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My Virtual Escape: Judgement Day (2018)
S4 E5: Judgement Day
Here we go... we've made it to "Judgement Day", the culminating episode of the series. Pretty much the series finale, as the 6th episode of the season acts as an epilogue (similar to many series' created by MJN).
As it turns out, Aunt Martha was the one who logged on as Isaac in the game and was shot by Arachnid in the previous episode. Pretty random and surprising death, although for some reason it doesn't hold too much weight to the significance of this episode. Probably because of how wild this episode is. Isaac gets back in the game as himself, and finds the Servant (Joseph) with Arachnid at gunpoint. Then the hard reality sets in... the game doesn't even have a wish that was promised. The first time I watched this series, when this was realized, I started to question... "then why does this series exist in the first place?" but once you watch the true final episode you'll see what Jesse had planned. Right then and there, Isaac shoots Arachnid dead, and Isaac is the final player in EVE. He won the game... but at what cost? For no wish at the end? Abraham manages to get out of the game alive... was a little confused about this one. He should've died, right? Did he use a lag switch or something to stay alive? Looked like the lag switch or the reverse lag switch didn't quite work when Abraham logged out. But, I'm not concerned about that being a major plot hole. Abraham gets to Joseph's house, and puts him at gunpoint in "real life". Isaac wishes to see his sister again, and in a way, the wish is granted. He gets out of the game, and Eve steps into his room. It's a heartfelt scene, and let me just say... the little girl who played Eve in this series has a BRIGHT future. Wow I was impressed by her in this series when she was involved. Just a little kid who put on an impressive, convincing performance. Props to her! Isaac goes outside to find Abraham killed his dad. Lots of irony comes to light in the showdown between Abraham and Joseph. Remember back when Joseph stated in "A Tangled Web", way back when, that he was concerned the game would cause people to kill each other in real life. Abraham denied it. Well, turns out Joseph was 100% correct. In fact, turns out Abraham was the one who killed Joseph. You can also recall the end of the Psycho Series where Jesse's character's father was killed. Instead by Jesse's character, it was by Larry's character, but still, for those who watched the Psycho Series, that certainly was in mind.
That takes us to the final battle between Isaac and Abraham. What a long, bloody battle that was, lol. I thought it was a well done, shocking scene. Although a good scene, I wasn't able to appreciate it as much as a few scenes from the past couple episodes. Didn't want to see Archie get killed, but he was. Pretty much the story of MVE is "Everyone Dies In The End". Except, well, that isn't fully true after watching "Break Free". Isaac kills Abraham in real life, and that's the rest of the episode.
Although a well done and directed episode, I wasn't able to appreciate the writing as much in this episode as I was able to in episodes 2, 3 and 4 of Season 4. Well, the series is ending, so there aren't many twists or anything in this episode; it's pretty straightforward. It does its job and is a good episode, but after watching the episode there wasn't anything that I was blown away by. No scene that I felt was incredible. There were a few incredible scenes in "Noah's Ark", "Haven", and "A Tangled Web" that I was blown away by. The pool scene with Abraham and Joseph was outstanding, and even the scene with Isaac and Eve was great, but not at a top tier level in comparison to some in Season 4. However, don't get me wrong, this episode was still brilliantly executed. Rating: 9.4/10.
My Virtual Escape: A Tangled Web (2018)
S4 E4: A Tangled Web
The series is wrapping up... and we've reached the "flashback" episode of MVE. Season 4 has been outstanding so far, with "Noah's Ark" and "Haven" being two of the best episodes in the series to this point. "A Tangled Web" is no different. This is a brilliantly written episode. Performances were excellent, and I can tell that this episode in particular... took a long time to create. And a lot of effort in the process.
This episode covers the entire story behind MVE and the relationship of Joseph and Abraham, along with how Archie and Noah got involved in the process. The truth behind the death of Isaac's sister, Eve, is also revealed. I was incredibly impressed with how clean and how entertaining this episode was. It's a flashback episode, and sometimes in different shows that have a flashback episode toward the end of the series, they can be super good but also super boring. Jesse wrote this episode up making it an entertaining, fast-paced, and mind blowing episode. So many hidden secrets have been revealed in the past couple episodes, and it's amazing seeing how everything has come together in Season 4. Joseph is portrayed as the slightly arrogant rich man, who wants to invest in something good, but doesn't fully believe in Abraham. Abraham is portrayed as the lonely but smart man, trying to make a living and is set on what he believes. But he feels he deserves more respect. The first three flashbacks really cover the beginnings of EVE. After the first three is when a lot of truth is revealed. Turns out, in the 4th one we find that Joseph's current wife, Mary, cheats on him with Abraham while Joseph's out of town. In the 7th, we find that young Isaac almost drowned in a pool while Abraham was working (he was supposed to be watching him), which is an interesting dynamic knowing that Isaac and Larry are now battling in Haven at the current time. In the 9th, Abraham is tasked with watching Eve while he works... and the truth is finally revealed in the 10th. Eve tragically died falling out of the window while Abraham was there. Abraham wasn't fully responsible for the death of her, but certainly all the blame falls on him.
The 10th flashback I thought was so well done. The music in the background, wrapping up the story of E. V. E. And Eve. Thought the camera work was done very well, and it is a tough sequence of scenes to film I can imagine. But everyone did an excellent job acting and I thought it was brilliantly done. How Joseph and Abraham were related, the conflict between them, and the revelation of Eve, were all revealed. And the motivation for Abraham... he did all the work and ended up losing everything in the court. He just wants a little credit... as a lonely man with not much of a life. Wow, what an episode.
