Flash Review: Study Group – The Fangirl Verdict

My friends. I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting to watch this show, at all. 😁

I’d found the trailers a bit too cartoony for my taste, and also, too high school for my mood, if you know what I mean?

BUT THEN. Quite a few of you started saying very positive things about this show, so much so that I felt like I had to see for myself, what I was missing.

..Which is how I ended up watching this whole show, heh.

FOMO got me here, basically, and y’know what, FOMO did a pretty good job, because this turned out to be more enjoyable than I’d originally expected. 😁

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are a few things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, in order to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. There is violence in this

I am sure that this isn’t the most violent high school drama out there, but it is violent, and there is blood, and knowing to expect this, helps.

2. An action manhwa lens

I feel like an action manhwa lens – ie, imagining that you’re watching a comic book world, where the genre is action – handily takes care of a lot of things in our drama world.

Logic leaps? Lack of gravity? Super strength? Plot coincidences?

All not a problem, if you’re in a manhwa world. 😁

DOWNSIDES

For me, there were two downsides to this show.

1. The sound balance

I don’t know if this is a universal thing, but I watched this drama on VIU, and I found the sound balance to be quite off.

What I mean is, the music is regularly pumped up so loud, that any and all dialogue feels muted in comparison.

I didn’t want overly loud music blasting in my ears without warning, so I made do with the muted-sounding dialogue, but not gonna lie; it was a bit of a downer on my watch.

2. The more violent second half

phl1rxd mentioned to me that she dropped this show at episode 8, just a couple of episodes away from the finish line, and now that I’ve finished the show, I kind of see why?

Show’s second half is less fun that its first half, and overall, the intensity of the violence is amped up as well.

Depending on your general appetite and tolerance for violence on your screen, this could be a non-issue for you.

For reference, I was able to tolerate it (which is how I ended up finishing this show), but did miss the balance of the first half, which had a little more warmth built into it.

UPSIDES

I did find quite a lot to enjoy in this show, but like I mentioned above, some of these elements are emphasized more, in Show’s first half.

1. Short episodes

The episodes are short and snappy at just 40-minute each or thereabouts, and this definitely added to Show’s slurpability.

I literally watched the first 5 episodes in a single day, because they were so nice and short.

Of course, there are other reasons too, like:

2. Ga Min is an earnest badass

One of my favorite things in this show, is the fact that our protagonist Ga Min (Hwang Min Hyun) is sooo earnest, sooo wholesome, and yet soooo badass, at the same time.

I very much enjoyed the contrast between those these qualities, and got a kick out of every instance, that other people in this story world were shocked by nerdy Ga Min’s impressive fight skillz. 🤭

Another thing that I found cute about Ga Min, is that he’s quite dim, but very, very positive.

How that comes together, in how he channels his dimness into his positive outlook, to miss the point entirely, but take away a very optimistic interpretation, was quite endearing, I thought. 🥲

3. The underdog theme

I have a soft spot for underdog stories, and this is definitely an underdog story.

Ga Min himself is an underdog, in how he’s failing so hard at his studies and wants to do better, and he’s stepping in to help and protect other underdogs who are getting bullied, and so, we get a whole lotta focus on underdogs, in general, which in turn just gives me a whole lot to root for. 😁

This was definitely a highlight, for me.

4. The budding friendships

The biggest highlight for me, was getting to see the budding reluctant friendships, as Ga Min earnestly and unflaggingly reaches out to those in whom he sees a desire to study.

I love how Ga Min manages to ingratiate himself with the various reluctant recipients of his help, such that they start caving and giving in to the idea of being friends, in spite of themselves.

My favorite, though, has to be Ga Min’s friendship with Se Hyun (Lee Jong Hyun); that really seems to run deeper than the others, and has a good note of poignance about it as well.

With the formation of these friendships aligning with Ga Min’s mission of forming a study group, we get one reluctant friend made after another, and I really found this all very heartwarming and endearing. 🥰

5. The forming of the study group

I really enjoyed seeing the study group come together in the first half of our show.

As can be expected, the study group is peopled entirely with outcasts and underdogs, and I just loved the idea of these kids finding a place to belong, where they are united by their desire to study. 🥰

I thought it was a really nice bonus, that the teacher in charge of the group, Lee Han Kyung (Ha Ji Eun), is also a bit of a misfit and outcast herself, thus completing the whole underdog theme.

Watching all of them grow to really care about one another, and becoming an intact group, was definitely a personal highlight, for me. 🥲

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

Like I mentioned earlier, I found the second half of our show more violent than the first half, and since I typically don’t actually gravitate towards violent shows, I think I basically was hitting my limit here. 😅

I also understand that it was necessary to focus the narrative on systemic change, since the school is portrayed as so messed up.

However, I have to admit that I found it a little harder going than I would have liked, and so, by the time I got the finale, where everything’s culminating in a very big, very violent showdown, I was really kind of willing it all to go faster rather than slower, if you know what I mean. 😅

With the baddies being such good fighters, it was hard to see our core group get hurt in the process of fighting for justice, and I found myself wincing, more than a few times. 😅

In the end, it’s not a surprise that good prevails, and I did get a stab of satisfaction from the fact that the student council dudes, who’d previously been bullies of our study group, actually step in to help, because Hee Won (Yoon Sang Jung) helpfully reminds the leader how Teacher Lee had gotten stabbed in his place. 😁

Importantly, Pi Han Wul (Cha Woo Min) does get expelled AND arrested, as he should, given the terrible things he’s done, and I’m also glad to see that Shady Vice-Principal (Jung Jae Sung) also gets arrested.

Afterwards, it feels like a really nice change, that our study group gets to sit around a table in peace, and talk about something as wholesome, as their dreams for the future.

And trust Ga Min’s dream to be such a simple one – to go to college – which leads us to Show’s uplifting, parting shot; that dreams are just things that sound difficult now, but which can be achieved if you keep working hard until the end.

I thought that was a nice reminder that dreams can be simple, and that they’re within reach, so it’s ok to keep on dreaming. 🥰

Also, I almost missed it, but after the final credits, there’s a little bonus scene, where we see that Han Kyung’s desk is decorated with gifts from her students declaring her to be the best teacher.

Importantly, there’s a framed photo of our study group as well, making it look like they’ve graduated and left this for Han Kyung as a keepsake. Aw. That’s nice.

Last but not least, we see a male hand put a resignation letter on her desk, meaning that Han Kyung’s not only a full-time teacher, she’s in a supervisory position now.

Aw. What a compact, effective way to let us know that our underdogs are underdogs no longer, and have risen to greater heights, thanks to their determination, persistence and resilience.

I thought this was a nicely affirming, uplifting note on which to end our story. 🥲

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Oddly heartwarming, in spite of the violence.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

MV:

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