Sex Education 4: A Frustrating Mess

[@dafuzzbear7711]

Adam and Aimee once again carried the show with their well written character growth. Easily the best characters in the show imo.

[@plaster.art.ho3]

yessss i loved aimee, michael and adam omgg.

[@LeilaLirag]

Agreed, along with Maeve and Jean

[@yasminechoerryscherry3701]

Absolutely and I never would have imagined that in the first season

[@Everythingplug1]

Let’s not forget Ruby. She went from worst to best

[@dudewhy6953]

And there just wasn’t enough Adam. He was there, and sure he played a pretty major role, but I wanted to see more of his journey. The Otis and Maeve arc just didn’t work well and fell short of what they were building to. Not that they SHOULD be together, I think that the idea that they broke up with an unspoken possibility in the future feels natural but it was a whiplash finish. Eric (one of my personal favorite characters) was also played a little…off this season. The God segments were weird and took me out of the feel of what all was going on. It all felt very abrupt.

[@joshsylvester1450]

The worst part about Otis versus O is that Otis was just wrong. Not only is it bizarre that he’d think he was the only person that would come up with the idea of being a sex therapist, he wasn’t the one that came up with that idea. It was Maeve’s idea

[@emmanuel7489]

And neither of them were actual therapists. I kept screaming at the TV that these are 17 year old idiots and the position of "official student sex therapist" means shit.

[@luizag123]

@@emmanuel7489 exactly and its so dangerous too! I was wierded out by how he decided that his mom being a therapist makes him a therapist. dangerous idea to teach kids imo when looking for professional help (specially in regards to sex) is already such a vulnerable place

[@hansyfly]

I think that's the point of this storyline, as much as we love him he still needs to be more self aware that as a straight white dude he needs to consider context before being guided by emotions. And he got there in the end, so in my opinion it was a good plot line.

[@magdalenakonieczek4891]

Right!?

[@agbekosprivatestories6505]

im the 1000th liked comment! :D

[@alwayslilianx]

Can we also talk about how these teenagers with no training are consistently referred to as “therapists” and O is placed on the same plane as Jean who is a professional with years of experience and a PhD? Like in what world???? Giving advice and peer-to-peer support is great, but framing them as “therapists” is really dangerous IMO

[@BBzndturtles]

100% agree

[@irisvanderhoorn8017]

Yes

[@calebwany8422]

Perfect iteration of just trust me bro

[@manugattt_4673]

omg thank you, it was so bizzare 😭

[@casualwatcher5029]

I remember in the first ans second seasons, Otis would ask Jean about some of his patients' problems that he couldn't solve

[@allegraalberoni]

for me the worst part was how unrealistic everything became. Before it felt like i was watching real people, with real problems and a real life. now it's just drama in a super bright and colored setting with storylines that i can't imagine hardly anyone relating to. who cares about O and Otis??? I missed when these characters had real, genuine struggle that anyone could see themselves into

[@rickyqiu467]

I completely agree with this, it genuinely felt so unrealistic this season

[@ZetsubouZolo]

yeah I mean Cavendish in itself is just a queer persons wet dream and nowehere in the world would such a place exist right now. I know this show is trying to be ultra supportive of the left queer community but S 1-3 did this in a mostly realistic way while this season went highly overboard and unfortunately fell into the "your sexuality is your personality" hole

[@Bananaoranges3105]

Also why tf does no one in this show seen to care about there A level exams, which I’m sure would be coming up very soon? Feels unrealistic

[@carlosmspk]

@@ZetsubouZolo I don't even think it's a "queer person's wet dream", as you put it

[@teamonkey3]

@@ZetsubouZolo I get what you mean, I'm bi so I'm technically part of the LGBT community but that school seems (at least to me) to be very aggressive in it's portrayal of the whole accepting, progressive culture associated with the community. However I also know that this is a TV show made to somewhat satirise and break down stereotypes, which it's always done, even with the original Moordale school. Something many people seem to not mention is that their old school wasn't exactly realistic either, I mean there were at least 5 couples having sex everywhere you went, in a real UK school you'd probably be suspended for even behaving somewhat sexually. The school I go to is probably about the closest school you'll realistically find to Cavendish in real life. Very young teachers, progressive, as a school we celebrate Pride Week, there's an openly LGBT friend group within the school. So Cavendish isn't quite as fantastical as many people think it is, but it still is unrealistic

[@Alex-ug9wx]

They should’ve made ruby’s arc realising how she can be independent and doesn’t need love desperately, and that she really enjoyed PR or campaign work. Have her leave cavendish to go to the world of employment. Ruby deserved more.

[@freddie2151]

I thought that’s how the show would end, each character having to deal with the world of work & eventually settling down with someone by the end.

[@ladyfoxwf1075]

Why would you leave without getting your a-levels first?

[@Alex-ug9wx]

@@ladyfoxwf1075 she may not have needed them. She may have realised how pointless it was staying in such a strange and unconventional school (which, let’s be honest, probably doesn’t provide students with good grades), and possibly preferred to go to work, perhaps to help provide for her father?

[@ladyfoxwf1075]

@@Alex-ug9wx maybe I'm projecting because my life is crap without a-levels, for sure you can be successful without them

[@ElizabethDiaz-nb7cg]

i’m

[@samanthal.8947]

They mangled O's character to be such a smug and manipulative person that when she came out as asexual I didn't believe that it was genuine at first. I thought that it was just for the debate until it went on long enough that it had to be true. They really screwed up with her character if we were supposed to like her.

[@TyRendition]

i thought that i was the only one who thought this

[@celestialudenberg9083]

as somebody who's ace i was fucking screaming, as hard as it is to get ace rep, the way it was played i literally thought O was on the spot coming up with an excuse and it in no way shape or form felt real or like she actually was ace??? actually so frustrating to watch

[@bgos4727]

Ikr, smthey should have just make her a straight away villain

[@azly4930]

Yeah, O was written by an Ace person but she still ended up being one of the worst ace characters I ever saw. Otis was an asshole to her, but he never was sexist. Her claiming that he hate her because she's a girl and because his dad is sexist is such an asshole move. And when he proved to everyone that O was not such a nice person, she acted like she was forced to come out as ace by Otis despite the fact that she could have just said "I'm sorry for what I did" and come out later when she would have felt ready. When she came out, I didn't believed her too ! And during the elevator scene, I got so pissed when she was angry because Otis insinuated that she lied. Of course he's thinking that ! Lying is what you did all along !

[@janecat8753]

I agree. I was disappointed with how the show chose to have her come out. The way it was done seemed forced and disingenuous. And it's also really disappointing to learn that there was a whole storyline in her background that was removed. Without it, her character is completely ruined. None of what she does makes sense within the existing story. It only makes sense after you learn about what was supposed to be her arc, and that makes it look like bad writing.

[@lucaleone4331]

Ironically I think the most powerful asexual representation is earlier in the series when Jean had that discussion with that asexual student. It worked so well to have an adult tell someone that sexuality and sex dont make them whole, so they could never be broken.

[@jorgeazem9511]

Yeah, but, I mean, the only purpose of that character was to be asexual, it seemed like they were doing a representativity check list, like "yeah, an asexual, ur welcome, next".

[@bumblerbree]

@@jorgeazem9511 to be fair the whole point of the show was kinda to show people in unique/isolating sexual situations and have someone give them advice. tackling insecurities, especially. it was about specific issues that people would seek sex therapy/education for, not checking boxes of how many different types of people they can fit into the cast

[@fabiomassimocapasso7028]

@@jorgeazem9511 but if the character is supposed to be secondary in the story it makes perfect sense. They showed us Florence (the asexual character) occasionally during season 2 through Jackson's storyline (she was her co-star in the musical) and went directly to the point. She doesn't have loads of screen time, it was only right that we didn't know everything about her personality

[@editaudioaesthetic]

@@bumblerbreeand yet they made it that with the original ace character. Honestly, especially with the way Otis was already written, ESPECIALLY with the relationship with Ruby, the way he struggled with pornography in earlier seasons, it would’ve been beneficial to just make him asexual, specifically demisexual. (edit: spelling mistakes)

[@oliverjesu5]

Agreed. And she was a great character, very cocky and passionate about theater. I wish they kept her in s3 and 4.

[@novembergold4144]

Something that really bothered me and that wasn't really mentioned in this video, is how Jakob leaving Jean and completely disappearing from their lifes basically negates EVERYTHING they went through in the last season. All the effort and struggles they put into building a family, Jakob addressing his trust issues in therapy, only to find out that the kid he lovingly built a tree house for isn't his and promptly leaving his kind-of-partner who almost died... Ola naming the baby after the discussion she had with her dad about how their lifes were about to change... Jakob telling Otis he'd be there for him no matter what... In the end, all of this just didn't matter AT ALL, as if it had never happened. We don't even know how Ola and Jakob dealt with the situation. I was pretty invested in their patchwork-family-dynamics in season 3, I was rooting for them to at least have closure and a satisfying end, but they just completely brushed it off this season.

[@pinkpingu1189]

i know!! It was so shitty. Even if him and Jean broke up - why was he just gone

[@kaylaharriss8702]

I always felt that the introduction of Jeans sister who was NEVER mentioned before in the prev 3 seasons was a blatant replacement of Jakob so that Jean had someone else besides Otis to interact with in their home! It just made 0 sense!

[@JarrekAsF]

It’s honestly the most disappointing part imo

[@hq3802]

I really believe that in season 4 , it was meant for Jakob -Jean , to have a honest conversation about jean shortcomings and how the relationship was ruined because of her inability to commit. And see some character growth for jean. But now, we got a story about her being depressed because of the new baby, which while it is a serious topic, doesn't fit the fucking narrative of the last 3 seasons

[@emmeline-tyler]

It was giving strong ‘the actors didn’t want to come back’ vibes

[@SirLeopoldWasTaken]

What they did with Ruby was so frustrating. It’s so disappointing to make her entire arc about revenge and unrequited love for a guy that is treating her like shit especially when an arc about her figuring out how much she loves PR Manager work is RIGHT THERE.

[@trinaq]

Agreed, I know that this show is primarily about romantic and sexual relationships, but they gave Aimee and Adam great arcs, not necessarily linking to relationships, so why couldn't they do the same with Ruby? I detest when promising potential is squandered.

[@Kevin-fj3ff]

Isaac treated her like shit??? i think it's the opposite she treated him like sh and she's mad that she actually got dumped cause normally she dumps other dudes

[@carlareeves5950]

@@Kevin-fj3ffyou mean Otis right

[@carlareeves5950]

@@Kevin-fj3ffa lot of hee arc this season and last season was about becoming a better person because of Otis’s influence a natural progression could have been her helping him this season with PR and finding a career thru that is what I’m saying

[@xadielplasencia3674]

Dude😂 who would care about an arc about how she likes PR?😂😂 That could be in the background at best

[@hanbedumbaf567]

I was sexually assaulted multiple times as a teenager. Seeing Aimee healing from her experiences, and seeing her become more comfortable with intimacy was so beautiful. Often in media, when someone is sexually assaulted, it sends them into a downward spiral that they never get out of - which is true, it does happen. But seeing a victim like myself healing from that type of trauma? It was a good representation of that it is very possible to heal and move forward.

[@maudinapalmer5751]

And her set of photos and her little speech about so perfectly put into words what it's like, the whole back and forth of being ok and not being ok, and her finally burning the pants was so beautiful

[@sbee278]

Her arc was unexpected and really beautifully executed.

[@Bubbles603]

I loved when she theorized that women photographers take self portraits so much is because “the world doesn’t see them for how they really are” it’s a beautiful statement and it doesn’t fall into the trap of woman so self absorbed all she does is take pictures of herself b*tches be crazy” the writing for Aimee was the best throughout the entire series and Ms Lou Wood did an excellent job portraying her I can’t wait to see more from the entire cast

[@rebeccaloe]

Aimee was hands down the best part of the season! I was bawling my eyes out when she did her photo shoot and burned the jeans. Such a beautifully done character

[@hanbedumbaf567]

@@zogwort1522 did you just say that people aren't allowed to heal from their trauma?

[@fairyofshamsoob12]

one thing i liked about the previous seasons was the writers ability to normalize having different races, gender identities, and sexualities in the show. s4 was frustrating bc they focused on exposure rather than normalization, which are two very different things. to me this made it feel like a diversity stunt in comparison to prior seasons, where writers treated queer and poc characters like everyone else. like said in the video, the show became the opposite of what it used to be praised for :/

[@maeve-sv6wd]

this is such a good way of wording this! representation is so important but it didn’t feel authentic this season really

[@toms5996]

I felt the same way. Also the overall writing was just not good, far from previous seasons.

[@tortimanti5418]

that's exactly how it felt to me, like a caricature. as soon as they stepped foot into the new college it was an immediate turn off for me, it seemed like one of those made up scenarios by american conservatives. i can enjoy some campness if it's fun and well done and feels somewhat natural, but this was so hamfisted that it went right past camp and ended up firmly in cringe territory.

[@apll9146]

@@tortimanti5418 Cal was already in the previous seasons. Though I do think his arc was awful.

[@Lunrbatzz]

The new school and characters were so awful I genuinely thought the whole point of this season was to make fun of pandering and over sensitivity. But it just didn’t… and acted like everything we were seeing was completely normal. So weird 😭😭

[@1Luke.-]

Drove me insane how the show went from super relatable, real life stories to completely unrealistic storylines that just were outright annoying.

[@lilyjeannnin2175]

Yeah, I remember when the first seasons came out, I was 16-17, the same age as the characters, and this show helped to start conversations with my classmates about being LGBT, about how we deal with sex ed, and I was able to use examples and wording from the show when I was on the student council - I was trying really hard to make the sex ed program at my school more rigorous, less frightening, and more inclusive of LGBT students, so a show for teenagers that talked about issues of contraception, body image, sexual pleasure (alone or in a relationship), discovering your sexual and gender identity was really great. But in the last season it felt more and more wattpad-y, like someone wrote what they think an ideal high-school should be, but not considering that no administration would ever allow anything like Cavendish; the fact that it seems that it's in the same uk school distract as Moordale, but the parents who were indignant about a sex musical are now okay with a non-certified 17 year old running a sexual advice clinic from the school

[@user74027nh]

My biggest gripe with season 4 is that they were trying to do way too much. There were so many storylines introduced and dropped just as suddenly (Jackson's cancer, Joanna being a CSA victim, Isaac and Aisha dealing with abelism at school, etc). It very much feels like they rushed to write an ending for everyone and I think this season would've benefited greatly from being a couple episodes longer. That being said the episode where Maeve buried her mom was so beautifully done. I was crying by the end of it.

[@davidpff4131]

I kinda felt like they didn't really hit the right tone at first because the Lady that was doing the ceremony was so disrespectful for nothing

[@alyssasoto3614]

i sent a text almost exactly like this. they tried to make a development arc for every character and it draineddd me

[@footballfan283]

The problem is that there wasn’t much story left to tell for an entire season. They should have made a two hours movie focusing on the main characters instead

[@antonizajkowski9698]

What does CSA mean?

[@Angelenergy22222]

@@antonizajkowski9698child sexual abuse

[@VikiAngel111]

So I work on shows in Wales, where Sex Education was filmed. I worked on Series 3. I have friends who worked on Series 4. I'm also a fan of the show. And let me tell you, they knew when they were making 4 that it was going to be received poorly. Or at least the crew did. The problems started back in series 3. The road map was to make five series total, but the actors were already voicing desires to move onto other projects, and to be fair to them, they don't exactly look like teenagers anymore. Even by series 3. However, the biggest problem was the location. Moordale got shut down in the story because the campus got sold off in real life. Netflix had bought off the developers to finish up series 3, but as we were coming towards the end of filming there were builders on site zoning parts of the campus off for demolition. Now, I don't know the discussions exactly, but a lot of people were in the mindset that it should end with series 3 because of these reasons. But it was making too much money for Netflix. The big boss wanted two more series, story be damned. So. Series 4 went ahead. Series 4 was run by a nearly entirely different production team. The director, DOP, art director, and other crew that had worked on the last three series did not work on Series 4. These are the people that made the show FEEL how it did for the last three series. And by this point, a lot of the actors were doing other projects, so they weren't invested in the show anymore. Ncuti started filming Doctor Who halfway through Series 4 being filmed. I presume that that's why he's barely with Asa in scenes for most of the season, because it was easier to schedule, but that's just my speculation. As far as I know, nobody thought it was going to be the last series until the first couple of episodes got reviewed and were received poorly. Some of the editors didn't know it was going to be the final season until they were making the text for the trailers. This season was practically set up to fail.