Season 4 has been better than I remember watching it the first time. When you really look in depth to this series, there's a LOT to appreciate. Now we head into the final two episodes of the series. But this one will always be remembered as an S-Tier creation by Jesse. Rating: 9.6/10.
My Virtual Escape: Haven (2018)
S4 E3: Haven
Third episode of the final season. Arachnid set off the "Ark Node" in the game of EVE, and several of the players barely make it out alive. "Haven" is an extremely fast-paced 35 minutes, goes over the aftermath and implications of the bomb being set off, and I'll go ahead and say.. this episode is brilliantly done.
Archie is ready to kill Arachnid, but doesn't... the old tutorial guy from the game of EVE, Adam, has glitched into real life it seems, and is living in the real world. Mother Sarah's corpse is found by Adam, leading to Archie finding the truth about her disappearance. Joseph admits to Isaac that he was the Servant. It was predictable that Joseph was involved somehow with the game of EVE... but the audience really doesn't have much of a clue as to how until this episode. Everything comes full circle for Isaac when word gets to Joseph where Mother Sarah was found dead, and Isaac finally finds out it was Abraham who killed her. Joseph prepares Isaac for Haven. Aaron Andrews, a legend of a character that we barely see, gets introduced and it's fantastic to see Tom again. Malachi logs back on when he wasn't supposed to, confronts Isaac, and they end up agreeing to team up to kill Arachnid. At this point, the only four remaining in the game are Isaac, Malachi, Arachnid, and... you guessed it... Aaron Andrews. A battle occurs and that brings us to our final two... Isaac and Arachnid. The two advance to Haven, and the truth about EVE is about to be revealed.
At the end of the day, this will go down as a top-2 episode in MVE, and very well could be the best episode of the series. I'll eventually rank all of the episodes based on my reviews and thoughts, but no doubt "Haven" will be at the top. This episode had everything. The performances were top-tier, music was great, camera work was great, writing and direction were both great, I have nothing bad to say. So many plot holes of the series are filled, and it is mind blowing finding out the truth of several major plot lines. I loved the beginning of the episode, with the optimistic yet dramatic music along with the shot of Adam appearing in real life... with the rain, wet court, and the greenness of the grass and trees... just thought the scene was fantastic. Don't forget about the looming thought that Archie was gonna kill Abraham then and there. Larry puts on yet another phenomenal performance... I truly think he's the best actor of MVE. I give Jesse massive credit for the directing and writing of the series, and Larry the credit for the best acting. It's tough saying that knowing how impressed I am with Jesse's acting at times too, I was more impressed by Jesse's acting at times in the Psycho Series, but when you consider all that Jesse's having to process during these scenes, it's nothing short of excellence. Thought Chris did great, Tom's acting is horrible but his character/role is fantastic so I didn't mind it one bit. Jay's acting as Malachi has impressed me the entire series, and still doesn't in this episode. I love the scene in Solomon's old hideout where something clicks between Malachi and Isaac... they know each other from somewhere. They can't process it, but there's just a subtle feeling that they have met before... somewhere or sometime. The scene of Aaron Andrews attacking Malachi is so random but hilarious, especially for those who know him from the Psycho Series or other productions. Leads me to imagine an alternate ending of EVE where Aaron Andrews comes outta nowhere, gets to Haven and wins the whole thing. What a plot twist that would've been!
The entire episode is fantastic start to finish. Fast-paced, brilliantly written and executed, and the cherry on top is the "after credit" scene where we Malachi supposedly dead in his chair. This scene honestly blew my mind. I didn't see this scene the first time I watched MVE so it was brand new during this watch. We see him in a wheelchair... which is confusing... because we haven't seen him in real life. So we thought. Remember the first scene of the entire series? When there's a hit-and-run on Haven road? Turns out, it was MALACHI who got hit. It's a plot line I completely forgot about. It seemed meaningless at the time for someone to get hit, and the audience forgets about it because it was so long ago... but Jesse is such an excellent storyteller. Everything he puts into his productions has a meaning I've come to realize. He knows how to blow viewers' minds. We feel a little sympathy now for Malachi... he's in a wheelchair addicted to this VR game... and gets killed in it from what we see at first. Then there's the newspaper article... revealing he was the one who got hit and put in critical condition in that very first episode. He breaks out of EVE, and the episode ends.
For me, this will likely go down as the best episode of the series. I have no bad things to say... all I can say is thank you, Jesse. What a brilliant story this is... and let me also mention how underrated it is too. If only the YT algorithm would promote this more. I feel like so many people who would enjoy it... just don't know about it. "Haven", start to finish, is a MJN masterpiece. Rating: 9.7/10.
