REVIEW: ‘Get Even’ Sells an Excellent Narrative

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Get Even is a teen drama mystery series streaming on Netflix. When the privileged and powerful take advantage of their status at the exclusive Bannerman Private School someone has to call them out on it. That’s when D.G.M. steps in. They will expose the dirty secrets of those who deserve it. But who is D.G.M.? They are four young ladies tired of dealing with a system that favors certain individuals, allowing them to walk all over everybody else.

Sometimes, systems break. Everything breaks. It’s the nature of things. But when those who run the system are part of the problem it often requires exceptional methods to bring about genuine change within said system. Get Even’s locale, the exclusive Bannerman school is an excellent case in point. Everything about the school favors either those with the most wealth or the boys. Not surprisingly, all the members of D.G.M. are females, and three of them are on the low end of the school’s wealth scale. After all, it’s the oppressed who are eventually going to stand up and say enough. And the young women of D.G.M. have definitely had enough.

As Get Even opens the school is coming back from a break and some of the athletes have put together a film for their favorite coach Mr. Creed. The presentation begins with all the happy moments one expects, till the film hits a moment of static and is replaced with a montage of the beloved coach, harassing, mistreating, and generally verbally abusing several students. The film ends with “Compliments of D.G.M.”.

After we see the offending coach escorted out of the school we get properly introduced to our four protagonists Kitty, Margot, Bree and Olivia. Each character stands out from the others with their own strong personalities, and personal issues they are dealing with. Whether it be Kitty’s need to excel at everything to keep her scholarship, or Bree’s absent father who is eternally off on business, each of our leads feels like a fully fleshed-out character whose personal troubles are woven seamlessly into the larger narrative. And while they always manage to be characters we can cheer for, they often make mistakes. None of them are perfect and have their missteps as they deal with the hurdles of life. They fall, but they learn from their falls and get back up.

Get Even’s primary narrative begins after much of the school attends an unofficial welcome back to school party at one of the students residence. While there Kitty’s best friend Mika tries to get the attention of popular boy Ronny. Unfortunately for her, Ronny ends up stealing her phone and swiping some comprising pictures off it. What follows is fairly obvious. He shares the pictures with everyone at school, leading Mika to be ridiculed by everyone. And of course, the staff do nothing to Ronny for this. Enter D.G.M.

Convinced that Ronny has more images of Mika he plans to use to hurt her the group decides to gain access to Ronny’s laptop and extract the photos before he can hurt the innocent girl any further. Before their plan can be fully implemented however Ronny turns up dead. And next to his body is a card simply stating “Compliments of D.G.M.”

The rest of Get Even is spent untangling the web of who killed Ronny, as well as exploring our protagonists’ personal struggles. These numerous storylines are balanced impressively well, given that the entire season is comprised of ten 30 min(ish) episodes. Nothing feels overly rushed, and the vast majority of the season’s various subplots come to satisfying conclusions.

While Get Even looks at a whole host of problems the primary focus rests solely on the treatment of the girls at the shows chosen setting, Bannerman Private School. All of the all too familiar problems are explored here. From the inability to have their issues taken seriously, often being told to toughen up, to being blatantly treated second to the boys. This second issue runs so deep that it’s noted in one scene that when they have fire drills the boys exit the room first. Clearly projecting who is the primary concern to the school.

My only minor gripe with Get Even is how entangled everything becomes with the main story. Virtually everything that could possibly be linked back to the main plot is. This causes one or two moments that exceeded my suspension of disbelief, as another character was revealed to be connected to the main plot.

When all is said and done I thoroughly enjoyed Get Even. It supports a strong, fleshed out, and diverse group of protagonists who are allowed to have faults while still being the heroes. Bannerman School is upsettingly real in its feel and presentation, creating an excellent setting for the narrative. While there are parts that are definitely uncomfortable to watch, it uses these moments to deliver a tale worth telling.

Get Even is streaming now on Netflix.