No I would say that Maeve and Otis are still main characters but Eric definitely had a lot of story lines replaced by Adam. They’re just adding so many new characters and focusing on side characters like Adam, Jackson, Mr. Groff, and Aimee that it just feels that the main characters aren’t as important to the story as they actually are.
Agreed, I was pleased that Maeve didn't give up a massive opportunity just for Otis. The girl deserves so much happiness, and hopefully she and Otis will ACTUALLY get together in Season 4!
i want her to have everything she wants tbf: be with otis, continue writing so she can go to uni, be with her family, continue her strong friendship with aimee
@@rebeccadodd1394 Exactly. Like he's still trying to understand himself. He's so behind, because he didn't know himself much like his father, Michael Groff who figured himself out much later. Eric knows himself, so if he wasn't comfortable with Adam or something, he should've ended it earlier.
Yeah I didn’t see Otis as the villain at all. At least in the Ruby situation. I mean maybe he could’ve said something else when Ruby said I love you, but he can’t force himself to be in love with her.
Yea, I don't know what some fans expect. They would rather have Otis lied to her and say I love you too to avoid hurting her? That would hurt her more once she knows he is lying. Also, I don't understand why they want Otis and Ruby together after all that happened, like I wouldn't like to be with someone who didn't chose me.
@@roycema he was trying to move on from mauve a poor attempt might I add but you see that Otis does care for ruby enough to want to date/care for her. If he and mauve had their feeling sorted out sooner then no one would been hurt.
@@martinacosta3821 common now he was waiting for god knows how many month's 🤷 For me Ruby was just there till thus season so I didn't really care for her
You guys have to remember what happened the last two times Otis told a girl I Love You. Ola told him he didn’t actually love her and then she ended it with him. And then he left a voicemail for Maeve saying he loved her which he assumed she completely disregarded and didn’t care about when actually Isaac deleted it. Yeah I’d be scared to open my heart to another person again too. I wouldn’t have said “that’s nice” but you know 😂
I told my now fiancé “thank you” when they told me they loved me a few months into dating. I went onto explain that I had genuine love for them but saying “I love you” is a big deal and as an 18 year old in their first genuine relationship I wasn’t ready to go there. I didn’t think that was wrong then, and I don’t think it’s wrong now. Otis isn’t the villain, he’s a complex teenage boy who’s handling life as it comes at him. He messes up but he’s still generally a very nice, supportive, and sensitive person.
This!!! I don't understand why there are so many people getting mad at Otis for not reciprocating Ruby's feeling as much as she did! It's not always 50-50 in a relationship, sometimes one loves the other more and sometimes it's the other way around. And it takes time to develop feelings, especially intense feelings like love. I know it sucks when someone you love don't love you as much (or worse, at all) but it's a bitter pill you have to swallow in life. You can't force feelings on people. If Ruby had been more understanding and given Otis more time, their relationship might have developed further. This goes to show that SexEd stands out in a way that there's no real "heroes" or "villains", there are just people who make mistakes and mess up like every human being does.
"Thank you" is actually a more appropriate response to a declaration of love than "I love you too". It's the love you are grateful for, the other person isn't (or at least shouldn't be) asking you for a declaration of love in return. Just declare your own love when you are ready and don't pressure someone into saying something they aren't feeling or aren't ready to say. I'm not saying this is always an easy thing to do. It requires honesty, humility and possibly a whole lot of patience. Still, I believe it's the right way to act.
Otis and Eric in the booth during the last assembly made me wish we had even more Otis And Eric together. Made me feel like we didn't get enough of their banter
I will say that as a person with physical disabilities (not to the same extent as Isaac) that the intimacy scenes shown between Maeve & Isaac meant more to me than I ever thought it would; I was sobbing because not one piece of media that I have seen had ever shown intimacy in such a beautiful, honest & realistic way in regards to disabled people. I have never seen anything that has shown that people with disabilities are and can be desired and loved, that it isn’t a heroic move for the non-disabled characters to be in relationships with someone with disabilities the way that SE did with Maeve & Isaac… I have believe since I was 13 that I would probably never find real love, that disabilities are something that you have to be loved *in spite of* not a part of you that will and can also be loved about you and I’m currently 24, it truly meant the world to me to an extent that I currently cannot yet fully comprehend. (Edit: Spelling & Grammar)
Oh my god I saw the scenes and I thought "I've never seen anything like this!" I am not visibly disabled but I was on the verge of tears. Yes! We need more of this!
I also love how he broke things off with Maeve after finding out she kissed Otis. Unfortunately a lot of people think that if you're disabled, you should "take what you can get" and therefore disabled people should continue to be with someone even if that person hurt them or is a terrible person. I love how they didn't push that bullshit narrative by having Isaac and Maeve go back into a romantic relationship. He knows he deserves better and won't take anything less just because he's disabled.
I’m honestly starting to get pretty fed up with that trend of looking for "the real villains" in pieces of fiction, where it ends up blaming some characters for interpersonal mistakes/shitty behavior while ignoring or minimizing the actions of the intended antagonist, especially when said antagonist represents a bigger systematic oppression that needs to be addressed (like Hope and the school administration in the case of SE). I’ve seen that kind of discourse since the Devil Wears Prada thing and I feel like it kinda dumbs down the way we critique fiction ?? idk (also non-native speaker mandatory disclaimer : sorry if bad english lol, anyways stan maeve x aimee !!)
I blame the trend for hot takes, which incentivises people to say something surprising that *sounds* smart over something obvious but true. (Btw your English is excellent.)
@@funpolice5821 Well I definitely agree with you here ! But that’s not really my point, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t call out some characters’ shitty actions because they aren’t the main villains, but that by saying these characters are actually the "true" villains, I feel like it undermines the actions of the antagonists that the show runners intended and it's gravity. Like sure, Otis and Eric (and many others) have been acting like dickheads during this season and I’m all for calling them out, I’m invested in their character arcs and I want to see them grow out of their flaws, but personally I don’t believe that teenagers cheating on their boyfriend or being a jerk to their loved ones sometimes is worse than a school principal using their authority to bully and/or shame their students into submission. It’s the lack of nuance that tends to bother me I guess, hope I made myself clear !
the ending was really beautiful, Maeve having a home with her sister, and Amy and Otis both telling her to go to America, and the queen deserves it i love it and i’m so proud of her
Can we add that it's great that Amy's assault wasn't just a "special" episode but is an ongoing story arc with her character? And I do hope they're are going in the direction of Eric not being into monogamous relationships but realizing he's been a major jerk in the meantime.
