Jean Milburn is a peculiar woman. Like many mothers, she is specially interested in her son Otis’ affairs and rarely lets him venture outside her sphere of influence. Unlike others, however, she is particularly interested in his sex life.
“Sweetheart, I have noticed that you are pretending to masturbate” she tells him once. Another time, she provides him some sage advice. “Intercourse can be wonderful, but it can also cause tremendous pain. And if you’re not careful, sex can destroy lives.”
He’s Not Your Average Sex Therapist
Jean (played with great aplomb by Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist who often brings her work home, as clients (and suitors and one night stands) visit her at her cottage. Poor Otis (played by Asa Butterfield), who still feels guilty about catching his father in the act of cheating on Jean and inadvertently breaking up their marriage, has difficulty masturbating. However, his classmate Maeve (Emma Mackey, whose uncanny resemblance to Margo Robbie hasn’t gone unnoticed) enlists him to be an amateur sex therapist for the myriads of teenagers in their school going through sexual and relationship problems of their own.
The best thing about Sex Education is that it’s characters are mutli dimensional and well written. With such a premise, the show could have easily been one note. However, they seem real, and plagued with relatable problems of their own. Every major character, from Otis and Maeve to Eric, Otis’ best friend and Adam, the son of the school’s principal have something surprising to reveal to the audience. Gillian Anderson is delightful, and she is a good foil for the charming and vulnerable Butterfield.
Sex Education is notable for having a distinctly American flair for its high school drama despite being set in the UK (perhaps Wales, judging by all the greenery).
It’s a conscious choice, no doubt egged on by Netflix to make the series more accessible to the world, and it works for the most part. There’s a distinct sense of John Hughes-ian airs, bolstered by the presence of eclectic 80s songs. On the surface, the show feels like an amalgamation of the platform’s two other shows, Big Mouth and The End of the Fucking World, but it’s the heart that sets it apart.
Why Messy Teenagers Make for Great Television
The show treats sex as not only a matter of titillation, but rather an aspect of health. Eric, for instance, discovers his sexuality throughout the course of the season, while another schoolmate struggles with having sex with her partner because she doesn’t really love her as much as like her as a friend.
The show has an enormous amount of empathy for its characters’ plights, and it approaches its subjects with a great touch of humor.
Sex Education understands that these teenagers are awkward and clumsy, and are discovering the joys and pains of love and heartbreak for the first time. One reviewer called the show the anti-Thirteen Reasons Why, and I agree with that sentiment. It’s both realistic and wholesome, and a breath of fresh air in a genre that often goes overboard with luridness in lieu of realistic characters.
