1x01 Pilot

Being a sucker for anything '80s (G.L.O.W. and Stranger Things come to mind) and seeing how much praise this show was getting on IMDB, I decided to kick-off the new year with a new show. As far as the '80s go, there isn't much to see here, visually speaking (though it warmed my heart to see Sony's old logo), but the soundtrack is absolutely delightful!

I feared that this would become yet another teen show spent in school but, thankfully, it's the most refreshing take on the genre that I've seen in years. The aggression, violence and overall grittier mood are well executed, without falling into the tackiness that often plagues shows that try to be edgier this way. The scene where Marcus kills that hobo that harassed him earlier was great, the quick build-up was very well done, to the point of embedding a sense of bloodlust in the viewer, I can't remember the last time I felt so satisfied to see some asshole being "taken care of" on screen.

I did not know this was based in a graphic novel until I read the other comments here. It does have a comic book vibe to it, you can feel it throughout most of the episode. It's like X-Mansion without the X-gene and the moral guidelines. It's like Hoggwarts if Voldermort was in charge of things. It's like Saved by the Bell if they all did drugs. You get the point (hopefully).

I was pleasantly surprised by this pilot episode, as it shows a lot of potential, steering the viewer away from boredom and almost constantly keeping us on our toes. The grittier take on high-school clichés keeps things interesting. It also seems to borrow something from the Japanese classic Battle Royale, which can only be a good thing.

All in all, I feel as if I was watching a show that knows how to balance trying to be edgy without ending up looking like a poseur.

I saw the Deadly Class trailer back in May of 2018 which screamed Battle Royale so much that I had to check it out back to back with The Umbrella Academy. The soundtrack is singed with 80s rock tunes from the likes of The Cure, Depeche Mode, and New Order to set the gritty tone and era of the show. Personally, I prefer they use the 80s songs more meaningfully and cleverly than just for the sake of them being there. Otherwise, ambient scores fit better for me. Even a cassette player, boombox, and VHS tape of Faces of Death make an appearance. Though some of the dialogue, fashion, and architectural/set design are a little try-hard even for the year 1987. A bunch of bad kids from different backgrounds are recruited to an elite academy that teaches about violence and survival. We follow Marcus, a homeless orphan, fighting his way through life, not really getting along with many of the gangs and bullies at school. I can bet that he'll become friends with some of them later on like what's happening with him and Willie. The two even had a little argument over comic books such as X-Men and Dark Phoenix, haha. After all, Deadly Class is in fact based on a comic book series, so of course they had to throw that reference in there. :wink: I really like the pacing so far, at least for this first episode. I hope that continues with the rest the series.