[@alanthomas5545]

Man that's just sad and disappointing to know. It's just my opinion if the series was set for around 5 seasons but wanted to end at season 4 just bcuz the actors wanted move on from this franchise, the actors just cannot make those demands bcuz, we as fans deserve a proper ending for the franchise and that we absolutely love the series. And I do respect their desires to move on from the series and im not blaming them, I absolutely do respect it but the actors should also keep in mind that we fans have being waiting for like 2-3 years to see the characters we love coming back and give them the proper send off in a proper way and respecting the fans in that way where everyone is happy, the fans and the actors. It's a win win situation for everyone. Even the writers and the higher ups at Netflix should keep this mind. Sex Education is one of the best series I have seen from Netflix and mean it. The connection I had with this series is so special to me. This kind of connection I've never had with any other series especially the characters from sex ed and trust me i did cry a lot at end of season knowing that it was ending. But I did like this season though but no so much.

[@DenzelGriffin2]

Im curious to know what you did on the show? Were you on the production?

[@sienh]

@@alanthomas5545 I heard the actors were receiving very little pay for their jobs so that may have contributed to the amount of them that left

[@ZenKrio]

I figured it had to be the last season because everyone was aging out, and I had imagined that Covid hit the series hard. I however did find Season 3 to be significantly worse than Seasons 1 and 2, and Season 4 was quite a bit worse than 3 was, which is saying a lot, despite how good it still was with finishing up some arcs. This Season didn't feel as painful with the "These two are fighting due to a miscommunication" that the last few seasons often had, but it did seem to move a lot more um, left? To say the least, and the (very) awkward push for minors to get their breasts chopped off, as well as the black female god was a little too pushy, as someone who was able to get along with nearly all the characters, and as someone who actually loved Abby :p, I thought the politics was a little too much here... I also felt like the Otis and Maeve relationship got done dirty, it was probably the main bad thing this Season did, in nearly every respect. Though the whole BS with Otis' mom was really annoying as well, as one of the worst characters in the show from start to finish, she was at least balanced out by Yakob(sp?)'s sheer awesomeness, who just wasn't here to help take some of her stupidity away from her scenes. I'll admit though, I didn't think I'd come to like Adam and his dad as much as I did, they grew on me as the show went on, and Season 4 basically took any good that Otis and Maeve had in Seasons 1 and 2 (to say, A LOT OF IT) and somehow drained it from them this Season, somehow being the best character arc. Jackson meeting his dad was a let down, but I did understand why. What I actually don't understand though is why Viv had the arc she did. She had a perfect guy come the end of Season 3, and there was Zero reason they should have broken up, and nothing related to this was ever brought up.

[@chloejade5659]

I’m Welsh and have always wanted to work on film and TV in Wales. Most of my degree was angled towards film and tv, I love it. One of my A Levels is in Film. So can I ask, what do you do and how did you get into it? I visited the set of Da Vinci’s Demons in Bay Studios while they were still in production when I was a kid, and that accelerated my interest even further. So how do you get involved? Do you start as a runner and work your way up? Or should I have done a Film/Production degree?

[@TheQueerTailor]

I think one of the biggest issues with this season was that previously Otis was treated as some dumb kid, not as a therapist by the adults around him. This season has no acknowledgement that neither Otis or O are therapists, they have no licenses, no qualifications so the idea of the school purposely letting them work with students as therapists is too absurd for us to suspend our disbelief

[@junie9039]

Exactly. Like in the previous seasons, they were stuck in a conservative school and otis became a therapist out of necessity. In a school like Cavendish why would that even be necessary 😭 they would just hire an actual professional

[@TheQueerTailor]

@@junie9039 exactly, and even at the conservative school when his mom found out she made sure to tell him “you are not a therapist”, but in this season she was expected to treat O as a colleague and seemed weirdly okay with it when O is also just a random teenager

[@birnapetursdottir2616]

I actually thought O was an adult and an actual therapist at first, bc that would make a lot more sense

[@ariesmry]

Yea…. I’m happy that therapy has been demystified and is more accessible, but having therapeutic language is not the same as going through the therapeutic process. And therapy is NOT giving advice. In the US, licensed mental health clinicians have an ethics board that they answer to and there’s a lot of legality around client/patient privacy and safety. I had mixed feelings regarding the context of this season and how loosely they threw around the title. Also…whole “there can only be one” thing was dumb. Thats like saying “there can only be one medical doctor in this town.” In the real world, clinics, hospitals and private practices have several clinicians on staff and they refer clients who aren’t a good match to their colleagues all the time.

[@ClarenceEwing]

@@ariesmry Exactly. When I was watching the season I kept asking myself "Why can't they just have two therapists?" That would make much more sense, especially for students who wouldn't be comfortable talking to a male or female counselor. Another thing - if the appointments are made online, why is there a line of people in the hallway to talk to them? That doesn't make sense. Not that Otis and O are even licensed and qualified therapists to begin with, as stated earlier. It's easy to forget that these characters are supposed to be teenagers.

[@cspahn3221]

the thing that was absolutely unbelievable to me was the idea that a college would let students run it in any way, shape, or form. a "student run campus" is just a fantasy

[@ernestodemenibus2803]

lots of Unis around the world have that actually, not saying its like the college in the show tho XD

[@eu3801]

Not really? It’s not that mainstream of an idea but there are those kinds of communities. Much more bizarre schools exist honestly

[@lydiarodgers]

@@ernestodemenibus2803but it’s not a uni. a college in the uk is the same as junior and senior in a us high school

[@Josh-oj9mm]

@@lydiarodgerscolleges are closer to a uni than sixth form

[@ishmish3615]

@@Josh-oj9mm theyre not theyre really not

[@joolaine]

I didn't dislike Adam's storyline, neither his personal journey nor the one with his dad. However it did feel very disappointing to keep him away from everyone else so drastically. Also hated that Adam's mom had NOTHING to do with Jean anymore. I loved their friendship so much.

[@esmeralda8305]

Same, I wouldve love to see more of them together.

[@yrnewstepdad]

adam dropping out just felt so cheap after half of his storyline in season 3 was dedicated to him wanting to get better at school and actually graduate

[@gisela_oliveira]

agreee! they felt so of and disconnected from the rest of the cast

[@samniel]

it's so weird how the Groffs just have their own separate spin-off inside the show and they only interact maybe 3 times with the rest of the cast, and that's with Michael now teaching in Cavendish! I thought the scene of Michael and Ruby both eating their lunch alone in the toilet would develop into them having an intergenerational friendship, where Michael learns to open up to the youngsters while Ruby deals with no longer being the alpha in school and wonders what she wants to do after school. But the scene eventually amounted to... nothing, like half of the plotlines this season...

[@gisela_oliveira]

@@samniel I also thought it was a missed opportunity. Him being in a different school would allow for great character growth, especially in the end when he decided to cook for the event, but it ended up nowhere

[@moonlove5290]

I‘m so glad you Pointed out Maeve going back to america being Great. I was so lost why People wanted her to stay in moordale where she was clearly always miserable. She put herself First and I was so happy for her success

[@aginjai]

I agree. I was genuinely annoyed when I thought they were going to make her regress and stay in Moordale to be with Otis. I thought that story was going to be that Otis helps her realise she should go to America otherwise it would ruin their relationship, due to all the reasons that were thankfully mentioned in the chat Maeve ultimately has with Jean. Thank God for Jean! I am glad they also put the scene in where Otis admits he knew it was the right decision, because it was. I think it was the best conclusion for many reasons.

[@laugiri]

sameee

[@trinaq]

Preach, I'm actually glad that they subverted expectations, and had Maeve follow her dreams by heading back to the States, even if it meant leaving Otis, Aimee and her other friends behind, since she never really belonged in Moordale.

[@dariai.7786]

My personal experience with the US immigration system and general knowledge of the US education system just don't allow me to suspend disbelief enough to see this as a happy end. My beef with this ending is exactly that all things considered Maeve will have to return home soon enough with less money than she had before. I wish writers gave her a more realistic path forward than "She will write a bestseller very soon"

[@Bubbles603]

Internalized misogyny is a bitch and a half because there no way they think she should abandon her whole future for a high school love

[@miggyalano]

I was so proud of Mr. Groff's arc. The way the character was portrayed- you can clearly see his remorse for the treatment of Adam in earlier seasons. The best arc of the show, hands down (special mention to Amy)

[@Erik-ff1lv]

Yea Mr. Groff and adams character development this last season. Honestly, the only reason I decided to continue to finish this last season

[@Beastgirl222]

Yes, this season was worth watching just for all that stuff with the Groff family. I cried so much at Michael and Adam's scenes.

[@Michelle-rdz17]

The way Adam and Micheal made up and them reuniting as a family to watch tv together made me cry literally lol

[@alexjaybrady]

I thought it might have been nice if Mr Groff ended up with Jean

[@Malucat456]

It was good, but like, not what I wanted to see, I wish other things were better too

[@meganrumpelt6713]

That guy Tyrone that Maeve was friends with in America was dealt with like a huge cliche. They sorted out Otis’s jealousy by being like “he’s gay”. And then he just didn’t matter any more. I would’ve appreciated it so much more if it was an issue that Maeve and Otis had to deal with about trust as a season long arc, because then their goodbye would be Otis learning to let go and be less controlling. And Maeve could learn to trust herself more and more too. SUCH a missed opportunity

[@HarshvardhanKanthode]

tbh we already had the love triangle with wheelchair guy, and it's such a trope now

[@danamarie2443]

I thought trust was going to be a bigger issue that would be addressed between Maeve and Otis too because then there’s the scene with Ruby and Otis sleeping over but it’s completely dropped. Nothing happens from that. Maeve just gets over it but they could have used their relationship to address trust issues in long distance relationships. Definitely a missed opportunity.

[@brady9592]

@@danamarie2443 I don't who else feels this way, but I thought Otis and Ruby just clicked more/had more chemistry than Otis/Maeve and I was rooting for them to recognize that and go in that direction.

[@blehbeh3717]

otis and ruby had so much chemistry and the writers forced them apart bcs maeve and otis needed their moment in season 4, but with how season 4 turned out it wasn't worth it 💀

[@GabrielaReyes-gr2qb]

Their dynamic was so good and entertaining. We were robbed

[@gradis13]

The worst part is that netflix wanted them together but the creator did not.

[@johnpaulcross424]

@@gradis13you know it’s horrendous when NETFLIX had a better plan than the creators

[@tortoiseoflegends4466]

It was a lose lose situation due to how great they were together. Either have them get together and throw away all the time we spent watching Otis and Maeve the last 3 seasons, or give a satisfying conclusion to Maeve and Otis while ignoring one of the most charming pairings in the show.

[@carter3774]

I don't even mind them not getting together, I'm just kinda tired of ruby not evolving, like she starts off mean, then is nice to otis because she wants something, they share some kind of emotional moment making her actually likable, only for otis to fuck up or ruby to get whatever she wanted after which she's mean again

[@erylaria398]

Concerning Maeve: I'm the daughter of an alcoholic dad and a severely mentally ill and untreated mother. I absolutely understand Maeve's arc, right down to my core. Last year, i was ripped out of my life when i got a call thag my mother was in the hospital, then again this year, when my father died. I sympathize with Maeve so much, always wanting so desperately to move on but always feeling like you're not allowed to because other people depend on you. People who you hate but also love in some way, people with whom you will never get that final healing conversation, that apology that you're yearning for. Because they're either unable to, or because they're dead. I was absolutely rooting for Maeve to go back to the US. She finally broke the cycle, I'm proud of her - just like I'm proud of myself. And anyone who has escaped situations like that very likely feels the same.

[@lucasoldati4817]

Do you think someone like Maeve would really love someone like Otis that, besides being quite wise in therapy, is clearly not very mature and dealing with anxiety? I ask because I feel quite represented by Otis, similar background, similar problems.. and I wonder if someone like Maeve, that is strong, independent and desirable, would love someone like Otis.. or me. PS even if I love them together I totally get that's the right choice for her to leave, and I found the scene between Maeve and Jean one of the best in the entire show, so touching ❤

[@ankyfire]

Congratulations on breaking the cycle! And if I may recommend you something my therapist recommended me... Write letters. Sure, it's not the same closure as a healing conversation, but in my case they helped A LOT. And the thing is, you can write letters to anyone. Alive, dead, in a coma, with brain damage. Don't send them - it's the writing that's healing. At least it was for me. You can also write a conversation between you and the dead person (I have written one between me and my past self). It can be very powerful. I just want to stress here - I'm absolutely not telling you what to do, but this is something that helped me LOTS in therapy, even though I at first thought it sounded... Stupid. So I'm sharing in case it can help someone else. Big hugs!

[@bigman7025]

@@lucasoldati4817 love doesnt care about whether or not you have anxiety, there is no control over love, it is completely fair to say that someone like maeve could love someone like otis. Anxiety and that has more to do with your attractiveness hence why maeve didnt outright find him attractive until she knew him on an emotional level.

[@hxavens4227]

@@Brotried97he can understand her and empathize with her even if he didn't go through the same experiences. yes, it's never going to be the same feeling you get with someone who has been through the exact same thing as you, but more often than not (at least in my experience) that leads to a lot of trauma bonding and not encouraging each other to grow. someone like otis feels safe (which yes, is very scary) and more often than not a person who has experienced the level of trauma (or close) that maeve has will try to run away and reject that person (hence why i loved their slow burn arc in the show). i do think that otis romanticized maeve in the first seasons but by the end of the 3rd season i think they could've had a lot of potential.

[@Shirumoon]

@@hxavens4227 Love this comment! I grew up in an abusive household while my boyfriend is a total Otis lol. What is setting me apart from the Meave type of character is that for me there was more of an overbearing middle class element in my upbringing so I didn't turn out to be hyper independet and mature as people I know experienced the more neglectful type of abuse. But still, when I was with my ex who's been through at least as much trauma as me it was incredibly toxic. Being understood is not enough for love and a healthy relationship, it can even hinder it. I would have loved to see Otis and Meave together in the end or even Ruby and Otis but I felt like he really needed some sort of established romance for the series to feel round.

[@theonewalnut5451]

Otis really is the greatest casualty of the quality drop-off. He started as an immature kid who was learning to deal with new feelings that evolved for two seasons only to regress back to a manchild and get sidelined. If you showed this season to someone who's never seen sex education, they would probably just assume that he was an undeveloped side character, not the main character of the show.

[@pooperscooper002]

yes i found that incredibly disappointing -- eric had to TELL otis why hes been a bad friend, is this like the tenth time?

[@SINGHDASLAYA]

It's ironic because he actually looks like a manchild in season 4 thanks to the male curse of passing 25 and gravity hitting you like a brick. I couldn't see him, Adam or maeve as anything more than adult peers pretending to be into cringe tiktok and rap videos.

[@karinisvetcool]

Omg he just turned into his father

[@grzegorzchmura9397]

IMO Otis after season 1 became less of a character but more of a plot device to drive other people characters. And I am fine with that.

[@SINGHDASLAYA]

@@Brotried97 it means that he hasn't aged well where his face has sagged since the previous seasons more and the wrinkles are showing. It happens to most guys after 25 but for the role as a teenager he no longer looked the part. The same with Adam and Maeve in my opinion too.

[@dogpril2324]

Cavendish was literally Twitter College. The way O *actually* outs Otis as having a fucked up Dad in front of everyone, says that disagreeing with her is sexist, then after getting confronted with her actual behaviour deflects by coming out and then uses that against Otis saying he outed *her* is just... Oh my god I hated every bit of that. The entire season was full of rubbish like that but they never called her or anyone out on it! They paint this horribly toxic environment and don't address it at all. Come on???!!!

[@Darceyab]

I was screaming at my tv when the debate happened cause Otis had the chance to talk about his relationship with his mam and dad and how his dad has always made him feel less than but at the same time being raised by a very outspoken strong mother gives him that different perspective on the world but nope he stood there like a dick 😭

[@geministrial950]

This, goodness this. Its so painful to watch. It genuinely feels like what a bigot's idea of a world without homophobia looks like, and I mean it with the worst way possible

[@LiamSanderson-q2h]

My biggest problem is that this season has lost a lot of the joy it previously had. Otis is upset all season because he can’t see Maeve, Maeve is grieving because her mum’s died, Eric is being rejected by his church, Adam is struggling to forgive his dad, Aimee is processing her sexual assault, Ruby is being treated terribly by Otis (who she still has feelings for), Otis’ mum has depression, Cal has depression, Jackson thinks he has cancer and his dad won’t see him, Viv is in an abusive relationship and Isaac is just constantly pissed off.

[@alika3651]

yeah and also that joanna too is processing her sexual assault. retrospectively this series is just sad

[@willemmmmm]

The thing is, I don't think a season like that is bad in of itself, but the season was simultaneously pretty depressing and dramatic while having a more satirical tone than ever before

[@issamatieh9000]

Very well said ! i remembered laughing a lot and smiling and enjoying watching the first 2 seasons but this was too dark.

