Sex Education: Season 3, Episode 3

 “Yes, Jeffrey, you sex god!”

This episode is bloody eventful, and bloody good. On the other hand, it made Mrs Llamastrangler cry.

There's some strong use of humour tomundercut a lot of the real darkness here, from the cat that was killed by shagging to the way Aimee unburdening herself to Jean about her sexual assault (and how to love her vulva) is swiftly followed by the goat having a poo on the floor.

It's an episode with Jean and Otis adjusting to Jakob and Ola as new members of the household, and making compromises. It's about Maeve reconnecting with her mum, and forgiving Isaac after his heartfelt and rather lovely speech. It's about Hope dragging the school into the rip off industry that is the school uniform, an institution that exists only to extort money from parents. 

It's also about Viv abandoning all principle in pursuit of power and Jackson's disgust, as well as his anxiety now he's no longer a swimmer, an actor or head boy. And he seems to get on rather well with the ambiguously queer Cal... and their weed.

It's about the double date, and Adam not yet feeling ready to say to his mum that Eric is his boyfriend... and his concern at Eric's forthcoming trip to horribly homophobic Nigeria. Already that's a lot going on, but we also haveLily's obsession wth alien conspiracy theories driving a wedge between her and Ola... and Otis being allowed into Ruby's unglamorous but sweet home life. Sweetly, we gradually learn how Ruby is more besotted with Otis than she lets on... but when she declares her love, he doesn't say it back. Ow.

So much going on here- but the episode doesn't feel crowded. This is a real leap of quality that gives me real hope for this season.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 6

“ If you’re not ready to talk about douching with your boyfriend, you’re not ready to have his cock in your ass.”

Well, if it seemed as if last episode was the one where everything went wrong, this episode ups the ante. We k of its going to happen all the way through, as Otis formulates plans for a “gathering” and we just know hordes of people are going to arrive and trash the place, because that’s how the trope always goes.

And the episode is obviously centred on Otis’ drunken speech in which he’s as absolute dick to both Ola and Maeve, burning his bridges with both of them as well as humiliating himself. The moral high ground, to the extent he had it at all, is well and truly surrendered.

Also, the house is trashed. And, worst of all, lots of horrible bottled lager is drunk, with no real ale or wine in sight.

We also have Jean and Maureen having a few drinks and bonding, over terrible nightclub music, about the ambivalence of their newfound mutual singledom. Maeve bonds further with Isaac who, it now seems clear, is like a version of Otis with a similar background.

Interestingly, Jackson has a massive anxiety attack at the party about the pressure to swim again now his hand had healed, and it’s Viv (who finally realised the dullness of the bloke she fancies) who takes it upon herself to tell his parents. This is going to be interesting: let’s hope it’s resolved happily. But for poor Amy, still very much suffering from the sexual assault, there’s no happiness.

This is a superbly done ensemble show, with believable characters who drive the plot rather than vice versa- and I applaud the decision to allow Otis, the main protagonist, to behave like a dick. This is very good indeed.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 5

"Is the bike in question your vagina?”

It’s the middle episode, and a watershed for the season, in the form of an ill-advised camping trip taken by Otis and Eric with Otis’ wayward father, Remi, whom we get to know a bit more. And it’s an episode in which most of the relationships go horribly, horribly wrong so that we can spend the rest of the season seeing what results from all this.

The love triangles, being unstable, come apart. Last episode Ola gave Otis an ultimatum to stop talking to Maeve or loses her, and he does- and she dumps him anyway, leaving him with no one. Meanwhile Ola, exploring her sexuality, finds herself dreaming not about Otis but about Lily, particularly in a superbly done dream sequence. Alas, as soon as she kisses Lily, she faces rejection.

Others are struggling too. Aimee is still recovering from the sexual assault, and can’t let her boyfriend touch her. Jean finds it impossible to cope with Jakob’s being everywhere, being unused to the ever-present intimacy of relationships. These scenes are funny, and Gillian Anderson is superb (I love the pans cupboard scene), but she ends by confessing to Jakob that Remi kissed her- and we don’t see the fallout.

