"Sex Education strikes a beautiful balance between hilariously awkward sexual endeavors and empowering plot points filled with love and comfort. If you haven’t watched this show yet, I would highly recommend you do." -- Frankie Ettinger, 11th grade
If you have Netflix, I need you to log into your account, search for Sex Education, and click play. You’re seriously missing out if you haven’t seen this show. It’s got comedy, it’s got heart, it’s got wildly awkward situations that’ll make you cringe. Who doesn’t love that? All in all, Sex Education is one of the best shows for teenagers to watch on Netflix.
Sex Education follows a teenage boy named Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) who, despite having a sex therapist for a mom, is sexually repressed and has no experience in the romance department whatsoever. But what Otis does have is knowledge surrounding sex and romance, so when Moordale High’s “bad girl” Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) approaches him about starting a sex clinic for kids at school, he agrees. Otis meets with students in the rundown bathrooms at Moordale and they tell him about their sexual dilemmas. He offers them advice in exchange for pay, which Maeve handles. Otis and Maeve’s relationship is awkward as they battle budding feelings for each other and it’s nice to see the softer side of the otherwise tough Maeve.
I’ll admit, it’s a strange plot and I was skeptical at first. How good could it really be? I got over my skepticism fast though. I was drawn into Otis’s life and rooted for him when he starts developing that seemingly hopeless crush on Maeve. I became invested in the story line of Otis’s best friend, Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa), who is unapologetically himself despite being relentlessly bullied by classmate Adam Groff (Connor Swindells). Sex Education pulls you into the lives of the characters fast.
There are many things that made this show a success but let’s talk about one of the biggest ones yet: Aimee Gibbs (Aimee Lou Wood). Aimee is one of the popular girls at Moordale High School, so popular that she’s part of an elite group called “The Untouchables.” Aimee isn’t treated well by the rest of the group and ends up leaving them for Maeve. Aimee’s character development is part of what drew me into Sex Education. At the beginning of season one, she’s made out to be this ditsy character only has boy problems and popularity going for her. But once you get to know Aimee, you see that she’s easily one of the kindest people in the show and is a loyal friend. She’s also determined to follow her dreams as a baker, even if she sucks at it. What I really want to talk about, though, is Aimee’s character development in regards to being sexually assaulted.
Sex Education follows a teenage boy named Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) who, despite having a sex therapist for a mom, is sexually repressed and has no experience in the romance department whatsoever. But what Otis does have is knowledge surrounding sex and romance, so when Moordale High’s “bad girl” Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) approaches him about starting a sex clinic for kids at school, he agrees. Otis meets with students in the rundown bathrooms at Moordale and they tell him about their sexual dilemmas. He offers them advice in exchange for pay, which Maeve handles. Otis and Maeve’s relationship is awkward as they battle budding feelings for each other and it’s nice to see the softer side of the otherwise tough Maeve.
I’ll admit, it’s a strange plot and I was skeptical at first. How good could it really be? I got over my skepticism fast though. I was drawn into Otis’s life and rooted for him when he starts developing that seemingly hopeless crush on Maeve. I became invested in the story line of Otis’s best friend, Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa), who is unapologetically himself despite being relentlessly bullied by classmate Adam Groff (Connor Swindells). Sex Education pulls you into the lives of the characters fast.
There are many things that made this show a success but let’s talk about one of the biggest ones yet: Aimee Gibbs (Aimee Lou Wood). Aimee is one of the popular girls at Moordale High School, so popular that she’s part of an elite group called “The Untouchables.” Aimee isn’t treated well by the rest of the group and ends up leaving them for Maeve. Aimee’s character development is part of what drew me into Sex Education. At the beginning of season one, she’s made out to be this ditsy character only has boy problems and popularity going for her. But once you get to know Aimee, you see that she’s easily one of the kindest people in the show and is a loyal friend. She’s also determined to follow her dreams as a baker, even if she sucks at it. What I really want to talk about, though, is Aimee’s character development in regards to being sexually assaulted.
Early on in season two, Aimee gets on the bus with a cake she made for Maeve’s birthday. After a few moments, Aimee can feel a man behind her using her for pleasure and starts yelling for help. When no one responds, she tells the bus driver to stop the bus and she walks the rest of the way to school. Maeve finds out what happens and takes Aimee to the police station to report it, though Aimee is reluctant to because she doesn’t feel like it’s a big deal. Aimee doesn’t feel the aftermath of this traumatic event until she’s alone. She avoids getting on the bus after this and ends up engaging in a conversation with other girls from Moordale High about it. Aimee realizes that she isn’t alone after she hears their stories about unwanted sexual touching. The next morning, they all ride the bus with her. This was one of the most empowering scenes in any show I’ve ever watched. It was wonderful to see women uplifting and supporting each other, and it raised awareness on how common sexual harassment and assault actually is. This show has a diverse crew of female characters who are all incredibly strong in their own ways.
Another one of Sex Education’s triumphs is Eric’s story line. The writers built up Eric’s character so that his life didn’t revolve around his sexuality, which I appreciated. I loved Eric’s character. He’s brutally honest and his laugh is infectious. I’m so excited to see more of him and his complicated love triangle with former bully Adam and hot new guy Rahim in season 3.
While the love triangle is a large plot point for Eric, he has many other things going for him. He comes from a Black, religious family. His father doesn’t understand why his son wants to wear makeup or the colorful clothing Eric rocks, and at first I was annoyed that Sex Education didn’t let Eric have a home life free of homophobia. Then I realized that Eric’s relationship with his dad is rocky because his dad is scared for him. When Eric is the victim of a homophobic assault when he’s wearing a wig and feminine clothing, it gives his dad more reason to fear for his son’s safety— and more reason to admire his son’s bravery. He loves Eric and doesn’t want anyone to hurt him. Their relationship isn’t perfect but Eric overall has a supportive family. Many other characters go through questioning their sexuality and figuring out new parts of their identity and I love how Sex Education framed this as normal, because it that’s just what happens when you’re a teenager.