[@footballfan283]

@@issamatieh9000that’s what we all loved about that series, it had an amazing balance between comedy and drama. However the last season was only drama and the plot wasn’t very well executed

[@biabrlinda]

right?? and Cal could've had a better storyline, they were horny all the time, if they were cis the writers would've totally got them a sex partner

[@nguyengirl7684]

As a queer person, i was actually a bit annoyed how the start of Eric and Otis's riff this season was signified by Eric's new friends commenting on how straight people can be exhausting and that they couldn't imagine someone like eric being besties with Otis. Straight people can absolutely be exhausting, but I felt that Eric and Otic's friendship in Seasons 1-3 showed that Otis genuinely liked doing activities with eric that were "queer", and that eric genuinely liked taking Otis to these events. That's what made their friendship admirable to me, and was one of the few redeeming qualities about Otis IMO. My closest friends are straight but have always been supportive of me, enthusiastic to come to queer spaces with me when i didn't have too many queer friends and talking to them about topics specific to queerness with them never feels exhuasting.

[@karinisvetcool]

Them saying 'straight people are exhausting' also kinda.. hurt me in a way? Because I don't think anyone wants to be judged by their sexuality. If a straight person in the show had said 'gay people are exhausting' they would be called homophobic, but now it's all chill?

[@madalitsomwanza2218]

It’s like a double edged sword because like genuine frustration and lamentation when it comes to straight homophobes is welcome,but seeing your identity and queerness in an almost elitist sense is a slippery slope

[@whorcruxed]

Exactly! Tbh I was actually waiting for some twist where these extra nice people would turn out to be assholes in some way so that whatever they preach would turn out to be impractical. I had one straight friend in college and despite him acting dumb at times (like Otis) he has been always supportive of my orientation. Since I wasn't out to everyone in college and he was the first straight person I came out to, his reaction was a big relief. Also because in this part of the world where homosexuality was decriminalized only a year before I came out to him it seemed unfathomable that any *straight* guy would be accepting. Best thing about the whole affair was he didn't let me feel anything changed between us, which is what scares all queer people regarding their relationships. I started watching sex education at time when I was coming in terms with my queerness, it always reminded me of our friendship and how long time genuine friendship goes a long way because even if they're not perfect, they know you like nobody else. I have met/talked to several queer people in subsequent years and yes, they have been relatable regarding other relatable aspects of sexuality but never have I ever felt that my friendship with straight guys is somewhat inferior. It's as if sexual orientation is just a part of personality and not the entire personality hence not the only requirement for good friendship!? At least it wasn't till last season.

[@camtilope]

@@karinisvetcoolstraight people are not oppressed 😭

[@xtuffcookiex]

@@camtilope lgbtqia2s+ community is about love. So to have a character using someone's sexuality as in insult comes off as a hit to the community and what they stand for. I see what @karinisvetcool means .

[@trinaq]

I actually appreciated the character growth, especially from Aimee, Adam, Groff and Ruby. However, I wondered why having two sex therapists was a big deal, when Otis and O could have worked together to create something beautiful. So much lost potential.

[@sw3602]

Yeah I really wondered why it was such a big deal, it felt so obvious to me that the solution was "just have two sex therapists" because some people might feel comfier talking to someone of a specific gender about their specific problem. And then they just. Didn't do that, and I was baffled

[@lauryn5432]

Especially when one is a man and one is a woman, it actually makes MORE sense to have two sex therapists in that sense. Not all women want a male therapist and not all men want a female one

[@apll9146]

Because Otis didn't like having someone "better" than him as a sex therapist. His entire arc was literally saying that O "stole" his business.

[@lauryn5432]

@@apll9146 yeah he was just an annoying man child this entire season , I lowkey hated him the whole season

[@noahkirschtein8169]

genuinely..... the students kept changing their mind abt which one to go to, which lead to long wait times every time. having a male and a female option sounds like a great thing, and it would decrease wait times. the conflict was exhausting cause it was so cartoonish. completely unnecessary.

[@leiaskywalker9955]

I think the main problem with Otis and Maeve's relationship is that it took too long to happen. While the writers and producers were telling us that we didn't ACTUALLY want to see them together rather than a cliffhanger, they were destroying the main love story of the show. The characters eventually stop having that vibe and energy so it doesn't feel right. Like how many things can come inbetween them before they're finally together? The problem for me wasn't that there was no traditional happy forever and ever but the fact that it got so dragged out to get to that point that it didnt feel good anymore ykwim

[@HarshvardhanKanthode]

Exactly they were together technically for like 2 episodes, because Maeve was in America for half a season. She comes back and Otis still has sexual problems, still is an asshole and her mother dies out of nowhere. They had exactly 0 chemistry, both of them not even knowing what the other person was dealing with at the time. Otis never encouraged her about her writing, Maeve never gave a shit about the whole O vs Otis thing. The Writers just didn't want them to work.

[@TopFusboll]

I think this problem had already started back in episode 4 of season 2. I’m talking about when Maeve admitted her feelings to Otis and Otis overreacted angrily and left. That was the last time we saw them as friends together. After that the show turned it to drama between them with the question will be/ wont be together. That’s why many people lost interest because they turned their story to absolute drama and dragged it for way too long. Literally after the 4th episode of season 2 those two became like strangers before reconnecting to season 3 episode 5 but romantically this time. And then facing so many obstacles that couldn’t make their relationship work. Drama after drama after drama. And that’s why many people had enough and wanted to see Otis with Ruby

[@Shade-Spark]

Spot on, eventually getting what I was feeling about it. Like in S4 I was feeling like "but what did positive Otis brought to Meave?" (and the other way around too), like it's been neutral. I don't agree on the popular idea Otis is a selfish asshole as main trait, it's a consequence of him being lost in emotional dramas and contradictions all the time (that would take an honest text to come to terms with everytime but there would be no show then), which made Otis purely neutral relatively to Maeve this season. I agree with S2.4 as end of the magic, althrough there's still the message that keeps the thing up until the moment they're together, but then it's really S3.5 that marks the end of the magic, they wanted to go into an interesting way for Meave's personal devlopment as solo character, thinking it would bring more main-ship-drama with distance and adress it as a new theme, and they didn't do it bad, they did it blend, meh... post-first-kiss stories are always a challenge, they sacrificed the magic to make it not-bad and insert it into the other intertwinement.

[@d.o.m.i.]

right. I cheered for them in season 1, by season 2 I couldn't care less. they are not a good couple and that's the writers' fault

[@alarrim29574]

@@HarshvardhanKanthodedid Maeve even know about the whole o sex therapy rivalry😂

[@rebeccadodd1394]

I think a part of the show that I found missing this season was a lot of the actual advice/therapy. The earlier seasons felt very meaningful, and Otis gave some genuinely good advice that you don't always hear often. It was interesting and reassuring for both the characters and viewers, and made the show stand out. This season, there was much less focus on therapy in general, and most of what there was amounted to 'just be honest and talk about your feelings'. It felt repetitive and phoned in, whereas in the earlier seasons Otis would work to actually research issues and the advice would vary from person to person. It made it hard to take either Otis or O seriously, so it didn't feel like I was invested in half the story and wasn't rooting for anybody.

[@laryodaily]

You're so right! This season's plot didn't really live up to the show's title. And the whole battle between Otis and O was dragged out way too long. I expected it to be a subplot in the beginning that would be resolved after a maximum of 3 episodes but then sadly had to realize that it was actually all there was to Otis' storyline.

[@rebeccadodd1394]

@@laryodaily exactly, I thought the feud would be maybe two episodes and then they'd set it aside. The early seasons were much more balanced, but this season seemed to really ramp up the 'sex' part and ignore the 'education'

[@andreamonae]

this! i'm just finally finishing up the season with the last episode to go, but at the beginning of episode 7, when the "sex education" font rolled across my screen, it felt... idk like the name of the show wasn't really representative of the show anymore-- in a literal sense, sure; sex education is the theme (ie. O and Otis' whole debate/storyline and jean and her occupation being a focal point/anchor-- though, even that was diluted, but makes sense because of her newborn!), but overall, it just didn't really feel like the educating/introduction to things related and about sex, like the previous seasons, was happening. which, side note: i'd like to say i think it's fine for the character's storylines and arcs to be deepened overtime throughout the seasons, with the show putting more focus on other aspects of their lives-- in fact, it makes sense! but, even if the education is "less," there still needs to be "checkpoints" and aspects of the the plot and characters that center back to that, especiallyyyyy with Otis' character at the least (particularly because last season otis' actually showed an interest and talked about actually pursuing therapy; there was such a gateway for him to start exploring that in more concrete and qualifiable ways this season that would have been cool to see.)

[@ruthielalastor2209]

Dude, you're right! The advice! That was such a good part of the show and it was able to impart knowledge to the audience and do so in little sections like there's an episodic feel to it. Brilliant of the early seasons to do that.

[@mariaclaudiafeitosa3136]

When Otis said to O "are you really ace or did you just say that to have something against me?" And she was all hurt by it, I was like DUDE I TOTALLY THOUGHT THAT TOO WHEN SHE CAME OUT. And I believed that the storyline was going in a good direction with the whole "Cavendish is super kind" motto. Throughout the show, we could absolutely see Abbi as a mean girl who still likes to control everyone and enjoys her status in her popular clique with a toxic positivity attitude. Like in that scene in the cafeteria with "her seat" being taken by Ruby. It could have been a great theme to expose how Gen Z holds their values in a place of obnoxious superiority, and how it could drive someone to actually lie about their sexuality to score points with the public. I actually believed the show was going to recognize the very thing it was doing. Only I didn't realize that they were literally doing it with the show. So that was pretty disappointing.

[@katherineg8126]

I did too and im ace 😭😭 so when she got upset i was confused

[@magma4168]

O just happened to really be an ace, but let's be honest - faking it would have been completely in her character.

[@cathydesmet9493]

Honestly I'm ace and when O came out that was one of my first thoughts as well

[@48hz46]

I havent seen the whole video yet but the way O revealed her asexuality and how it was handled was incredibly stupid. Im also asexual, and the way she used it to justify her ghosting of THREE people, and her being praised for her bravely was so stupid. Just because shes asexual doesnt mean ghosting people is okay? And considering she brought up otis's dad being a meninist unpromted and the way she treated ruby intially, i honestly also had the same thought as otis in the elevator when he asked if she just said she was ace to one-up him. Was really not a fan of hers which is a shame because there are so few ace characters in media in general

[@trinaq]

I highly concur. I hate when people use their Sexuality to justify their poor behaviour, and it didn't make sense why O was being praised for it.

[@linah1998]

YES! Aroace representation is so so limited and it's such a shame that this is the route they chose to go down with an asexual character

[@icedmochaart]

I thought it was supposed to be about the outting/forcing out of the closet of celebrities, like how some people will complain about a writer or actor being straight but depicting queer people, only for them to turn out to have been closeted and now they're pressured to come out. But I was so sure that it was going to be satire because unlike people who this actually got done to, O wasn't forced to and her asexuality didn't justify or explain her actions. So I was really surprised when this was played entirely straight and the show kind of took what she said as a sound explanation. Like no it's not? Im ace and I've never ghosted anyone neither have many of us?? Loved her later scene where she explained why she was mean to Ruby when they were kids, THAT felt like something bad she did because of her feelings of otherness, but the other thing sucked ass and I wished they had played it as satire

[@alexandercharizard3617]

i agree that her bringing up otis' Father was kind of unprompted, but also otis certainty that she must have stolen his idea was really weird and nonsensical. I was half-expecting a scene where he realizes his stupidity and questions his assumption and if maybe he has taken over some of his dads believes

[@filmfangirls9163]

As an Ace, I 100% agree.

[@boygirl]

I think one of the biggest flaws was the Cavendish setting. I genuinely couldn't tell for a few episodes if the school was meant to be a parody of 'wokeness' because it was so over the top and stupid. The whole 'no gossip', the fact that the entire school were obsessed with Roman and Abby (like a literal vigil for their relationship???) it was all so plastic. Seasons 1 and 2 felt real, season 3 felt dramatised but I suppose still a bit realistic, but season 4 felt so surreal. I couldn't possibly imagine a school actually being like that, so all the drama felt forced. What school has the funding for all of that unless it's a private school? What kids Actually act like that, with the forced wokeness among the entire student body. O's popularity felt entirely fabricated and totally unrealistic. The fact that the lifts were broken in a school with that much money was a forced event to show environmental ableism, but it didn't work because of how much money the school put into everything else. It just felt incredibly out of touch with the real world and, like you said, forced representation. The cast was too big, so no stories ever got properly developed, and it was just totally unreliable. Also what was up with Eric meeting god? That genuinely ruined the entire season more than anything else. There were so many better ways that they could have handled that entire storyline - it could have been a really nice bonding moment for Abby and Eric, if Abby met Eric's family and finding that in some places you can be religious and queer and it would have given her an actual character other than toxic positivity. Even allowing for the fact that they didn't know it was going to be the final season, so many of the character arcs were handled absolutely terribly, and none more than Eric's.

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

all of this. And yes, you're right, absolutely NO school has that kind of money, even most private schools. It just wasn't a school.

[@Ray-hk1zm]

The only thing I'll disagree with here is that the school funneling their money into other things and ignoring basic function is unrealistic--in my experience that's *exactly* how schools manage their funding (I went to an arts school, and the energy of "oh we spent $3000 on one prop for a school play but the elevator didn't work cleanly for my entire time at the school and the bathrooms were always fucked" is SO real). It just depends on the kind of school, I think, and basic accessibility gets left behind frequently. With that said, yeah the energy of the school felt super over the top and fake--I think shows about kids are so often made so that adults can laugh at how weird kids are nowadays, and one thing I loved about Sex Education is that it never felt like that,,, until this season, when the joke for the whole season seemed to be that kids can't handle anything "problematic" (literally Abbi's words). The whole season had this strange energy of "oh look,, the straight white guy is now the one at the bottom of the pecking order,,, now it's unpopular and bad to be a man,,, he's being oppressed by the queer woman of color opposing him,,,, Eric's friends hate straight people and are turning him against Otis,,,, isn't this so hard" when even in incredibly inclusive spaces that is *never* the case (again, went to an arts school that framed itself as super queer-positive and diverse. Who was at the top of the social sphere? STILL THE FUCKING WHITE GUYS). It felt mean-spirited and strange and I really didn't like it, even though I think my reaction to the show was a little more positive than most people's.

[@thevaccinator666]

​@@Ray-hk1zmDo you have a problem with white guys?

[@Ray-hk1zm]

@@thevaccinator666 No.

[@thevaccinator666]

@@Ray-hk1zm What's with the "FUCKING WHITE PEOPLE" then? 😂

[@Moonstar79]

I go to an art school which is oftentimes just like Cavendish, and the BIGGEST flaw of that all-things-go, sex-positive, queer-positive environment is that it can be very disingenuous. People who don't behave like the Stereotype Queer™️ can pretty easily get sidelined and queerness becomes a commodification of status real fast-- as in, "I'm in more minorities than you so I have the authority to behave in ways I usually wouldn't." Not to say that being in a lot of minorities isn't hard, but an environment where it's so front and center can force it to the forefront of a person's identity rather than exploring their entire self. And I really thought Sex Education 4 was going to address that with Abbi, Roman, Aisha, and to an extent Eric, but it ended up being a pretty shallow dissection coming down to just Abbi being insecure. Which is sad, because how far you can reasonably go with a Cavendish culture is a discussion worth having.

[@bumblerbree]

totally agree. very accepting, queer (usually wealthy) communities can have the exact same problems as more conservative ones when it comes to cliques and power dynamics. i thought maybe they'd explore demonising of religion more in particular, since they brought it up kinda and it's a good example of how 'open' communities can sometimes actually be quite obviously unsupportive of certain people. there's still bullies and 'mean girls (not always girls)' in queer communities, they just use a slightly different vernacular to try and disguise it as virtue or justice. things like 'no gossiping, except when i do it because i'm just stating a fact' where they're just using morality as a cover for controlling people are really interesting imo, and there's also an insane amount of pressure to come out of the closet or generally be gayer so you're liked more or so that people can't call you a bigot. i wish they'd explored that with o instead of focussing on her petty rivalry with otis

[@Moonstar79]

@@bumblerbree Ohh I didn't even think about the demonization of religion, that's a good point. I've seen that at my school too, and it's such a layered topic because on one hand, a lot of queer kids experience religious trauma, but on the other hand, it can become really easy to ice out anyone who IS religious because of those experiences without really getting to know the individual. Abbi could have been so much more interesting with that aspect explored-- and the gossip thing too. Excellently worded. That thing about silent unacceptance would have been an awesome facet of O too, since sex is such a deeply ingrained part of the LGBTQ culture and asexuals sometimes feel left behind or 'not queer enough' as a result, even if it isn't a literal mentality their peers have

[@Nemamka]

that's a really good observation! I started to notice too that once you're not checking all the boxes, _vehemently_ so, about positivity, about all sorts of policital issues, or about each individual person you're even remotely acquainted with being a puritan saint, you just get forgotten, or worse, 'canceled'. I just think this kind of black and white thinking is insane, or at least only suitable for children under 12.

