As a precaution, this show is rated R and contains really inappropriate content that may weird you out. Under no circumstances EVER should you watch this show with your parents, otherwise you’ll find yourself neck-deep in awkward silence with your parents. For your sake, it’s best to watch it by yourself.
I confess that I’ve always loved American TV shows. From shows like Friends to The Office, I’ve always loved those shows because they have lots of jokes and references that I can understand and relate to as a fellow American. British TV shows like Dr. Who haven’t really caught my attention and especially British teenage comedy TV shows don’t really interest me ,since a lot of the jokes and references don’t make sense to me.
However, one night I saw Netflix post the trailer video for Sex Education. I’m not a huge Netflix TV show bingewatcher, so usually I ignore TV show trailers from Netflix, but this video really caught my attention because it featured Asa Butterfield as one of the main cast members of the show. So I decided to watch the first few episodes. After watching a few of them, I finished the entire first season in one weekend. I then finished watching the entire second season in another weekend. This show had me hooked throughout all its episodes and I could not stop watching it.
The main plot of this TV Show is two polar opposite characters, Otis and Maeve, who open a secret sex therapy clinic for their classmates in high school where Otis, whose mother is a sex therapist, gives classmates advice on their sex lives. Otis is a very awkward character who struggles to connect with other students, especially the female students. His best friend, Eric, who happens to be gay, also struggles to connect with other students. He also encounters many situations where his sexuality has put him in awkward positions. Maeve is a rebellious teenager that lives in a trailer park without her parents. Although she does misbehave and posses questionable characteristics, she also happens to be very intelligent, especially in literature , where she enjoys reading feminist novels.
What I love most about this show is that there are so many characters that have to face different challenges in their lives, and have to work with one another to resolve those problems. Although you’ll notice that the characters posses stereotypical qualities that you see in a lot of American film and tv show portrayals of high school, each character has a situation that the audience, especially me can sympathize with. For example, Ruby ,who is the stereotypical popular girl, has to deal with her father’s illness and the stress that’s put on her family. The show also focuses on the growth of it’s main characters. Otis is a character that I’m sure much of the audience can relate to as he isn’t the best with social interactions and is put in awkward situations all the time. But his growing relationship with Maeve, someone that has a polar opposite personality as him, is something that shows how much he’s grown as a character. In season 2, Jacob, who is a star athlete/jock, struggles with the conflict of a depleting passion for swimming, and a growing passion for acting. He eventually develops a good friendship with a nerd student called Viv, who helps Jacob with his acting in the play Romeo and Juliet. These are all great examples of character growth throughout the show. There is also a multitude of love triangles that spice up the show’s drama.
I’ve only scratched the surface of the amount of interesting story-lines in Sex Education. But trust me, they’re all worth keeping track of.
It’s not just me, many critics also share similar opinions of the show. Jude Dry of Indie Wire called the show “TV’s Most Wholesome Sex Comedy”. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stones wrote “the show still manages to do some terrific work albeit in matters tangential to love or sex”.
So to my fellow classmates and readers, please do yourself a favor and start watching this TV show. I promise you’ll laugh, cringe, and maybe even cry.
Sources:
Netflix
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‘Sex Education’ Season 2 Review: TV’s Most Wholesome Sex Comedy Is Still a Rare Delight
‘Sex Education’ Season 2 Review: More Forbidden Fruit, A Little Less Sweet
I got so excited to read this post because I recently just started watching Sex Education. I started season one two weeks ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m still working my way through season two, but don’t worry, I skipped over the sentence where you talked about it. (A spoiler alert warning may have been helpful by the way.) I think I love the show for some of the same reasons as you do. I see a little piece of myself in each of the characters, and their struggles are reflective of what it is like to be a high schooler in a culture permeated with expectations and awkward moments. Personally, however, the reason I love the show so much is because of how unafraid it is. It discusses so many topics that are considered “taboo” or “sensitive” and it does so in such an unabashed way that you can’t help but be taken aback. The way it approaches such jarring topics with such relatable characters really gives the show a perfect balance and makes it super funny. I haven’t finished season two yet, but do you like it better than season one? I haven’t heard much about it yet so I’m curious what I’m getting myself into.
Thanks for commenting Mackenzie! I absolutely think that Season 2 was better than Season 1. Some critics will disagree, but the amount of new storylines and interesting characters that they added in Season 2, really made it another amazing Season. I’m really looking forward to Season 3!
Let me tell you how much I ADORE this show! I’ve always found it so funny and original. The minute the second season came out, I finished it in a day and a half. I think that personally, it was hard to get past the very VERY frequent nudity, but honestly, it only adds to the reality of the show. It shows every awkward bit of sexuality in our teenage years. I really enjoyed the second season specifically because it goes more in-depth into people’s feelings about other things than relationships, like their other passions, as well as people’s own personal sexualities. Did you enjoy the first or second season more? I think both were great, but the second season gives us so much more insight on everyone, rather than just our main characters.
I completely agree with you. As I mentioned in replying to Mackenzie’s comment, Season 2 had so much more interesting characters and storylines added to it. I’m really excited for Season 3 and I hope that Netflix will continue adding more seasons!
OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! I’ve already watched both seasons and I literally love every episode. I even got Solomon to start watching it too!!! I definitely agree with you that in the show there are a lot of different situations and challenges the characters face but they’re not just plot challenges, they’re very much real life challenges that people go through everyday so that gives the show a very relateable and real sense to it. If you want to write another tv show blog, don’t spoil it since you did give out a few spoilers about season 2 of Sex Ed, so like for those who haven’t seen it, just give like a general overview of the show. Other than that, great blog! Who is your favorite character?
Otis! He’s really awkward but it’s something that I can relate to about him. I also like Jacob, which is surprising, but his growth from season 1 to season 2 was incredible!