Round Two: Dead Pixels

Dead Pixels: Season 1, Episode 2 “Tanadaal” (B+)

I’m trying to decide if this is a show I really need to watch, and then I remember that it’s only six half-hour episodes, so maybe it’s worth the investment. That was a vicious opening with Meg demanding to know from the girl at the bus stop about just how committed she is and accusing her of cultural appropriation. Somehow, that wasn’t the angriest she got during the episode, with that unmatched rage saved for the casting news of Vince Vaughn for the “Kingdom Scrolls” movie. She had a handful of terrible ideas for how to force him out of the role, which Nicky hastily made clear were not good, and what ended up happening was really pretty awful. Meg and Nicky aren’t able to hear what Alison says and how she takes what they say, but that’s the point of this show. Also, Nicky hastily putting away and destroying most of his groceries so that he could get back to the game was indicative of just how much a hold this game has on his life. While Usman’s completely inattentive parenting is always disturbing, it was Russell who really messed up in this episode when he accidentally invited a fourteen-year-old kid whose mother had just died over to his house. These people are so committed to the game but have absolutely no idea how to function in real life, and what they do grasp – like Nelson Mandela doing questionable things in a movie Meg saw – is rarely entirely accurate.