High School Season 1 Review – A well-written teen drama

Episode Guide

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8

 

Based on the autobiographical book High School by Tegan and Sara, High School is an interesting and intimate look at the lives of identical twins Tegan and Sara as they attend high school and try to make sense of their changing world. Complete with hormones, friend circle changes and social issues, High School dives into the highs and lows of school life.

Split across eight 25 minute episodes, High School does a great job with its concept, with each chapter split into two focal perspectives to show a different side to the story. In episode 1 for example, the focus shifts from Sara and then Tegan, seeing the same story play out from different sides.

Likewise, in episode 3 we see a big revelation with Phoebe unveil first from someone else’s perspective and then from her own. This helps to reinforce that notion of not judging a book by its cover, and it’s something that definitely helps High School stand out.

While films like Thirteen hit that shock factor and hammer home the idea of going off the rails and becoming a bit wild in your youth, High School takes on a much more subdued style by comparison, without ever slipping into clichés.

There’s some good material in here too and without spoiling anything, the later episodes have some really good interpersonal drama between the characters.

It helps, of course, that the show is based on an autobiography so the scenarios do feel authentic. Seeing Sara and Tegan’s friendship circles change, and what that entails for themselves as sisters, as well as their parents, is pretty interesting and definitely the highlight of the whole show.

With bite-size episodes, this one’s very easy to slip into but it’s also likely to be easily missed too. Nestled away on the Freevee part of Amazon Prime, High School is one of those shows that could become a teen sensation if Amazon stopped advertising Rings of Power so aggressively and instead focused on quality shows like this. While it doesn’t quite stand out compared to so many other shows in this saturated field, there’s enough to like here all the same.

Regardless though, if you’re looking for a realistic depiction of the woes of high school, coupled with big questions about identity and belonging, along with a touch of visual flair, this one’s certainly worth a watch.