Sex Education (Season 4)
Available on Netflix
At its best, Sex Education was that rarest of beasts - a comedy series that transcends generations to communicate informatively and, most importantly, empathetically on contemporary societal issues. For most of its four series run, the show has been a force for good as it shines a light on the complex sexual landscape that teenagers and adults alike navigate on a daily basis, so much so that you could make the case for it being one of the most essential and impactful shows of its time.
It’s a shame, therefore, to see this fourth and final season fail to do justice to the stellar work that preceded it. The change in setting from Moordale Secondary School to the ludicrously far-fetched, woketopian Cavendish Sixth Form College doesn’t help proceedings, with a host of new characters introduced that, while well-intentioned, only serve to distract from the narratives we had emotionally invested in over the previous three seasons.
Indeed, many of these new characters appear to be a case of showrunner Laurie Nunn mistaking tokenism for inclusivity, as their back stories or primary motivations are seldom explored, but their physical or sexual differences are loudly proclaimed for all to hear. This is perhaps the most unfortunate thing about Sex Education’s swansong, as it had previously always felt like a genuinely progressive and thought-out show.
That faux pas aside, Nunn and her writing team deserve praise for managing to provide the show’s main protagonists with endings that, while not entirely in keeping with their prior arcs, are mostly satisfactory. The long-gestating romance between Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey) concludes plausibly, while the true MVPs of the show - Jean (Gillian Anderson), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Ruby (Mimi Keene), and Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) - also find varying degrees of closure.
Nonetheless, while there are enough enjoyable moments in these final eight episodes to hold your interest, it is perhaps best to dwell on what came before them to remember this fine show in the way it ought to be.
