Bgeekyblog had the privilege of checking out a screening of the first episode of the new SYFY show Deadly Class at Los Angeles Comic-Con 2018.  Here are my thoughts on the first episode.

I have always loved dark, gritty shows and Syfy has delivered, over the years, some truly dark and stellar television dramas.  To this day, Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica is my number 1 favorite show of all time (and that’s saying something as I am a fan of Game of Thrones and Walking Dead).  So seeing another new show coming out with much darker tones to it, it is safe to say that I am excited.  First, check out this trailer for Deadly Class which will premiere on January 16th at 10pm on SYFY.

Produced by the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War), the show is a adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Rick Remender.  The show features Benjamin Wadsworth (Teen Wolf) as Marcus Lopez, Lana Condor (To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before) as Saya Kuroki, Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange, The Martian) as Master Lin and so many more talented actors/actresses.

Now, did I like the first episode?  The answer is yes.  It was dark and the world, in which the main character Marcus Lopez is thrown headfirst into, is brutal and fascinating.  Without giving too much away, it is 1987 San Francisco.  Marcus is a homeless teenager who ran away from the sadistic orphanage he lived in.  He is accused of murdering several kids in the orphanage which lands him on the police radar, but also in the radar of one Master Lin, headmaster of the secretive and deadly King’s Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts.  This exclusive academy trains the children of mob bosses, assassins and mass murderers to follow in the trades of their parents.

Intriguing premise?  It certainly was for me.  It pulled me right into the first episode. I really enjoy the time period they chose and how well it is represented.  I love the dark and gritty cinematography of the first episode, and the counter cultural vibe of King’s Dominion.  Though parts of the academy may seem like it is a normal school, they made it very clear that it is not.  And I love the music used in the first episode.  It is nostalgic and rad at the same time.

I also found the characters to be engaging even if not much is known about them in that first episode.  I will say that there is one character in particular that really stood out for me.  He was a very welcome and pleasantly surprising use of comic relief.  In fact, there was quite a few funny scenes in what could easily be just a dark, twisted story.

As for the story, though not much is fully learned in the first episode of the overarching storyline (as it was setting everything up and all), there were definitely some good questions left for the viewers to gnaw on.

Overall, will I be watching it on SYFY come January 16th?  I will definitely be on the look out for this show.  I want to know more of the world of King’s Dominion and find out what will happen to Marcus and his new crew.