Remi, meanwhile, is revealed as a pathetic, self-pitying, womanising man-child, perhaps intended as a warning for what Otis could potentially become. Maeve connects a little with her very human, recovering addict mother- and receives an unexpected love interest in cheeky bastard Isaac. I suspect that Otis, should he try to pick up the pieces with Maeve, May have a love rival.

Jackson, still hiding his theatrical doings from his mum, co to yes to bond with the nerdy but likeable Viv as he helps her to woo her beau: there’s definitely a spark between them. And Maureen Groff finally gets an orgasm after at least six years courtesy of Jean and a little bullet between her legs... and announces her desire to divorce her come husband. Of all the decouplings this episode, that’s the one with the feel good factor.

On a more ambiguous note, Eric chooses to be with Rahim after discussing his own triangle after a discussion about Adam with Otis, who doubts the old bully’s motives. Poor Adam, I suspect, has some more redemption to do before he's worthy of Eric.

This is well-crafted, character-driven, believable stuff. This second season may well be eclipsing the first.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 4

“Otis, you're gonna be deflowered!"

Well, a lot happened in this episode; must be mid-season. And relationships are getting complicated now. There are more triangles in this episodes than you'd see in a game of Kensington, to use a cultural reference that probably isn't appropriate to a programme featuring characters born mainly in the 21st century. Yes, I'm forty- three. I feel old.

This is all cleverly plotted for maximum angst, and even the farce about Otis looking after a toddler goes horribly wrong. So many awful things happen. Maeve is horribly let down by her useless mother and horrible quiz teammates... and, to make things worse she confesses her feelings to Otis, mere tens of minutes before he's due to have sex with Ola, whom he's not sure he loves.

But Eric is also horribly conflicted between the sexy Rahim and the very human, and extremely depressed, Adam. Yet it's not just the kids who struggle with relationships. Even Jean- a sex therapist, no less- is beginning to be annoyed by some of Jakob's habits. And when her ex Remi arrives unannounced we get uncomfortable undercurrents of snobbery to her new plumber boyfriend... and eventually a slightly tipsy kiss between the ex-spouses. That's three triangles.

Still warming up is Jackson's interesting plot thread about treading the boards and acting as sex advisor (another one!) to Viv. And we learn (with Jean) that Mr Groff hasn't shown any sexual interest in his wife Maureen for six years. Ouch. There's something going on there.

This may not be quite top notch drama, but it's elegantly scripted and very good indeed.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 3

"Cum is kind of like a penis having a sneeze..."

This is a rather more serious episode than usual, focusing on Aimee as she suffers a sexual assault on a bus. Realistically, she dismisses it at first but is persuaded by Maeve, a wonderful friend using her birthday to accompany her to the police station, to report the crime. She seriousness of it all slowly sinks in until we see her break down in tears having been unable to tell her mum. It's a sobering reflection, in these post-#MeToo times, of the shit women and girls are expected to put up with, every day, by people who are the same gender as me.

Like last episode, there's a fair amount of bad sex via miscomunication this week as Olivia puts a pillow over her boyfriend's face while she cums because she has an "ugly cum face". How very teenager. I love how this series, so very often, is Marshall McLuhan with tits and willies. We also, rather bravely, get to see Otis being very immature indeed with the long-suffering Jakob, who ends up taking a staggeringly graceless apology with good grace. Meanwhile, Eric has a wonderful date with Rahim, who kisses him... only to randomly run into Adam, who is understandably very depressed indeed. Love triangle alert. And, on that front, and despite Aimee's advice, Maeve yet again fails to tell otis how she feels.

Touchingly, though, the very vulnerable Jackson has a bit of a crush on his tutor Viv as opposites- the athlete and the brainbox- seem to attract. He auditions for the part of Romeo- and nails it. I love where this is going.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 2

"Baba ganouche!"