[@henrieketebrake4635]

This reminds me of the line from Roman. That he doesn't like straight people because they are basic. I thought it was a dialogue seed that would be addressed later. That Abbi and Roman would be unaccepting of Otis because he would be "too straight" and boring. Eric could have been swayed by them and maybe Aisha could be sticking up for Otis (then she would have drama/plotline to be involved in). I was really disappointed that nothing became of this issue as the bedroom scene appeared to be deliberate exposition. I have had someone close saying that they don't like gay people out right because they act "too gay". Both in front of me when they were unaware of my sexual orientation, and behind my back once they knew. If Roman was straight and said something like that about gay people it would definitely have gotten more backlash.

[@username_creates6991]

I think the writters were to scared to cover it. Because tbh what you have explained here is exactly whats happening in western countries and social media. Places that have accepted diversity and differences and even praise being a minority. The woke culture in general. I thought they were gonna cover that with those three and that collage. Cus ot felt more threatening to be a minorty in their previous school then it did now. I thought with Otis that they were going to lean into how politics around minorties could be manipulated and how white men have no advatage in woke culture and can often times be painted bad just by the others who do have that advatage to say what is what and have everyone just follow them. Cus Otis is not the sterotype of a white man, sure he might not be able to fully understand the minorities but as an individual he is sypathetic, empathetic, intuitive and someone who will support these minorties. The show ended up making him sort of a villian because they didn't want to offend with his perspective and what might happen to him if he is in a school that has woke culture but he hasn't got any points.

[@humancyn]

Concerning the Cavendish and its new cast: as a queer woman myself the school felt like a parody. Everything is shiny, bright, colourful, positive and open minded. At the start of the season I firmly believed that the show was trying to go back to the roots and construct stereotypes just to break them down and show that there is much more to the characters or the environment they are in. Just something which would show: oh, so not everything is sparkle rainbow in the lgbt+ community? Tell me more! It is not like there are no topics to discuss. Instead the characters just stayed flat and the Cavendish was just a new scenery not a new environment with a whole new social circle, which it was supposed to be in my opinion. I could not see myself in it although it was meant to represent a part of me.

[@karinisvetcool]

I felt like by making everything so 'perfect', it made the LGBT community look.. less human, like they were put on a pedestal but by doing that made them too perfect to just be people

[@FlimsyPickles]

Umm isn’t that the point?? It was this over the top ridiculous Woke University and that was why it was fun

[@starfall7271]

As a bisexual woman who absolutely loves all things colorful and pastel and fun, the campus was so over the top. The “sign-up rooms” didn’t really make sense to me. Why did Otis intentionally rent a room that was 2 ft x 1 ft? Or didn’t he know what room he was using? Does O have a permanent room and that’s why it’s so much bigger? Why aren’t all rooms that size? Or is it based on the demand of the people? Either way, the cubbies versus classrooms confused me like crazy. Also, Abbie and Roman’s conflict was so weird and shoved in. It was just like “we’re having these problems” in like episode 2 or 3 and the it wasn’t brought up again until the very last episode?? It felt like they were kind of forced into a main focus for a few minutes but it wasn’t enough time to actually explore them. I did love Aisha though. I loved her helping Cal and her hearing disability I felt was handled really well, with her friends trying to learn sign language. I also felt that it was a really good point to put in a character, the art teacher, who didn’t understand her disability at all. It made me laugh but also feel bad for the poor girl because she doesn’t need someone to speak louder, she needs to see lips or have things signed to her. I thought it was amazing.

[@schwammi]

@@FlimsyPickles btw it's not a university, it's a college in the british sense which is somewhat equal to the like last 2 years of highschool in america. Moordale, the school they were at before, was also a college as well.

[@SunderMun]

@@starfall7271 honestly, none of the storylines got their proper time; everything was rushed and so felt completely forced, sadly.

[@nommo110]

The way they depicted Cavendish lgbtq+ community is so wrong in so many ways. All queer characters in the previous seasons were diverse, they felt like real people. Their queerness didn't define them. While in s4 they employ my most hated stereotype. That it feels like you must meet certain "requirements" to earn the right to call yourself queer. Like you have to be vegan, drama queen, have tragic story and like all those shiny clothes and stuff. Queer people can also be "basic" of they like. At first I thought Cavendish is meant to be a parody. I'm still frustrated that it turned out not to be.

[@qrochimaru5593]

cavendish is a caricature and it didnt feel real or natural at all

[@lergia]

yeah same, i thought cavendish was going to be revealed as a fake woke, toxic positivity thing. kept waiting for it lol. the show kinda did it in the finale with abbys storyline and the disability thing, but not enough at all. imo.

[@TobiToastr]

@@qrochimaru5593yes and honestly that is the biggest problem in this season because this is the main setting and it feels so fake and unreal.

[@oliver7496]

right?? like I get they're trying to be inclusive but I really wish queer media didn't always feel the need to fall into stereotypes. like sure, there's gotta be *some* queer person out there covered in glitter and sequins that feels represented, but what about the other 99% of queer people who that doesn't represent at all? and don't even get me started on the fact that they put the only(?) two trans characters together AND MADE THE TRANS GUY THE BOTTOM/THE TRANS GIRL THE TOP. like holy shit the dysphoria man, totally unnecessary scene

[@NinaGothMambaNegra]

@@oliver7496 yes, this. exactly this. the way they showed the intimacy in that 4t4 realtionship was transphobic, fetishistic and had chaser vibes. I won't even replicate the line they made Abby say because is just so wrong at some many levels. The cis-het-ableist gaze ruined this season. At the end of the show, even tho Otis and Maeve are not a couple, he got what he wanted all along which was to fuck her. And we get to see that from Otis pov.

[@residentofgravetown6893]

The one thing i’ll say about Jacksons heath scare arch is that the one thing it did incredibly was visually show the fear that comes with thinking you have a life threatening illness. Him having that panic attack in the funeral episode and the visual language displayed perfectly the feeling and the times it can just come up out of nowhere. I really wish we had another season to fully explore these themes. Also I don’t see anyone as shocked about this as me when Micheal Groff was ASSAULTED by that other teacher. She invited him for a date and immediately started having sex with him without consent and forced herself upon him and it was played as a joke about impotence. I found it so upsetting and the biggest blunder of the show. Maybe I just read his reaction wrong but he didnt reciprocate in that instance and yes he did want to try and move on from his wife but he was expecting a date, if I recall he even brought flowers. I don’t know; I hated that art teacher.

[@helenzhang1604]

i agree... as a show literally called "sex education" i feel like it falls short when it comes to discussing consent. another example is when otis lost his virginity when he was so drunk to the point that he couldn't remember it. i understand the show was probably trying to push the message that your first time doesn't have to be perfect, but it's strange that they didn't address at all how someone's level of sobriety affect how much consent they can actually give

[@danamarie2443]

Yes completely agree with this. This shocked, disturbed, and upset me. Another scene that was not really addressed which made it feel like shock factor.

[@wisoo4078]

EXACTLY I don't know why no one is talking about the fact that she full on r*ped him, and it was treated as if it was supposed to be some sort of comic relief.. It was horrible to watch, I felt so bad for him

[@kylieimholte3757]

I NOTICED IT TOO while i was watching and the teacher mounted micheal out of the blue, i was like that is straight up sexual assault. i was so confused bc it wasn’t addressed at all. they did play it off as oh silly michaela impotence and the women being sexually forward but i thought that was so immature and insulting and gross and creepy. glad others noticed it

[@ericagreene1579]

They really have a bad portrayl of sex!

[@Br0th3r7]

I'm disabled. Thank you for talking about Aisha feeling like a message. I have cerebral palsy so i relate more with Isaac and i feel the same way about him. I could relate to some stuff (mostly spaces not being accessible and it sucking) but the only character traits he gets are : disabled and mean. I don't feel represented by that. The only good scene he got in my opinion was the kinda sex scene withe Maeve. There is still a loooooong way to go it terms of disability representation in series and films. We are not just disabled, we are disabled people!

[@LunaWitcherArt]

I don't know, I never felt like Isaac was JUST mean (and disabled). He made a genuine connection with Maeve and that did not come about because he was mean, but because they understood each other in their destitution. To me, he acts very nurturing in his own way - it feels like he's mean just so people know to not f**k with him, and after that message gets through, he's just honest and kinda nice, actually. We even got some of his teenage insecurity in S2, when he deleted the message, but he learned how that can blow in his face. It felt very fitting how the two nurturing people in Maeve's life ended up together, like a literal found family. When she asks them to help spread her mom's ashes, it even looks like she's having a serious talk with her parents, with both Aimee and Isaac dressed a little bit older compared to their usual wardrobe.

[@bgos4727]

@@LunaWitcherArt i agree, i actually like isaac

[@epicakoss5318]

Ikr, I would advice you to read steel ball run (jojos bizarre adventure part 7) the protagonist is disabled person and his character is incredible. It's a part with cowboys and abilities and it's wonderful because they ride horses and he manages to be one of the coolest characters as well! Eventually u will find a series to connect to sooner or later

[@Ignornaceisntbliss]

​@@bgos4727I didn't like Issac, because of the whole deleting voice-mail thing, but I liked him this season with Aimee. He was really patient with her after he got to know her better, and their interactions were really wholesome.

[@signeaarejrgensen61]

I see Isaac as a cynic because of his childhood in the foster care system. But I didn't see him as mean. Troubled, but not mean.

[@sophiastargazer]

As shitty as it was of Otis to accuse O of lying about being asexual during their election debate, I as an asexual person honestly thought that that's what she was doing at first, too. The moment where she publicly comes out on stage and the way she psyches herself up for it somehow felt disingenuous, and the reveal that she rejected all of the people she did at Cavendish out of fear of rejection and that her craving for acceptance because of her asexual identity lead her to become a sex therapist (without any proper therapy training, of course) when she and Otis have their heart to heart in the elevator also just didn't land for me. I think it's because for a lot of the season, she is being portrayed as shady, antagonistic and manipulative to act as a foil to Otis, so by the time they try to humanise her, it's already too late because of how unlikable she was for most of her appearance on the show. Her redemption at the end also felt hollow, although that was probably born out of the necessity to quickly wrap everything up at the end. Overall, I just really didn't feel represented by her.

[@bgos4727]

I agree

[@gisela_oliveira]

agree. she was very victimised, wich is something the series also did with Eric, acting like LGBTQ+ can't be flawd.

[@olayin]

Why does everyone nowadays want to be represented? Why? What does it really do for you?

[@zoeybourke9617]

​@olayin people have always wanted to be represented in the media we consume.

[@ma.2089]

@@olayin because they like when fiction reflects the realty of the world. It’s annoying when everyone is the same thing in fiction cuz real life doesn’t operate like that. The majority isn’t so much the majority, rather it’s just the majority of who’s allowed to voice proof of their existence Plus, seeing more diversity adds more interesting conflict. Maybe it’s interesting to you to watch the same thing over and over, but some ppl expect more if they’re going to pay for it. When businesses only focus on the “majority”, you get boring programming.

[@rachelconsoli8428]

I’m honestly SO bummed Jakob and Ola were just written off. I really liked their arc in s3 and honestly thought his journey was that he would still choose to be there for Jean and Otis even with the baby not being his, as it was foreshadowed to be. So for them to just peace out with zero explanation, especially after their touching finale of s3, I was so incredibly bummed. I feel like we could’ve had a similar journey with Jean with them there, and it would’ve been better with the tension of Joy not being his, and we wouldn’t have had to create Joanna who very much didn’t work for me.

[@majdijones587]

Most men won’t stay isn’t that common sense?

[@spiderpunk1265]

@@majdijones587after all of the work they did in s3, it’s weird and not in his character. Plus ola had nothing to do with it so where’s the closure for otis? Grow a brain.

[@ilonamagny4339]

​@@majdijones587also how is it common sense when you think about it ? Jakob, a grown man, made the decision to have a family with Jean and raise the child. Sure it wasn't a fully informed decision since he didn't know the child wasn't his, but tbf neither did Jean. So to just leave after all the emotional, financial, and personal investment because another spermatozoid fertilized the egg while they were broken up is ... Meh ? Out of character ? Reductive in what fatherhood truly means ? As someone who was raised by a man who isn't my biological father, I don't understand the importance people seem to place on DNA. Parents are the ones who raise and love you, not the ones whose gamets you come from.

[@mateojacome-mm6to]

I feel so bad for Asa Butterfield, he is an incredible actor, and I feel that he never had the opportunity to be more mature with his character, the most noticeable thing was in S2 with a more confident and relaxed Otis, but after that otis simply did not have a good development , and it's very sad that he ends up with nothing, without his clinic, without maeve and with the possibility that Eric was going to make his way as a priest, being the main character and having 0 development it just feels like a joke tasteless so sad for him..

[@opinionatednobody5631]

it’s so disappointing how his character had zero growth idk how they managed to make the main character to be the least interesting character

[@crunchexo845]

​@@opinionatednobody5631na wrda bro how u make da main character da worst character 😂

[@thebilliespace]

That's what I told my partner! He's the main character and gets the worst treatment ever. Such a waste and I'm glad AB can now move on to better things.

[@cameron4259]

Aimee 100% carried this season idc idc I absolutely LOVED her. She was the only one whose character felt consistent throughout the entire show and her arc was done beautifully

[@ktbecstasy]

Adam too n Mr Michael Groff

[@crunchexo845]

Aimee was annoying Adam and Michael carried 😂

[@lynnhettrick7588]

I just said the same thing. I liked her in every season. She had the best arc of the series.

[@thejaded]

I love her so much too and the actor as well. You can tell she's having so much fun and that makes me smile 😊

[@urfavsh1teditor]

The only thing I didn't like is that she got with Isaac. He's really annoying to me and her staying single would've been a so much better way of finishing her story

[@fanchioso758]

I agree that it's pretty weird Elsie doesn't actually appear at the funeral, especially considering that she DID make an appearance earlier (along with Anna), when Maeve arrived home from the states. It get's even weirder when you realise, that Otis spent days living at Anna's with Maeve, but Elsie (or Anna for that matter) does not make a single appearance.

[@agneseguidi1743]

Honestly I don't see the issue, I'd never take a 3yo to a funeral. They are too young to understand and would mostly likely just be loud and annoying. Anna could have made an appearance but maybe none else could watch Elsie that day.

[@crunchexo845]

​@@agneseguidi1743it's her mom tho buzzin

[@marsbones398]

@@agneseguidi1743 I have never heard of leaving the child of the deceased out of the funeral.... like they should have at LEAST had a moment where Maeve is concerned about her well-being/who's going to take care of her, have a moment where Maeve reckons with how Elsie is dealing esp since in the first seasons Elsie was seen by Maeve as the version of herself she's trying to save from the trauma that their mother inflicted on Maeve. Like wouldn't it make sense to conclude that storyline either after or at the funeral?

[@d.o.m.i.]

@@agneseguidi1743 I've met two people who lost relatives (mum and cousin) at 6-7 and were left out of the funeral. they are in their 20s now and are not over it. I agree a 3 year old might not even remember the funeral but it's not like they are a 6 month old either. they can understand things and do more than just cry

[@Sophia-cd2ci]

I genuinely thought that Abbi & Roman's issue was going to be that Abbi didn't love him romantically anymore and wanted to break up but was scared for what that would them since she was living with Roman's family since her own fam & community kicked her out. I expected it would be an opportunity to explore the dynamics of a relationship where one person felt indebted to or dependant the other & how that makes it difficult to communicate as openly as you may otherwise do. hE mAkEs A wIeRd NoIsE dUrInG sEx?!?! I'm sorry? You started a fire in the bedroom to get out of having sex because he fricking moans weird? I also kept expecting the O vs Otis storyline to end with them pointing out that they both brought different things to the table and that certain people may feel more comfortable seeing each different person for different reasons. But NOooooo. The entire thing was so freakin childish - which makes it even more crazy to me that everyone in season 4 refers to these teenagers as though they are genuine fully qualified therapists on the same level as Dr Milburn with her PhD and decades of experience. Does these not completely negate that realisation Otis had after talking to his mother end of S2/early S3 about the iffy ethics of what he is doing? MY GOD - what a mess.

[@JogurtowyPotworek]

Agree with you about Abby and Roman, when I heard what the issue was I was literally annoyed… All that for just this? Great way to make your partner to feel like shit for literally no reason. It felt so unnecessary, if the show skipped this it would feel like nothing was missing

[@carolina-if1kd]

THIS. You summed up all my thoughts about season 4 in one comment

[@Bloomzor]

imagine getting turned off during sex from ONE noise ☠ like just ignore it youll forget about it in a minute

[@gibbyjibby0]

Wow yeah if Abby and Roman’s complication were what you said in the first paragraph that would’ve been SO good 😞

[@estefaniarodara]

I do want to say Maeve’s little sister was mentioned at the funeral when she corrected the lady for saying her mom only had 2 children.