Tbh honest even if Isaacs character was flawed it allowed for the best and healthiest s*x scene in the whole show to happen. Talking openly about concent, disability and pleasure without pe*is centric interaction was wonderful and the hottest scene in the whole show imo. Maybe *I* was the issac stan all along.
Maeve and Isaac just work better together overall tbh. He's not perfect but definitely better than Otis. They work much better as friends than any romance involved.
@@JaySewani maeve just has a lot going on her plate, with studying abroad and getting good grades and all, the last thing she needs rn is a relationship
@@misssteak1290 I love Meave, but honestly she has also broken Jackson and Isaac's hearts, which people just conveniently forget about. This became apparent to me when she chose Isaac after Motis first kiss scene
We’re kind of forgetting that these characters are teenagers, exploring and experimenting with their lives and feelings. I would complain if they had been too linear and uni or two-dimensional characters. Instead, they have been written as complex as real adolescents, so they make mistakes, make bad choices and let their feelings run amok, but they also learn and grow and become the people they’re going to be as adults.
Yes, all this discourse is so reductive. People complain all the time, they want real three-dimensional characters, but the second a storyline is not perfectly done with all characters good and moral, then it's actually bad tv. And they stay there, condemning a 16y/o for cheating, like that's not actual real life. Instead of noticing the messages, the themes, the development of the characters for "good and evil" (can a teenager really be evil tho?) I know Aimee going to therapy and understanding her trauma is not as clickbaity as "this is the true villain of sex education" but this type of bad-faith review on something for being different is what keeps uninspired tv on the air. (btw this is not about this video in particular, more like all the main critics of the show go in the same direction. For example, people barely talk about Hope more than to say she's horrible, when clearly she's the nuanced comentary on the education system that Groff couldn't be)
Eric is the true villain of season 3. he just cheated on Adam like that and i hated how he kept forcing Adam to come out to his mum when he just wasn’t ready
@@astrident8055 It is not about the fact that he wanted to be with more than one person a a time That is completely fine and great for him. But he shows a pattern of lying, being unfaithful and not caring about other person's feeling. Polygamy is all about openess and honesty. Eric has NONE of it!!! Also please stop saying that cheating is fine... and then saying that cheating is somehow related to the queer community. It is not any more related to the queer community, than it is to the straight people
@@khailils446 English is not my first language. Country of origins ? Where his family comes from. My point stands. He even says it himself : « take me to me my people »
I don't really agree with the idea that they HAVE to wait until the end for maeve and otis to get together if they're endgame. like…if we care about the couple (which i do) wouldn't we want to see them together for some time before the end?
I agree, I’m so tired of shows and movies where we wait for the main couple or ship or whatever to get together and then the second they do, the movie ends and we don’t get to see them actually together
There's plenty of drama to be had with people in a relationship, especially in a fucking high school. Like, Brooklyn 99 had Peraltiago hook up at the end of season 2 and the show went on for another 6 years.
Those beloved characters do stupid things because they are in high school! The cheating suuuucked. But he was conflicted as hell and that boy has no idea how to handle his feelings beyond “happy and bubbly”. Imo the show is realistic as hell, teenagers and relationships are chaos.
I liked otis’s dynamic w ruby more (because he was acc able to standup to her and she was able to open up to him), I feel like they could’ve grown together really well, and I’m upset w the writers for getting her to breakup w him for not saying ily💀 Otis and Maeve as endgame just no longer makes sense to me
Although I feel like they could have grown a lot together, it makes total sense that Ruby would break up with Otisat that point, because she was still developing emotionally, and still learning how real relashionships work. Otis being honest about not loving her back was the mature thing to do, but she is just not emotionally experienced enough when it comes to relashionships to understand that yet
I know ! I was so exited because I thought I was going to see a show with a romantic plotline that grew in a natural way and DIDNT just regress to the “will they won’t they” completely undermining most of the character development. Maeve and Otis making up as friends, and Otis and ruby being together would have felt like such a natural conclusion to the show and it just felt kinda ruined.
@@WolfQueenLydia tbh I think the writers were definitely setting that up as a possibility, because I honestly don’t think it’s completely insane to say that Maeve was in love with Isaac. The main example where I think this can be seen is when she has to choose between Otis or Isaac after the kiss in France. In the scene before they kiss Otis discovers Isaac deleted the voicemail and Maeve asks Otis what it said. Now at this stage Isaac had already admitted deleting it and told her a fake version of what it said, so the fact that Maeve asked Otis at all shows she already suspected Isaac had lied about what it actually said, if she loved Otis at all why would she choose to not only forgive, but also start a relationship with the guy she believed had lied to her twice about Otis’ feelings for her? When Otis told her what it really said she must have realised then that her suspicions were right and Isaac had lied to her twice about the same thing. She kisses Otis and you think ok so if she kissed Otis and knows Isaac is a lying prick who can’t even tell the truth without telling another lie in the process that should mean she’s going to break up with Isaac right? No. When Otis gives Maeve a lift to Anna’s house in the next episode Isaac is acting all defensive and basically telling Otis to fuck off, again, you would imagine that if Maeve loved him then at this point she would at least defend Otis, but she just lets Isaac verbally abuse him as if he hasn’t done anything wrong. Admittedly that scene kind of makes sense because she had just found out her sister was missing and wouldn’t really be prioritising her relationship but at the same time it would have taken like 5 seconds for her to go Isaac stfu nobody asked for your opinion. The only reason Maeve and Isaac aren’t still together is because Isaac chose to end things with her, I guarantee if he hadn’t done that she never would have left him for Otis and they would still be together now. She never loved Otis anywhere near as much as he loved her, that’s not to say she didn’t have feelings for him because she did, but she chose to be a dick rather than addressing those feelings. You even see when Isaac breaks up with her that she tries to stop him leaving, he even says “we don’t have to talk about this when you have other stuff to worry about” and she still tries to stop him leaving because she wants to talk to him and be able to get through the ‘rough patch’ (for lack of a better phrase) of her kissing Otis. And as for Otis and Ruby it was so obvious that Ruby still loved him even after the breakup, from a writing standpoint why would you spend so much of episode 5 proving that if you didn’t plan for it to carry over into season 4, and tbh I think Otis did love Ruby but couldn’t see it because he was blinded by his love for Maeve. Notice how he keeps telling Maeve about Ruby when she didn’t even ask “Ruby picked this out for me” “oh and me and Ruby aren’t casual anymore, we’re official” exactly the same way Ruby’s dad said she talked about Otis “always going on about you, Otis this and Otis that”.
