Sex Education: Season 2
Showrunner: Laurie Nunn
Episodes: 8
Sex Education season two left me feeling a little torn. The visuals and ’80s aesthetic of the series are beautiful, and the show has undoubtedly found its visual presence this season. However, while season two had the same formula from season one that I fell in love with, this same formula seemed to constrain the series from being able to explore its characters in any greater depth.
Sex Education season two kicks off where we left our characters. Otis is obsessed with masturbation since his life-changing discovery at the end of season one, Maeve is trying to make her way in the world as a high school dropout, and Adam has been enrolled in military school. However, even though all of our characters went through some interesting transitions at the end of season one and into season two, the show unfortunately chooses to revert back to the reliable narrative from season one. I have to note the laziness in this aspect of the storytelling, since the narrative structure seems afraid of the change it set up in the previous season’s finale. This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, since it means loveable characters get some more air-time and major events unfold and develop other minor characters.
Some of the best parts of Sex Education are its characters and their relationships with others. Adam’s storyline, for example, is a lot more compelling this season—he makes some discoveries about his sexuality and begins to form his own identity beyond the ‘gay bully’ stereotype. The ever-optimistic and loveably dumb Aimee’s storyline goes into surprising new depths when she is sexually assaulted on her bus ride to school. Initially unaware of what has happened to her, the series does an excellent job handling the concept of delayed reactions to trauma and the exploration of unexpected support through the other female characters at her school. The school’s sporting hero Jackson has some of the strongest character development this season, dealing with newfound anxiety and forced to make new friends beyond his popular inner circle. His story leads to one of the best relationships in the show, which isn’t even a romantic one, between Viv and himself. It feels a strong moment for a show so focused on romantic and sexual relationships to bring together two starkly opposed characters of colour in a platonic relationship that feels genuine and heart-warming.
Maeve’s character fares the best out of the series’ main protagonists this season. Maeve has always had a compelling story since season one, but it was an amazing choice to develop her relationship with her absent mother and baby half-sister, as well as the other residents in her caravan complex. Maeve gets a taste of redemption when she is given a second chance to embrace her intelligence and try to make a better life for herself. However, this proves hard as the life she is trying to dismiss keeps clawing at her, threatening to bring her back to her old ways. The introduction of her new neighbour, the sardonic wheelchair-bound Isaac, is a refreshing addition that doesn’t feel too forced—though there are a few moments when his actions seem planted as a deliberate narrative choice to come between Otis and Maeve.
In fact, the weaknesses in this season of Sex Education come from a surprising place—the characters that were two of my favourites in season one quickly develop really contrived plots. During this season, Otis does not come across as the best person. Not only does he fail to treat is girlfriend Ola very well throughout the season, he is also a young brat to his mother while she tries to form a relationship with Jakob. Eric, on the other hand, gets a mysterious French boyfriend Rahim—but instead of delving in deeper with their relationship and the personal tensions that can come with it, they instead make Rahim into a cardboard cutout of the perfect boyfriend with no flaws besides his startling directness. While either of these main plotlines could have been interesting in their own right, both are inexplicably transformed into contrived love triangles that quickly became frustrating, and their ideal partners equally became fed up with their behaviour.
This made me realise where the show truly holds its strengths: its representation. Sex Education represents its young teenage characters in accurate ways, even when its manoeuvring of characters can at times feel a little forced or contrived. Despite its flaws this season, Sex Education retains its excellent ability to show stories of minorities without having to call upon their status as a crutch of storytelling—and, ultimately, the series continues to excel in representing issues of sex and modern-day schools wrestling with the idea of educating students on the matter rather treating it as a taboo subject.
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