Sjukt oklar (2018–2020) Series Review

『Amid imperfection, Ellen and Vera’s clumsy yet genuine love blooms』

🎥 Drama Overview

🎬 Title: Sjukt oklar (2018–2020)
🌍 Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden
🎞️ Genre: Teen Comedy / Coming-of-Age / Queer Romance
🗓️ Production & Broadcast: SVT Play, Season 1 (2018), Season 2 (2020)
Total Episodes: 16 (combined Seasons 1 & 2)
📺 Platform: SVT Play

👩‍💼 Cast: Clara Henry – Ellen
Madeleine Martin – Vera

🧩 In-Depth Story Exploration (Spoilers)

🌱 Ellen’s wandering—always starting but never finishing

Since childhood, Ellen had a habit of starting things but never finishing them. After dropping out of high school, she wandered the world searching for her identity, yet once again returned home incomplete. Always unable to bring things to completion, she decides to make a fresh start—at the age of 24, she disguises herself as a 16-year-old student and returns to high school.

🌷 First love and reunion—Ellen and Vera’s complicated emotions

One day, Vera—whom Ellen had met during a backpacking trip and shared a romantic fling with—appears at Ellen’s school as a teacher. The two reunite, but upon realizing that Ellen is actually a student, Vera is thrown into turmoil, torn between her role as a responsible teacher and her personal feelings. Their affection for one another grows stronger, yet the wall of reality remains high. Still, during an outdoor class when they get lost and spend the night together in a cabin, the truth about Ellen’s age and their love comes to light, and they rekindle their romance.

⚠️ Trials, blackmail, and a relationship put to the test

A crisis erupts when Jessica, Ellen’s brother’s girlfriend, secretly films an intimate moment between the two and uses it to blackmail them. Vera is fired from her teaching job, while Ellen is crushed with guilt, blaming herself. This ordeal tests their love, but Vera, unwavering, comforts Ellen and promises a shared future together.

🌿 Growth, anxiety, and diverging paths

In Season 2, Ellen continues attending high school while still searching for herself, whereas Vera pursues university studies and builds new friendships. Ellen feels jealousy and insecurity toward Vera, but Vera continues to treasure their love and hopes to live together.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and the Meaning of the Work

🎭 The significance as a realistic coming-of-age drama

This drama portrays with honesty the growing pains, insecurities, and uncertainties of queer teen love. Especially, Ellen and Vera’s relationship goes beyond the simple thrill of first love—it shows how real-life struggles, conflicts, and incomplete love can gradually mature.

💡 The courage to start over

The drama is meaningful not only because it portrays a teenager’s journey, but also because it follows an adult protagonist reliving adolescence, facing confusion, challenges, and growing pains in a comedic yet earnest way. Through Ellen’s struggles with identity, love, and high school life, the show conveys the message of “the courage to start again” and “accepting oneself as they are.”

Sjukt oklar may present itself as lighthearted comedy, but within it lies a serious story of finding one’s identity and maturing through relationships. With its humorous Swedish sensibility and candid characters, it is a series that will warm your heart.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★☆