My Virtual Escape: Noah's Ark (2018)
S4 E2: Noah's Ark
Second episode of the final season. S4 E1 was the calm before the storm, and the storm begins in S4 E2. Let me say... what an outstanding episode this one was. Noah's finished creating the "Ark Node", the bomb that's going to blow up EVE and give Arachnid the chance he desires to win the game. Isaac and Abraham (Arachnid) meet for first time (for real) in real-life, at Noah's house. It's also the first time Isaac's seen him since he killed Solomon. Noah's character is played excellently yet again by Joe. Word gets loose about the Ark Node when Isaac tells the moderator, Michael, who in real life is Archie from what we found out in the previous episode. Isaac doing this sets off an explosion in events that lead us to the end of the series. Michael takes off to Noah's real life house to confront him. The tutorial guy turned player, Adam, has Arachnid at gunpoint to get the bomb away from him. Lots of truth is revealed in this episode... the audience finds out for sure that Abraham/Arachnid is heavily involved with the creation of the game. Adam leaves the house and is met by The Servant, leading to Gingy confronting Adam. That leads us to a battle to-the-death between Adam and Gingy. Archie gets back in the game as Michael, and he races to Arachnid's house.. where Gingy got completely beat up by Adam, in the end killing him. But The Servant isn't done yet... he shoots Adam just as he finishes off with Gingy in what was an unexpected turn of events. The last 5-7 minutes of this episode are absolutely wild to say the least, and it is VERY well done.
Pretty incredible what Jesse did in this episode. His family members and friends involved are all part-time actors, and the performances that were done from start to finish I thought were outstanding. Looking at the first 3/4 of this episode, I thought the interaction between Isaac, Abraham and Noah was excellently done. Jesse, Larry and Joe have excelled in their roles. Jeffrey and Jeff (Jesse's father) both were excellent... I mean there wasn't a bad performance in this episode. The direction, the writing, the film-work... performances... everything was top-notch in this episode. The fight between Jeff Saxton and Domenic's characters had no holding back and I could appreciate that. Domenic didn't care if he had to be thrown around a couple times! Loved the all in effort there... even though it now seems even more far-fetched that Gingy back in the season 3 finale was knocked out by a bag of oranges. But we've talked about my issues already with the season 3 finale... "Noah's Ark" redeems the series and shows that even though there were a couple disappointing episodes in MVE, there are multiple gems as well.
Now... the last 1/4 of this episode is what completely sold me about this episode. It already was a great episode, and then Jesse goes above and beyond to produce something special. Everything happens so quick in those last 5 minutes. From the twist of Adam getting shot by the Servant after killing Gingy, to the Servant then impaling Michael with a sword, to then Adam coming back out of nowhere and finishing the Servant off by shooting him in the head, to Arachnid out of nowhere handing Adam the bomb, taking Isaac's handheld mirror (his way of getting out of the game), and then detonating the bomb right then and there... wow. Don't forget the dark lighting, the music and effects, as well as the drone footage, to really cap it off. We're not done there. Archie barely gets out of the game, and is almost having a seizure like Isaac is in real-life simultaneously. Arachnid/Abraham gets out of the game perfectly fine, though shocked. Yet another twist is revealed as Joseph, yes, Isaac's dad seems to have gone through that same event in the game. He finds Isaac having a seizure on the floor. It flips to Abraham, perfectly fine, with a dirty grin on his face which I thought just fits his character perfectly. Archie grabs his gun and goes to Abraham's house to kill him, ready to end it all... with once again great camera-work that dramatizes the scene and excellent acting.
Can't stress how impressed I was with this episode. It now takes the crown as the best episode of the series so far, no doubt. The final 5-7 minutes alone are great enough to deserve some sort of award. Larry's acting truly is phenomenal if you ask me. Jesse's too, but I think Larry deserves serious recognition for his acting. Jesse deserves big time props for the direction and writing in this episode. For this to be just a random family/group of friends creating something special like this... it's truly outstanding. Rating: 9.5/10.
My Virtual Escape: Broken (2018)
S4 E1: Broken
The premiere of the final season of MVE! This episode covers the aftermath of the final events of the previous episode, when three major characters were killed. Isaac overdosed at the end of S3E5, so he wakes up in a bed and managed to survive his overdose. Archie reveals he's the moderator and is there to protect Isaac. Isaac's dad is very frustrated with his decisions, leading to Isaac fleeing to see his actual mom and her family. After his meetup with them, he returns home and decides to visit Rebekah's address he was given, and finds her deceased body.
The goal of this episode was to set up the final season, and dealing with the aftermath of the deaths of Solomon, Jesus and Rebekah. And overall, it was a good episode. Maybe not the most exciting episode, but well performed and written. I thought the interaction between Isaac and Archie at the beginning was excellent. RIP Chris; sad to watch this knowing he's since passed. They did an excellent job there. I thought it was hilarious Juliette's one time actually shown in this series was her almost getting hit by Isaac. I was disappointed by the Season 3 finale ("The Heist"), but this episode changes the tone a bit and I can appreciate that. The writing, film-work and directing was much better in this episode. Drone montage was great, acting all around great, it was a good episode!
Really, this episode can be considered the calm before the storm. From here on out, things get intense. The bottom has been kicked out, we are in a free fall. Here we go! Rating: 8.8/10.
My Virtual Escape: The Heist (2018)
S3 E5: The Heist
Season finale of the third season. "The Heist" marks the culmination of Solomon's gang. Solomon is a little girl in real-life, and Isaac is now extremely hesitant to raid the hideout. Rebekah is now on Isaac's side with this, but Arachnid is merciless. He had guilt for the killing of Mother Sarah back in season 1, but in this situation it's as if any of that sympathy he had back in season 1 is gone. Mary II's funeral goes on and Isaac confronts Aunt Martha about her death. Then, we're sent into the final raid of Solomon's hideout for the remainder of the episode.
