Shows about undercover cops often play to comedy, mixing sharp storytelling with humor. But Flunked does things differently, turning the idea on its head, by centering around a criminal going undercover. The idea has tons of potential for tension and comedy on paper, especially when deception is a matter of everyday survival.
The story is about Eddy, the protagonist of this French Netflix series. He enters a school pretending to be a substitute math teacher, even though he’s shown to be a math genius criminal. But, the show soon moves away from showing off his intellect. The story does not dwell on his mathematical genius but rather on Eddy’s propensity for lying, improvising and getting out of situations by trickery rather than by his skills.
Eddy is a little sympathetic character, but his alleged genius at mathematics never really comes into play, and seems like a wasted opportunity. His character arc tries to show some growth and an inclination to better behavior, but the writing doesn’t quite follow through with a strong or convincing transformation.
The secondary characters are also not fleshed out. Most of them seem to be standard archetypes, rather than fully fleshed-out personalities. They are very predictable throughout the series and while they add to the general craziness of the storyline they lose some of their effect as the plot moves on.
Even the villain, Sagirov, doesn’t make a compelling villain by the end. Instead of a tense confrontation, the story turns to more ongoing conflicts at school. Lucie’s pursuit of Sagirov, her reason for it, is frequently stressed but never truly escalates the stakes of the narrative.
The visual presentation is solid, on the positive side. The series is naturalistic, but colorful, adding to the school setting. The close-ups and wide framing are well utilized to capture emotional moments and chaotic situations, adding a little depth to the viewing experience.
All in all, Flunked Season 1 is an entertaining series if you’re not looking for a tightly structured plot. It has moments of humor and chaos to keep the story interesting even when it becomes inconsistent. But many plot points feel either sudden or underdeveloped, and the show barely scratches the surface when it comes to deeper themes, including the problems of the French education system.
Overall, Flunked is watchable, occasionally fun, but it doesn’t quite live up to the potential of its intriguing premise.
