Contains spoilers for Sex Education seasons one and two.
There is nothing I can say about Netflix’s Sex Education that hasn’t already been said; instead, I’ll just explain how that programme fills me with ridiculous amounts of joy. The combination of romance, friendship, laughter, and wit just makes me so happy. It is no surprise, then, that it easily lands a spot at the top of my ‘miss-list’ of TV shows most likely been affected by the pandemic. I was already looking forward to coming back in Hilary (somehow the most depressing of the Oxford terms) to evenings of awkward group-watching over tea and cake. That combination of hilarious and heart-warming scenes is just what I need right now when, let’s face it, everything seems just a little bit bleak.
The quirky dramedy is also so much more than just a funny Netflix Original. It’s been the starting point for so many conversations with friends about sex, relationships, and body image. These are important topics and, even almost a year after the most recently released season, Sex Education is still providing prompts for discussions I didn’t even know needed to be had. Just recently, it came back up in conversation with a friend; an hour later we’re down a rabbit hole of chatter that we might never have had without it. Although it has been criticised for its portrayal of sex in schools, I think this show is vital. The cast is so diverse, and the topics covered are those I’ve not seen in much, if any, other media. One example that springs to mind is Lily who is struggling with vaginismus; a vastly under-talked about topic. A scene where she and Ola masturbate together shows that sex doesn’t always have to conform to society’s expectations. Lily also shows Ola her vaginal dilators, further decreasing the stigma of a condition which gets such little airtime.
I can’t wait for season three and will be pretty gutted if it’s delayed. If seasons one and two were anything to go by, the highly anticipated follow up should’ve been airing this January; however, filming was postponed. A casting call for extras went out in Wales in July (honestly, about the most exciting news to reach my small Welsh town after months of lockdown). Many of the original cast then returned to the screen in a slightly bizarre Twitter video to announce that production had restarted in early September. So, who knows when we will get our next instalment of the best Netflix original yet?
Top of the list of questions that I desperately want to be answered is what happens with Maeve and Otis after Isaac’s attempted sabotage of their relationship? Honestly, I’m not even sure if I’m shipping them any more after Otis’ absolute shit show of a drunk speech at his party. Maeve is too good for that boy. I’ll also be watching to see how the dynamics play out between Eric, Rahim, and Adam. My heart still hurts for Rahim after Adam’s confession during Moordale’s interesting take on Romeo and Juliet so I’m eagerly awaiting the progression of their relationship, as well as that between Ola and Lily.
On a different note, after last season’s brilliant show of female solidarity at the bus stop, I’m looking forward to seeing how the show’s writers have developed the friendships between the girls. I love Maeve and Aimee, but I’m also interested to see whether the surface-level bitchy girls Olivia and Ruby get any further redeeming character arcs after the classic “It’s my vagina!” scene. There’s also Jackson and his friendship with Viv, as well as his struggles with mental health, and occasionally difficult relationship with his mums. I’m also really hoping one of the most underrated characters, Maureen Groff, gets more airtime this season. I’d love to see more of her budding friendship with Gillian Anderson’s Jean; that club scene was iconic. And how could I forget season two’s biggest reveals; that Jean is pregnant with (what we assume to be) Jakob’s baby?!
Despite all of this though, what I’m truly most excited for is to see what themes the writers tackle next. Whatever they are, I’m sure they’ll be equally as entertaining, educational, and emotional as the previous seasons’. From Netflix’s tweets, we already know that there are going to be some new additions to the cast, with Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter’s Lucius Malfoy) starting out as ex-Headteacher Mr Groff’s brother, Dua Saleh as new student Cal, and Jemima Kirke as the new Head of Moordale, Hope. It’ll be interesting to see whether these new arrivals change the dynamic of the show and what they can bring to the already brilliant series.
So, I am desperately hoping Sex Education returns as planned in January – we don’t need any more bad news this year. Since creator, writer, and executive producer Laurie Nunn has hinted that she’ll stop the show before the teenagers head off to uni, if season three is the last, we can be confident it’ll end with a bang (probably quite literally). I’m off to spend the week re-watching it now whilst desperately trying to get the ridiculously catchy music out of my head.