[@kairenatus]

And she greets Meave with her foster mom when Meave gets off the bus. She lives with them, her foster mom basically adopted them both.

[@gravityfalls1826]

Yup, also I don't think Maeve wanted her 4 year old sister at the funeral, because it would most likely traumatise the sister to a greater degree.

[@albasapri3265]

Yup! I totally agree with everything you've said here. I had no complaints with how this was dealt with. I feel like Maeve's sister is getting to live the childhood her and her brother never got and has a very different relationship with their mum because she never got to grow up with her like the other two did

[@CrayCrayslab]

As much as I don't like children being shielded from death and all that stuff, I feel like having such a young kid there would give the writers one more thing to worry about, like a character having to leave with Elsie when all the drama happened at the funeral home... I dunno, it's a personal choice in the end of the day 🤷‍♀️

[@devabraham9699]

I’m super disappointed with what they’ve done with Jean’s arc. I feel like she is constantly getting dumped on and struggling but no one really acknowledges that and instead harps on her flaws. The relationship between her and her sister was incredibly frustrating and I feel like they made Jean out to be the bad guy when she is literally hanging on by a thread.

[@tasheve3015]

agreed. her and otis’ relationship sucked too. the way he spoke to her in almost every scene with zero sympathy for her situation really irked me

[@thebilliespace]

This whole season was everyone blaming her for being a working mom and struggling with it. It was very hard to watch.

[@kitkat2114]

I hated that her resolution was going back to work so early when she was struggling with depression. I would have loved to see her embrace a proper maternity leave and taking time to recover from her very traumatic birth.

[@michiyaslana5974]

I was pretty angry at how the contract she drafted was portrayed as evidence for her being an asshole. Jo had a TON of debt and she was asking even more money with absolutely no strings attached. And Jean wanting a contract is somehow a bad person here???

[@majdijones587]

@@thebilliespaceher fault that the baby doesn’t have a dad

[@asherphoenix]

As a queer person, I think the praise that the show got for representation went to the writers heads. I get the sense that they felt like they were the pinnacle of good representation and got all high and mighty that they ended up pandering to the audience that once praised them. I like representation, I really like good representation. But the one thing I can’t stand is when a show/movie is like “look at all of this diversity! aren’t we so amazing for doing this? aren’t we wonderful for showing you guys this kind of character? we’re literally the best for this!” Pandering loses the authenticity and genuineness of the representation that’s being depicted. Yes, it is still representation and sometimes you kind of have to take it wherever you can get it. I think it’s just upsetting when the show did a really good job in the beginning and then fumbled it at the end.

[@lucidkangaroo8973]

I hear you, in Season 4 it felt like they kinda introduced new minority characters just because… the OG characters who were introduced as abnormal and different were given arcs that made them likeable and encourage people to think about their perceptions of these groups. A character that works well for me is Lily, I have ASD and while only implied, I related to Lily in a lot of ways and her plot lines were SO BEAUTIFUL. And then I see what happened this season and… it sucks. When it comes to representation of different genders, disabilities and identities we still have a LONG way to go we will get there eventually by acknowledging these mistakes and communicating ways to fix them. Feels good to write this tbh

[@sop_he_e]

They actually had an entirely new director and writers team for the final season! It feels like they completely misunderstood what made the earlier seasons so good.

[@ginakearney4146]

​@sophiehobbs9267 oh, it got Dexter'd??! Iykyk. This explains a lottttttt.

[@Broth8492]

Basically the show became American

[@DystopiaWithoutNeons]

The college felt like a Black Mirror satire made by conservatives. Everyone behaving like NPCS, say the right thing and "speak your truth" and everyone claps, regardless of how shitty you are. Even in the elevator episode were I thought they were going to address the satire, about all the pandering in the college but never making changes for when it matters, oh no, everyone started behaving like a musical was about to start. God that scene got me on the nerves.

[@itschris1364]

I feel like a lot of the downsides of season 4 can also be explained by some of the absolutely horrible choices made at the end of season 3. Jean’s baby’s biological father should have been Jakob, him and Ola just leaving the show literally got rid of everything the show was building up with them. Eric should not have cheated on Adam, or he at least should have faced repercussions for it. The original school should not have shut down, making it so that the kids technically lost after beating Hope just took away any satisfaction that came with their victory against her.

[@footballfan283]

I think the show signed its own downfall the moment they decided to drag the story for another season. Season 3 was time to end the series. Another 3 episodes would suffice to conclude the series in season 3.

[@Sol_VI]

I also really feel like they ruined Eric. The scene where he complained at Otis for "not talking about race" with him, or "not understanding him being gay" were such out of nowhere and out of character things for him to say. Otis and Eric were BEST FRIENDS. The BEST part of them was that despite their blatant differences, they still understood and loved each other. It was just so out of place for Eric to rant to Otis about those aspects of their friendship. The only element that made sense for him to lash out at Otis at was the whole "You never know what's going on with me". That was it.

[@dianm0]

I agree, and Otis response to ignoring the whole thing feels like the writers will never allow the character to grow it was so out of place and frustrating

[@zoexo9268]

i don’t think it’s out of character. if you’ve ever spoken to a black or queer(or someone who falls into both categories) person in your life, these are points of tension that exist regardless of how close and understood you feel by someone who is not black or not queer. like, eric finding a poc gay friendship group would most definitely bring out these feelings in him. the issue was that otis was not written in a way that allowed him to respond/ grow

[@zoexo9268]

we also know that otis isn’t a very considerate friend. the fact of the matter is that eric is black. eric is gay. if he does not feel comfortable talking about being black and being gay with otis, regardless of them being best friends, there will ALWAYS be a bridge between them. eric pointing this out is actually very realistic. ask any queer/poc.

[@Maedchenausdemmeer]

I don’t think that that is true. Part of growing up is meeting new people and maybe reevaluate friendships based on those experiences. You can be friends for years and still have things that doesn’t serve you in that friendship. I think that aspect is very authentic.

[@Kevin-fj3ff]

It is not considering they are best friend and you are basically saying every queer or black person is a bad person cause they only care about themselves@@zoexo9268

[@jakepalermo1237]

I think the idea that Otis and Maeve don't end up together is okay, and it makes sense for the characters. HOWEVER I also think it is important to address that the emotional climax of that arc feels completely unearned. They never really got screen time just being a couple without artificial drama in this season which feels like a real missed oppurtunity. I think the ending could have really hit home if I believed at all that they were the still the soulmates I fell in love with in S1&2. That to me is why the ending left me so incredibly bitter and unsatisfied.

[@ronjakirves1500]

Totally agree

[@Vampiislay]

Agree

[@mateojacome-mm6to]

the fact that maeve and otis have never had even one episode just being a Normal couple (they couldn't even have a date at the movies like wtf) is always going to break my heart, we deserved at least one episode where things went for a second good for them

[@lucasoldati4817]

Yes, that's fuck*ng disappointing 😢 can't believe Otis accepted to share his date with Maeve with his aunt that's clearly there out of nowhere. Than Maeve even gets drunk and out of control?? On her first date with her love and soulmate? What's with that you writers?? I honestly don't get the point, it just hurts to see. It's random. Oh yes and then Otis neither can make love to her the first time, which left me very sad after episode 6. He can't be back to those intimacy problems with her, right at that heart felt moment! He should be reassured to be with her and that she loves him, SHE is the one whose mum died the day before. It's not enough in the end to see them making love by the end, because much of it was already ruined. And being one who very much felt represented by Otis, and really in love with Maeve charachter, I can't stand it. I would have easily forgiven anything weird in the season for a fitting finale for them 2. And yes, it's right that Maeve left in the end, that's totally the right message to give, it's just everything before in S4 that sucked

[@fabiomassimocapasso7028]

@@lucasoldati4817 vedo un nome italiano quindi ti risponderó in italiano. Hai centrato il punto con grande precisione e senza usare neanche una parola di troppo. Il finale di Maeve è in linea con il personaggio, ma il come ci si arriva é eseguito in maniera pessima, con quei 2 cristiani che in sta stagione praticamente non riescono a passare più di 5 minuti assieme senza che succeda qualcosa di assurdo. Una relazione splendida per come scritta nelle prime 2 stagioni non trova alcun tipo di climax narrativo e come dici te, quando arriva neanche ti colpisce emotivamente come dovrebbe, anche perché avviene tutto molto rapidamente e già sapendo che lei se ne andrà in America. Pare assurdo che di questa stagione, manche della terza, si sia detto di tutto e di più, e ci si é dimenticati del problema più importante, ossia che si sono letteralmente persi per strada il protagonista, che diventa l'ombra di sé stesso, fondamentale uno stronzo con tutte le persone importanti della sua vita, e mostra una involuzione dal punto di vista della maturità preoccupante. Si é tanto parlato di rappresentazione in questa stagione, ma sembra che ci sia dimenticato che lo stesso otis era un personaggio in cui tantissimi adolescenti possono rivedersi, come detto dallo stesso autore di questo video nel suo primo video su sex education, un personaggio scritto per essere quanto più "relatable" possibile, e che tutto lo scheletro narrativo non funziona se lui non é credibile. Ed è vero. Nelle prime 2 stagioni passa dall'essere un ragazzo che non ha interazioni sociali oltre alla madre e il migliore amico d'infanzia, così sessualmente represso a causa di traumi infantili da non essere in grado neanche di masturbarsi, a trovare una vocazione, una sua dimensione nel mondo, ad imparare a relazionarsi sia emotivamente che sessualmente, grazie a Maeve e a tutte le cose che gli succedono, alla madre, agli errori del padre, é tutto molto sensato e bello da vedere. Poi dalla 3 stagione il nulla cosmico, nella 4 stagione finisce lw serie e sta quasi in una posizione peggiore di quando si é iniziato. C'è poco da fare, se una serie stecca la storia dei protagonisti, per quanto possano fare bene il resto, difficilmente sarà godibile, e così é stato in questa stagione finale

[@HekatieSquires]

I loved how Michael and Adam have similar mannerisms, particularly in this last season. Just a great little bit of acting that makes their story feel more believable and effective 💖

[@yasminechoerryscherry3701]

Absolutely!!

[@sebastianschmidt3869]

And how much the actors look alike!

[@streetsiswatching9660]

It was excellent indeed

[@fionag5357]

@@sebastianschmidt3869I mean talk about great casting! I would have bet money that they were related (if not father-son then at least like uncle-nephew)

[@thejaded]

It's my head canon that they are actually father and son.. 😂

[@kiratherenegade1561]

My man Otis fumbled Ruby for a girl who ditched him after their first bang. I truly believe the character of Otis is about a month away from topping himself. He's lost his best friend. His ex. His girlfriend. His mother. A possible step-father & step-sister. Even his speciality in sex therapy. He is about to go through the toughest period of his life & nobody is there to help him - the exact thing he was always worried about happening.

[@basti1276]

Yeah i really liked him i hope netflix make a 5 season but i dont really have hoope i think meave and him should get a longer ending not just 10min

[@justonejoon3082]

@@basti1276this was the last season

[@TopFusboll]

How did Otis lose Eric and his mother? What you said here makes no sense

[@kiratherenegade1561]

@@TopFusboll Eric's gone, despite what the story says. The moment Eric decided to start blowing off Otis to chat shit about him not understanding, that friendship died. And his mother isn't gonna have time for him anymore. His problems will be pushed aside to make way for the child. Dude's totally on his own.

[@AW-uv3cb]

​@@kiratherenegade1561 I disagree. Yes, his relationships will change, but 1) it doesn't mean that his mum and Eric are not going to be there for him anymore, and 2) it wouldn't be healthy for them to stay the exact same anyway. Otis is becoming a grown-up. He's about to go out in the world and make his way. These relationships would inevitably change simply because of that. You can't go from a teenager to an adult and still expect that all of your parents' and friends' lives will be solely about you. As you grow up, it's time to accept that other people also have their own things going on, and they also need support just like you do, and sometimes they need a bit of space to process and grow, just like you do. They aren't just side characters in your story. Plus it wasn't a one-sided change. Otis bailed out on Eric quite a few times too, so it's natural that Eric would look for more friends (notice that at the end, when Otis makes an effort to be there for Eric more, Eric brings him into his new group of friends. So rather than thinking "oh he's lost a friend", it's the other way round: his friend group has just expanded). Otis also - in an understandable teenage fashion - seems to be quite unaware of what his mum is going through. Relationships are dynamic, they evolve, but it doesn't mean they're unimportant anymore. And yes, sometimes they end, but it doesn't mean that there won't be new ones, where you can use the previous experience. Approaching them from an all-or-nothing perspective is harmful because it puts pressure on everyone involved: "if you dare to change in any way, it means you're betraying me" (would you truly enjoy it if a friend of yours approached _you_ in this way?). Suggesting that such a change would naturally lead someone to be suicidal is downright worrying, especially when we're speaking about a very young person who has everything to look forward to. I truly hope that your comment was not a reflection of how you look at your own relationships, because if it is, it seems quite intense and I think you might end up quite disappointed in people just because they act like, well, people. I wish you well!

[@DanaMazalZiv]

Finding out that the writers didn't know this will be the last season makes so much sense. There are so many clues to more interesting storylines that are just dropped. Like with Abbey and Roman, Abbey mentioned several times that she's frustrated with Roman for not accepting her Christian identity, and Roman mentioned that problems started when Abbey moved in with him and his family after being rejected by her parents, and I was sure this would lead to some story about her feeling unsafe because she's so dependent on their relationship for basic survival... But no, she doesn't like the noises he makes when they kiss. That's it.

[@plaster.art.ho3]

OMG YES. They cudve explored the survival instinct and the intense fear of rejection bt the exposition felt n tasted like buttered bread 💀

[@umusuuk]

Yeah, that's exactly where I saw their arc going.

[@m0zz4re11a1]

@@Brotried97bro why are you contradicting everyone on here 💀 being vulnerable with someone i.e. having sex with them can put you in a position where you feel judged or like you will be rejected. even if sex is what the other person wanta

[@vionenby6967]

As a trans person, seeing two new trans characters being introduced in season 4 who didn't have to be "educators" about their gender made me feel very happy and represented, but I was so disappointed about how one-dimensional they were, I totally agree with the statement that season 4 had too much forced representation to the deprement of good character developement. Really wished they would have done more with the new trans characters.

[@theahulkushwah]

Unpopular opinion: too much representation is not a good representation. What happens is writers make a checklist, non-binary, trans, differently abled, non monogamous, and list goes on, and then you can't really do much with this list. To write a good character it has to come from a determination not for fan service. Even if you get a trans writer in the room in season 4, how will they fit the character to an already going series from 3 years, especially when they are competing against other diversity based characters.

[@CanelaAguila]

This school kind of felt like what conservatives think high schools are nowadays 😂

[@klausval]

right, I felt like they could've explored their arcs so much more. I related to Cal a lot, but they never really got a complete story and it always felt half-baked/unresolved. If they had focused on the relationship with their gender more, or their unstable relationship with their mom, the representation could've been amazing. It felt like their story got cut off just as it was only starting

[@heyro3852]

​@@theahulkushwahAs a pansexual trans man, I strongly agree. It's quantity over quality, which is never good.

[@idkkkk7588]

Yeah definitely. I'm in a WLW relationship with a trans girl but I would rather a relationship like ours not be in a show at all then to be represented in an offensive way, boring way or with one dimensional characters that doesn't represent that kind of relationship in a realistic way.

[@oliviabeaujot8174]

Also, a shocking thing is that the big character flaw of Otis is NEVER adressed : he verbally lashes out to the people around him. It's his defence mechanism, and this constantly brings him pain and regret, season after season. It is SHOCKING how obvious it becomes once you notice his pattern, and the show NEVER bring it up ! I tought that was why he had ZERO character growth throughout the show, and was learning the same lesson over and over again : because he was incapable of change without seeking help. Which he would ultimatly get, emphasizing the importance of selfgrowth and therapy other than for intimacy issues. I tought the ending of season 2 opened the door to this, with Otis being scarred of ending up an a**hole like his dad, but nope, season 3 then 4 makes him start the process all over again. Here is his "arc" : Season 1: Otis is dismissive of Eric and a dick to him, they have a fight and he apologize Season 2 : Otis is a BIG d*ck to Maeve, Ola, Jacob and his mom. He apologize to them in the last episode. Season 3 : Otis is mean to his preagnant mom (again) and Maeve (again), and he apologize in the last episode Season 4 : Otis is a d*ck to O, Maeve, Ruby, his mom and Eric, and he apologize in the last episode

[@junie9039]

Honestly yeah. Otis getting outside therapy for his anxiety and childhood trauma would've been so much better

[@heartthrobbb]

PERFECTLY SAID ! HE IS SO IMMATURE WHEN IT COMES WITH DEALING WITH CONFLICT I CAN'T BELIEVE HE NEVER CHANGED NOT EVEN A LIL BIT

[@pawe1721]

Imagine if O helped Otis with that, help him grow and Otis would do the same for her. If their were therapists to one another. That would be a great freaking arc.

