Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 2 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 4 – | Review Score – 4/5 Episode 5 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 7 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 8 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 9 – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Episode 10 – | Review Score – 3/5 With a distinct teen slant and a compelling hook, Get Even is a pretty engrossing and well written mystery. While it still features the same array of tropes you’d expect, they’re handled well alongside the murder mystery which takes centre stage. At its core, Get Even feels like a mash-up between fellow Netflix teen drama Elite and Control Z. The resulting hybrid of ideas is then sprinkled with a heavy dose of Britishness to deliver a pacey, enjoyable series. Split across 10 episodes clocking in at around 25 minutes or so, Get Even wastes little time getting right to the heart of the drama. The basic premise takes place in a private school known as Bannerman. Within the school grounds, four students from very different walks of life join forces to form the group DGM (Don’t Get Mad), exposing those who get away with injustices. Kitty plays up the sporty archetype and is, for the most part, a model student. Margot is the brainiac of the group and in charge of electronics while misfit Bree brings up the alternate scene. The final girl is Olivia, a student who’s fully “in” with the popular crowd. Early on, these four settle into their roles nicely and take down Coach Creed courtesy of some hidden cameras showing him at his worst. Unfortunately the plan they have for their next target, resident school blackmailer and manipulator Ronny, goes terribly wrong. When Ronny winds up murdered, a note left at the crime scene incriminates their group. In secret, the DGM girls try to work out who’s responsible while on the surface live out their school lives without seeming suspicious. This is made all the worse by two detectives who relentlessly search the school for the culprit. Two of those immediately in the firing line happen to be Olivia and Bree – both of which having incriminating evidence against them. Alongside this whodunit is the usual run of melodrama that comes with these teen offerings. The show does do pretty well to sideline this though but expect love triangles, teen angst and some big arguments dotted throughout the series. Thankfully though, this doesn’t overpower the main story. If there’s one thing Get Even absolutely nails though it’s the mystery itself. Throughout the 10 episodes you’re kept guessing right the way through to the end as numerous different suspects come forward. There’s also a second victim that’s shockingly revealed halfway through too but suffice to say I won’t spoil who that is here. There’s a lot of motive and different suspects that could have killed Ronny and Get Even is self-aware enough to throw in numerous red herrings to catch you off-guard. Stylistically, a lot of the series plays out in a pretty formulaic fashion and there’s not much in the way of crazy camera work or slick cinematography. A couple of music tracks are a nice touch – in particular We Appreciate Power by Grimes which feeds into the main theme of the series. It’s worth mentioning the finale though which does do a pretty good job of cleverly editing together some scenes to deliver a nice “aha!” moment. However, it also leaves lots of little plot threads dangling by the end; a tease of a possible second season. Based on this showing though, Get Even certainly deserves one. There’s a lot to like about this and the unresolved character arcs by the end (with the exception of Margot) are enough to whet the appetite for more. Given the slew of dreary and mundane murder mysteries we’ve been graced with recently (The Woods and Signs as two such examples), Get Even is a welcome change of pace. While it’s certainly not going to seismically shift the small screen anytime soon, it’s a solid enough entry to make it worth your time. Get Even launches on Netflix Worldwide on 31st July 2020!