I always have to remind adults watching these shows that these characters are teenagers and to think back to the things *we* did at that age and how frustrated we would be watching that now. Also Hope was a red flag for me the moment she assumed Jackson the head boy was Adam the white boy.
Yeah Isaac's character was weird this season... His apology was objectively bad and selfish, and Maeve forgives him so fast, it didn't make any sense... Then he conveniently opts out and we never see him again.
Ditto, and Isaac also has the NERVE to think solely about him and Maeve's relationship when her little sister goes missing. The dude NEEDS to think more about his priorities!
So true and also in the past season he already knew that Maeve had feelings for Otis and he still was trying to do anything to be with her, he even deleted the voice message. And in this season when he finds out about Otis and Maeve he says that he deserves more than that etc. I mean, I’m not saying that he was wrong but I don’t understand in what moment he stopped being obsessed with her. I feel like this season was kinda weird because they were trying to make a lot of things and that resulted in the actions of some characters not feeling natural. Still, it’s far from being bad
Isaac is very selfish and i don't understand why Maeve wants to still be friends with him, and even apologizes to him in the last ep as if she's somehow in the wrong? Someone needs to tell Maeve she deserves better, because she clearly doesn't realize it.
it always bugs me when people act like that if a character isn't 100% perfect then that means they're a bad person. Otis has flaws that's what makes him an interesting character to watch.
When you list out the plot points, I realized how there's so many stories going on but even then, so many people, including me, enjoyed this season very much.
I am definitely someone who doesn’t care if there’s a lot going on if it’s done well. It felt like this season was more like giving an episode for all the side characters instead of having them all center around a main plot. Perfect for folks like me who care more about character than plot
I think being shitty to your mom is part of being a teenager sometimes, he clearly does care for her and he is a good son when it matters Not proud to say it, but I've snapped at my mom growing up sometimes in ways she did not deserve It just makes the character more realistic, he isn't perfect, he's a teenager
Also, Ruby friends were comically annoying, but not in the fact that they were funny, but the fact that it was almost unreal how annoying they were. Like, I understand sticking up for your friend, but they are such cunts.
I agree with you that Otis wasn't the villain but I don't think Eric was either. I think we have to remember these characters are teenagers and yes, they do a lot of stupid things. We don't have to demonize them for making mistakes, that's why this show it's so much better that literally every other teen show out there, they're real, bad and all. Otherwise Adam would still be a one note bully, Meave a one note bad girl, Ruby a one note mean princess and so on right?
Thank you! Otis was NOT in the wrong for how he handled the Ruby situation, I actually thought it was the most mature thing he did, and she was the one who ended it.
I don't think most people are being critical of Otis for not saying "I love you" to Ruby. More so the fact that he was the one who expressed he wanted a deeper relationship with Ruby knowing full well he loves Maeve.
I honestly don't think he is mature at all, he just pretend to be mature but childish in heart, when he is with his mom he can be awfully childish at time
@@orangesky8864 Well, he knew he loved Maeve when he left her the voicemail, but she never answered, thus giving Otis the impression she didn't reciprocate his feelings. I think Otis was actively trying to get over Maeve and while he did want a real (non-secret) relationship with Ruby, he didn't quite expect for things to move as fast for her as they did. Her confession took him off-guard. Maeve was not really a big factor in their relationship until right after, when they had the conversation at the gas station in France.
They built up the mother to such high standards, surprisingly managed to actually meet them with the short time we spent with her character and then threw that all away to shoe horn in a 10 year old plot plan that didn't fit anymore. The thing is I feel like it actually could've been a really great and poignant ending if it had been well done/they had managed to keep a thread of why Ted and Robin *could* still work over the years but the fact that it was all so rushed (especially the Robin and Barney break up) meant there wasn't time to establish a good reason for the audience to want them to be together again. Sorry for the rant, I guess I am also salty 😂
Some shows just need have a proper idea of how it's gonna be like from the get go, like fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge created the show, knew exactly how long it was gonna be like and didn't give in to the corporate greed when they offered her a third season to just stretch the story, and squeeze some more money out of it.
She didn't exactly know, she actually wanted to leave it as it was in season 1 and Amazon and BBC wanted more but she refused until she got an idea to continue and finish the story, that's why there's a three year gap between season 1 and 2. What creators and producers need is integrity, but I guess money beats that 😐
The only thing I didn't like about series 3, is when Maeve said she didn't trust anyone to Isaac, which has been her arc for most of the series. I felt that was a bit silly, as she does trust both Aimee and Otis very much, that line could of been 'you know I don't trust that easily', rather than 'you know that I don't trust anyone'. That whole scene is good but change that line.
"The third one is always the worst" this season was scattered. The writing went from serious subject matter to making characters as evil as a disney villian. The character of Hope was the biggest missed opportunity, they could have written her as a woman reasonably struggling with factors out of her control. Instead her own issues feel tacked on and fumbled, as if another person was writing her and they decided "ooooo shes a bit mean, let's attatch a random problem she faces and that will make her relateable". So disappointing.
So how would you propose hope was written to make her a better character? I really want to know what you think. Personally, i liked how they portrayed hope in the show. Everyone has their own "seemingly random" struggles that other people don't know about, and that's about the same as real life. Plus, she was also under a lot of pressure by the school board to salvage moordale's reputation, so i guess it explains why she made her choices, although it doesn't excuse them.
