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Posted in: NBC, Review, streaming, TV | Tagged: Elizabeth Berkley, mario lopez, peacock, Review, Saved by the Bell, season 2
Saved by the Bell Races Towards Spirited Season 2 Finale: Review
The season two finale of Peacock's Saved by the Bell sees a four-way standoff between four California high schools, but mainly between Bayside and Valley. The cold opening has Toddman (John Michael Higgins), Mac (Mitchell Hoog), and Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez) give the student body a final pep talk on how the spirit competition will go down, which basically consists of mental, physical, and talent contests. Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley Lauren) and Slater (Mario Lopez) jump through some more awkward hoops through more "will they, won't they" shenanigans.
Practicing for the music competition is Devante (Dexter Darden), who finds himself struggling to do the simplest things, which becomes a recurring theme for the other characters in the episode. The mole finds his/her way back to Bayside to lead Team Valley to do the obstacle course portion and competing for Bayside is Mac, who's trying to get at the heart of why his father Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) lost when he was a student at Bayside. Jamie (Belmont Cameli) is trying to find out how he can contribute at all.
We get quality contributions from the remaining cast, especially Tiffani Thiessen and Gosselaar. Directed by Kabir Akhtar and written by Chris Schleicher, "Let the Games Begin" ties up all the major lingering loose ends while littering the season finale full of Easter Eggs and meta moments to a satisfying resolution. As the students are juniors, it does provide an adequate lead-in to its presumed final season. As a minor spoiler, I'm surprised they didn't do more to de-age the middle-age actors to their younger counterparts in the flashback sequences. The technology at least exists whether it's with make-up or CG. In the case of Lopez, I'm kind of convinced he's a vampire since he's apparently an ageless wonder.
"Let's the Games Begin" digs deeper into Saved by the Bell to the point of even referencing the short-lived The College Years by showing us what would have happened if Berkley decided to be on the show instead of starring in Showgirls. The fact the Peacock series not only retains the spirit of the original series but also manages to update itself to reflect contemporary culture while never taking itself too seriously proves is how a proper remake/reboot/sequel is done. It also manages to expand its cast of characters in various ways, giving equal time to new & familiar faces. The only flaw I found with the season was one I mentioned in a previous review, with more needing to be done to celebrate Dustin Diamond's Screech like a loose end story arc that includes something created in Screech's name to honor the character. That said, major kudos to showrunner Tracey Wigfield on the handling of the series after two seasons, and for setting things up for an even more interesting third.
Saved by the Bell Season 2 Finale "Let the Games Begin"
10/10
The second season of Peacock's Saved by the Bell strides to the finish line delivering in every which way possible all the ways that the first season didn't. While the first season focused on bridging the cultural divide, the second season focused more on building upon the synergy once the cast came together. Showrunner Tracey Wigfield not only allowed the new cast to thrive with original stories but also expanded the show's canon by incorporating past episodes of the NBC series to serve as templates for the newer cast. She also rewarded fans of the original Saturday morning series by expanding the roles of the adult cast and not regulating them to a novelty.
Credits
Director
Kabir Ahktar
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