Ever since Sex Education was first introduced to the Netflix catalogue in early 2019, it has taken the world by storm. The show does a fantastic job discussing taboo topics and successfully breaks the stigma of sexual intimacy while sprinkling in humour, romance and relatability above all. It has even answered questions I’ve always been curious about in a culture where the conversation of mere tampons is considered brazen and unladylike. Following a long pause between seasons two and three, fanatics were finally welcomed back to the hallways of Moordale Secondary to watch the antics of their favourite, unique group of teenagers. Although I wasn’t initially drawn to the show when it first came out, I became completely obsessed following the recent release of season three and have some unpopular opinions that might stir up controversy.
- The hype around Maeve and Otis has died down
-
While the show did a really great job of showing us the slow-burn romance (one of my favourite tropes) of Maeve and Otis, I have to say I might be over it at this point. I love the tension, the will-they-won’t-they debate and the grumpy-sunshine dynamic between the two, but when is it that they will finally get together? Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic when the pair finally made out at a random gas station in France, but why didn’t they get together after that? Maeve temporarily moving to America for an academic program was a total girlboss move (PSA: never prioritize men above your goals and education!), but that kiss gave us false hope just for them to be separated again. At this point, I’m tired of the back-and-forth and would rather cheer on Ruby and Otis, who were actually pretty cute together this season.
- Eric might be a good friend, but he is a terrible boyfriend
-
I know there are a lot of Eric stans out there so just hear me out. I totally adore Eric and the energy he brings to the screen. He’s funny and charming, but how on earth does he manage to cheat on every boyfriend he’s ever had? Granted, there’s only been Rahim and Adam so far, but he’s definitely a piece of…work for how he played those two. First, he was emotionally cheating on Rahim and betrayed him….in front of the whole school! I get that the heart wants what it wants, but do it maturely and privately, please and thank you. With absolutely no character growth at all, Eric then goes ahead and cheats on poor Adam. He revisits Nigeria to celebrate a family member’s wedding, and before you know it, he’s kissing a random guy he just met. He had no care in the world about how Adam would feel about his actions and used the terrible excuse of “not feeling free” while he’s with him, even though he knew full well where Adam stood with his sexuality when he chose to date him. Adam was just trying his best and obviously, it was going to take some time, but he was willing to put in the work for Eric. I really liked these two together, but honestly, Adam deserves so much better.
- Adam is this season’s best character
-
This is definitely not something I expected myself to say when I first started the show but wow, Adam has had some phenomenal character development. He went from being the inconsiderate, menacing bully to a kind, loving person and my favourite character this season. His growth as a friend, boyfriend, son, student and even dog dad was so beautiful. I would often get emotional watching his scenes. He dedicated himself to a journey of self-improvement and became more expressive with his emotions as he began wearing his heart on his sleeve. From overcoming his fear of falling in love to taking the blame for the poop-on-the-window incident (imagine reading this with no context), it becomes more and more obvious that Adam is flourishing as a person. With the help of the wonderful Ms. Sands, he puts more effort into his studies and starts working hard to find his passion. One of my favourite moments of this season was when Adam participated in the dog show with his dog Madam, while Ms. Sands cheered them on from the audience. Although it made my heart ache to see the look on his face when he didn’t win, I was so glad he got an honorary mention. Not only did it make the scene more realistic, but I’m also sure that’s exactly what Adam needed to keep pushing and work harder for next time. My only wish for next season is for his breakup not to completely crush his spirit and send him spiralling into bad habits, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
- The students handled the Hope situation atrociously
-
One of the most interesting characters we were met with this season was the new headmistress, Hope Haddon. Not only was Hope seemingly trying to turn Moordale into a military base with her totalitarian practices, but she was also proven to be extremely abusive and controlling. From enforcing uniforms to the extent of dyeing hair, taking out piercings and essentially eliminating any sense of self-identity, to humiliating students in front of the entire school and implementing a three -day no-talking policy, she was on an insane power trip. Needless to say, the students had decided to take a stand and expose Hope in front of staff, family and press at their open day. One of the main reasons Hope decided to host open day was to show off the complete rebranding of the school that aimed to shift the narrative from it being known as “the sex school” where kids were overtly sexual and “dirty.” I was really looking forward to seeing how the students would handle this opportunity, considering they had a secret recording of Hope complaining about the students and admitting she doesn’t care about them or their “insignificant” problems. Instead of using actual evidence that would help them finally get rid of Hope, they made silly videos to own their sexual reputation. I cannot express how much this illogical decision annoyed me when they could have had students recount their discriminatory, racist and flat-out abusive experiences they endured at the hands of Hope. Now, because of their poor decision-making skills, Moordale is at risk of being shut down and we have no idea what is in store for the students.
- Isaac is immature and a massive hypocrite
-
Isaac was undoubtedly one of the most annoying characters this season alongside Hope. He is the sole reason I’m slowly leaving the ship of Maeve and Otis since he intentionally prolonged the endgame by deleting the voicemail where Otis admits his love for her. Instead of respecting Maeve’s privacy, Isaac goes into her phone, listens to the voicemail and deletes it like some insecure, possessive boyfriend (even though they’re not even dating at this point). This was so infuriating and disheartening because Otis goes on with his life thinking Maeve doesn’t share the same feelings (even though she did!) and Maeve goes on with her life thinking Otis is just done with her. They don’t talk all summer, and when Isaac and Maeve end up together in season three (I don’t think a single person shipped them TBH), he decides to tell her about the voicemail. Even though Maeve is pissed at him for a while, she eventually gets over it and everything is fine. That is until Maeve and Otis were stranded at a gas station in France and Maeve admits what Isaac did. She asks Otis what the voicemail said and as he recounts his love confession, the pair end up finally kissing! Normally, I am completely against cheating, but this time, I kind of don’t feel bad at all. Isaac was pissed when he found out, but truthfully, he deserves it. After all, you can’t expect a relationship that’s based on a lie to work out. Maeve was meant for Otis all along and Isaac was a hypocrite to be mad about her lying.
Although this season was quite different from the rest of the show, in my opinion, it had some really great moments with admirable character development (I’m looking at you, Adam, and of course, the unsung Ruby). There’s still a lot more to explore in season four and I can’t wait to see what journeys the writers take our favourite Mooredale students on.