@@misssteak1290 I'll start by saying I'm in no way an author of fiction but I'll give it a shot. I think the issues with Hope stem from the overarching issue with the season, that being they are trying to do too much. Hope’s character arc is so rushed, and ham fisted that she is forced into actions that no one in her position would do. We learn that she is an amazing woman with previous achievements and a strong work ethic. She is many things but bad at her job is not one of them, at least, there is no reason she should be. She goes from a motivated authority figure to a weekly villain without us seeing any real justification for it. I know Maeve’s actor Emma Mackey once said she felt Miss Sands was Maeve’s Miss Honey, so I’ll steal her analogy and say they basically turn Hope into Miss Trunchbull. If they slow this decline down over the course of 2 seasons, showing how she feels she was losing grip, showed her own personal struggles then I might believe her being driven to some extremes, but public shaming is just ridiculous. They hint at such depth to Hope, the parallels she sees in Viv and then turn her into big brother over text. They hint that she has made personal sacrifices to achieve the career she has, but we never see her personal life beyond reading a newspaper. And for a show that does well at discussing reproduction, they make a complete hatchet job of female fertility. They open all these doors, and then nothing happens because they insist on having too many plot lines for 1 season.
@@Dustbinlid1 I agree with the majority of your points and I do think Hope feels kind of rushed - they probably should have given her arc a full 2 seasons, but I guess they wanted to set up the school closing for next season (and really, the most unrealistic part of this season was all the students actually thinking her dancing in ep 1 was cool lmao). That said, I honestly thought the way Hope's character talks about fertility tracks with the way she treats the trans/nonbinary students in a very TERF-y way. Ex. she claims to want to empower women and multiple times says stuff about being supportive of feminism etc, but then turns her feminism into a way to attack students like Cal who don't feel comfortable in uniforms and sex ed classes that are divided into two neat little 'boy' and 'girl' gender groups with no place for nonbinary people. During the finale, she tells Otis her body "isn't doing the one thing it's meant to do," which also tracks with the kind of gender essentialism popular in a lot of TERF circles where womanhood is (at least in part) defined by reproduction. The fact that she couldn't have a biological child was driving her frustration with what she perceives as a failure of her own womanhood, which I think contributed to a lot of other decisions she makes throughout the season. I guess this TERF angle might have felt a little more well-rounded if they'd had a line or two refuting this idea, but tbh maybe they just didn't think Otis should be the one saying it, or maybe they didn't have the time to fit it in this season given just how many other plotlines they were juggling.
@@Dustbinlid1 The "they crammed 2 seasons worth of content into one season" thing is probably the biggest downfall of this season. Why does it feel like some characters are pushed into the background? Because they have too little time to put in everything. Why do some plotlines feel rushed? Because they have too little time to put in everything. Why does some stuff feel tacked-on or an afterthought? Because they have too little time to put in everything and had to probably scrap stuff that had made it better implemented.
@@Flameclaw123 I actually got such TERF-y vibes from Hope from the start, and now that you mention it even the sex shaming (publicly in this case) can be a very radfem thing. I truly wish this got delved into more, because unless you're really searching for it these things do come across very random and extreme. For someone who is into data and TED talks etc abstinence only sex ed and public shaming are... an odd choice. Given more time there's definitely a way to do this more insidiously, like how she treats the girls when she calls them to her office. Personally as a woman around Hope's age I wasn't able to relate to her at all. I guess we can hope she'll do a Mr Groff next season and we'll get to really delve into her psyche?
I feel like their gearing up to make Eric polyamorous. Like his whole reason for cheating was that in the moment it felt right, and honestly I see why, it was a huge, overwhelming moment of acceptance and love that he wasn't expecting. He did something in the moment that was pure emotion. I can understand that. Cheating isn't right and Eric was in the wrong but he seems to have trouble with monogamy in general. I hope they have him grow and recognize healthy and communicative ways to love non-monagamously. Just my thoughts.
I would've loved to see more of Florence or any other other asexual representation. Not just as a background character with 1 line of dialog but an active role.🤲
Well, maybe in other show, I understand that a show that centers in sex, has to explore more dynamics around sex rather than focusing in the absence of sex (i would be interesting) . I would be interested in seeing a show that explore in ace characters, though, because it is a perspective that I don't fully understand.
I don't know why people think you have to say I love you back when somebody says it to you. It's much worse to lie about that than it is to not say it back but he should've had a conversation with her about it earlier. I would have addressed it right then and there but then again I'm almost 30 and not a teenager so.
Tbh this whole "X is the real villain" is starting to bother me. It's become trendy to retroactively redeem bully characters and vilify protagonists. Not every show/movie has a villain, even if it has grey or morally imperfect characters. Otis has done bad things, so have Eric, Ruby, Adam, Ola etc. The beauty of this series is in its character explorations. Trying to wear them down to 'good' vs 'bad' ruins it. (That said though, this season did fall a bit flat for me and many characters made choices that felt out of nowhere)
exactly, Ruby unapologetically and *soberly* bullies everyone everyday, yet no one ever bats an eye, Otis drunkenly made an asshole speech, has apologized profusely again and again now, and everyone still treats him like he's scum
@@williambuttlicker5654 Right! I know that Ruby was a bit more vulnerable this season which was nice to see, but it doesn't make her a good person suddenly. Otis isn't perfect but he has tried every season to make up for his mistakes and become better
I think sometimes we as viewers get really upset when we see teenage characters realistically acting like teenagers because we rather not think about it. Repeating the same mistakes is just way too relatable.
Maeve and Aimee's relationship was so genuine, I was touched with how much support they gave each other. And laughed at their argument, in the fact they both pissed each other off and miss each other, but don't want to apologize yet lol
Prediction for season 4- Otis waits for Maeve, who comes back... with an American boyfriend. Endgame- Maeve and Otis DON'T end up together, but Maeve ends up super successful and Otis lives a quiet but happy life in a remote island. I'm really a fan of romance stories where the characters never wind up together but still live happy, fulfilling, romance-free lives. "Adam" is one of my favorite movies because both he and his love interest end up accomplishing their goals after breaking up and are happy with the decision. I would be DEVASTATED if a girl chose me over a promising career.
I agree wholeheartedly about the Eric storyline because he actively chooses to cheat. He pulls away from the first kiss then goes back in. It's unnecessary, he could've come to the same realisation without the cheating. Secondly, I personally find it hard to follow the timeline of the show. It kind of seems like it all happens in like a week to 10 days but it must actually happen over closer to 6 weeks. The perceived shorter timeline makes it feel like all the mistakes the characters make are worse because they just made that same mistake yesterday. Idk if that makes sense but I feel the timeline is hard to follow and makes everything worse
@@GabrielisSus he’s 17, he wasn’t happy in the relationship and was discovering a new part of himself. Also if you are planning on breaking up with someone and there is no lying and sneaking around then I’m sorry but I think majority of people wouldn’t even consider it as cheating.