[@nanalove3819]

​@@pawe1721it would have been so great if the season dropped soon the "sex therapists debate" to give us that. O being let down by everyone after the exposure of her hypocrite and manipulative behavior, and Otis being let down cause he is a selfish asshole to everyone. And after being stucked in the elevator they bond a bit and as they are both alone, they decide to become better people by helping each other with therapy. That would be so great. If I was into fanfiction writing I would be writing it right now.

[@nanalove3819]

Yeah I'm still shocked that this never adressed. Like O invented flaws's that Otis didn't have during the debate when they are so many to chose from. She could have easily attacked him on how a baby he is to refuse someone else do the same job as he even if they are good at it, and how hypocrite he was with his original therapy thing when there are actual evidence that she did it before him. She would have pointed out how he is there to help strangers but when it is people who have an affect on his life, he is constantly blaming them for not accomodating all of their life for him or for something they have no power on. Like his all mother cleaely is in post partum depression and he just doesn't seem to care, he calls Joana and that's it, he never checks to see if Jean is OK and he even calls her a bad mom... when she is in, again, in postpartum depression and he knows that, that's why he called Joana! That is just incredible to me that he have so much antagonistic traits and is often the bad guy, but the show never adresses it more than two seconds.

[@legit.r1819]

So as a queer person, I felt conflicted during this season. If I can say one thing for the new characters it's that I like that there's a sort of queer friendship group created between Abby, Roman, Aisha and Eric (and to some extent Cal). It's not super well executed but as someone who's felt like an outsider even within queer spaces, I love the escapism of queer people forming a group and being fully accepting of everyone's identities. Sidenote: this is one of the many reasons I enjoyed Heartstopper Season 2 so much. However, as I say, it wasn't really well executed because the members of this group weren't given multifaceted personalities, and I also definitely had a problem with the way Cavendish College was portrayed as a sort of queer utopia, like, come on-NO school in the UK is like that, you can be a largely accepting space but it's so strangely naive to me for people to think of cavendish as a strange queer paradise, because while I'd love that kind of space to exist, it feels quite disingenuous. Also, I'm sorry, why is Otis treated like such a sort of burden to Eric? Don't get me wrong, I AM frustrated with Otis' regression, but I also think that Eric commenting on the fact they don’t talk about race or sexuality much is more an apology on the writer's part for never doing so. Otis has always been a supportive friend for Eric and if I can say one thing for his character it's that him being an ally always felt very genuine-see his conversation in Episode 1 with Cal! I hated how he was portrayed as a generic cishet guy, it felt very unlike the character of the past seasons. And yes, I know, we do make fun of straight people being generic, but this usually applies to straight people being stereotypically straight and comes off as lighthearted, rather than making fun of someone who's been Eric's best friend for, what, a decade? The reason I loved their friendship so much was that it always felt like both of them would be there for each other in SPITE of their differences, and they kind of just let them fall apart (albeit temporarily) in Season 4.

[@missthea5259]

Plus Otis would sometimes joke with Eric in a Nigerian accent so clearly they DO speak about race. I'm Nigerian and we would only joke in a Nigerian accent with friends who get it. So yeah...that whole not taking about race speech was definitely an apology on behalf of the writers. So frustrating.

[@jesslishman]

Would be interesting to see how people define queer nowadays

[@IanHugh]

Totally agree with you on the writer's apology bit- it seems like the show that focused so much on sex and relationships was acknowledging that there are many more dimensions to the world than just sex and relationships

[@ilonamagny4339]

​@@jesslishmannot traditionally conventional

[@janninejeleva9866]

When we found out Abbi was living with Roman after her family kicked her out, i thought there was a lot to explore there. Like for example how living with your partner`s family at that age might start to feel more like living with a sibling and less romantic - hence the sexual problems. Or how she wants to break up and stay friends, but feels like she cant be honest at the risk of losing her housing. But instead we don't even see his parents and FOR SOME REASON HE HAS A MILLION TATTOOS

[@karinisvetcool]

Roman having a million tattoos (at 17/18!) really felt so weird, it just said to me 'he's irreponsible'

[@umusuuk]

also the big ABBI stomach piece. That just screams impulsive first love, soon having to look for a coverup. Something I have seen happen to people I know.

[@knallfroosch]

Honestly, the tattoos bugged me a lot because people at that age usually have none or just a few and they´re brand new at that point so they shouldn´t look as aged.

[@karinisvetcool]

@@umusuuk omg exactly my thoughts, made me really critical of his top surgery too, because he obviously can't think ahead, getting a giant tattoo of his girlfriend name before 18. Why would you let a person who makes impulsive decisions like that get his breasts removed?

[@emilyhughes4297]

Yeah it felt odd that the reason why she didn’t want to have sex with him wasn’t really a reason at all, it was that he made a weird noise? It kind of seemed like the writers were scared to give trans characters a actual problems/relationship issues.

[@mothtarts1198]

i think the biggest issue i have with the queer characters this season is that it felt like they were telling us about their queerness, not letting us learn about their experiences. i don’t think we ever saw a moment from the new characters where they experience the shit they always talk about in the show. it just felt like i was being lectured to about something i already know.

[@bumblerbree]

@@zogwort1522 some people lack personality, but maybe don't say 'queers' without specifying that you're a part of the community-

[@marcusclark1339]

yup tokenism and agenda pushing, what it always is cause "the message" is more important than quality and being Netflix that's apparent

[@mothtarts1198]

@@zogwort1522 i get where your coming from but honestly i don’t care that a lot of queer people “make it their whole personality” while i dont i rlly appreciate that in places in the world it’s safe to do so. the part i have a problem with in the show is that ppl arnt only their labels and shit. i’m not just an armenian nonbinary lesbian ya know? i have a lot of other parts of my identity and the show doesn’t rlly depict that intersectionality

[@penguinsrbirds2]

@@zogwort1522 Seriously, why do people both in and out of the community keep trying to make "queer" their N-word, lmaooo.

[@Dirty20]

@@penguinsrbirds2 because...it's a slur? You know that right? It's a reclaimed word, but one that when used not as a slur is perfectly fine. there's a major difference between saying that someone is queer in a "they're part of the LGBT+ community and then calling them A queer." Given the guys reaction saying "should I call them sex weirdos" I'd say they outed themselves a bit of a fucking bigot...

[@omalleyb7071]

As a therapist the all “it can only be one of us” between Otis and O actually really bothered me… Having another therapist to work with is a dream. Besides from this obvious difference of taking to a woman or a man, two different person can have different approach to the same problematic (as we see in like 1 scene in the entire season) or add different hypothesis etc It is a chance for the patients and also for the therapists. To be able to share (there is what is called “shared secret” between psychologists) our questions, hypothesis with another therapists is just a joy, it is a qualitative intellectual ping pong of ideas which it benefits the patient and the professional and improves his or her approches. We can say that the fact they cannot see this benefits from the get go is because they’re teenagers and so still immature but if we’re honest it’s just bad writing and low cost antagonist and poor asexual representation (which is kinda sad since the idea of an asexual trying to understand sexuality then become a sex therapist to feel included and utilise her new knowledge is very interesting!

[@mistorm378]

also the season literally started with showing how O was overbooked and students standing in line to talk to her. Having two therapists available would have definitely helped the patients to get faster appointments.

[@omalleyb7071]

@@mistorm378 Exactly !

[@breezyfeer]

For the whole season I never understood why Otis has such a problem with O's existence. From the get go he gets really mad and assumes she "stole" from him. As if he invented the profession. He was the og on his school but it wouldn't be surprising that such an open school could have someone that got a similar idea. And the he is hellbent on getting rid of her. I don't hate her as much as other people seem to simply because we don't get to know the real her, we never saw her alone or with friends and her reaction could just be defending what was hers (of course she is flawed also and mean but nothing she does seems genuinely bad)

[@brujasudaka]

Also, regarding the therapy itself, in the first season Otis was "filling a gap" in sex education at a conservative school, so it made sense for a teenager to take that place (he also had a contact with that knowledge in his own house). But in S4 the setting is a "progressive school" so that "gap" filled by students doesn't make much sense. They could have paired O with a professional, with the excuse of being more likely to reach teenagers or something like that, and that the conflict also could have touched the problem of not being well trained for something so important but rescuing something key, which is the point of view of those who go through that life crises. I don't know, it didn't make much sense to me in a "progressive school" that sexual education does not exist as an imprint from the institution.

[@megafanflash]

I fully agree that the Groff storyline, acting and, pretty much entire setup is fantastic. Wish we got to see more of that. Secondly, It's annoying how good Otis and Ruby work together. Their chemistry is off this world, and scenes with them always feel important, and tense. Almost everything else fell really short for me this season. Either way, great recap.

[@yourfavoritebubbe7444]

I'm really glad I'm not the only person who liked Michael Groff. He's such a fun weird little man. The scene of him cooking for the fundraiser was so enjoyable and when they actually let him have a real personality with Adam it was so much fun.

[@tomatosoup1304]

Eric's storyline is so wild to me as someone part of a Christian household. I know lots of people who have had strange coincidences that strengthen their faith, strange events or people saying things that are too personal. But having him straight up meet God felt like a genre switch and too unrealistic. The scene of the homeless lady taking him to church was fine, but everything after was very strange

[@machodgdon]

The writers stringing us along with the relationship of Otis and Maeve for years and then them ending up single because the creator said it would be boring if they just ended up together is genuinely insane

[@ac14cmpunk25]

i do like the way it ended though

[@ChocolatexCherries3]

nah, i actually don't think so. the whole "first high school relationship lasts forever" trope is overdone. i like the idea actually of the show showing their relationship but eventually they don't end up together because they grow differently. it would have been boring if they ended up together imo

[@panonymousbloom5405]

Idk man, basically nobody liked the relationship past season 1 maybe? And after relationship with Ruby was introduced, everyone in the fandom hated the possibility that Otis and Maeve would still end up together, and felt that Ruby and Otis were way better and natural... Until the writers ruined them too lmao.

[@trinaq]

It's a realistic ending, up it did feel anticlimactic. Laurie did state in an interview that she sees Otis reconnecting with Maeve when they're adults.

[@nompumelelomashele5654]

It's game of thrones all over again 🙄

[@Minififi94]

One moment that took me aback was that scene where Mr. Groff basically gets ass*lted and it's not addressed at all, as if the way that woman behaved with him was totally no big deal ???? And I haven't seen anyone talk about it

[@elise3782]

YES I thought the exact same thing!!

[@mx5701]

Yeah but apparently it's totally ok and just a joke for the writers, cuz he's a white, mostly-hetero, cis male character. Feels like "hurr durr huhuuu da man got raped by da wumyn lolz" Very progressive. Wow. 🙄

[@baby.yogurt]

for those confused about why Jackson suddenly wanted to know who his sperm donor was, knowing your biological family's medical history (whether or not there's a history of cancer) can help inform current medical issues. I took it as him wanting to find out faster if what he had was cancerous or not, since he couldn't stop stressing about it

[@Sugarman96]

Yeah, that was a definite whiff in the analysis. In his first meeting with the doctor, Jackson is even asked if he has a history of cancer from his father's side, it didn't come out of nowhere.

[@connorsmith75]

It rubbed me the wrong way that, in a show about educating on sexual issues, we don’t find out at all what was up with Jackson’s balls, only that it’s not cancerous? Like, regardless of whether or not it was cancer, there was something up with his balls, maybe a hydrocele, but instead all we know is that it’s not cancer so it doesn’t matter at all apparently.

[@kiml6030]

I honestly thought Abbi (and possibly her entire friend group) was set up to be the villain of the story - most popular girl in school, a lot of passive aggressive behaviour, especially towards anybody that didn't follow her social rules, dismisses peoples real problems, controlling over her friends, etc. I really expected her to pull a 180 and become a new version of S1-2 Ruby, or to have a similar backstory to O & Ruby's.

[@butternutsquash1]

me too!! definitely thought there was an underlying darker, sinister tone to her character and then I realised "oh, this is actually the character, how boring"

[@plaster.art.ho3]

@@butternutsquash1 omg same she was sooo fkin boring outside of being queer, fashion and nt wanting to have seggs w her bf bcuz of some minor fixable issue like whuuut

[@nanacarr5231]

I'm so glad that you talk about the new characters in a nuanced way! As a trans person, I felt so frustrated with the fact, that several trans people were introduced, but none of them were actually given a satisfying story. I feel like it would have worked way better to focus on Cal and to give them maybe one other trans character as a support to their narrative - like maybe just Roman, I enjoyed their short moment together. That way their story would have gotten some actual depth and weight. Abbi and Roman really were just there and sooo bland. The setting of Cavendish really doesn't help with this - because Cavendish is a magical utopia where being queer is cool any issues that could be relatable to trans people in an academic setting don't come into play at all. On the other hand the most prominent thing we know about Abbi is that she's been rejected by her family after coming out as trans. So somehow the show manages to not explore issues of transphobia meaningfully, while still reducing Abbi to being the victim of a transphobic family. It just saddens me how many opportunities were thrown aways. There are so many unique trans narratives that could have been told, both sad and funny and also just complicated and nuanced. What we got was just so generic and overplayed :(

[@thomasjones4893]

One thing that annoyed me the most was the fact that that school does NOT exist. The relatability of the show was gone completely because there are no schools that open minded in the UK nor the US and thre are no schools apparently run by students. It was just so... fictional.

[@princessnicki63]

Meh, this isn't entirely true. I went to an art university in the US, and it really wasn't that far off at all in terms of expression and open-mindedness. Only thing that was a little unrealistic was having a designated teen sex therapist and the fact that it's "student-ran."

[@Thegenderfluiddinosaur]

Yea even in what is considered one of the most progressive and accepting schools in my country there were always a handful of intolerant assholes and generally nasty people I find this show has become super unrealistic and disingenuous.

[@Thegenderfluiddinosaur]

​@@princessnicki63I think the original commenter was specifically talking about high-school not university which is a very different thing

[@ramaprfe]

“This season doesn’t feel like a final season” THANK YOU

[@emmanuel7489]

One particular scene I need to praise this show for: when Maeve returns to the US and tells her teacher that he should be careful with his words, because they have weight. She's from an underprivileged background, she's there on a scholarship and she needs to do something she'll be successful at because she literally doesn't have anything to fall back on. And I think sometimes shows romanticize "following your dreams" like if you struggle a little but you love what you do, somehow everything will turn out fine. And that's not true for people who come from a broken background. Maeve only has the luxury to do what she loves because she's good at it, but if she hadn't been good enough she would have switched to something else. And this season is perfect for her in the sense that we see her potential and the life she could have (at a college abroad, being a successful student and writer) if she didn't have this baggage of her mother, her brother and Otis (yes, Otis too) holing her back. Her character deserves a far better show, one centered around her.

[@bechill515]

@@Brotried97 it was more so because the teacher resented that Maeve pointed out he had lost the heart of his writing, and was likely jealous she had hers. her piece was better than his so he had to make her feel small, but not because she was a girl

[@bryanstivengomezmontoya9376]

​@@Brotried97tell me you didn't get it without telling me you didn't get it.

[@margaridabaptista3712]

Another tiny thing I thought was good: Aimee and Otis developing a friendship while being there for Maeve might have been a short plot point, but it was adorable

[@rachelconsoli8428]

I would literally die for Adam Groff, his character holds my whole heart and while this ending is so all over the place I will always be grateful for Adam and the Groff family, their arc is so beautiful. Aimee’s ending was great too. But full agree with your points, it’s such a bummer that it went out with such a whimper.