Another one of Sex Education’s triumphs is Eric’s story line. The writers built up Eric’s character so that his life didn’t revolve around his sexuality, which I appreciated. I loved Eric’s character. He’s brutally honest and his laugh is infectious. I’m so excited to see more of him and his complicated love triangle with former bully Adam and hot new guy Rahim in season 3.
While the love triangle is a large plot point for Eric, he has many other things going for him. He comes from a Black, religious family. His father doesn’t understand why his son wants to wear makeup or the colorful clothing Eric rocks, and at first I was annoyed that Sex Education didn’t let Eric have a home life free of homophobia. Then I realized that Eric’s relationship with his dad is rocky because his dad is scared for him. When Eric is the victim of a homophobic assault when he’s wearing a wig and feminine clothing, it gives his dad more reason to fear for his son’s safety— and more reason to admire his son’s bravery. He loves Eric and doesn’t want anyone to hurt him. Their relationship isn’t perfect but Eric overall has a supportive family. Many other characters go through questioning their sexuality and figuring out new parts of their identity and I love how Sex Education framed this as normal, because it that’s just what happens when you’re a teenager.
Sex Education explores a wide range of sexualities but what stands out to me is that they included an asexual character as well. I know, I know. The bar is on the floor. But sadly, asexual people aren’t represented in television and I thought Sex Education did a really nice job creating this character. Her name is Florence (Mirren Mack). She goes to see Otis’s mom Jean Milburn (Gillan Anderson), who works as the school’s sex therapist in season 2, while working on a sexier adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Florence tells Jean that she doesn’t want to have ever have sex and that she thinks she may be broken. Jean explains the concept of asexuality to Florence, who still looks unsettled. Jean then tells her, “sex doesn’t make us whole, so how could you ever be broken?” I love this line. I always will. I think it’s an important message because asexual people are often told they need to be “fixed” so they’ll like sex, or, like Florence, they feel as though they’re broken. Sex Education really hits the point home that sexual and romantic relations don’t make us who we are.
There are so many other things I could talk about in this review, but frankly I don’t have the time and this article would be too long. There is one more thing I want to talk about and that’s Isaac’s character. Isaac (George Robinson) is a side character in season two who lives in the same trailer park as Maeve. He’s snarky and meddles in Maeve’s relationship with Otis and has a deadpan sense of humor. He also happens to be in a wheelchair. I haven’t seen many disabled characters in television and when I do, they’re usually portrayed as pretty helpless and they don’t have much of a personality or storyline. Again, the bar is on the floor when it comes to this type of thing but Sex Education creating a disabled character whose sole purpose isn’t being the token disabled friend is a step in the right direction. I hate Isaac and all his meddling, and I love that I hate him because that means the writers did a good job creating dimension in his character that has nothing to do with his disability.
Sex Education touches on so many important topics. I don’t know much actual sex education it contains because a lot of it is framed with humor, but that doesn’t even matter to me because this show isn’t afraid to talk about things like sexual assault, internalized homophobia, abortion, sex (obviously), drug addiction, identity, and self expression. While I have other shows I like just as much, I’ve never seen a show portray so many heavy situations with such grace. Sex Education strikes a beautiful balance between hilariously awkward sexual endeavors and empowering plot points filled with love and comfort. If you haven’t watched this show yet, I would highly recommend you do. Just don’t watch it with your parents.
Sex Education explores a wide range of sexualities but what stands out to me is that they included an asexual character as well. I know, I know. The bar is on the floor. But sadly, asexual people aren’t represented in television and I thought Sex Education did a really nice job creating this character. Her name is Florence (Mirren Mack). She goes to see Otis’s mom Jean Milburn (Gillan Anderson), who works as the school’s sex therapist in season 2, while working on a sexier adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Florence tells Jean that she doesn’t want to have ever have sex and that she thinks she may be broken. Jean explains the concept of asexuality to Florence, who still looks unsettled. Jean then tells her, “sex doesn’t make us whole, so how could you ever be broken?” I love this line. I always will. I think it’s an important message because asexual people are often told they need to be “fixed” so they’ll like sex, or, like Florence, they feel as though they’re broken. Sex Education really hits the point home that sexual and romantic relations don’t make us who we are.
There are so many other things I could talk about in this review, but frankly I don’t have the time and this article would be too long. There is one more thing I want to talk about and that’s Isaac’s character. Isaac (George Robinson) is a side character in season two who lives in the same trailer park as Maeve. He’s snarky and meddles in Maeve’s relationship with Otis and has a deadpan sense of humor. He also happens to be in a wheelchair. I haven’t seen many disabled characters in television and when I do, they’re usually portrayed as pretty helpless and they don’t have much of a personality or storyline. Again, the bar is on the floor when it comes to this type of thing but Sex Education creating a disabled character whose sole purpose isn’t being the token disabled friend is a step in the right direction. I hate Isaac and all his meddling, and I love that I hate him because that means the writers did a good job creating dimension in his character that has nothing to do with his disability.
Sex Education touches on so many important topics. I don’t know much actual sex education it contains because a lot of it is framed with humor, but that doesn’t even matter to me because this show isn’t afraid to talk about things like sexual assault, internalized homophobia, abortion, sex (obviously), drug addiction, identity, and self expression. While I have other shows I like just as much, I’ve never seen a show portray so many heavy situations with such grace. Sex Education strikes a beautiful balance between hilariously awkward sexual endeavors and empowering plot points filled with love and comfort. If you haven’t watched this show yet, I would highly recommend you do. Just don’t watch it with your parents.