@@barboralitvanova5111 wdym??? He kissed another guy while in a relationship with Adam, that’s cheating even if he was going to break up with the Adam afterwards. He can still discover himself without being unfaithful, if he was unhappy in the relationship he should’ve communicated it or just broken up with Adam instead of cheating. He has cheated on BOTH of his bfs now with zero remorse for it (well he did feel a BIT bad but that’s legit all) They literally ruined his character for me with this season. The fact that you are excusing cheating is v concerning.
I spent way too much time trying to remember why naked running boy looked so familiar. Should have known the wisdom of the Jedi would uncover the mystery.
I fail to see how Otis is the villain in Otis-Ruby situation. I mean... Why should he love her? They weren't together for that long and it wasn't healthy relationship for most of the time. Also, he's a teenager :D I really liked that Maeve didn't give up her studies abroad for Otis, though.
I hate that Adam and Eric were even put together as a couple. This show was great about avoiding tropes until "bully and bullied are in love" popped up. Their relationship was built on abuse. It was never gonna last.
At first I was fine with the relationship but Adam ACTIVELY trying to be a better person but the fact that everyone thought that Adam would hurt Eric little did they know that it would be Eric that would hurt Adam.
I think the point is that people make mistakes, and these characters are written as flawed. Because people are flawed. And it is a trope because it happens in nature, thus it makes sense that Eric would get into this relationship. You are right that it wasn't going to last, but it is realistic. They also subverted it by making Eric the villain in the end. Which i hated for him but again-- they're flawed for a reason.
On the contrary I think Adam and Eric were handled pretty well post the first initial season. Adam did try incredibly hard to be better and Eric was a huge part of his growth and character arc as a whole. They were never going to last, but they were incredibly important to each other’s individual journeys. That’s why Adam thanks Eric in his poem, for showing him how to deal with his feelings in a rational way and giving him the chance to open up and explore his sexuality. Not everything has to boil down to a toxic trope. There are many terrible executions of the bully x bullied trope, I believe this isn’t one of them.
To me it pandered to the bully might like you trope. And growing up as gay I would hate for other gay kids growing up to fall for their bullies or thinking they could change them
Agreed, that's why i never shipped them and i am glad it ended. I kinda hope Adam will get with Rahim they seem like they would be the "we are different but our differences actually work together" kind of couple.
amen. people getting angry at characters(and or voice actors/actors on other instances) is really stupid. the move itself is stupid, but directing your anger towards the actors/characters is wrong. if you are gonna be irrationally angry, at least point your anger to the proper direction. but maybe i am wrong to think that they still have rationality at that point. hmm...
I love Maeve, and I'll be happy no matter who she ends up with, or even if she ends up deciding not to be with anyone, as long as she's happy. Also, re: Eric, I was more bothered by the fact that he went off with a guy he'd just met in a country where being gay is illegal - I was so sure that whole thing was going to end horribly, and the fact that it only ended with Eric cheating on Adam (horrible though it was) was actually kind of a relief. In truth, though, the real reason I will never forgive the showrunners is for what they did to Jonathan. HOW DARE.
The one thing that pissed me off about Jonathan was that it made an so much effort to humanize me, and somehow rekindling that relationship with his wife, even though I don't want them to be together 'cause it just degrades the character arc of the last season.
@@trinaq Being gay, selfish, extra and a cheater is exactly his character. It's terrible how negatively stereotypical Eric is written imo, like to a concerning degree, and he's easily one of the, if not my least favourite character of the show aside from characters meant to be piece of shit villains like Groff's brother, Hope or Groff. Heck, after having explored Groff's trauma, his own psychological issues, him slowly finding his will to live again, i probably am rooting for fucking *Groff* more than Eric atm.
Your main "will they won't they" relationships in TV shows have to be resolved by the end of season 3 of a show, in my opinion. That's the max before it stops being pleasantly tense and enters into the annoyances. So, maybe they got Otis and Maeve together just in time, but it will depend on whether they keep holding the relationship hostage for drama in season 4 and moving forward. Good writers would take them and write a good, interesting, mostly healthy relationship and use that as a part of the show that becomes something people like. Bad TV writers would constantly pull them apart and stick them back together ad nauseam, so I guess we'll see which kind of writers Sex Ed has. It's already a shame that they jam packed the season with other stuff to the point that not enough time was spent building up the reuniting so that the last episode when they finally do fell pretty flat, it would be a real shame if they ruin it further in season 4+ because they don't have a good enough writer's room to find some other way to keep the show interesting than holding that core relationship at gunpoint every season. It will also make season 3 even worse in retrospect, if they wasted the potential of Otis+Ruby being a good filler relationship for a couple of seasons until they are finally ready for the end game just to keep Otis+Maeve on a knife edge because they don't believe they can write a healthy relationship that isn't constantly under threat that will be interesting television.
i think they should have maeve and otis just get together and then explore their new relationship, what changes and how they deal with it. it would be quite nice.
tbh the part I like least in this season is the Eric cheating part. the two I like most is Adam's character development aaaand I like Cal was introduced as a character :)
THANK YOU! I think the Maeve & Otis situation is too drawn out even in S2, but I didn't like Ruby & Otis's relationship because Ruby is rude to Otis (and eveyone, really) even though it's part of her tough act. She needs to learn how to form genuine relationships, either with friends or boyfriends. Otis's lowest point was the drunken speech at the house party, not those points mentioned in the article. And you're totally right, he's a teenager so he will screw up, but he is NOT the villain. I don't understand why the show runners can't think other things for couples to do, so they have to postpone the get-together plot till the end of the show. I mean Issac has a point, Otis doesn't truly understand Maeve's challenging family situation, though he tries to be there for her. There are other ways to write conflicts. You can do better, writers.
Look. I just wanted Otis to try and make amends to Ruby after she broke up with him, and tried to make her understand that sometimes love is not synchronous, but he was willing to try if she was willing to be a little bit patient. But they both just went off in the separate ways and Ruby didn't even confront him like "oh so you were just with me because SHE wasn't speaking to you?" which would have been expected.
