The first truly disappointing episode of Deadly Class, “Rise Above,” is a great
example of how much pacing matters to a show like this one. With its stylish
concept and cast of exaggerated characters, this show can be hard to keep
grounded, and it got away from the team behind tonight’s episode, an hour that
can’t find the right rhythm and just ends up feeling flat. This often happens
with transitional episodes, and this hour definitely qualifies as that as it defines
the rivalry between our hero and his nemesis, introduces a new villain, and lays
the groundwork for a showdown between Lin and his sister. All that, and it’s
got a subplot that basically allows French Stewart to do his interpretation of
Hannibal Lecter too. Yep, there’s a lot going on here, and it just never comes
together in an entertaining way.
Part of the problem with “Rise Above” is the fact that it
has at least three disconnected plotlines fighting for airtime. Let’s break ‘em out one at a time.
In the ‘A Plot,’ Marcus goes to Saya and tells her that his enemy,
Chester ‘Fuckface’ Wilson, is coming after him and he has proof that the
King’s Dominion gang killed Chico. He also offers some back story for Marcus
and Chester. They were roommates at the boys’ home, which was really a violent,
abusive sweatshop. Marcus started a riot, letting all of the prisoners/kids
out, but Chester took it a step further, killing everyone, kids included. In a sense, he’s a villain that Marcus created, an enemy who wouldn’t be on the outside if Marcus hadn’t released him.
As Fuckface slashes his way through San Francisco, trying to
become a serial killer superstar, he also chats with the severed head of Chico
and abuses his underlings, including a scene where he shoves a guy’s head in a
used toilet. Deadly Class has been
dark before, but this episode felt particularly gross.
Anyway, Marcus and Saya decide that they’re going to steal a
technique from Clarice Starling and go to a serial killer to help them catch a
serial killer. Remember French Stewart’s cameo a few weeks ago as the maniacal
Scorpio Slasher? Well, apparently, he’s just held in the basement and wheeled out
for class lectures every now and then. Marcus and Saya go to him for help, and
he demands they bust him out for a carnitas burrito and some ice cream. Along the way,
he rambles on and on and on about the mind of a serial killer, and practically
none of it works. Overwritten dialogue about the nature of killing is the kind
of thing that works better on a comic book page than it does coming out of French
Stewart’s mouth. It’s not necessarily the actor’s fault, but none of this material works.
In the end, after he gets his grub, Scorpio leads them to
Fuckface, catching the villain at a pound where he’s gone to get another puppy
for him, well, “puppy love.” Scorpio proves he’s not to be trifled with by disemboweling
one of Chester’s men, and the King’s Dominion kids realize that they may have
solved one problem with another problem. Kids these days.
In the ‘B Plot,’ Maria learns that breaking herself free from
Chico does not release her from the powerful hand of Chico’s father, played by
the excellent David Zayas, mostly known for Dexter.
Chico’s dad is as crazy as Chico but way more powerful. “Their families will
know Hell before I send them there,” he tells Lin. And we believe him. It’s
nice to have a new villain on the show in the form of another solid character actor. Let’s just hope the writers know how to
use him well. In the final scene, he forces Maria to kill their enemy in a
crowded club, which she does with surprising ease. The look as he admires the
blood on her face is particularly disturbing. Maria is still in serious
trouble.
Finally, in the ‘C Plot,’ the writers rush a storyline that
one wishes they had held a bit longer. In the span of a few scenes, we learn
that Lin has lied for years about the death of his daughter, Maya, in an effort
to keep her out of the family business. Lin’s sister, Gao, lost a son to the world
of assassins. She (too) quickly discovers her brother’s lie and learns that her
niece is still alive. It seems unlikely that Lin will hesitate for a second to
kill his sister to protect his daughter, but that’s because the brother-sister
dynamic hasn’t been developed. I wish they had built that up to make the coming
storm more dramatically complex.
Ultimately, with the brief exception of a few beats with
David Zayas, “Rise Above” feels like the first episode of Deadly Class that truly misses its mark. Then again, maybe its “mark” was
just to lay the foundation for better episodes to come. Most seasons of most
shows have at least one or two transitional episodes. Let’s hope this is the
only one of Deadly Class this season.
Stray observations
- We didn’t have much space to talk about Willie and Gabrielle
this recap but their arc didn’t have much to talk about other than a cool reference
to a comic book in which a hero decimates his enemies with a baby under his
arm. Wonder what that is? The super-cool Lone
Wolf and Cub, which was also made into a few excellent movies available in
a great
Criterion set. - There was an exchange this week about Dr. Seuss being kind
of a jerk, including sleeping with another woman while his wife was dying. Was
it true? Sorry
to ruin your childhood. - Only one music cue this week but it was a good one for the
final scene: “Ca Plane Pour
Moi” by Plastic Bertrand.