Kevin Smith has finally made his long-awaited return to the Quick Stop convenience store in Clerks III. The highly anticipated sequel follows on from Smith’s beloved debut feature Clerks from 1994 and its hugely satisfying sequel Clerks II from 2006. Nearly two decades on, Clerks III has a legendary legacy to live up to.
Before watching Clerks III, it’s important for fans to remember plot points from the View Askewniverse like Dante and Randal buying the Quick Stop and Jay connecting with his estranged daughter.
Dante And Randal Bought The Quick Stop
In the first Clerks movie, Dante and Randal hated their working life at the Quick Stop. In the second Clerks movie, they hated their working life at the Mooby’s fast food chain. They seemed to be doomed to spend the rest of their lives in similar dead-end jobs.
But at the end of Clerks II, Randal proposed that they take control of their own destiny, buy the Quick Stop, fix it up, and run it their own way as their own bosses.
Jay And Silent Bob Are Allowed To Hang Out Outside The Store
When Dante and Randal decided to buy the Quick Stop and run it themselves, they didn’t have the capital required to embark on their new business venture. Luckily, they happened to be in a jail cell with Jay and Silent Bob, who happened to have a small fortune from their Bluntman and Chronic royalties.
They offered to lend Dante and Randal the money to buy the Quick Stop in exchange for being allowed to hang out outside the store, as they are wont to do, without being told to leave or harassed by the cops.
Veronica Dumped Dante
Marilyn Ghigliotti played Dante’s girlfriend Veronica Loughran in the first Clerks movie. After Dante spent the movie pining after his ex, Silent Bob’s first of many poignant monologues inspired him to embrace Veronica’s love (and her homemade lasagna) and focus on his relationship with her.
However, after Randal told her about Dante keeping in touch with his ex, she dumped him and stormed out of the store. Veronica didn’t make an appearance in Clerks II, but Ghigliotti reprises her role as Dante’s second of four loves in Clerks III.
Lando’s Role In Clerks: The Animated Series
The short-lived cartoon Clerks: The Animated Series continued the Clerks saga in animated form in the early 2000s. The show ran for just six episodes, first on ABC and later on Comedy Central, but it’s a cult classic among the View Askewniverse fan base.
One of the minor characters from the animated series, Lando, makes his live-action debut in Clerks III, played by Smith’s Fatman Beyond co-host Marc Bernardin.
Dante Embraced Randal’s Love
When Jay and Bob offer to buy the Quick Stop for Dante and Randal, Randal is on board with the plan immediately, but Dante is reluctant to go along with it. This prompts Randal to open up to his best friend and confess that he’s scared of losing him.
This speech is so emotional and powerful that it inspires Dante to finally embrace Randal’s love. At the end of Clerks II, Dante and Randal are closer than ever.
Jay Reconnected With His Estranged Daughter
Kevin Smith’s real-life daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, played a crucial supporting role in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot as Jay’s estranged daughter, similarly named after an icon of pop culture: Millennium Faulken, better known as Milly.
Throughout the movie, Jay reconnected with Milly and ended up bringing her back to New Jersey to hang out outside the Quick Stop with him and Bob. Smith reprises her role as Milly in Clerks III.
Emma Broke Off Her Engagement With Dante
Smith’s wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, appeared in Clerks II as Dante’s mismatched fiancée, Emma. Randal deduced that Dante didn’t really love Emma and that he was just moving away and marrying her because he thought that was what he was supposed to do.
When Emma caught Dante kissing his true love, Becky, at Mooby’s, she angrily threw her engagement ring at him and called off the wedding. That seemed to be the last fans would see of Emma, but she reappears in Clerks III.
Elias Is Running RST Video
When Dante and Randal started working at Mooby’s in Clerks II, they poked fun at their geeky young co-worker Elias. Randal, in particular, liked to tease Elias for his Tolkien fandom and his online relationships. When they bought the Quick Stop, they brought Elias with them.
Elias was tasked with running the RST Video store attached to the Quick Stop. Elias will return in Clerks III, despite the video rental industry being made redundant by streaming.
Jay Has Matured (Slightly)
When Jay met his estranged daughter, forged a relationship with her, and accepted the responsibilities of fatherhood in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, he grew into a more mature person. He put somebody else’s needs before his own and stepped up to the plate.
He’s not completely mature – this is Jay, after all – but he’s much more mature than he was in his earlier View Askewniverse appearances.
Dante Proposed To A Pregnant Becky
Elias isn’t the only character who joined the cast in Clerks II. Dante also reckoned with his feelings for his boss Becky after learning that their one-night stand resulted in a pregnancy. He ended up leaving his fiancée for Becky so they could raise the child together.
Rosario Dawson took the time out of her busy Star Wars schedule as the live-action incarnation of Ahsoka Tano to reprise her role as Becky in Clerks III.