Overall, I thought this was a good episode that had tremendous potential. MASSIVE potential. But I feel it underachieved a bit. But, after watching the behind the scenes of this episode, I do have some respect for the episode that I wouldn't have had otherwise. There's no hiding that this episode felt rushed. I think if Jesse had more time to produce and write this episode, it would've turned out as the best of the series. When you've got so many plot lines culminating in this episode, it's a major one. I felt the acting was generally good, but some of the filming and writing I felt could've been better. Around 18 minutes in the episode, Isaac gets literally shot. Shot in the shoulder by Adam (that one tutorial guy, who's now in the brotherhood). I do like the character of Adam, being the "dark horse" of the game, starting out as the innocent tutorial guy then suddenly he's a real threat. But... Isaac got... shot. Getting shot doesn't feel good. You'd get put in the hospital for getting shot once in the shoulder. And in this episode it's as if Isaac just got pinched in the shoulder and 15 minutes later he's perfectly fine. I get that this isn't real life, and in the end everything is VR, but if you're gonna have a convincing show having him get shot by Adam and for that to have no implications on the episode I think was poor writing. Arachnid gets caught trying to sneak into the hideout by Jesus, and suddenly we skip to him getting shot by Malachi. Surprise I guess. Then magically Adam is in Arachnid's place... guess he got shot by Malachi? Emotional tutorial... usually I can pick up on complicated plots but I didn't pick up on this one. Nonetheless, the point is to get Malachi to log off forever, and Isaac succeeds in getting him off. Arachnid confronts Solomon, Long Bags appears out of nowhere, and we see him for the first time in forever (assuming he's coming back from when he disappeared when Mother Sarah sent him into the Devil Inside world). It made more sense when Isaac was taken into the Devil Inside world than when Long Bags was. Well, doesn't matter anyway cause he gets shot dead by Gingy a few moments later! Gingy is level double question mark and so he is very strong... Isaac confronts him, throws a bag of oranges at him (remember the decision between milk and oranges several episodes ago?) and knocks him out. Love how the decision between milk and oranges had some relevance later on... but it could've been used in a better way. A player who's ranked ??, as portrayed in this series, would have no chance of being knocked out by a small bag of oranges. Also remember how Isaac just got shot in the right shoulder by Adam a few minutes ago? Well, Isaac just used his right arm to whip around a bag of oranges and throw it at Gingy hard enough to knock him out. Just not a very convincing episode.
The last 6 minutes of this episode are... wild. And very unexpected.. even though it certainly was a high possibility Solomon was gonna end up dying. Rebekah tells Isaac she likes him, gives him the address he's been looking for. Then she gets shot dead by Solomon two seconds later, leading to Arachnid killing Solomon. It's gonna sound like I'm bagging this episode but I didn't understand this either. Why would Solomon feel any need to shoot Rebekah when he has a knife to his throat. I understand Arachnid's action... not Solomon's. Once again... the potential of this episode was so high... but the writing was poor. Isaac then uses a fire poker (I do appreciate the foreshadowing!) to off Jesus. And I'll bring it up again, he kills him using the same arm/shoulder that he was shot. Quite a wild ending, but me being attentive to detail it's tough for me to enjoy it fully.
The ending of this episode was shot after a very long day... in the BTS it's revealed the ending was filmed at 6am... the sun was rising. The work that Jesse put in this series is very under appreciated. I appreciate his work greatly... but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be critical of it at times.
It's gonna sound like I hate this episode... but there are some good points too. The acting by Larry I thought was excellent. He did a fantastic job start to finish here. That's the one big highlight of this episode. Jesse's is good at times as well. The ending is a roller coaster, and despite it being unrealistic, it's entertaining. After a fantastic Season 3, this episode let down a bit. If you're aged 15 or younger and watching this episode, it may be one of your favorites. I'm not 15 or younger, and I pay close attention to details. Because it's entertaining in the end, I'll give this episode a couple bonus points. Rating: 8.7/10.
My Virtual Escape: Little Gangbanger (2018)
S3 E4: Little Gangbanger
Fourth episode of Season 3. Main purpose is to set up the Season 3 finale. A huge twist is revealed about Solomon; turns out, his character is just a little girl in real life. Isaac and Leah make up, leaving Rebekah hanging, Isaac meets up with real-life Solomon, being the little girl. Gingy gets leveled up by the Servant, the Moderator is under distress, Isaac confronts Rebekah about the revelation of Solomon, and is hesitant to attack Solomon's gang because he once lost his little sister and feels sympathy towards her situation.
Overall, another really well done episode. Season 3 has been the best season of the series to this point... even though Seasons 1 and 2 both had their good episodes too. All four episodes to this point have been excellent. Performance wise, it has only improved and you can tell these actors have gotten comfortable playing their characters. Carina had a good performance as Leah in this episode, and I haven't been impressed with her in this series before but I was here... she showed genuine emotion and it didn't feel forced like before. Tommy's character has always meant to be unlikable, and I felt Billy's acting before simply hasn't been good... more or less cringe. His character is still unlikable, but at least his character is more convincing now. Jesse, Larry, Jay, and Kandis all had good performances. Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about this episode. Wasn't quite as memorable or fast paced as some prior episodes, but certainly crucial to the series. Rating: 8.6/10.
My Virtual Escape: Double-Cross (2018)
S3 E3: Double-Cross
"Double-Cross". THE Diamond-In-The-Rough episode of MVE. A masterfully created episode that deserves WAY more credit. It's hidden in the middle of Season 3, but the performances, writing and directing are phenomenal. Props to you, Jesse. This is one to be proud of.
