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The School Nurse Files korean drama review
Completed
The School Nurse Files
1 people found this review helpful
by JustCruisin
Mar 20, 2022
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 3.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 2.0
Music 1.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Underdeveloped Concept

This show could've used some thought put into fleshing out the characters and plot. As it was, it seemed the only focus was the CGI, which was ok.

Eun Young is a modern day shaman dealing with jelly creature embodiment of energies and spirits rather than the ghoulish, ghostly spirits we are used to with the otherworld. Her weaponries are a mixture of the old talismans and herbs and the new lightsabers and pellet guns. She meets a helper char, In Pyo, who is pivotal to the situation she's found herself in and is able to recharge her energies in her otherworldly line of work. The series mentions other kinds of non-human beings who help or hamper her work and alludes to an old power struggle between two organisations for a potent power source the school is built on. The setup is tight and neat and only needs fleshing out to develop into its own however, the fleshing out falls short of considered effort. The rules Eun Young's world lives by isn't explained as much to the viewer as it is just told. There are no avenues to "power up" or "knowledge up" besides her rudimentary knowledge so that when she meets MacKenzie, a threat, you get the sense that she is fighting way above her weight class and she is way out of her league. This is unsettling because she's the protagonist we rely on to navigate through and understand this world. We're left with too many questions that distract from being able to be immersed in this world so it creates a barrier for emotional investment.

The characters too do not help as Eun Young is too odd and rude to empathise with. She is abrupt to In Pyo even though she needs him and treats him at arm's length but claims they're in a relationship. Her behaviours are too unreliable with a guy who's just trying to help out and is genuinely interested in her world and her life. I especially disliked it when she orders him not to touch anyone else but her when she hears about Ga Young in his life. If the gender were reversed and she's the guy ordering him, a girl, this behaviour would be considered controlling. Because she was an unlikeable character and takes up so much of screentime it made it hard to invest in this show, especially given the lack of worldbuilding explanation, as mentioned above. I pretty much just watched for In Pyo's brief appearances here and there but didn't invest in wanting a positive outcome either way, mostly because it's hard to tell what would be considered a positive outcome.

The music and incoherent ways in which ppl behave and interact with each other kinda positioned this show as a western arthouse film wannabe. Those kinds of shows are annoyingly pretentious to watch and this show was that too. If they'd focus on developing either the storyline or characters, or both, School Nurse Files would've been memorable. As it is, it's worth a look when you have some time to kill for weirdness, since it's just a short 6 episodes, but not something that'll leave a mark on your psyche as some other thoughtful mystical-like productions might.
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