Sex Education is back with a second season and this second season is just as good as the first. The second season covers just a broad range of topics and does it so well. We cover topics such as bisexuality, pansexuality, safe sex, assault, adaptive parent anxiety and consent etc, but also, we explore different relationships in a family and in friendship groups grow and change. There is a real sense of female empowerment in this season which is quite inspiring to see. Each episode tackles something new and in each episode, something happens which makes you want to watch until the end.
Every episode we learn something new about our characters but what makes this season and show so good is the characters. This is down to the great actors and their incredible performances but also this is due to the characters themselves being really relatable to everyone.
Overall, we see Otis (Asa Butterfield) struggling to know the right thing to do as he is now in a relationship with Ola (Patricia Allison) but still has feelings for Maeve (Emma Mackey). Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) is also in his own love triangle with new boy Rahim (Sami Outalbali) and Adam (Connor Swindells) from the previous season. Along with this Adam goes on his own journey in this season, from discovering who he is and what kind of person he wants to be, but also has to deal with the breakdown of his parents’ marriage. The character Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) has her own story in this season, it is an important message and storyline about assault which is put across very effectively. We watch Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling) discover a new passion and make a new friend known as Viv (Chinenye Ezeudu) who makes him a better person. These two are great together! Finally, we see Otis's mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson) fall in love with Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt) and at the end there is a shocking discovery concerning Jean which is unexpected and now we wonder what she will do next.
A lot happens in just eight episodes, below is a breakdown of all the episodes. However, overall the performances are amazing in each episode and we grow to have a real connection to all our characters. All the characters are so relatable to anyone which is why it is such a successful show as everyone at some point can relate to at least one character in their lives. There has been a lot of controversy with the ending of this season however, it wasn’t what we expected but maybe that is a good thing as it sets up for more possibilities in the next season. Credit should be given to the director and writers of this show as they have put forward really sensitive subjects but put them across in an effective way which helps us understand about these subjects more. Even by addressing such serious issues there are moments of humour and awkwardness from the characters which helps make the show and this season so enjoyable to watch.
Episode 1
Funny start with Otis discovering himself. Otis has managed to keep a hold of his girlfriend Ola. Watching Otis and Ola together, they are quite awkward together but it is cute and relatable. Otis seems a lot more confident and stronger since we last saw him which is interesting to see how much this character has already grown and developed form where we left off. There is a Chlamydia outbreak at the school, which is hilarious watching the students overreact to the news. Just like in the previous season Otis and Eric are still hilarious together, this is due to Eric's overreactions to things Otis says but it is because he is happy for him that he is being a normal teenage boy. Otis doesn’t want to give advice anymore but also can't help himself as it is something he secretly enjoys doing. Maeve is still not welcome at school but she finds a way to get accepted back in, she wants to change and make herself better than her mother. Eric becomes besotted with new boy, Rahim. The main message about this episode is that it tells us that we should be honest with our sexual partners. The chlamydia outbreak is the cause of a certain person not being honest with their sexual partners. Therefore, this episode has a great message which is put across really well.
Episode 2
In episode two, we see where Adam has been sent to, it is military school. We see him trying to fit in and do well, he does try but it is the others that ruin him. This episode we start to see the rising tension between Ola and Maeve, Ola is jealous of Maeve as she gets to spend so much time with Otis, due to the clinic. Also, Maeve realises she still has feelings for Otis in this episode, which is painful to watch as we all can relate to still liking someone once they have moved on, especially in this situation when Otis and Maeve always have great chemistry together in scenes. Eric gets to spend more time with Rahim in this episode and we start to see the beginning of a romantic connection/relationship. Finally, in this episode, we are introduced to Viv who is to be Jackson's tutor for the month while his hand heals and he can't train.
Episode 3
This is the episode which begins Aimee's storyline which happens on the bus. This results in Maeve spending her birthday at the police station with Aimee reporting what happened. We slowly start to see the effect this incident on the bus has on Aimee, the trauma she starts to go through. Eric and Rahim go on a date, while Viv convinces Jackson to go for the school play, something which is completely out of his comfort zone. In this episode, we see how Otis can't seem to process and accept his mother's new relationship. The way he reacts is out of order but understandable as it is difficult for him not to be his mother's main priority. At the end of this episode, we are made to believe that Maeve might tell Otis how she feels but backs out at the last moment, this is a really bittersweet moment with some excellent acting from both Butterfield and Mackey.