Omg all of what you said 💯!! Just finished season 3. These are TEENAGERS! They’re supposed to be clueless and have meandering interactions with each other. I didn’t appreciate a lot of otis’s actions in the last season but he showed incredible maturity by the end of S3. Also agree that I don’t think Eric (my FAV) would have had the same story arcs if the show wasn’t renewed for another season. Definitely felt like too much backstory given how short the season was. As someone who has worked with and researched teen sex education/pregnancy prevention in the US i love the overall message of the students advocating for themselves against a repressive administration, but I do think the “sex school” rally was too over the top. It’s enough of a fight to get curricula to teach teens medically accurate anatomical terms and safe sex practices; it just felt very “glee” IMHO. Absolutely adore the show regardless ❤️
Absolutely, you perfectly summed up most of my thoughts on the season! One thing I haven't seen anyone talk about but I would love to hear some opinions on: The one thing I hated most about the entirety of this season was by far the implication in the finale that Jakob in fact isn't the father. I know they're setting up conflict for season four, but it makes the whole character development for Jean, Jakob, Otis and Ola completely redundant. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't know what else Jeans "Oh sh*t" could possibly mean.
True, I felt so bad for Jakob, the fact that he's been through so much regarding loss and betrayal and still trying to do his best only to be forced to raise a child with a woman who cheated on him is really painful
What I didn't like about Otis, was the fact that he actively sought a deep connection with Ruby, but when he finally got it, he realised he didn't want that, at all, because he didn't have that sort of feelings for her Which is shitty But not knowing what you want and hurting someone accidently because of it, it's peak teenagering Eric did the same as well, twice
He literally told her he likes her not love her but in time he was sure he would that's how relationships work u don't instantly love someone it takes time
@@DevinSpeaks Yeah but he should have worded it better, maybe an "I'm not ready yet" would have suffice, idk if Ruby could be mature enough to handle it
@@JaySewani Maybe not for Otis, but Ruby trusted Otis more than her literal friends She opened up to him like she never did with anyone, she said she's never invited anyone else to her house or introduced them to her dad (later in the episode she finally invites her friends over) Otis pushed her to do that, unknowingly he asked her to reveal her biggest secret, she did, and he didn't understand how much that meant
I personally think that the problematic thing with Otis' behaviour is that he tells her that he's not sure she means it when she said that she loves him. That part of their conversation bothers me. It's one thing not to love some back, while it may hurt the other person it is the way it is, but telling them that you don't know if they actually love you that's... something else.
Did anyone else think the Lilly story was going to end a lot worse? I really didn’t think she was going to come out of the depression alive which broke me
With Ruby and Otis, I wish there was more of a conversation about how someone not falling in love on the same timetable as another person in a relationship is okay. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to always say I love you back even if it isn’t true, but I don’t think it’s a breakupable offense! Although if that conversation happened and he broke up with Ruby for Maeve it would have felt hollow so I understand why it didn’t happen.
Everything you said in this video is exactly how I feel!! Im so excited for season 4. Not a fan of the Eric storyline (why the cheat?!) But loved season 3. I do ship Otis x Ruby not gonna lie lol
Eric is the supervillain, every time it seems like he switches partners. When Adam did his big gesture he just dropped Rahim like a hot French potato. I feel like that was a little foreshadowing to him betraying Adam. If he could leave Rahim on a whim, he could do the same to Adam. And , like, the Nigerian guy it's not like if, he knew him since childhood smh.
But the ralatioship with Rahim had this weird doomed aura because Eric's family didn't like him and made such a big show of telling him Adam is better for him, so either Rahim and Eric would not have lasted as well, or Eric's family kind of pressured him to break up with Rahim
@@elecrom_9757 Yeah, Rahim and Eric seemed a bit weird. Honestly, Rahim is a bit off. Interesting, we didnt get a little back story or home life to Rahim. He is just: Gay French boy who likes poemsand threw his shit out a bus.
I've seen a lot of people fixated on Eric cheating, and I wonder why. That's the most in-character thing to happen. Hell, that's how he ended up with Adam in the first place! From the go, Eric has always wanted to be who he is, and he has shown again and again that he felt restricted by his school life, by his town, by his family... And he's immature and selfish about it, because he's a teenager! He makes mistakes in the process of discovering himself, and that's a very authentic experience for young gay men. But of course, through the lens of a TV Show we expect characters to have this unreal moral compass and to have standards and be able to reflect upon how they affect those around them... While in reality, people aren't always all good and pure.
Me at Otis, Maeve, and Eric in season 1: my sweet children I will protect you. Me at all of them in season 3: YALL ARE SOME DEMONS AND WE NEED YALL BACK
@@MariaFlores-ef1oz lol what else wrong he has done other than shouting on his mom ? 😂 People hate him for no reason common some teenagers do they are going to give you your perfect protagonist he also have some issues 🤷
@@JaySewani Maeve, first and foremost, especially in season two. Let’s see he basically pimped her out to Jackson in season 1 but it was actually all a ploy to ruin their relationship. Mind you this is all without her knowledge. Season 2 ola and Maeve were basically pitted against each other (while unintentionally) by Otis causing both girls but mostly ola to become catty and jealous of each other’s presence In Otis’s life. The entire debacle ended in that disaster of a party where Otis was a complete asshole to both Maeve and Ola. But the entire dynamic with Isaac Season 3 he completely ignored Maeve literal months. He’s entirely self absorbed. He has ZERO understanding of her life. Also the pissing contest with Isaac. They’re both pricks in each interaction. Ola, secondly, also in season 2. See Maeve. But also he just kept fucking up with her. He made her insecure in comparison to Maeve. He was really bad at fingering. Till finally she’s like "fuck you I’m done" Ruby, she didn’t need to hear “I love you” but a conversation was well deserved. She turned from this bitchy mean girl to a more nuanced character and let’s face it Ruby and Otis brought out the best in each other. And yeah his mom deserved more respect from him. He deserves to be single and needs to do some soul searching before he can become a part of a relationship.
I'm not really attached to the main cast. And i like how imperfect the characters are, and how their actions are not completely blown out of proportions. I think that makes them more realistic. I actually learned so much from this season about being kind to yourself, and that everyone makes mistakes and life is messy and you're most likely not going to behave in the most appropriate way at all times.
