The Game 4.01/4.02 “Parachutes/Beach Chairs” Review

“Game On!”

With those words, Tasha Mack welcomed us back to the world of The Game after it was cancelled back in 2009 by The CW. Now on BET, the show has a new life, new attitude, and most definitely a whole new audience to cater to. Thanks to BET’s New Years Day Weekend marathon of the first three seasons, I became a fan quick and felt elated to see the characters back in their element tonight, despite me getting into it so late in the game (no pun intended). For a lot of people, it was as if a long lost friend had finally reentered their lives after a painful split. However, a friend’s absence can bring a lot of baggage to the table, and The Game was no different last night.

The show picked up two years after we saw Melanie and Derwin finally tie the knot and they are happily married. But that might be in jeopardy after the stunt Melanie pulled tonight, which backfired dead in her face. After getting a paternity test done by a friend to see if Janay (Gabrielle Dennis) is using Derwin Jr. (DJ) as a golden meal ticket, Melanie receives results displaying that Derwin is not the father. Melanie tells Derwin the news and he flies off the handle, but when he notices how Janay is spending money trying to keep up with Melanie’s wardrobe, he asks Janay if the news is true. Her shocked face is the only answer we got, but it seemed to be enough for a broken-hearted Derwin. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, Melanie’s friend calls to report that she did the test wrong, meaning Derwin IS DJ’s father! What does Melanie do? She decides to keep the news to herself. Wrong step, Med School…

Surrounding this drama was the War of the Pitts as Kelly was hellbent on making Jason’s life a living hell with her new reality show; Malik going off the deep end for some reason by secretly sleeping with the new Sabers’ owner’s girl (Meaghan Goode) and treating Tee-Tee even worse than before; and finally Tasha Mack is learning to get her groove back with a super-young club promoter (Terrence J).

The show didn’t hesitate to throw us back into the drama and, again, it was nice to see the cast back in the roles we have come to love in the daily reruns on BET and other channels. With that said, after the luster of the return wears off, there are some ‘cons’ which can’t go unnoticed.

First, the cast itself. In the credits, it lists both Coby Bell and Brittany Daniel as “Special Guest Stars,” making them basically recurring characters on the show, which shocked a lot of fans when I mentioned it. According to an earlier interview with TVO, Brittany Daniel revealed that her and Coby Bell’s recurring status could mean they could be featured in every episode (ala Heather Locklear in the original Melrose Place) or possibly less episodes depending on how many episodes the writers and/or producers want. With Coby Bell’s attachment as a regular on USA’s Burn Notice, it’s clear that there is a slight possibility we won’t see much of the Pitts this season, which is a shame.

Second, there wasn’t much interaction between the cast. Malik and Tasha didn’t share any scenes, which was kind of odd; Kelly was still pissed at Tasha for hooking Jason up with another woman behind her back two years prior; and Jason had little to any interaction with anyone besides Kelly. If this was Fall 2009, then those issues wouldn’t have been a problem. It would’ve been great to see the cast interact more after being gone from the air for two years. Maybe this will happen next week or in the coming weeks rather? I’m sure the fans agree with me in some capacity.

Third, Malik is on a self-destructive path with no explanation in sight. Albeit, this might come to light later on down the road, but at the moment it’s a bit out of character and slightly unsettling.

With all that said, The Game is back and is most definitely here to stay.

What are your thoughts on the return of The Game? Did it deliver? Were you underwhelmed? Will you be in attendance from here on out? Speak on it below!