Main cast: Zachary Bennett (Buddy), Miklos Perlus (Vince), Elizabeth Hanna (The Old Witch), David Hemblen (The Vault-Keeper), and John Kassir (The Crypt Keeper)
Director: Laura Shepherd

In Game Over, meet Buddy and Vince, two friends that are obsessed about video games. We’re talking about completely losing track of time and the world around them here.

Well, we can’t have the kiddies watching this show think that this is acceptable behavior, so this episode sics all the monsters of their favorite monster-hunting video game onto them in real life. Oh no, these two brats better have their extra lives stocked!

At first there is no rhyme or reason to this episode. The monsters just show up and the story becomes an interminable chase, as if there were no plot needed because kids would be amply distracted by the constant shouting and chases to never notice.

However, it eventually turns out that there is some method behind the apparent madness, ooh. There is a twist!

Okay, the twist doesn’t make much sense, but the fact that it exists suggests, to me, that the show is perhaps getting more sophisticated as its targeted audience grows up. It’s too early to be certain as this is only the first episode of the second season, but hey, what I see here is a nice step in the right direction.

The bookend segments are as long as the actual episode, by the way. Perhaps because they have read my reviews of the first season, heh, the Old Witch and the Vault-Keeper decide to show up with their own ideas on how to spruce up the show—much to the Crypt Keeper’s dismay. It warms my heart to see the three mascots and hosts of the flagship titles of EC Comics reunited, even if a part of me is vexed that it has to happen on this show, heh.

At any rate, this episode seems to herald some interesting and perhaps a slightly more grown-up approach in the second season. Let’s see how true this is, and may it be a much better season than the previous one!