The only perspective I can add is that as a polyamorous person, I as a teenager went through a lot of what eric is kind of going through and I think he maaaay be recieving some sort of arc in that direction because well honestly it´s the only thing missing xD And the reality is that he is a teenager who will make mistakes and has to learn how to accept what he feels without hurting the people he loves. I personally think it would be really intresting
If the Principal was just up front and honest with the parents and the kids about the decisions being made by the board, I wonder if any of the events that happened would have happened.
I do not see any serious issues with Otis. He's still the good ol' Otis who fucks up, but then tries to fix it. Honestly, Eric is closer to being a villain now what's with him being a serial cheater (no, I do not buy cheating as a logical/healthy step to accepting yourself as a gay person/exploring your sexuality or whatever).
My real problem with the Otis/Ruby storyline is that it's basically the Nice-guy(TM) fantasy. All he did was treat her like a human being and not just a sex object, and that was enough to get her to fall in love with him? Did the writers get that storyline from reddit?
I really liked the season the best, the struggles seemed genuine. And i was happy to see the development of the side characters and them addressing more topics like disability and being non binary or self identity. Also progress isn't linear which happens to teenagers. The whole poop sock thing although goofy, showcased how adam is genuinely a decent guy who was trying his best and he can see other ppl struggling and is willing to help. He became my favorite character, i could see myself in Ola when my parents divorce and she was going through it, she is a teenaged lashing out during major changes in her life. In general the characters just felt so real to me so i enjoyed it a lot. Also Otis this season he was afraid of making more damage like what happendd last seasons with the clinic so he tried to keep for himself, and he didn't wanna lie to Ruby which was the better thing to do. I wish we got even more development from her and that she stayed with Otis. Maeve doesn't need a relationship she is smart and is gonna do great in America. I just grew even more attached to the characters and i liked the new angle they gave this season.
People right now won't tolerate a single mistake from a fictional character because they need to feel morally superior to everyone else. And if you call them out on their bullshit and explain that every makes mistakes, specially as a teenager, they will act like the character's mistakes are too big or too unforgivable. At the en of the day, I think they simply lack the self awareness to realize that they've also made pretty big mistakes, some even unforgivable.
I 100% with what you said about Otis. You’re one of the few people who doesn’t think he was awful for just being honest with Ruby. She was terrible to him for most of their relationship but because he’s nice he looks past her meanness and that’s why she falls in love with him. But it’s completely understandable that he didn’t feel the same way.
Ngl, I disagree with the ruby/Otis take. I think the issue at hand wasn’t really saying the I love you back ( it’s better that he didn’t). What I didn’t like was him trying to tear her barriers to satisfy his need for a deeper connection. Like ok, lots of ppl have sneaky links to get over people but he wasn’t built for those types of relationships ( which was fine) but with him still having feelings for Maeve he decided to date ruby which made no sense. Then he goes further with the whole meeting her family and home situation ( when she expressed how she doesn’t like that and not even her friends know about). Like he kept escalating that connection. For a character like ruby that’s seriously toxic since she’s just not used to that. It felt like he was so blindsided by his own desire for a connection that he wasn’t thinking about how that would affect her. Like him showering her with all his care, affection, and genuine interest in getting to know her was a lot. He shouldn’t have done all that. He should of just stuck to his guns and kept it broken off
I see your point, however, I think that there is a difference between trying to get or know someone better to build your relationship them, and saying 'I love you'. In general, I think it's fair that Otis wanted to form a more meaningful relationship with Ruby, instead of getting treated like literal dirt in public. But I also get why Ruby acted the way she did. They just weren't meant for each other, in my opinion.
@@juliasyk3121 see I disagree. What he doing wasnt just getting to know her, he wanted to break her walls down and wasn’t ready to accept the consequences of those actions. Again, for someone like ruby who keeps things under tight wraps to just let Otis see behind that mask was him building more than just a connection and he should’ve understood his place and either leave the sneaky link alone or just respect her emotional boundaries cause he obviously wasn’t ready to handle her full emotions. Also, he could’ve asked to not be treated like trash, totally acceptable. But he totally crossed the line of their arrangement but wanting a connection, that’s not how sneaky links work ( and he knows this and should’ve ended it ) it’s like he wanted his cake and ate it too ( kinda selfish) again considering what yee of character ruby was. I think if he were over Maeve they could’ve been good because you can’t deny she had positive change with him and they were genuinely building a connection. I personally feel like Otis needs to not be in a relationship till he can figure what he wants before he hurts people
@Jane 24 y.o - check my vidéó and u really didn’t read the whole comment. I explicitly stated the I love you part was like the only thing he did right in that situation. I’m talking about him breaking her walls down to satisfy his own needs for emotional intimacy which ended up being toxic for ruby. He crossed lines that he shouldn’t have
ever since the show began i've been a shooter for platonic maeve/otis! they work so much better as best friends than romantically in my opinion so it was a bit disappointing when i realised it was still going to go in that direction... but it made sense for the characters. i feel like every single action from every character makes sense even when they're shit LOL like the amount of "no, what the fuck!! well, makes sense..." moments i have watching this show... they're teenagers being treated as kids AND adults at the same time, they're going to make shit decisions and mistakes, and then they're going to make them again, and that's why sex education is my favourite show. there's not one character you look at and go "well they're just shit" and then hate them for the whole show (except hope, the microaggression queen), everyone has loveable moments and unlikable moments just like they do in real life.
Hey Amanda! Love the perspective on how villainous the characters were 'portrayed' in season 3. I didn't even think of it that way, and now I know why this season rubbed me a little wrong. Especially with Eric. Although I am sad for Rubi, she's now more open and ready for more the next season. Always happy to see your videos! Question though, have you seen Y: the Last Man on Disney+? Would love to hear your opinion about it!
OMG I'm so glad you addressed the ola thing honestly she's my least favorite character she just treats everyone really shitty andtheshow just ignores that
I think it’s too bad when in a TV show, the interest surrounding a couple’s relationship is only focused on will they or won’t they. In reality, relationships are hard and messy and glorious and complicated, they require growth and sacrifice. So I think the real question is, will they or won’t they last? And it’s a missed opportunity to not delve into those relationship dynamics.
