pain of life without his father figure at the helm for more than one episode of the “Fast” story.