Deadly Class
Syfy
Season 1, Episodes 1-4
Deadly Class is a new series adapting the comic book of the same name from Image comics and creator Rick Remender. The show takes place in 1987 and focuses on our main character is Marcus Lopez Arguello. He’s a homeless orphan who is trying to get by with each difficult day in 1980s San Francisco. On top of that, he’s also wanted for burning down the orphanage he was staying and thus killing some its residence. He isn’t alone long though as he is quickly recruited to come join the King’s Dominion. A secret school where teenagers are sent to learn to become the world’s deadliest assassins.
It is through these first four episodes of the show where not only do we get to learn a bit what kind of a person Marcus is, but also learn a bit about his new fellow classmates are. We’re escorted through the school and shown some of the classes they will be attending. We are also introduced to the man behind all of this, Headmaster Lin and we quickly learn He doesn’t take kindly to liars or disobedience. As Marcus makes his way through King’s Dominion, he sees all the same clicks and groups we have all come to know through our own high experience and cliches. These aren’t your jocks and cheerleaders though. These are kids from either high-profile gangs and government organizations and if you’re from the slums like Marcus you are treated poorly by your peers and are labeled as “rats”.
One of the biggest high points of this series is how we see the students interact with each other. There’s deceitfulness, trust issues, violent outbursts, bloodlust, depression, racism, and more. Everyone has features about them to make you like or dislike them, even our main guy Marcus is nowhere near perfect, and that’s what makes them all so interesting. Each one is oozing with character and back. He has some moral standards in himself but it still doesn’t keep him from being selfish at times. Everyone is really looking out for themselves and even though they share good times once in a while with each other, none of them really feel like true friends outside of Maria and Saya who I believe fans will instantly get attached too. The sheer variety of personalities that this group delivers is also enjoyable. From the punk rock kid, goth girl, and self-righteous jerks we get a good mix. We see how they all bounce off each other and with each episode, we get more dimensions to these characters.
The cast has also done an extremely fine job bringing all of these characters to life. Benjamin Wadsworth who plays as Marcus does a phenomenal job and delivers some great lines as he is expressing his characters lost soul in life. Fans of the comic will most certainly enjoy seeing everyone here as they roam through the halls of King’s Dominion. Even though the comic is known for its violence, there really isn’t a lot of action going on in these first four episodes. What we do get when it happens is great though and I love how much focus they are putting on these students to give the audience a good range to get to know these characters before they are thrown into horrific situations. Deadly Class knocks it out of the park at not only being a great adaptation but being a great series from the moment it starts, as it sucks you into a school where you never want the final bell to ring.