This second episode is, on one level, setting up the actual character dynamics and plot arcs after last episode- hence we have Eric realising that Rahul actually likes him, and Marvel admitting- at least to Aimee and herself- that she isn’t over Otis. It’s also nice to see a couple of the more sympathetic teachers- Emily and Colin- shown as human beings with sex lives. But what makes this episode particularly great is that it’s all about one thing: communication.

We’re not great, in this country at least, about actually talking about sex, and what the other person wants. There seems to be an expectation, among far too many people, that there’s some magic trick that will please the other person without realising that the only secret of good sex is to find out what the other person likes, by talking to them, and doing it. Hence Colin’s problem with dirty talk, and even Otis’ rubbish fingering of Ola. (I love how Lily tells him!) Hence, perhaps, the culture of repressed gay sexuality at poor Adam’s cruel military school.

Part of the problem, I think, is how we Brits see sex as a joke, as “smut”, and not about an enjoyable and emotionally important part of life that is certainly fun and playful but also deadly serious, and important. It can, and often should, be silly, but it should never be treated as a joke- the excruciating scenes of Jean at the assembly and the equally cringeworthy sex education lesson (with Rahim as the voice of continental common sense; Brexit is even bad for our sex lives).

This is just what I like from telly- good characterisation and juicy subtext. Good stuff. And don’t forget, folks- ask about her orange.

Sex Education: Season 2, Episode 1

“You have discovered the wonders of your own penis, my friend...”

A new season dawns, so we have a first episode with a lot of exposition, that necessarily feels as though it exists to move the pieces into place. So yes, we have a sex advice client who is falsely accused of spreading chlamydia, and a hysterical STD scare with everyone running around in masks and worried about a plague- in a programme released in January 2020, which is creepy. We also have the usual wit, humour and character, not least with a hilarious opening sequence with Otis having learned to masturbate successfully and now doing it all the time like, well, a teenage boy. And there’s a hilarious conversation with Jean.

But there’s a lot of change to the status quo. Jean and Jakob are now an item- a fact accidentally revealed to their respective children. Ola is now at the school. Adam is not. Maeve isn’t, then she is, due to her cleverness and her favourite English teacher, Shabnam from EastEnders. There’s a new, handsome boy who is probably gay. And we meet the new Chair of the Board of Governors, a familiar face if you saw the excellent Years and Years.

Most tragically, it’s clear that Jackson is only working his arse off at swimming to stop his parents arguing. His self-inflicted injury is a cry for help, and should be seen for what it is: self harm.

Oh, and Jean is going to be teaching sex education at the school. I’m sure Otis will love that. And Ola has just found out about the sex clinic. Then there’s the love triangle with Maeve..

It’s all looking promising. It’s fair to say this first episode still managed to be fun even with all that exposition to do, but I’m glad the pieces are in lace.

Sex Education: Season 1, Episode 8

"My vagina has betrayed me!"

Wow. After last episode seemed to raise the bar we have an extraordinarily accomplished finale, which brings a satisfactory closure of sorts to a lot of threads while using the characters in a satisfying way. And, as ever, the way it’s all structured is a marvel and a complex plot is made easy to follow- this is a show with very good writing.

So we have Lily’s fury sexual experience ruined by her sex slamming shut, making her an unofficial client of the week, but her fear of losing control and enjoying sexual pleasure is a direct parallel of Otis’ own issues, and ultimately they help each other to get over them- and it’s all rather cute. Lit is a wonderful character, wonderfully portrayed.

But we also have Goff getting a stupidly wrong end of the stick and accusing Maeve of dealing illegal drugs, leading her to take the fall for her brother and to be at serious risk of expulsion- something which, despite Jackson’s protestations, is very much up in the air, and not looking good, as the episode ends.

More positively, Eric and Adam end up in detention- and, after a little of the usual bullying, Adam throws himself on Eric and they have sex. Wow. The thing is, Mrs Llamastrangler predicted this, and I pooh poohed her. She always thought Adam’s bullying looked suspiciously as though he fancied Eric- and he does. But he goes straight into denial mode, and the closet, afterwards. That last sight of them sitting awkwardly together in the science lesson, not holding hands, is so very sad. And Adam, it seems, is off to some horrible military school. I hope Goff gets his comeuppance: he’s a baddie you love to hate, and Alistair Petrie has been consistently superb.