John is in trouble... Solomon is back and realizes John's flaws of leading Solomon's gang. The brothers are all dead. Then after, Isaac attempts to log off when he gets sucked into a different world. To anyone watching this episode without context, this episode may be a bit confusing and it'll be harder to fully appreciate what happens here. But basically what happens is Isaac gets sucked into the world of "The Devil Inside", and during 20 minutes of this episode Isaac is gone in a different world, where The Devil Inside series took place. In the meantime, Aunt Martha literally persuades Mary II to overdose on pills, ultimately succeeding in doing so in what is a shocking twist. Solomon confronts John, connecting even the Psycho Series into MVE with a reference to the relationship between Psycho Kid and Psycho Dad and briefly going over the series. Some may not have caught this reference, but I did, and thought it was absolutely genius. Jesse even mixes in a shocking revelation... Solomon states that "the dad survived" after the kid (Psycho Kid) killed his dad (Psycho Dad). And Solomon obtained the gun from when the kid shot his father. Hold up... WHAT?? So does this mean Psycho Dad DID survive being shot? Did the Psycho Series/Devil Inside take place in the same world as MVE is currently? I do know how MVE ends, so that question brings up this question... if all of these series' are in the same world... does that mean that The Devil Inside and the Psycho Series both are simulations too just like MVE? Did all three series' take place while Isaac and Malachi had the helmets on? Very thought-provoking scene for those who have watched MJN for a while! The writing and everything about this... absolutely love it.
Not just the writing is fantastic in this episode... it's also the film work, acting and direction. Performances were great across the board. John finally gets offed by Solomon, and that sends us into the montage revealing Isaac's return to MVE from the Devil Inside series. Loved the drone video and how it made the return dramatic plus it looked great. Isaac finds his dead stepmom, thanks Aunt Martha, and heads back into EVE for the first time in a while. Arachnid has some secrets he's hiding.
Even the ending is well done. I still think the acting between Leah and Tommy isn't very convincing, but it could've been worse and it is improvement over prior scenes. Leah's dad, don't know who he is, but his acting impressed me here. Then it cuts to Rebekah, held hostage by Malachi. Annnd that takes us to a clever ending where Isaac has to make a decision of who's call to answer between Leah and Rebekah.
In a wrap, didn't expect this one. This is the best episode of the series to date... and it's hidden in the middle of Season 3! Ranking this one over "God's Plan" (9.3), "Missing" (9.2), and "Brothers In Arms" (9.1). For those without context of prior MJN series', it'll be harder to fully appreciate what happens in "Double-Cross", but I was able to. Thank you, Jesse. Rating: 9.4/10.
My Virtual Escape: Apparition (2018)
S3 E2: Apparition
"Apparition" in retrospect is a very important episode to the series. I'm writing these reviews during my second watch of MVE, so I know how it ends and I can see what's coming. But this episode has some important plot points and great performances. Solomon is back, and is about to realize the damage John has done. Mary II continues to deteriorate health wise. Abraham and Isaac meet each other for the first time in real life, and we are introduced to Abraham and Noah's potential plan to put a bomb on the game because of Abraham's new suspicions that their entire world is just a simulation. If only he knew. Michael warns Arachnid, and there's a showdown at Solomon's.
Overall, kinda a slow paced episode in the first half. Didn't really feel like a significant episode until the second half. But looking further into it, the scene between Isaac and Mary II was excellently done. Terry truly is an excellent actor, and was convincing. Looking back at the Psycho Series, the scenes between Jesse and his mother were some of the most well acted and brilliant scenes of the series. That dynamic is similar in this episode with a deep, well performed scene between Isaac and Mary II. Really no bad performances in this episode. I thought Jackie did excellent with Aunt Martha, Larry was great as always, I thought Jeffrey did well in his scene warning Arachnid, I've stated before that Joe's role as Noah is perfect and that continues in this episode. Although not the most exciting episode, still well done and important to the series. Rating: 8.7/10.
My Virtual Escape: Dreaming (2018)
S3 E1: Dreaming
The first episode of Season 3! Thought the montage in the first 7 minutes or so was excellent. It was portrayed as if it was actually happening, so the tension was high until... it's almost as if Isaac starts to go crazy when he hallucinates a bit. Then he wakes up and it's just a dream. Nonetheless, probably the best part of the episode and the most well done part was that montage at the beginning. Main goal of this episode is to set up Season 3 and a few of the plot points that'll fill the season. Isaac's mom has fallen seriously ill, E. V. E. Is beginning to raise suspicions and the police are on it, and Isaac is chasing hard after Rebekah.
Overall, thought the performances were good in this episode. Nothing incredible, but well done. Jesse was good as always, also thought Chris's role as Archie was well done, although the audience doesn't know fully the conflict between Archie and Isaac's father. But suspicions are rising that Isaac's father has something to do with EVE. It was hilarious seeing Buzz as the cop! It especially is if you're watching with prior knowledge of the Psycho Series. Nothing against him, Buzz is such a terrible actor that it makes the scene funnier. He was terrible trying to act in the Psycho Series, and does a decent job here, although it's best if he doesn't have a major role in any series. In a wrap, good episode to begin Season 3. Rating: 8.8/10.
My Virtual Escape: Brothers in Arms (2018)
S2 E5: Brothers In Arms
The season finale of Season 2. John's brotherhood is set to launch a full on attack on Isaac and Arachnid, meanwhile Elijah is still going full on after Arachnid. It's a chaotic episode, and the culmination of all the tensions built up over the season. It's a fast paced episode with several plot twists. There were a few scenes in this episode that are incredibly well done, from the camera work to the acting. The footage from up high during the brawl scene, or when Isaac is right next to a lake with nowhere to run, and especially the scene when Elijah is ready to end Arachnid and then Arachnid pulls out a gun and shoots him back. Michael comes outta nowhere and ends Elijah right after. It was incredible- the dark lighting of that scene, with Arachnid's and Michael's dark clothing and the light snow falling in the background. Jesse's gotta be proud of how that scene turned out. Cap it all off with a well done scene between Isaac and Martha, it's an excellent episode.
