A show’s pilot has several jobs: set the series up and introduce the characters. but maybe the most important job is to make sure you want to watch the next one. In the first episode of Supacell, created by Rapman, we are introduced to a world where superpowers exist; in the opening scene, a woman is running through a facility, trying to escape mercenaries. She shows her powers but is killed, and her body is dragged through the facility to show the other prisoners.
We cut to South London, where we meet the main characters: Michael, a delivery driver in a loving relationship with Dionne, whom Michael plans to propose to; Andre, a single father, who struggles financially and has a criminal record. Tazer, a gang member, being raised by his grandmother; Rod is a charming young man who sells drugs for his friend, Spud; and finally Sabrina, a kind nurse who lives with her sister, Shar. The five lives intertwine at times in the episode.
Rod offers Andre drugs, who refuses; Rod also finds Michael and offers him drugs, he also refuses. a rival gang member stabs Tazer putting him in the hospital where Sabrina works. and Michael’s mother, who suffers from Sickle Cell Disorder is also in the hospital. Michael delivers food to an area where Tazer’s gang shakes him for money. In this confrontation, Tazer stabs Michael; however, this is revealed to be a vision revealing Michael’s power: he can see through time. He returns to the confrontation, where it plays out the same, but this time, he avoids being stabbed.
Rod is trying to make an appointment to buy drugs to sell, but his car won’t start; he tries to catch the bus, and while running, he begins to run faster than the speed of light and ending up in Edinburgh, Scotland. Andre, fired from his job due to his criminal record, is trying to withdraw money from the ATM, but his account is empty. In anger, he punches the machine, breaking it, and also breaking the wall, revealing his power to be super strength. Tazer lives with his grandmother, who tells him to leave his gang for his mother, who walked out on him; he angrily rebuffs her and leaves. Sabrina is getting ready for a date with her boyfriend, Kevin. hours later, she is still waiting for him, and her sister convinces her to go to his house to see if he is lying. They go and see a girl comes out telling Sabrina that she has been with Kevin for two months. Shar angrily confronts the girl, but Sabrina quickly realizes that the girl was lied to and didn’t know about her. Kevin comes out, and the girl tells Kevin off. Kevin goes after Sabrina, but Sabrina throws Kevin into the wall with her mind.
Michael and Dionne are in a restaurant where Michael proposes to her, and she says yes. At their apartment, in a moment of passion, Michael’s powers activate, and he teleports away. In the future, he sees Tazer, Sabrina, Andre, Rod, and himself fighting hooded figures. Future Michael confronts Present Michael and takes him to a graveyard where he sees Dionne’s grave, listing her death taking place three months after their proposal. Future Michael urges Present Michael to stop it. Cut to black. Credits roll.
This pilot episode does its job; we get to know the characters and who they are, but more importantly, the episode leaves you wanting more. The episode makes clear these people have nothing in common, with one exception: they are Black citizens living in South London. The episode balances real issues with supernatural issues. The gang violence and Michael’s mother with Sickle Cell Disorder are human issues, and the episode doesn’t shy away from them Overall, the episode is an excellent introduction to what should be pleasurable viewing.
Rating 9/10