I really enjoyed this series. Before starting, and after the first episode I did think that it was just another formulaic High School drama, albeit with a little more edge – but it was rather more than that, although with both of those previously-mentioned qualities. There was quite impressive depiction of burgeoning adolescent relationships and while this is nothing new in this genre, here it was better-written than usual and the characters did not in any way conform to predictable stereotypes – or if they did have certain of those characteristics, they also had others that made them fuller and more interesting personalities. Additionally they were not solely defined by their issues/problems. Yes, they were often central but the way they were shown and developed gave a well-rounded and thoughtful picture of a wide range of individuals.
The Aussies setting gave it a very different vibe from USA-style programmes and I loved the often-baffling lingo that they used. I also liked the fact that the school community was an honestly real and wide-ranging one. You really did have the sense of it being a real, local school and this gave the series, for me, much of its appeal. The polar opposite of such soapy shenanigans as we see in Elite.
The central device (the ‘incest map’ that kicked off the drama) was a very good one that allowed the writers to explore a wide range of issues of the characters and the overarching theme, a serious and important one, was all about rumor, what people believe and what the outcomes can be of such rumors and belief in them. In addition, there was a thoughtful and wide-ranging exploration of love – of what it is to love, how it can happen in many forms, how difficult it can be but also how wonderful.
However, one element I did not like was the over-emphatic and often dramatically clumsy use of pop music and lyrics. The obviousness of this was a surprising misjudgment, I felt, given how well all other aspects had been dealt with. However, a minor point and it is good to know that it seems likely there will be a continuation.