We end with apologies to Otis, and a kind of wisdom, from Jean, who has admitted to Jakob that she wants more than sex. And, in another elegant parallel, he makes up with Ola and they kiss... which leads to a splendidly and necessarily figurative final shot of Otis’ first ever masturbatory orgasm.... to the sounds of Sigurd Sigue Sputnik.

This finale, and in hindsight the whole season, has been superb.

Sex Education: Season 1, Episode 6

“I’ll bring the condoms. You bring the lube...”

A lot happens in this episode, and it happens to a lot of characters. And yet, by this point in the season, we know the characters and are invested. It’s complicated, but it doesn’t feel it. That’s good writing.

We start with a flashback as a very young Otis sees his father have sex with someone else- and it was him, as a little boy, who innocently told his mother and caused so many arguments and so much drama. It’s not hard to see him blaming himself. Especially when, desperate to lose his virginity, he agrees to shag Lily (Tanya Reynolds is both brilliant and perfectly cast)... and a flashback to that moment prevents him doing it. There are issues there, which are without a doubt going to be explored. This is all paralleled, of course, with his mother’s curiously cute and old fashioned courtship of the handyman.

Eric is in a dark place, alienated not just from Otis but from everyone. It’s a superb bit of acting from Ncuti Gatwa here as a very different and suddenly much angrier Eric- culminating in a pinch at Anwar. And he and Otis are absolutely no closer to reconciling. Yet Eric’s relationship with his traditionally African yet well-meaning father is interesting. I like the nuance here; the father may not be from a background where being gay is easily accepted, but he’s nevertheless trying to do right by his son, and obviously cares.

Maeve, meanwhile, has issues of her own as her unreliable and mercurial brother is back, no doubt up to something, while Jackson is feeling real conflict between the demands of swim training and the demands of having a girlfriend. You feel for her as a young swimming widow, but you feel for the lad too. And, of course, Maeve’s essay written for Adam wins a prize, leading to undeserved praise for someone who blatantly didn’t write it. And yet, interestingly, Mr Goff seems determined to ignore all signs of this and pretend his son wrote the thing. There are seeds of real conflict here, and corruption. I suspect this will develop.

This week’s sex therapy case is interesting- Aimee, in a nice little microcosm for how she always lets herself be walked on, has never orgasmed and is struggling to accept the idea that sex should be about her pleasure, as her nice new boyfriend exists. And after discovering the pleasures of wanking she’s a a very satisfied customer.

But we end, interestingly, with the intriguing Ola asking Otis out on a date, but he continues to show real chemistry with Maeve, and we end with her smelling his jumper, showing she does have feelings...

Sex Education: Season 1, Episode 4

“Why don’t you start by telling me your earliest memory of your scrotum.”

Another fascinatingly well-structured episode here, which hints at the likelihood that this series won’t be taking a “case of the week” format but with have much more of an emphasis on season arcs, but also seems to be still setting up the pieces. We meet two new characters here- an unnamed Swedish builder who seems to be set up as a possible love interest for Jean and his daughter, who will have some connection (romantic?) with Otis.

The A plot is very well done, of course- Otis really likes Maeve, but I adverts it ends up giving advice to Jackson which ends up with her agreeing, against her general principles, to be her boyfriend. But Jackson isn’t a bad guy, and is genuinely in love. And it’s not much consolation to Otis to get a random proposal of mutual cherry- popping from the quirkily likeable Lily.

Incidentally, these teenagers are young enough to be my kids. So why do they all like the same bands as me? We get Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Joy Division and others all name checked- even Bikini Kill. It’s interesting that there seems to be no clear cut generation gap.

Meanwhile Adam gets even more desperate because of his authoritarian wanker of a father. And Eric seems to have similar problems, if both less clear and apparently less intense. There’s a lot going on, but it feels natural and easy. This may not be top drawer, but it’s very, very good.