Episode 4
Ola and Otis take a big step in their relationship while Jean is having doubts in her own relationship. A surprise appearance from Otis's dad, Remi puts Jean's relationship in jeopardy with Jakob. Jackson is struggling in rehearsals yet the focus is really on Florence who feels like she is wrong yet we all discover that really, she is asexual. Maeve’s mom moves in with her and Maeve finally tells Otis how she feels which has disastrous consequences for Otis and Ola. The results are Ola telling Otis he must not be friends with Maeve anymore and tell her that he can't see her again. Eric and Rahim are growing closer and, in the end, Rahim asks Eric to be his boyfriend. However, Eric appears to be conflicted as he enjoys his time with Rahim yet he always enjoys his time with Adam, although the time he spends with Adam is in secret and at night so no one can see them. Adam is still trying to discover who he is. Eric and Adam share a kiss and this is a really sweet moment in this episode, it gives hope that maybe something good could happen between these characters.
Episode 5
Otis goes camping with his dad and Eric, while Ola is having sexual dreams about Lily. Otis is still conflicted on what to do as Ola won’t talk to him until he has spoken to Maeve but he doesn’t want to hurt either of them. Jackson hasn’t told his parents about the play and Aimee still can’t get on the bus. Maeve gets to know her new neighbours better and ends up in their ballroom dancing class. Jean is frustrated with Jakob and admits what she has done behind his back. Ola questions her sexuality due to her dream and we discover she is pansexual; this means she is attracted to the person not the sex/gender. However, this results in her relationship with Otis ending even though at the end he finally told Maeve he couldn’t see her anymore. Eric finally gives Rahim an answer, but them decides to ignore Adam which is upsetting to watch as we just want Adam to be happy for once and he always seemed happy when Eric was around recently. Finally, in this episode we see that Viv and Jackson are becoming closer as friends and these two characters together are really enjoyable to watch.
Episode 6
We discover that Maeve's neighbour, Isaac has feeling for her. Isaac makes Maeve feel special and they make a connection and they tell personal stories to each other. This is nice to see a softer and more vulnerable side to Maeve. Otis is angry with Ola and Maeve but decides to host a party. As a result, Otis gets extremely drunk and says things and does thing he regrets. Lily is awkward around Ola after she kisses her which is a shame to see but is interesting as Lily is questioning herself. Adam believes he is bisexual yet he is afraid of admitting that to himself and others. Finally, Jackson realises he doesn’t want to start training again and he confides in Viv and admit what really happened to his hand. A lot of issues are brought up in this episode from Otis dealing with a breakup, Lily questioning her own sexuality, Adam realising he is bisexual and also self-harming.
Episode 7
Otis wakes up to the mistake he has done with Ruby but they can't remember if they had safe sex or not. Otis and Ruby go on a journey in this episode and we discover the other side to Ruby which is a lot nicer. We see that she puts on this bitchy side to protect herself as she has a lot to deal with at home with her father. Along with this Otis and Ruby go and buy the morning after pill. While this is happening Jean’s, notes have been taken and photocopied and put all over the school and there is slut shaming of a certain teacher. Eric and Rahim go to church together and declare their love for each other but there is doubt if Eric really feel the same because there is something between him and Adam. A really powerful moment is when Aimee breaks down and talks to all the girls about what happened and how she is feeling. All the girls unite behind her and help her finally get on the bus. This is such a powerful moment and it makes us question why women should connect over assault - we shouldn’t, but this episode shows how women can be strong for each other and support each other through the hard times. This episode always explores the idea of safe sex and what do to if something goes wrong.
Episode 8
Otis and his mom are not on great terms and it is the first time we see them really struggling with each other to get through a difficult situation. Watching Jean break down is heart-breaking to watch and Jean in this episode gets a shocking discovery at the doctors that is really unexpected. We finally get to see the school play, which causes the headmaster Michael Groff to have an outburst which see him suspended. Otis confronts his dad and is scarred he is becoming him but decides what kind of man he wants to be. Maeve makes a brave decision and reports her mom which causes her to destroy to the new relationship they had formed. Viv and Jackson reform their friendship and Adam finally accept who he is and makes a grand gesture towards Eric which causes heartbreak for Rahim. Finally, Otis apologises to his mother and rings Maeve declaring his love for her yet she won't get to hear it as the message was deleted by Isaac. This is a shocking event as we thought we could trust Isaac yet he is the halting the relationship between Otis and Maeve, thus we can't end this season on a super happy ending. This ending has caused controversy by many people yet it leaves us questioning what might not happen in season three now that Isaac has deleted this message, which means Maeve doesn’t know how Otis feels but also it means that they are still not on good terms due to when Otis got drunk.
Overall this season is great and explores a lot of topics, with some great performances and a lot of unexpected surprises which makes it more exciting of what we could expect in the third season.