[@TheLemonofTroy]

- Michael’s character growth was absolutely sublime. He was definitely the best. The Groff’s were the highlight of my season. - Adam riding the horse for the first time and Otis’ nudes on the projector was the hardest I’ve laughed in a while - I love Aimee so much. She just gets better and better. - I wish they’d made Eric choose to be a pastor at the start and struggle with that process through out instead of that ridiculous religious visions storyline - I loved that Maeve and Otis didn’t end up together. It felt right. Having them stay together would’ve felt contrived - It made no sense to me that O and Otis didn’t just team up after having an initial disagreement. Guess you could connect that back to Otis and O being the worst but still, it just felt immature and petulant. - I loved parts of Cavendish but it was so wildly ridiculous in its representation of a “school” that it just annoyed me. As you said, there was no realism so no relatability - I’m frustrated for ace people that they got such a sucky representation in O. She was impossible to like and that’s just unfair. She could’ve been so nuanced and interesting. - Hannah Gadsby and Dan Levi being in the season just felt like Netflix shoehorning in popular names from their other content. It really took me out of the show. IMO S4 was better than S3 but looking back as whole, it definitely had its issues. The writing was so so good in some moments and so incredibly weak in others

[@authentically_arsha]

Wow! I had so many of the same points in mind and it is so relieving to have those voiced out. This was an absolutely accurate analysis. As an asexual individual, I hated O. And without knowing the actual backstory of O, if I was among the audience to whom she came out, I would think exactly like Otis, that it was a publicity stunt. It did not feel real at all. It was outrageous. Even though your video helped me understand that it was not the intention of the writer, this was horrible ace representation. I am still yearning to see a good ace representation. Also, some of the sub plots you mentioned in the neutral zone, I cannot even consider them as neutral. Those were absolutely unnecessary. If only those were cut down, the show could have focused on much more valuable themes, like Viv's abusive relationship for example. I've been in a relationship where I've been gaslighted, and being a people pleaser it took me such a long time to even come to terms with it and I still could not call out my gaslighter about that even if I managed to break up with them. But Viv just easily ends things with a more abusive person and that just feels unreal. It is not impossible for people to do that, but as you said, the show didn't allow her enough time to grow to that level. I was actually glad that Maeve and Otis didn't end up together, even though I shipped them from the very first episode of season 1. Maeve totally deserves better. After all she's been through, she has to be with someone who continues to choose her every day and makes her feel important. So glad she left Otis behind. Phew. Otis has become a horrible character. I can't believe he doesn't know how to communicate with people after Jean raised him. And Eric's supernatural arc was so unnecessary. As you mentioned, he could have still chosen to be a pastor without all these stuff. And surprisingly he never mentioned about these visions to anyone in the show, did he? How can a teenager see god and not share that with anyone? That is unbelievable. It is so disappointing that because of how this was written, I didn't even enjoy the fact that the god was a black woman here. I mean that would've been revolutionary if only the story actually mattered. Overall, thank you for this analysis. I think this is brilliant.

[@dorothea.a]

I agree as another Ace about O's coming out.

[@barelyreal1]

I think Todd from Bojack Horseman is great ace representation

[@bgos4727]

@@barelyreal1 he is literally the only one i know

[@arthurhulcher1043]

@@barelyreal1 Agreed. I love Todd, but also I wish we had representation from a less absurd show

[@instantromy]

@@arthurhulcher1043 Heartstopper, Latest season. Not super-main though. But he's part of the friend group. I felt so seen. Also they showed THE BOOK. 😁

[@VENIKA]

Amie has been my favourite character since season 1, an incredible young woman with a heart of gold that we get to see grow in such a beautiful way. She’s an amazing mix of so many things, funny, honest, doesn’t always get it right, sexually liberated and imperfect but when she finally figures it out it’s perfect.

[@jamescarr1265]

one of the best characters

[@plaster.art.ho3]

Yess omg. I was raped and SA'd too so her arc meant a fuckton to me.

[@Annie-hb8ob]

It's crazy to think that a show that had previously treated asexuality with such care that it made me sob and feel so validated in my identity for the first time ever in my life did a total 180. I'm quite angry at what was done to O's character. An asexual character fascinated by sex had so much potential and actually quite relatable to my own ace experience. I guess i'm comforted in a way that it's not what her character was meant to be. But it's still shit and does such a diservice to the ace community.

[@carelfe2000]

I was SO MAD at the depiction of O's asexuality. They really used it to excuse her cowardice and not only people were okay with this, they even clap for her ? That's the second time the show messed up the representation of asexuality, it's such a shame...

[@im.a.little.dead.inside5522]

Wait second time- when was the first time

[@carelfe2000]

@@im.a.little.dead.inside5522 Ahah, the fact that you ask the question proves that the show messed up. I think her name was Florence ? She was a drama student in the third or second season c:

[@Imyourcherryybomb]

​@@im.a.little.dead.inside5522 in s3 the girl who's Juliet in the play. She barely had screentime and then she has a conversation with Jean and that's about it.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

​​@@im.a.little.dead.inside5522they introduced an asexual character named florence in season two i think?? whos literally never mentioned after her first few scenes, people saw it as using asexuality for brownie points

[@terezajankovska7716]

​@@iwakeupandboomimaratwell, florence was meant to be just among the side characters who needed a sex/relationship advice. So i don't think they've done any disservice to her. On the contrary, i believe they explained asexuality rather well on her.

[@trinaq]

I'm actually happy that Otis didn't end up with either Maeve or Ruby, since it's realistic not to end up with your high school sweetheart. However, I wish that they'd explored Ruby and Otis' dynamic more, since they brought out the best in each other, while he was merely dazzled by Maeve.

[@jamaljames9331]

I really do think that Maeve is the primary reason why Otis blocks himself from having the will to love Ruby back. The feelings he had for Ruby are definitely there, and seemed more noticeable in Season 4. But he doesn't pursue her, and ignores those feelings by ignoring her cause he doesn't want to jeopardize whatever chances he has left with Maeve.

[@ipunchedu8884]

he isn't just "dazzled" by maeve lol he loves her

[@tobiast471]

They didn't bring out the best in each other Otis and Maeve did Maeve writes this in her letter to Otis at the end of season 4 while Otis writes it in his letter to her at the end of season 1 To me it seems like the rotis cult hasn't watched seasons 1 and 2 in ages Maeve is the only reason the clinic exists Otis literally wrote in his letter in season 1 that she is the reason he realized he is actually good at something she was the reason he came out of his shell and became confident she was the reason he started to belive in himself and his abilities and those are the reasons why he fell in love with her they had a real emotional connection while Otis' connection with Ruby was nothing but physical

[@jamaljames9331]

@@tobiast471 Honestly I don’t think the Motis cult is any different. You guys are very narrow-minded and refuse to be more open-minded, where it’s possible the details are more deep and complex rather than simple.

[@whycaninotfindagood]

Can we admit that they both do something for him? Mauve makes him feel seen and understood. Ruby accepts him for who he genuinely is (the good AND bad) and pushes for him even when he gives up. I do think that Ruby and Otis are more friends and Motis is more romantic (because Otis isn’t Ruby’s type, he’s just the first person to really know her and like her and she likes feeling seen and supported/ not so much she actually likes Otis, which I hope makes sense). Overall I think both ships are important for all people involved and I think they all grew well from it! I hope that in the future Motis gets to date fr (would it work, I doubt it but at least it wouldn’t be a half ass attempt like this season) and Rotis becomes the friendship for both Ruby and Otis (they need each other considering that Eric found more friends/ it’s clear that Ruby and Otis love being around each other even if it’s not romantic/ Ruby doesn’t have many people either ). Also I’m really happy Ruby got to reject Otis! My girl got her power back and I hope she uses it for good!

[@drtaverner]

S4 really felt like it needed at least 16 episodes to actually deal with everything they introduced. It felt very "Kitchen Sink". I love that it's not afraid to address issues and use real therapy answers to address them, but you can't do everything all at once. There's just too much. The sex-clinic rivalry is dumb. Clearly there is room for two therapists in that space just based on the waiting lines.

[@footballfan283]

I think what sex education needed was to end in season 3 releasing another 3 episodes making it 11 episodes in total and in the last three episodes should have seen only the good stuff about the main characters we saw from season 4. That’s how it should have ended.

[@tuliocezar6437]

@@footballfan283 totally agree, i was ready for a s04 where they finally got their endings with no more drama, we had drama already, i wanted to see the characters i loved one last time, and not some stupid fight that could be solved in less than 5min being 2 episodes long, and seeing so many great characters comitting the same mistakes as in previous seasons is almost like a kick in the gut, i really wanted resolution.

[@TopFusboll]

⁠@@tuliocezar6437the guy above is right. Sex education season 3 already felt like an ending. Almost all charachters had closed their stories. The only stories left was Otis and Maeve and Adam’s. Literally like the guy said 3 more episodes in season 3 would suffice to give a closure to those characters as well, and the show’s legacy would have been better this way.

[@julejewelss]

So true They definitely did not leave enough time to resolve everything... It felt super rushed. I agree, there definitely should have been more episodes or maybe even a 5th and last season.

[@andreacasablancas8599]

I was particularly dissapointed by the regression of Eric's and Otis's relationship. Even when Otis was being a self-centered jerk, I was always endeared by the little things they did to meet each other halfway despite having such different personalities and interest. While in real life, it's very normal for distinct people to become distant, the way it was handled in the show kind of made me feel like their friendship was crumbling not just because of Otis being an a-hole, but because they're fundamentally different. And as a queer person I've always found that so disheartening. It is my fear that society is arranged in such a way that all the relationships I formed with straight people while I was closeted are just doomed to dissappear, because we will always be "too different".

[@Darceyab]

It annoyed me that Otis has never made Eric’s sexuality all that Eric is, even if Otis felt embarrassed by how Eric acted at times they always embraced each other for who they are, it was more so a case of the cavendish group getting into Eric’s head that he should be with the gays and not his lifelong straight friend. They tried to villainies Otis without knowing him or his friendship. Like the fact the boy got dressed up and put on eyeliner just to go the gay club to support his best mate even if it wasn’t for him

[@shay494]

It's so frustrating that writers aren't given proper notice so they can handle the story correctly and end it properly, instead leaving it a mess

[@claires3875]

Agreed. I think the decision to end was last minute as lots of the main cast started to announce that they either weren't coming back or this would be their last season

[@lorenasilva6842]

As a Latina asexual I was very disappointed with O's character. In my high school I did ghosted a classmate of mine, at the time I didn't even know that asexuality existed and I felt super uncomfortable with the physical contact that this colleague made towards me (like touching and hugging me without my consent, probably thinking that the “Latina girl” wasn't bothered by it). At the same time I felt like I needed to get away from him, I couldn't explain why. It was a very troubled time in which I blamed myself a lot for being an asshole and for not being able to relate to someone like my friends could. Watching the show make an event like this a manipulative subplot made me feel bad.

[@trinaq]

Agreed, I didn't understand why O was being praised for using her Sexuality to justify how she was acting. A few of my pals identify as Ace, and they would never act that way. It really seems to paint all Ace people with the same brush, which isn't always the case.

[@kingintox5743]

Why is “Latina girl” in quotations

[@lorenasilva6842]

@@kingintox5743 I can’t say for all Latino families, but it’s quite common for Latino families to have a culture that is more “friendly to physical touch and hugs”. I think he assumed that because I was Latina I would automatically be ok with physical contact.

[@greengerms]

you're a very bad person

[@ma.2089]

@@-wassup stop crying lol

[@TesseVW]

Yes, I agree. Maeve and Otis not ending up together makes sense for the ending of Sex Education. Not only because they are indeed young and immature, but the show used to be so great for defying cliches and stereotypes from typical romcoms. I just liked that. There's also even more reason for Maeve to leave at the end. As you mentioned, everything about Moordale was holding her back. Now she has shed that weight and she has grown as a person. So her leaving for a better life elsewhere makes perfect sense. I love it. Also, love you & congratulations to you and Erica

[@h0td0gwater]

Jackson's plot line touching on health anxiety didn't go far enough for me. In The Uk, health anxiety is among the most common anxiety disorders with young men (I think it's actually a type of OCD but idk, not a professional) and with the growing discussion around men's mental health, I felt it could've been really special. I was disappointed. On the other hand, him being a good friend for Viv was really beutiful and healing in a way I didn't know I needed as somebody who experieinced similair things to Viv. Another storyline they didn't push far enough imo The fact that men's mental health is often placed - within the media - as being in opposition to feminism is a problem; having a character who supports his female friend escape an abusive relationship whilst still struggling himself could've been a really important and nuanced take on the current issues. Coercive control was only just recently added to the definition of abuse under the law in the UK too. I love sex eduation for its covering of relevent and recent topics and it felt like, by selling Jackson (and Viv) short this season, we were all sold short.

[@lizanya6433]

as someone with hypochondria (health anxiety), i absolutely agree his arc did not go far enough in its exploration, if health anxiety was what it was trying to cover. if i were in his position i would’ve been borderline suicidal. now obviously everyone doesn’t react the same, but the most we got exploring how troubling it was for him was when he had trouble breathing and for some reason, hallucinating? which i know was supposed to visualize how he sees his illness everywhere but they really didn’t need to take it so literally. we’re not schizophrenics. also, he’s told it’s not cancer and is just totally fine in an instant. for me, i still wouldn’t believe the doctor. i wouldn’t insist on more tests, but i would still be freaking out that it could be. if they were trying to make him a representative for hypochondriacs, they made it very mild, but i’ll take whatever representation i can get ig.

[@h0td0gwater]

@@lizanya6433 "I'll take whatever representation I can get ig" is exactly how I felt about this season actually :/ half-bakes attempts at storyline storyline would've been fantastic had they been allowed to play out fully. Thank you for sharing your experience, by the way. I hope that you're getting the support you need (and deserve!)

[@Romy-90]

"Every season needs to out-woke the previous one." Absolutely nailed it - it got to the point where it was unbearable in season 4 and the "straights are basic AF"-narrative got super annoying.

[@m.grahamburger2042]

the writers became obsessed with box ticking and created a whole college of clowns (no offence.. maybe a little haha, some really looked like the Joker). The other seasons were all a bit woke in an acceptable light hearted way . The whole virtue signalling around the double mastectomy (complaining that this not needed procedure is not easily available to someone under 18!!) I thought the whole purpose of the show was to make someone comfortable in their own body... not permanently alter it. Seems crazy the FTM Roman (i think) with all the tattoos was even cast with loads of old tattoos when they're meant to be a teen. Also crazy this character wants to be male but then receives vaginal sex (we didn't need to know so why did they show us). All one big virtue signalling opera surrounding Cal.... I liked Cal in the previous series, I thought the reason she and Jackson really connected was because they were secret siblings... it was hinted with the whole "whose my daddy" story. with Jackson &. Jacksons conclusion was just terrible like what the fuck!. Can't believe the best use for the money raised by charity was to pay for an underage kids TOP SURGERY, when it's clear that this college is full of people with major disabilities. I would be insulted if I was a disabled student at college AND that happened. They spent way too much time on a load of new terrible characters that added nothing the the A plot from seasons 1-3 really..... It was all a stunt from the writers to please some extra rainbow hugging LBGT ETC investor. I am a very accepting person with friends who are Gay, Trans & Bi, but this show was just hard to watch in the last season because of its non organic approach to certain subjects. Particularly ones between Roman & Cal (more talking to the audience about political & controversial topics) Jean & Jakob should have had a final conclusion wtf! & Otis' father. Eric's story was pretty good, very sad moment when only his mum stood up. The Groff family & new girlfriend story was well done to be fair. Where the fuck was Olivia? Ola, Rahim? The cameo of Emily Sands & Colin Hendricks ( teacher couple) was pretty nice. Of course Ruby & Otis maybe should have had another run, maybe him and Maeve were better as friends. Although it is very realistic a couple break up to go to different areas / countries, I think If Otis and Mauve had a scene a few years down the line where they reunited.... even with just a long hug, that would have ended nicely. The dear John letter was a nice touch, but to then bring it full circle with reuniting would have really pleased the fans that only watched this for them & other good characters: Adam, Eric, Ruby, Jackson etc..

[@tarekbouwmeester]

​​@@m.grahamburger2042im sorry but how did u think cal and jackson were siblings? Cal literally lived in america for the first 14 years of their life.

[@zvanev]

​@@tarekbouwmeestertheir

[@tarekbouwmeester]

​@@zvanevoh yeah im sorry

[@bumblerbree]

@@m.grahamburger2042 from the way you talk about the trans characters (and misgender cal) i really don't think you're as accepting as you think-

[@abel_medaris]

I honestly didn’t hate that they didn’t stay together; It’s ultimately a coming of age story, and something that a lot of coming of age stories miss is the reality that life seriously catapults people onto different paths after high school. You might try to maintain those relationships with friends or partners, but most of the time you have to accept that you’re living different lives in adulthood.

[@taps_lock]

Absolutely. This very real and great conclusion kinda blinded me to ignore the flaws of this season.

[@gabidopkiss7564]

As a disabled woman who is unfortunately used to lack of representation, it was great to see Isaac’s story. I was glad it was included:)

[@karinisvetcool]

It really struck a chord for me when they mentioned having all these yoga classes and gardening and dancing things and modern ipads... But not a working elevator. It felt real

[@Ryomen69420]

It was done terribly

[@RettetdenUmlaut]

I actually wanted them to put him even more into focus. The topic of intimacy for/with disabled people would have been so interesting, but they already missed the chance in season 3.

[@sheridanfrancis4814]

O’s storyline was really hard to watch. I continuously found myself wanting to give O the benefit of the doubt. After all, sex education routinely has give us characters who seemed cruel, only to provide a depth of character that turned that around. Unfortunately even when they expanded upon O, I was never able to make myself like her. Her coming out scene felt so Kevin Spacey coded. “Ignore my wrong doings, it was cause it’s hard for me to be queer”. I’m bisexual, so while this representation didn’t affect me personally, I felt a loss for those who finally got to see an ace character only for it to turn out this way. I really enjoyed getting to watch Adam’s arc as a bisexual character, and I wish ace/aro people that same experience.