Although there was a lot of good in this episode, my rating is reduced a bit by the writing/performance of the brawl scenes. It makes absolutely no sense when Arachnid is in the middle of 10 men, all of them with guns (even a couple guys with two guns), he's standing there in the middle of them for a long time, yet I'm supposed to believe one of them wouldn't shoot Arachnid when they had the perfect chance to do so? Especially when Arachnid starts to fight back? Or how about when Isaac is running through the middle of the woods for a few minutes being chased up close by John's gang, guns pointed at him, yet they aren't even shooting at Isaac? Even though they're just a few feet away from him? That bothered me, I gotta say. I won't criticize it too much, but at least some effects of gunshots could've been added to make it seem a bit more realistic, though it would've made John look like the worst gun handler of all time.
Otherwise, good episode with excellent camera work and good performances. Rating: 9.1/10.
My Virtual Escape: The Servant (2018)
S2 E4: The Servant
This episode sets up the season 2 finale and builds on the relationships of Isaac and Leah/Rebekah. We are also introduced to The Servant, who is the "other hand" of the Overlord. Overall, it was a good episode that was a bit slower paced but once again, it sets into motion the significant events that will happen in the next episode.
Performance wise, I thought Domenic did well in this episode playing Adam. Adam isn't as flat of a character as he once was; he wants to play in the game now and he does a good job of portraying that. I thought Kandis did okay as Rebekah. Carina's fake crying is (not holding back here) horrendous and took away from the realistic feel of the episode. It doesn't sell and it takes away from the scenes. Jeff did a great job playing Joseph when he was involved in the episode, he sold his role well. Not a bad episode. Rating: 8.4/10.
My Virtual Escape: Ranked Up (2018)
S2 E3: Ranked Up
This episode begins with Isaac and Arachnid still in Arachnid's house, both ready to rank up. It seems as if Arachnid betrayed Isaac when Isaac enters back into the game after flipping the switch, and he's held at gunpoint. Turns out, Arachnid didn't shoot, and the two of them take the XP and rank up. Plenty of details that are crucial to the game of EVE are introduced in this episode, and it is... somewhat confusing. It turns out, you can switch to ranked mode while you're unranked while in the game by just reaching up toward your head and flipping the switch and it works. Thing is, why is it that typically while players are in the game, they are completely still in real life, but when they want to flip the switch in-game, they can? Kinda goes for when they want to use the normal way of exiting the game, they can just reach up and take the headset off, no problem... but any other movement isn't translated into real life. Apparently you can't exit the game the normal way while in ranked mode either, you have to go in front of a mirror, look into it, then you can do the usual action and take the headset off. From what it seems, you can't reach up and flip the switch to go back into unranked mode while in ranked mode either. I'm assuming this is to make it so that players can't just take off the headset easily while in ranked mode, but nonetheless, kinda weird how it works. Lag-switchers have been introduced, and this is a cheat that allows a player to shift into unranked mode while in ranked mode after a certain period of time, which gives a large advantage. You can kill people only in ranked mode it seems, so that's why ranked mode is a big deal. There's also the "die in real life" theme to the series. If you get killed while in ranked mode, you die in real life too. LOTS of details that are crucial to the game of EVE.
Michael confronts the Overlord, Adam asks to be in the game instead of being the tutorial guy, and Isaac visits Noah for more drugs and we get an awesome reference to the classic "Psycho Dad Shreds Video Games", Isaac also discovers new connections between him, Abraham and Noah. Elijah is given a task by the Overlord to kill Arachnid, and Isaac enters the game again to find Arachnid overkilling Gingy, leading to the Mob Boss being fired up. Performance wise, Jesse, Larry and Joe were good as always, and looking forward to seeing Paul's character more as well. Jeffrey did well in his scene too. It was a good episode with lots of action, although there is a lot of crucial details to understand about EVE. Rating: 8.5/10.
My Virtual Escape: Two Birds, Many Stones (2018)
S2 E2: Two Birds, Many Stones
The second episode of the second season. We start out with Isaac still "taking care" of Aunt Martha, but Isaac gets out of it after doing a sloppy job and enters EVE. Michael mentions that someone died (Mother Sarah) in real life BECAUSE of the game, which has become an issue. Isaac meets Rebekah in the game because he has a massive crush on her, although it *seems* as if Rebekah hates him. They get caught sneaking around Solomon's hideout, and eventually he makes a visit in real life to see Leah's for some reason while Leah's boyfriend, Tommy, is there. Makes no sense why Isaac would go to see her while her new boyfriend was there, but I suppose, you can't question a scripted series! There's an inevitable fight between Isaac and Tommy. Isaac enters back in the game to find Arachnid depressed, and the episode ends.
