This article contains spoilers.
January 23rd marked the ending of season three for Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls. Fans felt they were treading unknown waters at the beginning of this season after fan favorite Leighton Murray (played by Reneé Rapp) left the show. I was one of those fans who was unsure of how the dynamic between the girls would change. I am very happy that the change wasn’t that grand of a switch up in the chemistry.
I looked forward to watching a new episode this week and seeing where it took me. I’ll admit there were times where I was confused and concerned. Ultimately, the season finale rounded out each character nicely for the next season.
Whitney Chase (Alyah Chanelle Scott) began the season single, and moved into a sorority. After realizing she couldn’t be lax and her own person within the sorority, she quickly left and moved back in with her friends. In addition, she forgave Kimberly for getting with Canaan.
She faced academic challenges in ways she didn’t expect. In her science class the hair net was not big enough for her braids and so the professor told her it’s “one size fits all” and she’d have to just watch the experiment being done instead of participating. This caused her to think about the obstacles people of color, specifically women of color, face in scientific fields. Due to this, she talks with her African Studies professor about past scientists who have faced similar disparities as she had. This pushes her professor in encouraging Whitney to pursue African Studies as a minor.
In her romantic life, she met Isaiah who she wrongly assumed would be flaunting his money around and not work for anything. It seemed as though they had reached an understanding of one another and he was there for her with her anxiety, course load, and soccer commitments. He took notice of her mental health but the shadow of Canaan loomed. Whitney broke up with Isaiah after kissing Canaan and the two were rekindling old feelings by the end of the season.
Most importantly, she learned to put herself first! She quit the soccer team and weeks of pushing herself through an injury when she was denied one day off. The team initially didn’t want to hear from her about it as they felt she was abandoning them. Her friend Willow brought it to everyone’s attention that Whitney had pushed herself for the team until she couldn’t. This led to players coming forward about their own experience with unjust treatment and they got to make their demands to the board.
Kimberly Finkle (Pauline Chalamet) was getting many men this season. Starting off the season with Canaan, they had kept their relationship going over the summer only for it to end when they went back to school.
She joined an esteemed law symposium where she had to learn to make her peers respect her. As the symposium is mostly made up of men, she struggled to navigate herself in an appropriate manner. She quickly found her footing and gained respect using her academics.
In the finale, she wanted to take a stance when a conservative speaker comes to campus. She tells her law professor about joining the peaceful protest in which her professor advises her against it as it could hurt her in the future. Kimberly was going to heed her professor’s words until she meets Noel, the organizer of the protest who convinces her to show up. At the protest she runs into Eli, a fling from the beginning of the season and they talk about catching up.
The protest is shut down after campus police show up since the university is private property. Kimberly won’t back down! She uses Bela’s ID to gain access to the server room which will cut off the speakers live stream. She cheers in success with Noel and other students until they are caught and sent to jail. Kimberly regrets her decisions and Noel assures her that change won’t happen unless action is taken.
Kimberly isn’t in jail long as Eli bails her out, leaving Noel staring after her.
Bela Malhotra (Amrit Kaur) left the comedy scene after her selfishness burned down every bridge she had. Looking for something new, she became a RA. She becomes friends with resident Taylor after taking her to the hospital. At the same hospital she meets Arvind, a fellow RA whom Taylor convinces Bela that he’s flirting with her. Bela finds out he has a girlfriend, tried to sabotage it, and decided to forget it. She had a few hookups before Arvind tells her he broke up with his girlfriend and the two get together.
She’s enjoying her relationship with Arvind until the topic of body count comes up. Arvinds is two while Bela’s is twenty. It seemed like Arvind was shocked and processing but I didn’t like how he got tested without talking to Bela about her past and saying that since he’s good, she “probably clean too”. Getting tested is great! However, don’t make your partner feel bad about their body count and don’t go behind their backs when getting tested.
The relationship soon fizzled out after that, especially when Bela was telling Arvind that she was getting back to comedy using her sex stories and he made clear he was against it. Alls well that ends well because after that Bela kisses Hailey, the organizer of the comedy night she’ll be performing at! Bela comes out to the girls that she’s bi and wants to announce this discovery at her comedy show. She’s about to do it when her mom unexpectedly shows up; she chickens out.
After talking to Taylor about the kiss and why she couldn’t be open about it with her mom in the audience, Taylor encourages Bela to be honest with her mom. She points out that it looks like Bela has a good relationship with her mom. At the end of the season, Bela subtly shows her mom that she is with Hailey by holding Hailey’s hand during Kacey’s show.
Kacey Baker (Gracie Lawrence) is the new roomie! The girls were taken aback by her cheery direct attitude. Coming in as a transfer from Duke University, Kacey came to Essex to be close to her boyfriend again. She makes it clear she’s really just here for him, so the girls won’t be seeing her much.
At a party, Kimberly recognizes Kacey’s boyfriend who is dancing and kissing another girl. She tells Whitney and Bela after contacting Kacey about it. When Kacey arrives, she dumps him! Moving on, she decides to try musical theater where she meets Cooper. They pair have a musical theater romance going on which is cute and quirky. Kacey opens up to Cooper about not having had sex before to which he assures her it’s okay.
However, after the girls test the boys they’re seeing, she realizes she doesn’t know why her ex cheated on her. Looking for answers, she goes to his dorm. He apologizes for cheating and said it was because she wasn’t ready to have sex and he couldn’t wait. He adds that he doesn’t think any guy could wait [that long]. The answer causes her insecurities to rise and she texts Cooper that she’s ready.
The two go all the way and she’s excited about it. However, Cooper feels as though Kacey was coming on too strong after the fact. She already added him to her family vacation and her mom flew in to meet him. Overwhelmed, he breaks up with her. Distraught, Kacey cries in her room which is where her friends find her. She reveals that due to her ex’s words, she convinced herself that she was ready so that Cooper wouldn’t leave her. The girls then share their own first time stories which had to be my favorite part of the episode. It truly was raw girlhood; it made me emotional. There are so many expectations and unsaid things when it comes to a girls first time, so the girls bonding over it and sharing that it wasn’t perfect was something I personally don’t see often.
The show must go on as they say. Kacey, the lead in the play, attempts to back out of the show as she is heartbroken. The director says no and immediately replaces her. Kacey realizes she needs this and gets her role back. In a quite beautiful rendition of ‘Never Enough’, Kacey belts out while looking Cooper in the eyes. Her mom watches proudly in the crowd, and so do her friends.
I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. The season was unexpected, and beyond my expectations. Essex, I’ll see you soon!