[@oneawesomekelsey]

As an American, I found the whole Maeve-in-America hilarious in a very unintentional way. For one, they never say where she is, and America is massive. Knowing the time difference and the flight times to see each other are definitely important elements in understanding how far apart their long-distance relationship would really be. The school also looks very English and her "American" friend is doing a really rough accent, so I never felt like she was actually in America, anyway.

[@hissingwillows668]

This was funny to me too! It's also funny to me because so many Americans hate it here and would kill to get somewhere in Europe instead, including the UK. I was wondering during the last shot of the school where it was supposed to be in the US, because it did look much more English than any college I've seen in the US. At the same time, this is 100% how our shows usually treat going to any other country, so it's kind of funny to see the reverse for that reason.

[@rebeccadodd1394]

The accent really annoyed me at first as well, but towards the end of the season I realised that the female friend is actually played by a Danish actress, and I assume, is supposed to be Danish in the series. I'm not sure why it seemed like she was supposed to have an American accent at first but then at the end it dropped completely

[@josiebarnes11]

It’s ok when watching films and series which are American we have to deal with characters saying they are going to Europe for holiday. We are thinking babe where exactly are you going? Europe is massive!

[@katy8887]

I have a strong hunch that a lot of the scenes were filmed at my university in Bristol. I haven't actually looked this up but some of the Cavendish scenes are at our (quite distinctive) chemistry department and when Maeve was in the library it looked pretty identical to our law library.

[@oneawesomekelsey]

@rebeccadodd1394 That actress did completely change her accent partway through for no apparent reason, which threw me off. However, I was actually referring to her male friend that Otis thought she was romantically interested in.

[@darkshiga]

What annoys me so much with Eric/Otis is that it was the perfect opportunity to show how people who are apparently so different can have a very strong friendship but their conflict in S4 belonged in S1 or S2 at most and ultimately it ended up in the same place as Eric/Marve to me : "Why are they in each other life if it's like that?"

[@roq4212]

regardless of the many frustrations of this season, the part where otis and eric are playing smash bros in their room genuinely almost made me cry. it's such a simple scene, but the fact that it was in the final episode makes it bittersweet. i saw it a lot as "the good old days" happening in real time w/o them realizing it. also, i actually like how they handled the split between otis and maeve in the end. it's a realistic scenario, that in the end, makes sense for both sides.

[@tasheve3015]

i loved that part too

[@elena-mm4bo]

i completely agree! the scene with eric and otis had to be one of my favorites of the whole season even though it wasn’t technically really plot relevant. i was so happy to see them just messing around again the way they used to in earlier seasons. it felt like their old chemistry that we didn’t really see in s4. so bittersweet.

[@abigailxmary]

By the end of the show, i actually understood joanna as a character a lot more. Her dependence on alcohol, fleeting relationships, unstable mood and her general ungroundedness were glaringly obvious in hindsight as trauma responses. I thought it highlighted the way trauma can seep out into every facet of life quite well.

[@m.c4210]

This season felt like a totally different show. Super frustrated by the writing. I'm from the UK and don't know a college on earth that has the resources or culture that the new school had. Why is Eric seeing angels? Why is Maeve barely relevant to the final season? Why was there a bunch of new characters in the final season who have laughable plotlines, especially the runaway plot on the last episode? I would have to say its one of the worst series finales I've ever seen only saved by the Adam plotline. Sad.

[@jannekejaeschke8500]

hm.. have you watched the video? i personally liked the season and just want to try and answer one of the clearly rhetoric questions. I mean, mace was relevant to the story. Obviously she wasn’t as present, given that she doesn’t go to school with the others and is supposed to study on another continent. But the story of her mothers dead literally drives a whole episode. I think real vance to the story is very difficult when there isn’t one story or plot because it’s really about all the different storylines, overlapping, interfering or in adams case just existing next to each other. And the viewers can take from that what they like. It wasn’t executed perfectly, but for me it worked:)

[@drtaverner]

33:59 Let's remember that Isaac went into Maeve's phone, listened to a private voicemail, then deleted all trace of the call so Maeve wouldn't know Otis had called. He's _not_ a good guy and I really felt Amy was falling into a potentially abusive relationship. Yes, a guy in a chair like that might seem nonthreatening after what happened to her. OK. But Amy is _really_ gullible and kind of a perfect target for an abuser. Isaac has shown us he's not above manipulation to get what he wants. This relationship scares me for Amy's wellbeing.

[@Lilysusanna]

I also didn’t see any real chemistry between them. They were friends and friendly with one another but once the relationship started to blossom it felt so forced and awkward, it really felt like Aimee wasn’t into him especially when he tried to kiss her.

[@jaynebeament]

​@@Lilysusanna exactly. this and the only times they interacted was Isaac being a dick to her.

[@SexiSchnitzel]

Also remember that he was a teenager in love. People do dumb stuff sometimes

[@Shade-Spark]

S3 was his whole redemption arc, S4 treated him as a great guy without ambiguity, so no he's fine now, the show's writing made it so thi is far beyond.

[@leonbrooke5587]

I think one of the flaws of season 4 was good characters are good regardless of their actions, it's their nature (Ots, Isaac, and O apart from her interactions with Otis, from about halfway through). I'm sure this wasn't their intentions but that was the effect

[@eifos8280]

I really had to force myself to finish this season. I didn't hate it, but something felt off to me. I pushed myself to watch it because I wanted to know how Sex Education, the series I really loved, ended. I'm really glad I can now watch this video so I can maybe understand why this season was so weird to me

[@coolsomeash]

I also had to force myself to finish

[@trinaq]

I concur, it was hard to get through at times, and just as well it ended with this season, so that it didn't drag on any further.

[@WolfgangNotMozart]

I felt so empty in season 4 that the letter at the end didn’t even make me feel that sad. I just felt like “alright I guess that’s the end” which really really sucked

[@Just-your-average-JoJo-fan]

My boyfriend and myself are asexual and we have never felt more misunderstood and frankly offended by the way asexuality was depicted in O. I don’t particular care if a “villain” character is asexual so long as it’s done well but like Otis mentioned it really did feel like she was putting it on and not genuine. I genuinely feel like Otis (as we’ve seen throughout the entire show especially season 1) should have been the one to realise he was asexual. He absolutely depicts traits of being along the ace spectrum and it could be a moment to represent the type of asexuality that never gets talked about. The type of asexuality where individuals can still have sex or have a libido/ experience arousal as opposed to the sex-repulsed type that is usually commonly thought of when asexuality is mentioned. To me, I relate more to Otis in terms of his journey with his sexuality rather than O’s description. I just think the writers really fumbled the mark when it came to getting a checklist of an ace character in the main lineup.

[@lokalnyniecnygnom]

oh yes!! i would love it so bad for otis to be asexual because i quite relate to him in this area, other ace characters in sex ed are boring and quite plain but for the main character to be ace would be such a big step

[@FoxdevilswildUnic]

I'm partly with you. I wanted Otis to be ace from S1, his sexual awakening was so disappointing to me. And I always loved the idea if an ace character explaining sex to allo characters, because I kinda had a similar thing to O where I just was extremely interested in Sex and everything connected to it, while not really being interested in having it myself. I'm still not sure where I stand. So that part of O kind of resonated with me. However I hated how unlikeable they made her. Especially since the first Ace character also felt like a dick already, I just wanted someone fun to be ace and not the goddamn villain. There is way too little ace rep already, why make them the main antagonist??? By the point she came out as ace, it just felt like a farce and not genuine anymore, if you know what I mean. It was the thing I always wanted for the show but how they played it, kind of laughed into the whole idea of an ace character explaining sex, since O was already that dislikeable by that point. They tried to row back by having her win the election, but that also was like a weird afterthought and not genuine, IMO.

[@arielruby13]

if otis was shown to be asexual it would be the gray area, which rarely gets any repreentation. if the show had done it well it would be relatable to us (the ace comunity) and it would be so nice to see

[@m0zz4re11a1]

@@Brotried97nah it actually would be kind of perfect. it subverts the expectations. and plus, it’s not just about everyone having sex, it’s about everyone’s different experiences of sexuality

[@kylieowen7698]

Totally agree with this take! I would have loved to see Otis come out as ace, but O just didn't feel authentic. I think partly because we never really get to see the impact that O's identity has on her relationships aside from the debate. We're just supposed to accept that ghosting those people was okay, and O doesn't really have to do the work to apologize and earn redemption. I feel like all the time spend on Roman and Abbi's sex problems would have been better spent committing to exploring O's identity more fully.

[@coreymandelzys1547]

A lot of my issues lay with Otis as well. I agree that Otis was never a flawless character, but I think the first two seasons painted a very realistic picture of someone making mistakes that a lot of people could make. Otis, in the first season, mostly messes up with how he sidelines Eric for Maeve - something I think could be relatable - and how he gave Jackson advice on how to attract Maeve. Both of these things are also just borne of misunderstandings and Otis' developing a person as he experiences new feelings. Like yeah it was wrong to ditch Eric, but he did it because Maeve needed help and she eventually opened up to him about why. Again, he was in the wrong but it didn't feel malicious. For the first two seasons, he would constantly mess up with good intentions - and for that reason I loved the character. I can relate to someone that wants to do right but feels like they are constantly doing wrong. Boy is that not the case for season 4. I know people have their gripes with season 3 - I do too. But I think the first leg of the season was reasonable. He maneuvered his relationship with Ruby respectfully, and was justifiably closed off from being heartbroken. Yeah he was a bit of a dick for the first few episodes to his mom and Maeve, but the poor guy was hurt bad. However, after he finds out the voicemail and does not revert back to "good intention" Otis, that's when his character changed. Like the scene where Maeve's sister goes missing and Otis can only be jealous of Isaac... what the hell was that? We've seen Otis drop everything to help others before, but suddenly his selfishness overrides that part of his character. And I think that set him up for his portrayal in season 4. Like do the writers just hate Otis now? His emotional intelligence drops whenever they need conflict. The last scene of season 3 shows him understanding that Maeve should go to America, but in season 4 he just forgets that because he misses her? He yells at his mom because he's not getting enough attention, another part of his character that was solved in the season 3 finale. And the conversation he has with Eric where he says "why are you blaming me for our differences?" just paints Otis to be so insensitive and stupid - wasn't this supposed to be the "too mature for his age" sex therapist from season 1? I think season 3 was good in being his "be a dick" season, because he needed to address his flaws to move forward, but season 4 doubled down on them. This season should have been about how he feels left behind, coming to terms with other people moving on when he can't - rather, they take that and make it an excuse for him to lash out at everyone instead of try to get us to feel for this character again. He stops understanding other people and loses those "good intentions", leaving behind the relatable character from its earlier seasons.

[@Shade-Spark]

Love this analysis! 4 years later, as an autistic guy, I still wish Otis was the autistic-coded virgin-nerd you'd think the base plot would make him, the middle-class white dork falling in love with the poor, low-self-esteem toxic-upbringing snug bad bitch, both evolve and grow around their own issues and arcs, into mature people getting somewhere like Meave does. But Otis just stagnates indeed. it would have avoided to make him a "plot-void" to link all the events together, and allow most storylines to happen, without him getting his actual main-character satisfying arc, that's what I feel about the character globally. Relatively to autism, I realized my expected representation didn't happen by season 2, then there was Lily, and with season 4 ending I realize in a more subtle way Aimee might be the most accidentally autistic-coded character (if you add the precise layers of female socialization and patriarcal trauma); so I had accepted that Otis wouldn't be the archetype I molded him in after my initial expectations, but now I figure it could have helped his writing. Just like Maeve that could have made for a 4 seasons arc overcoming his issues of sexual trauma, seflishness and self-centeredness while also willing to help the whole world in theory, globally being lost and taken into layers of layers of contradictions and communication stuggles: that's basically the male autistic nerd experience 101, it's like our IRL redemption arc of not turning into a misanthrope incelish nice guy through finding queerness, openness, passions etc... At first I wanted him to be me for selfish reasons, now I realize it would have given depth into his character further than driving all plots through facing a contradiction > looking at his phone > thinking of the honest message he could sent to solve the issues > delete it because otherwise there's no series > put it under the rug > wait that in blows in his face > repeat 100 times. I accepted this series formula as excuse for plot, althrough it's quite ironical with the premise of the show and the aim to grow sexually and emotionally secure, but let's be fair, there needs to be drama... Now if Otis actually had a deeper reason to be who he is, call it straight out autism acknowledged as such or vague ND-coding, that was actually better than the way his childhood trauma was treated, and that gave a direction: you could have Otis still being the "plot-void" of the show that allows the rest to exist, and with the same problems, the same issues, the same old being lost+selfish+overwhelmed, even more dorkiness and clashing with Eric, and a big main-character arc to overcome with a good ending that doesn't require the Motis people wanted, and maybe even other ways to drive plots than letting shitty situations cook till in blows.

[@IanHugh]

I think you got that turning point spot on, although I feel like if the writers allowed more time for Otis and Maeve to reconcile all the shit they went through Otis would have come off as a much better person

[@justingroen3022]

True

[@johnnimbus8761]

Thanks for reflecting my frustrations with S4.... And your care to be balanced. My pet frustration was around how do students afford fetish gear and a variety of sex toys?....this stuff is not cheap and Eric seemed to have a new glamourous outfit every scene even after criticising Ottis for been middle class rich and white and unaware of his journey.

[@paytvn]

Exactly. I never understood that. Eric is supposed to be the son of a poor immigrant family, but he has the most expensive designer clothes and he never repeats an outfit, besides the color block jacket he wears everywhere. Whereas Maeve is depicted as being poor and she struggles to support herself - but she repeats outfits and can be seen wearing the same pieces of clothing; jackets, boots, skirts, and sometimes dresses. And she is still able to fit in with the show's aesthetic while still maintaining a semblance of her character's identity and backstory. Eric has no business bullying Otis about his family's income while he's wearing Versace and Otis still has on those brown pants and striped shirt

[@Zvwry]

⁠@@paytvnmy head canon is that Eric thrift shops in expensive neighborhoods and has been collecting clothing prices

[@paytvn]

@@Zvwry that’s true he could be doing that. I did recently thrift a Guess dress for $18 when it was originally over $100

[@johnnimbus8761]

Thrift shop sex toys? 🤔

[@doubleh333lix]

wealthy netflix people who are out of touch

[@Grimalkins]

I feel like 90% of what I liked about the show was ripped out before season four. Seeing the production differences explained in the comments makes a lot of sense. All the style and care is just gone. Other than some of my favourite characters being gone, my biggest issue was Abbi and Roman. I felt that their characters and their arc were so incredibly poorly written, and that the casting director just found the first two trans people on instagram and didn’t stop to ask if they could act (the answer is no - they really can’t). The public nature of Roman pressuring Abbi for sex, the nonsense reason they’re not having any, the way Abbi is a sanctimonious, controlling nightmare, yet apparently the most popular girl in college, I just feel sad that we finally get a trans couple in the show and this is what they choose to do. A horrible parody. I found it really offensive. Honestly, I wish they’d just left it hanging after season three if this is the standard they thought was acceptable. Don’t get me started on Otis and O, either. Awful.

[@aAxelynv]

As someone who’s asexual, I have followed Yasmín B on Twitter for years. I stopped using it after the whole X thing so I’m actually surprised to hear she was involved with the show. I disliked O a lot. I thought her being asexual was actually a cop out. Not a part of her identity. Also asexual or not, ghosting romantic partners was not ok. I feel like she got away with it by just one apology. I like that Maeve and Otis don’t stay together but more than anything I still think it feels unfinished. Not good asexual representation. I thought the Eric and God thing was too on the nose and just so many things felt weird. It’s disappointing

[@andiman44]

I feel so validated seeing other asexuals call out O’s poor writing. Like she really tried to act like there aren’t multiple ways to break up with someone that doesn’t include outing yourself.

[@aAxelynv]

@@andiman44 I was also so conflicted because I feel like it was contradictory that she was actually intuitive and dare I say…good therapist. She was able to genuinely talk to others experiencing problems and try to get to the root of the issue and not diminish their concerns. But her being asexual? I just couldn’t believe that. Because if she were then she really was the biggest hypocrite for ghosting romantic partners without any sort of explanation. So it was just strange. It really came as a shock to know that one of the biggest advocates for Ace representation had a direct hand in it. It sucks netflix took some of their own liberties perhaps to not have Otis appear worse but the way they butchered it, it would have been better if O kept her mystery and her asexuality or sexual identity were not mentioned. She would have still been able to relate to her clients without it.

[@nataliaalonzo580]

I’m asexual as well and feel the same way. In fact, I hated O’s coming out so much that I stopped watching the show after that episode. It just felt so gimmicky, so absolutely absurd and fake, that I couldn’t take Sex Ed seriously anymore. Yasmin Benoit is an inspiration to me, and it’s so tragically ironic that she was trying to put good Ace representation in mainstream TV (something we DESPERATELY need), but then the people in charge modified and distorted her ideas so completely that the character circled back around to being a harmful stereotype.