Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Video Game High School Season 3 Review

I've been an avid follower of Video Game High School from the beginning. I fell in love with the characters in season one and it has been an interesting journey growing with them. In season one we introduced all of the characters, underlining some of the real world challenges every freshman has when going into high school through the use of hyperbole and ironic comedy. During the second season it's all about the game. The show began to explore it's boundaries. Seeing where it could go and get away with things. also expanded on the relationships that inevitably form between classmates in high school.

This brings us to Season 3. On the surface, season three promises to be as cheery and goofy as seasons one and two but in it's own, more mature and developed way. This however is a facade. What lies beneath the surface is a boiling cauldron of problems. The people in the show don't realize it, the viewers don't realize it but the stage is set and the players are driving a car at 100mph towards this explosion of massive proportions.The developers and script writers i think were aiming to prove that there is more potential in this show to be taken seriously than it is to be considered as just a light-hearted cavalcade through an alternate universe where sports like football, basketball, and baseball have been replaced with professional gaming.

They do it successfully, A lot of the worst scenes for the characters are beautifully scripted and perfectly acted. The tears in their eyes are real, the tension is thick and you empathize with the characters in ways that are usually specifically reserved for the final episode of the final season for usual TV. Where you've grown attached to all of the characters for 7 or 8 seasons and now they're all parting ways, maybe someone does and you along with all the actors have to cope with that.

I felt the tension in the room grow and get so incredibly thick that i could smudge it with my finger, in some of the most disheartening scenes i wanted to stop watching and just give up for a little while. And some of the saddest scenes made me cry... hard.

The reason for this is the masterful script, acting and filming skills of everyone involved in the project. the script that has been written has attained a new level of reality that i don't believe I've seen in other fictional works. For a world where reality is turned on it's head, the pain is relate-able and real. They're not afraid to pull punches.

Understand me when i say that with it's fair share of drama it also has it's fair share of fun times. The night is darkest before the dawn and while the season brings you into the darkness it also leads you right back out. All in all, i have found a new respect for VGHS through season 3. They have proven that not only is the show something fun and entertaining to watch, it also has what it takes to be a continuous show and to take itself seriously.

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