Overall, this was a slower episode than the previous two, which is okay considering all the action that went down in the previous two episodes. Performance wise, Isaac impressed me a lot in this episode. One of his best performances to date in the series, and you can tell Jesse is beginning to get more comfortable playing the character of Isaac. Same with Abraham/Arachnid, Larry continues to get better playing his role, although we didn't see him much in this episode. Jackie's character, Aunt Martha, is good... but not convincing. This is Kandis (Rebekah)'s best performance to date. It wasn't terribly cringe when she was on camera like it was the prior times she has been. I'd say it was Carina (Leah)'s best to date as well, although her role was limited. When she's been on camera before, she hasn't been natural it seems and her acting has felt forced. It felt more natural in this episode! On the flip side, the actor of Tommy was... to be brutally honest... bad. It helps that Jesse had an excellent performance to make the scene more watchable. Nonetheless, it was a decent episode, nothing special. Rating: 8.3/10.
My Virtual Escape: Missing (2018)
S2 E1: Missing
Season 2 premiere of the series. The episode begins with the aftermath of Abraham killing Mother Sarah... in real life. Abraham seems distraught, and doesn't know what he's gonna do. He goes to Joe's character, Noah, for advice and help on getting rid of the body and the car. Meanwhile, Isaac is in EVE collecting XP, and he is clearly driven to do so. He's motivated. But, in the real world he's dealing with conflict with his parents and his mom who's now pregnant. He talks back to his stepmom, Mary II, and his father tries to correct him, leading to him sending Isaac to help his Aunt Martha, an old woman.
Overall, from the start this episode sets the tone as one of the best in the series. Extremely well done sequence at the start of the episode with Abraham dealing with the aftermath of his killing. It's a cinematic scene that is perfect with the lighting, the acting, and the music on top of it. Film work is excellent as well. And once again, the character of Joe (Noah) is top notch. He's the one source of comic relief in this series that really works. He's perfect for the character, credit to him! Performance wise other than that, Larry (Abraham/Arachnid) deserves a lot of credit. Dude is an outstanding actor and makes EVERY scene that he is in better. Terry's character (Mary II) is incredibly unlikable (as supposed to, I would assume), and Terry does a good job of making it that way. It was cool to see Jesse's grandmom make an appearance. She obviously doesn't play a huge role in the series, but I thought it was awesome that Jesse let her play along in the scene, even if it made the scene less convincing. Looking forward to seeing Aunt Jackie's character develop, she was introduced in this video. There are a couple negatives. I've mentioned it before, but Carina's character (Leah) just doesn't work for me. She has the opposite effect of Larry's character. To be brutally honest, she makes every scene... worse. Simply doesn't feel natural the way she acts. Hopefully it gets better over the course of the series. Whoever Leah's "new boyfriend" is, he barely had to say a line and I was already cringing, lol. His character already comes across as fake and unnatural, and was barely on the screen for 15 seconds. Otherwise...
Really good episode! Beginning and ending sequences were excellent. I mentioned Abraham's sequence, but Isaac's sequence at the end was very well done too. Very memorable and significant episode. Rating: 9.2/10.
My Virtual Escape: God's Plan (2018)
S1 E8: God's Plan
"God's Plan" is the Season 1 finale. The episode begins with seemingly the Overlord talking to Sarah about how she needs kill Arachnid. Mother Sarah is convinced that this is God who's talking to her, so naturally, Mother Sarah is gonna follow what she feels God is telling her since she's a nun. Certainly this is an extreme measure for Mother Sarah to kill someone, but she's convinced she is being told to, so here we go!
There's a good, realistic conversation between Isaac and Sarah at the beginning. Performances all around were spot on in this episode. Jesse, Larry, George and Melissa all stood out. I've been impressed by Jay (Malachi) as well, we never met him in the Psycho Series (I don't think) but he's probably the best of the new actors that we've seen so far in this series. I mentioned in my review of the first episode or two to keep an eye on Jesse's character (Isaac) and notice the character development over the course of the series. He started out as a degenerate smoker, unmotivated and careless. Fast forward to episode 7 or 8, he's already become more driven and you can tell he has developed positively. He has EVE, which is giving him something to live for. He's more motivated than how he seemed back at the beginning of the season. He'll continue to change over the course of the rest of the series.
This was a fast paced episode, and I'd say easily the best in the series to this point. Good performances, the tension was high, and we had some surprises too. The ending montage was excellent. Music was good too, even though music tends to be a weaker part of the series. It would be hard to stop watching during the episode, as things were happening rapidly. Rating: 9.3/10.
My Virtual Escape: Christmas E.V.E (2017)
S1 E7: Christmas E.V.E.
This episode begins with the firing of Mother Sarah when Joseph and Isaac find out with certainty that Sarah did actually steal the VR headset from Isaac, sending her further on a downward spiral. We also find out that Mary II is pregnant, which is significant for the family and Isaac isn't too fond of the idea of it. The first 10 minutes or so of this episode were excellent all around.
Considering this episode was released on Christmas Day, I get the theme behind making this a "Christmas themed episode", and I respect that, but to me it just doesn't fit with the drama and dark theme of this series. This is a dramatic series, not a comedy series. It brings some comedic relief and lightens the tone, but once again, it just didn't feel real and it felt unnatural. Maybe if I was watching this episode in the middle of December I'd feel differently. Arachnid gifting Isaac a gun, Solomon acting the way he did around Isaac at the end, felt unnatural to me. I can always appreciate some comedic relief, but the last half hour of this episode simply didn't fit in to, once again, the dark and dramatic tone of the series. Rating: 7.6/10.
