Ryan Shoots First: Deadly Class
Syfy has not been shy about promoting their new series Deadly Class, it felt like the network was confident they had a bonafide hit on their hands and if the first episode of the series is any indication Syfy may have its next cult hit all lined up.
Deadly Class is about a secret academy for young people that is focused on one thing. Training the next generation of skilled assassins. Students come from all over and like typical High School students instantly form cliques and groups within the school. You have the Preps who are from rich families and kids from CIA parents, you have kids from mobs and gangsters from various organizations, a group on Nazis and lastly The Rats. The Rats are kids taken off the streets with a penchant for violence and with nothing to lose. This is where we meet the main character of the show Marcus played by Benjamin Wadsworth. Marcus lost his parents in a tragic event at an early age and ended up in a boys home. This home was a place of horrors and Marcus was able to escape under dubious circumstances. It’s because of this he is recruited to the school and once he does decide to enroll he is the new kid with a rep already established.
This is where the show excels, like a John Hughes film if John had a disastrously dark childhood. The show is set in the late 80’s and has all the hallmarks of an 80’s Hughes film. You have the new kid from nothing who can’t help but crush on the prom queen and cross the star quarterback of the football team on his first day. Only the prom queen is an Asian assassin and the star quarterback is a Mexican Cartel legacy! The shows ability to feel familiar and play with formulas we all know but in a new framework and in a new way is what makes the show intriguing and yet comfortable.
Between Harry Potter, and even popular new anime series like My Hero Academia (if you don’t know what that is find out what your missing) the idea of certain pop culture statues being trained and in adolescent stages is a popular premise. We’ve seen the heroes, we’ve seen assassins now we want to know what drove them to where they are and what makes them tick. That is what shows like this aim to achieve by showing the development of these characters and their moral codes. Marcus is the underdog but he has heart and even though he’s scum and been cast aside by the world he has a twisted moral compass that drives him to stick up for the little guy. Something that gets him in trouble even on his first day of school.
The show aesthetically is very slick, the cinematography and colors all feel big time and cinematic. Which I guess shouldn’t be a surprise with a pedigree like the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War) producing the show. The music and effects all make the show feel like Syfy put in the money and faith in the series. Long gone are the days of SyFy originals looking like they were made by the lowest bidder.
The pilot episode for the series focuses mainly on our protagonist Marcus but it also establishes a deep roster of characters and I hope as the season goes on we really get to dive in and focus on some of them to help build out their characters. A good pilot for a series needs to do two things, 1. Build a interesting and compelling world we thirst to find out more about and 2. Present a compelling hero we want to root for. Deadly Class has done both of those things in it’s first episode and I look forward to seeing more as the weeks go by. Yes this is the rare chance where we can’t binge the whole season and actually need to watch the show every week like some kind of chumps. Oh well I am along for the ride and class is in session!
