Everything Sucks! Drama Kate & Emaline Couple Review

『Clumsy but Genuine Record of Teen Queer Growth and First Love』

🎥 Drama Overview

🎬 Title: Everything Sucks! (2018)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 United States
🎞️ Genre: Comedy / Drama / Teen Coming-of-Age
🗓️ Production & Release: Netflix, 1 season, 10 episodes
⏳ Runtime: ~30 minutes per episode
📺 Platform: Netflix

👩‍💼 Cast: Peyton Kennedy – Kate Messner
Sydney Sweeney – Emaline Addario

🧩 In-Depth Story Analysis (Spoilers)

🎭 Kate's Perspective and Confusion (The Gaze)

The relationship between Kate and Emaline is far from the typical start of a romance. The story begins with freshman Luke developing a crush on Kate, following a traditional structure, but the true heart of the drama lies in Kate's gaze toward Emaline.

• Kate's Position: Kate is the principal's daughter, quiet and introverted, accustomed to hiding her emotions. She secretly knows she has no interest in the opposite sex, yet she cannot identify the nature of her feelings.

• Emaline's Entrance: Emaline is the 'diva' of the drama club and the school's queen bee. Flashy, confident, and with a boyfriend named Oliver, she represents the 'ideal woman' that Kate feels she cannot approach. Kate experiences a mix of awe and sexual attraction when observing Emaline's stage performances and confident demeanor. This attraction sparks Kate's first confusion that she might be a lesbian.

💬 Initial Interactions: Tension and Misunderstanding

Initially, there is little interaction between them, and Kate observes Emaline from a distance. Their first meaningful engagement occurs when the audiovisual club collaborates with the drama club to produce a school film. During this process, Emaline regards Kate as part of the nerd group that annoys her, creating tension.

🚌 Trip and Building Intimacy

A short trip to California for filming becomes a decisive turning point in their relationship. Emaline tries to comfort Kate's introverted anxiety and shares her own life and dreams, approaching Kate as a 'relatable friend' rather than a 'cool older sister'.

During this trip, Emaline serves as a mentor, teaching Kate life attitude and confidence. Through this process, Kate realizes that her feelings toward Emaline are not mere admiration but a profound emotional bond and romantic attraction.

🌈 Emaline's Growth and Role

Emaline also grows through this relationship. She recognizes that her relationship with Oliver is superficially glamorous but empty, and she begins to sense that what truly offers comfort and stability is a pure and genuine connection with Kate. Emaline notices the "different kind of gaze" Kate directs at her, which both confuses and fascinates her.

🎥 1996: A Lonely Coming-Out

Set in 1996, this series reflects a time when information and public awareness about homosexuality were almost nonexistent. Kate had no role models or community to help her understand her feelings.

The process of Kate being attracted to Emaline is an entirely isolated and internalized experience. Through her interactions with Emaline, Kate begins to label her identity. This stands in sharp contrast to modern teens, who often navigate coming-out processes via social media or online communities, symbolizing the lonely journey of past queer youth.

💡 Significance of the First Queer Romance

In the season finale, Kate musters the courage to confess her feelings to Emaline, who, though surprised, leaves room for positive possibilities. This moment is deeply meaningful.

It symbolizes Kate's final stage of self-acceptance. Even if her crush is rejected, expressing her genuine emotions becomes the most crucial coming-of-age event for Kate. By hinting that Emaline might choose Kate over Luke, the series shows that queer romance can exist within mainstream narratives.

🩵 The Most Authentic 90s Queer Drama

The relationship between Kate and Emaline was the key driving force behind the success of 'Everything Sucks!'. The series is wrapped in the nostalgia of the 1990s, but at its core, it deeply portrays a teen's universal yet special experience of discovering sexual identity, making clumsy confessions, and risking rejection.

Their relationship conveys that navigating one's true colors amid the "everything seems messed up" chaos of adolescence is the most beautiful aspect of growth. Fans continue to wonder how this relationship would have developed in a potential season 2, making the early cancellation one of the series' most significant disappointments.

🎯 Personal Rating (Subjective)

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