This article contains spoilers for The Sex Lives of College Girls season 3 finale.
The season 3 finale of The Sex Lives of College Girls, released on Jan. 23, has sparked various discussions among fans on the internet. The episode included major turning points for each character, from academic to romantic troubles. While some storylines felt rushed and weaker than in previous seasons, others were refreshing and well-developed, setting up exciting possibilities for the next season. In case you missed it, here are my thoughts on where each character ended up.
Kimberly
At a party, Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) meets a new guy named Noah (Trevor Tordjman) and attends the protest with him. While there, she unexpectedly runs into Eli (Michael Provost), her ex-situationship, and they seem to be hitting it off again.
After Essex shuts down the protest, Kimberly impulsively invades a restricted room with a group of student protestors to disable the school’s internet services. This leads to their arrest, and Kimberly regrets her careless decisions. In the cell, she has a moment with Noah, but ultimately, Eli is the one who comes to bail her out.
Kimberly’s storyline with her political career journey wasn’t my favorite this season, but I do think it adds to her character and reflects an essential side of college. Furthermore, I didn’t enjoy the introduction of yet another love interest for Kimberly. However, I liked Eli’s return to the show, given how rushed her relationships felt this season with a constant change of romantic interests.
Kacey
Cooper (Roby Attal) and Kacey’s (Gracie Lawrence) relationship had an unexpected twist when he broke up with her right after they slept together for the first time in the previous episode. Cooper knew how important this step meant to Kacey and had shown no signs that he wasn’t satisfied with the relationship.
When confronted, Cooper stated that it wasn’t his fault that Kacey had just lost her virginity to him. I have mixed feelings about this one — while they were the best couple to root for this season, and fans were invested, I don’t see their relationship ever recovering from this.
That said, I do think we’ll be seeing more of Cooper next season, especially since they still have theatre rehearsals together, and their story feels unresolved. On a brighter note, Kacey finally gets the lead role and performs “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman. In the audience, her mom finally appreciates Kacey’s talent and shows she is proud.
Bela
Bela (Amrit Kaur) gets back into comedy after performing for a stand-up show on campus, which I loved seeing since it was such a key part of her character in the previous seasons. She also discovers a new part of herself after kissing her new friend from the stand-up show: she’s bisexual. Later in the episode, her mom makes a surprise visit, and they attend Kacey’s play together.
In one of the most touching scenes of the finale, Bela comes out to her mom, who immediately accepts her. Bela’s bisexual reveal sets up her relationship with Taylor to evolve from platonic to romantic, as fans have been speculating earlier in the season. I don’t believe her relationship with the new girl will last, but I am excited for her relationship with Taylor to be further explored.
Whitney
One of the most wholesome moments of the finale was Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) leading a mental health movement in Essex’s sports. The entire women’s soccer team quits in protest of the school’s poor treatment of student-athletes after realizing they could all relate to Whitney’s negative experience. In response, the school board finally agreed to listen to concerns and implement major changes.
This allows Whitney and her teammates to get back on the field and win the championship. I enjoyed Whitney’s storyline, which included mental health and student-athlete struggles this season. However, the school board’s implementation of said changes seems too optimistic to me, and I hope to see some realistic shifts in the team next season.
On the romantic side, we see Whitney getting back with her ex, Canaan (Christopher Meyer), which makes a lot of sense for the moment. With a less rigid schedule, she has more time to focus on her personal life. Plus, it’s logical to bring Canaan back, as he is a recurring character we see working at the Sips with Kimberly.
Taylor
Like Kacey, Taylor (Mia Rodgers) also has a pivotal moment with her mom, reaching out to her on a Facetime call in an effort to reconcile. She is also in a better place with her sobriety journey, which shows how much she’s grown since the start of the season. In a touching conversation, Taylor thanks Bela for her support in her sobriety journey, while Bela comes out to her as bisexual.
The show gives us clear indications that Taylor will become Bela’s next love interest soon as a slow-burn “enemies to friends to lovers” dynamic has been building up since early on. I’m very excited to see how their relationship unfolds, and I predict that they’ll become the show’s most developed and loved couple.
With so many plotlines still growing, the possibilities for new seasons feel endless. Through mistakes and successes, the writers continue to keep fans invested with their lovable characters and arcs. Hopefully, next season will deepen its interesting relationships and explore some of their surface-level love interests, such as Eli and Cooper. There’s a lot to look forward to in The Sex Lives of College Girls!
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