Stars: 4/5
Most people wouldn’t want to rehash the events of their freshman year of high school, but the children in “Everything Sucks!” are allowing us to watch them go through the most awkward time in their lives. You watch friendships form and break apart. There is love blooming all over the place, happening in ways that are sometimes expected and ways that they aren’t. The best part has to be getting to watch them not only try to find themselves but also accept who they are and the life they have no choice but to live.
The storyline of “Everything Sucks!” begins when Luke, McQuaid and Tyler enter their freshman year in high school during the mid-to-late ‘90s. With the series being set in a time as iconic as the ‘90s, you can’t help but get a sense of nostalgia while watching it. The technology is at its beginning roots, the clothing is the ultimate ‘90s cringe and the vernacular is spot on with the the time. Most of the events in the 10-episode Netflix original show center around the making of a movie written and directed by the freshmen students after being forced by the upperclassmen in the drama club.
Luke seems to be the focal point of the show. While you get to see how things play out in the lives of the other characters, everything tends to connect back to Luke. Luke is the best friends with McQuaid and Tyler. Luke is in love with sophomore Kate, played by Peyton Kennedy, who happens to be struggling with her sexuality. Kate is the daughter of the school principal, played by Patch Darragh, who develops a relationship with Sherry O’Neil, played by Claudine Mboligikpelani-Nako, who is Luke’s mother. All roads in this show lead back to Luke and 14-year-old actor Jahi Winston handles it extremely well. He’s falling in love, having his heart broken and being pressured by his peers which really takes a toll on him. Winston portrays those raw emotions as if he were going through them himself.
Kate’s storyline is one of the most interesting. She is dealing with the internal struggle of her sexuality while Luke is falling hard for her. She is also already pointed out as weird because she is the principal’s daughter, so adding on possibly being a lesbian in high school during the ‘90s on top of everything and it doesn’t really make her the most popular girl in school. The mysterious death of her mother adds a whole extra layer to to the show, and when you find out what really happened to her, it really dawns on you that this show is something special.
Ten 30-minute episodes does not feel like enough time for these storylines. Since the episodes are so short, you could easily sit and watch the whole first season in one sitting. There is so much to the show that it feels a little rushed by the end but makes up for it by leaving the ending open for a season two. There’s more than just love – there’s also self-discovery and, at times, just simple fun. There are moments when you’ll feel the need to cover your eyes and cringe and other times when you’ll have tears rolling down your face. Everyone who has ever been through high school should be able to find something to relate to, making it enjoyable to people of all ages, genders and interest.
