Sex Education, Netflix’ New Hit

Once I started watching Sex Education on Netflix, I couldn’t stop. It’s a brilliant show that follows Otis and his Sex Education Therapy program. You might be thinking that he’s going to therapy. However, he’s the one to give therapy to his peers. His mother is a known sex therapist who has published a book. Otis’ parents are divorced, and his mother is very open-minded. She brings her dates at home, but none stick around. Despite all the openness, Otis feels the pressure of growing up, being a teen, having problems with masturbating and falling in love. And yes things get complicated. Although the show follows Otis, you also have a lot going on with his schoolmates. Not only that, but adults in the series also make you think a lot about human nature.

SPOILERS: this review has massive spoilers from the show. It’s an amazing series, so head to Netflix as soon as possible and give it a go. It’s hilarious, but it also poses some good questions about what means to be a teen and also an adult.

Otis is quite mature for his age. Of course, he isn’t perfect, and he ends up being a douche in many situations. However, thanks to his mother’s education, he knows quite a lot about Sex Education and can give some therapy to his peers. Maeve, the girl he likes, proposes to him to create therapy sessions for customers, their schoolmates. They’ll split up the money between them. Maeve is a social outcast. Her situation is at odds of Otis: her mother is a drug addict, she needs money to pay the bills, and she fucks a lot. So much, that she ends up having an abortion. But, she is a survivor. She isn’t perfect either, and she’ll make some mistakes, especially when her brother is back in town. She also has a dual relationship with Otis: he wants him, and yet they’re not in a romantic relationship.

Maeve even tries to sabotage the first stages of a relationship that Otis starts with Ola, Jakob’s daughter. (Jacob is the love interest of Oti’s mother, Jean.) Still, Maeve doesn’t quit being with her boyfriend! We have to wait until the end to see that by the time she is ready to become Otis, he has moved forward with Ola.

Then we have Eric, Otis’ best friend. He’s a semi-closeted gay. At home, he has tons of amazing clothing that he puts on when he’s alone. His personality is as colorful as his fashion. He has a bully, Adam, the Headmaster’s son. Adam’s life is horrible since his Dad has the worst attitude towards his son. At first, we’re led to believe that Adam bullies Eric out of nowhere, but by the end of the show, we’ll see otherwise. While Eric’s father can come as rough at times, he ends up accepting his son. Eric’s arc is incredible: he starts being the comic relief, but soon we can see that he’s more than that. He ends up coming out diva style during the ball, and we discover that most of the bullying from Adam is jealousy because Eric’s Dad is accepting, but Adam’s is a Douche.

Adam will end up making up with Eric. He goes from going after his ex-girlfriend, to loving Eric. Perhaps he was a closeted gay, or maybe he’s bisexual. That we don’t know. We just explore how his lousy attitude comes from a terrible upbringing. The Principal is anything but a good person. He always yells at her son. After menacing Adam with sending him to the army, he finally does so just when Adam might have opened up to Eric. It’s heartbreaking to see his fate in such a manner. Things aren’t going to get more comfortable for him. I expect a worse Adam in the second season just because of sending him to the Army. He’s on a path of becoming an equal or worse Douche than his Dad.

Then we have Jackson, Maeve’s boyfriend. He gets Maeve thanks to Otis’ reluctant help. Although Jackson’s life might look easy, it’s not. He lives under constant pressure from one of his mothers, and the school swimming team. The Principal loves him, only because he’s a swimming champion. He has anxiety and is used to a nice image in the school. But, as we see more and more about his life, we discover that he’s pretty trapped.

Then, there’s Ruby, a member of the mean team at school. Someone sends a picture of her vagina everywhere and threatens to show the full picture, so everybody knows it was her genitals. She’s frantic and ends up asking for help to Maeve and Otis. They both help, and this ends up with Otis not going to Eric’s birthday (and things happen here, but I won’t discuss them, so go to Netflix now!) After playing Sherlock and Watson for a while, Maeve ends up discovering that it was Ruby’s best friend Simone who did the deed. Let’s be clear, Ruby is horrible with everyone. And she ends up sharing the pic. When the full school meets to tell about the genitals, Simone stands up and says “it’s my vagina.” Then Aimee also stands up and says it’s her. Little by little, all first stand up and say it’s their vagina.

Then there’s Lily, a geek girl who writes alien erotica (mainly tentacle porn). She’s obsessed with making it and is searching for voluntaries. First, she tries with Eric, but he turns out gay. He also tries to enlist Otis, but he ends up with a panic attack. And so it goes until she finds a voluntary, but it all fails. Whatever she tries, even if it’s perfect, her vagina won’t answer. As it turns out, her need to control everything is preventing her for achieving her goal. She’s taking it like a race, and love isn’t one. She’s actually pretty funny and kind of cool as well. Also very colorful like Eric.

Despite Otis being the one helping his schoolmates, he is virgin and cannot masturbate. As the show progresses, he has a trauma with his dad, who was cheating on his mother with some clients. Until he learns to relax, and let go of the control he needs (like the tentacle girl), he cannot masturbate. He’s infatuated with Maeve, but then Ola enters into his life and turns it around sweetly. Ola is very chill out and relaxed. She’s funny, and despite having a harsh background (we learn from his Dad that her mother died from cancer and it was tough), she’s confident in life.

Sex Education is a brilliant show. I could stay hours here explaining about all the characters, but I wouldn’t give it enough justice. The only way to greatly enjoy it is to just watch it. It’s a comedy, and yet you can feel the drama in the lives of so many characters. And because it’s so well done, it’ll make you think. You’ll probably remember your school days and ask yourself if you were like them. Or perhaps it will make you question many things as an adult. Whatever the case: give this a go.

Copyright: Images on this post (C) Sex Education (C) Netflix / Memes & Gifs (C) by their owners.