My Virtual Escape: Sacrilegious (2017)
S1 E6: Sacrilegious
This episode continues off with the cliff hanger we saw when Mother Sarah walked in on Jesse when he was dying in VR. Turns out, in a turn of events, Mother Sarah took the VR headset, leaving Isaac to wonder where it went. Seems like Mother Sarah was trying to protect Isaac from the game, although she's just doing herself harm instead. She's a main character of this episode. I was confused as to what happened between Long Bags and her during their confrontation... Mother Sarah just snapped.. and L Bags disappeared? I know this series isn't supposed to be fully realistic... but that made no sense to me. Anyway...
We meet Joe's character, Noah, who instantly became a favorite of mine. Considering he is some random guy that's a friend of Larry, he sold his role perfectly in this episode... really well done! George does a good job as Solomon's character as well. Also gotta love the "oranges vs. Milk" decision at the end. Not a bad episode. Rating: 8.6/10.
My Virtual Escape: Fallen Angel (2017)
S1 E5: Fallen Angel
This episode, despite being 53 minutes, is fast-paced and has a couple of plot twists that make it a very intriguing episode. Isaac gets beaten up in this episode, being shot multiple times in the game of EVE and we learn more about how re-spawning works within the game. We meet a few new characters and overall, I thought the scenes were well done. There were a few noticeable video cuts during moments where it would be better if there weren't, but then again, considering the cast of this series, it's still performed well.
Performance wise, looking at the characters so far in the series, I've been impressed by the acting of Jesse (Isaac) and Larry (Arachnid). Jay (Malachi) has done a good job too, same with Terry (Mary II) and Jeffrey (Moderator). Although, there are some characters that certainly aren't a sell for me, in this episode one of them stuck out in Carina (Leah). The conversation in the middle of the episode between Jesse and Leah was... tough to watch! Otherwise, really good episode. Rating: 9.0/10.
My Virtual Escape: Scouting Solomon's (2017)
S1 E4: Scouting Solomon's
This episode almost entirely takes place in EVE. The Moderator gives Issac an opportunity to be on the good side, but he rejects, desiring to work with Arachnid. Isaac & Arachnid go on a visit to Solomon's base, but end up being caught in the process. Solomon is introduced to give the impression of being one of the most powerful in the game. Isaac & Arachnid eventually escape, but not easily.
This episode, being 49 minutes, has a lot of content. It was a good episode, but at times it felt drawn out when maybe it didn't have to be so much. During the confrontation with Isaac and Solomon, there were several noticeable video splits, which were mildly distracting from the scene intended to be intense. Despite this, the acting isn't terrible. Rating: 8.4/10.
My Virtual Escape: The Sheriff and the Outlaw (2017)
S1 E3: Sheriff & The Outlaw
This episode introduces new characters, most notably Arachnid (the supposed "antagonist" who the Moderator advises to keep away from). The EVE storyline continues to develop and we learn more about how the game works.
There is a montage toward the beginning of the episode where Isaac sees his real mother in EVE, which I thought was very well done. Isaac meets Arachnid later in the episode, which even though Isaac was warned to stay away from him, naturally he wants to work with him. The first encounter with him is definitely the highlight of the episode. In general, this episode was well written and performed excellently. Best episode of the series to this point. Rating: 8.9/10.
My Virtual Escape: A Brave New World (2017)
S1 E2: A Brave New World
This episode continues where the first episode left off. Issac reconsiders the letter that he received from "The Overlord". Isaac, being the degenerate weed smoker he is, almost sets the house on fire and gets in trouble for it. His dad then searches his room, leading to him being even more concerned for his wellbeing. Moments later, Issac enters the world of EVE for the first time, and the audience is introduced to the general idea of what EVE is. Isaac is confused at first, but turns out, he kinda likes it. Later on, he's confronted by Joseph and Archie for his wellbeing. They're looking out for him, but Isaac is resistant and at this point in the series, he's simply unmotivated and shady, you could say. We meet two new characters in a cliff hanger at the very end.
Being introduced to EVE is the highlight of this episode. It's well acted and well written, leading to an intriguing episode that ends on a cliff hanger. Seeing Chris's character for the first time was a highlight as well, considering he was a "fan-favorite villain" you could say during the Psycho Series. Rating: 8.3/10.
My Virtual Escape: Paralyzed (2017)
S1 E1: Paralyzed
This series is already 4-5 years old (stunningly), but I figured it's never too late to give my thoughts on each of the episodes here. So, after rewatching the series, here we go.
MVE is directed by Jesse Ridgway, best known for his creation of the Psycho Series. While the Psycho Series was portrayed as real and was incredibly interactive, My Virtual Escape is a dramatic series that is able to do things that the Psycho Series never could, considering MVE isn't portrayed as a real life series in front of the audience.
I love the foreshadowing that is presented even in the first episode. The first sequence literally foreshadows the ending of the series, stating that there's a VR program in Hawaii. Rewatching the series, it's amazing to realize all the thought and effort that was put into the series. Isaac, in this episode, is an unmotivated weed smoker that is seemingly depressed. The character development of Issac is something to keep an eye on throughout the series. His dad, Joseph, is a wealthy man, while his stepmom Mary is arrogant and Issac doesn't like her. While Isaac is forced to have sessions to confess to a nun, and we meet one of his friends named Leah. At the end of the episode he discovers a mysterious VR headset placed outside his window. And that's how the episode ends.
For being a pilot episode, it's done well. Looking back on it, it certainly isn't the most exciting episode to rewatch. For being a pilot episode, it does its job. It took me a couple times rewatching the first couple episodes to get hooked on the series the first time around, but that's normal with most shows. Rating: 7.8/10.