The School Nurse Files is a six-episode South Korean television series about a nurse, Ahn Eun-young who can see supernatural forces and works in a school overrun with such creatures. Will she be able to save everyone, including herself? It is an adaptation of a novel, and the author wrote the series. Unfortunately the author does not have screen writing experience. What works for a reader will not work for a viewer and vice versa.
The School Nurse Files was a poorly paced show. In the first two episodes, I thought that the writer was taking the traditional route with cliff hangers. Instead I realized that it wanted the viewer to stay hooked long enough so when the first story ended, the second story would start around the midpoint of the subsequent episode. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. made transitions look easy, but this series proves that they are actually quite difficult to execute successfully. One character who seemed like a perfect foil for the nurse was dropped abruptly even though that story line involved the overall mythology of the school, which was the overarching story of the entire series, whereas another character inexplicably gets an unprecedented three-episode arc. It was particularly upsetting because it felt as if he was the first character who had the jump on our hero. The writer decides to overstuff the last episode to the point of bursting instead of steadily feeding us throughout the series, it just makes us sick to the point of not noticing if the actual food is good or not. The writer should have spread out the story more.
The School Nurse Files’ overall story has promise. Unfortunately it shifted focus away from the titular character on to various students so much that by the middle of the series, instead of conveying the character’s uncertainty or the deteriorating effect that one battle had on her, it just felt like the series faltered in having a clear psychological profile for her, especially in her relationship with Hong In-pyo, the grandson of the school’s founder. It felt arbitrary when she would get fiercely possessive of him in one circumstance, but appear to completely give up and self-sabotage in a similar situation.
I actually hate when television series act as if the characters are just like us and meeting each other for the first time when we are introduced to them. In the first episode, it does not seem to be her first day at work, but the series acts as if In-pyo and Eun-young met for the first time and repeats this error when other teachers start meeting her then inviting her places that In-pyo should be taking her since they are friends since the beginning. Otherwise this relationship was the most interesting one in the series because she is completely accustomed to the supernatural world, and he is the clueless everyman who is leaning on her to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the school. Unfortunately the show decided to take the Sam and Diane route and keep them apart to create tension that did not seem credible given the context. In the last episode, he is desperately trying to call her, but she is not answering the phone. Soon she is doing the same. In that situation, he should be answering because he would be waiting for her call. It felt as if his character had the most consistent storyline throughout the series and was actually well developed.
There was a brief, very progressive and some may say provocative love triangle in The School Nurse Files. Usually there are two men chasing after the woman, but in this television series, the switch in who was chasing who was deliciously unexpected. If it had any drawbacks, it was because signifiers of sexuality can get lost in translation either because of the direction, the actor or the stereotypes that exist in a certain region. Even though it was not seamless, it was better than the next one, which felt as if it came out of nowhere though it continued off screen longer than the first. The series could have been innovative, but it ran scared.
It felt as if The School Nurse Files was referencing something historically significant with the detour to Busan and its connection to the school, but it was so brief and rushed, I have no idea if there was deeper meaning. What was the founder’s goal? I do not know if I am satisfied with the explanation. What is the point of having all that power if it is not to do something? The power struggle is similarly rushed and not properly developed. If it was a more basic show, I would suggest world domination, but in South Korea, what would it be? It felt as if some of the events in episode five should have happened in an earlier episode so we could draw parallels with In-pyo. It may make her sudden ambivalence about their relationship make retroactive sense.
Visually while I am sympathetic to the financial limitations that leads to practical effects instead of CGI, The School Nurse Files did not work me aesthetically. There was no internal logic regarding how the nurse would respond to what she saw. Sometimes she would fight, and in the same location with the same entities, she would just stop, but the director never conveyed the reasoning behind her decisions. It felt as if it was going more for laughs than thrills. When the series does get brutal such as when students eagerly grasp barb wire or in Episode 3 when students bully a classmate, it feels as if the show is beginning to gain traction and willing to explore its shadow side, but then it rushes back into the colorful, harmless, cute graphics that completely create a void where any tension existed. This impulse is perfectly embodied in the physical depiction of ghosts. It was my least favorite part of the series. I know that I may not be in the demographic that the series is targeting, but little girls would like those graphics, and Nickelodeon wants its slime back please.
The School Nurse Files’ lead asset is its cast. Jung Yu-mi works so hard to fill in the holes left by the writers. She gives off an Ally Sheedy The Breakfast Club vibe in her approach to the nurse and creates emotional bridges that are missing in the actual story. I felt as if she unofficially knew more about her character than the creators. Nam Joo-hyuk is a stonecold hottie, and no amount of baggy clothes can hide it. Tee Yoo was my favorite supporting actor. Did his agent ask for too much money so they dropped his character like a hot potato and substituted In-pyo’s childhood friend with that character? I loved the random ducks.
I have seen South Korean television series before, but I am no expert. I wanted to like The School Nurse Files, but even with its brief run and excellent viewing conditions, I mentally checked out and was no longer invested before it ended. The craftsman ship was too uneven. If you are not into subtitles, I would run. Don’t start here.