That relationship advice is on point, I have a friend that went to study in another state while her boyfriend of high school stood behind, them at her last year of college she went to study in another country on the other side of the ocean for six months. They married last year and have been a happy couple since they're 13 years old. Don't give up on your dreams for anyone, kids. If they can't accept your dreams, they don't deserve you
The thing that I both don’t like about Ruby and Otis and ironically enough about the Himym ending, is that it keeps on pushing the idea that every person has their one true love. And if doesn’t work out with that person then life lost all it‘s meaning. The reason why people loved the relationship between Otis and Ruby, Barney and Robin and Ted and the mom, was because they felt real. Those relationships aren’t perfect. But both parties try to grow and become more mature thanks to the relationship. Otis and Mave are sure still cute and all, but not only does it not feel as earned now, it also gives away a wrong message to the audience that a lot of us had to struggle with when they were younger. I do believe tho that this trope can genuinely work. Friends with Ross and Rachel worked for me, but mostly because both of them never had any partners that suited them better than each other. And we also saw throughout the show that they aren’t perfect, but that they work on their stuffs. I feel like a lot of writers try to emulate that love story not realising that it’s actually much more mature to show that true love also grows from the work you put in to it and just because you’re meant to be!
when my ex told me he loved me (we had been together for like a week) i said something like "oh shit thats fast" while internally freaking out :DDD so ,,,, i feel you otis :')
I generally don't ship Hetero pairings, but I'm miraculously not at that point yet there the will-they-won't-they makes me hate the characters involved.
Same! But besides that, why don't they just put them together ( if that's the plan all along ) and spend all the will-they-won't-they-time with actually writing them in a relationship? I always think it's sad when a show puts so much time into "teasing" a relationship but ending it with a big kiss and never actually writing the damn thing :'D
Yes, yes and yes. A thousand times yes, I agree with everything you said in this video. It's everything I thought while watching the series but could put into words. Also, your hair looks great 👍
Sex Education really frustrates me because the relationships feel real. As a teenager myself who has relationships, surrounded by other teenagers who have their own unique relationships that come and go, stay together and break up and get back together, this feels just the right amount of frustratingly accurate. I can even forgive Eric in a way, even tho I was a big fan of his relationship with Adam, that he feels like he wants to love more openly, I was in that situation! My girlfriend was always really careful on our dates not to look as a couple in case someone was watching and that made me really sad. I knew she was going through self-acceptance and didn't want to face her family who she feared wouldn't accept it very well and didn't want to risk strangers cussing on us. But I STILL felt hurt and wanted to be more open. Then we broke up, had a year long break of being really good friends before getting back together again, promising each other to be honest and compassionate. That's where we are now and I'm the happiest I've ever been in a relationship so far. And this kind of conflict of what you expect from your partner and going that extra mile to understand what they're going through and loving them enough to respect that is exactly what Sex Education could show us with Eric. Or they could show that this IS better for both of them. I just love this show honestly, it makes me self-aware in a mostly good way.
The real villains were the show runners we met along the way
The real villain is poop sock
Blame the rushed writing, and the juggling of too many characters.
Agreed
indubitably
"The grow up moment" when you realize that fictional characters are not real and that they are controled by writers.
While Otis, Maeve and Eric started off as the main trio, they arguably felt more like background characters now.
as they should!
@@faaye8504 Why?
they did Eric so dirty
No I would say that Maeve and Otis are still main characters but Eric definitely had a lot of story lines replaced by Adam. They’re just adding so many new characters and focusing on side characters like Adam, Jackson, Mr. Groff, and Aimee that it just feels that the main characters aren’t as important to the story as they actually are.
a good ensemble grows beyond the main characters.
I just want Maeve to be happy. Give the girl a laptop and WifI for her studies and writing in general! I'm team Maeve x Laptop at this point.
Agreed, I was pleased that Maeve didn't give up a massive opportunity just for Otis. The girl deserves so much happiness, and hopefully she and Otis will ACTUALLY get together in Season 4!
same
Maeve x good laptop ftw
i want her to have everything she wants tbf: be with otis, continue writing so she can go to uni, be with her family, continue her strong friendship with aimee
But sadly thats not how drama shows work 😭😭
Adam had an amazing development this season. And he deserved better.
Preach, Adam Groff must be protected at all costs!
??? he got out of a relationship with somebody who didnt want to be with him Id say thats winning
@@LordOfDhara ... but he got cheated on before that, that's not cool
@@VictoriaClerici Also it was made to seem like the breakup/cheating was his fault rather than Eric's which he definitely didn't deserve
@@rebeccadodd1394 Exactly. Like he's still trying to understand himself. He's so behind, because he didn't know himself much like his father, Michael Groff who figured himself out much later. Eric knows himself, so if he wasn't comfortable with Adam or something, he should've ended it earlier.
Yeah I didn’t see Otis as the villain at all. At least in the Ruby situation. I mean maybe he could’ve said something else when Ruby said I love you, but he can’t force himself to be in love with her.
He couldn't have insisted on making their relationship more and more serious when he was in love with Maeve
Yea, I don't know what some fans expect. They would rather have Otis lied to her and say I love you too to avoid hurting her? That would hurt her more once she knows he is lying.
Also, I don't understand why they want Otis and Ruby together after all that happened, like I wouldn't like to be with someone who didn't chose me.
@@roycema he was trying to move on from mauve a poor attempt might I add but you see that Otis does care for ruby enough to want to date/care for her. If he and mauve had their feeling sorted out sooner then no one would been hurt.
I mean, he could not have kissed Meave like days after they broke up (when she said i love you) thats the part that sucks for me
@@martinacosta3821 common now he was waiting for god knows how many month's 🤷
For me Ruby was just there till thus season so I didn't really care for her
You guys have to remember what happened the last two times Otis told a girl I Love You. Ola told him he didn’t actually love her and then she ended it with him. And then he left a voicemail for Maeve saying he loved her which he assumed she completely disregarded and didn’t care about when actually Isaac deleted it. Yeah I’d be scared to open my heart to another person again too. I wouldn’t have said “that’s nice” but you know 😂
right 💀
Lol for a long time when my boyfriend said I love you I literally used to reply with that’s nice 😂 some people just suck verbally expressing things
Ola laughed at him. I rather a thats nice than sm1 laughing in my face
I told my now fiancé “thank you” when they told me they loved me a few months into dating. I went onto explain that I had genuine love for them but saying “I love you” is a big deal and as an 18 year old in their first genuine relationship I wasn’t ready to go there. I didn’t think that was wrong then, and I don’t think it’s wrong now. Otis isn’t the villain, he’s a complex teenage boy who’s handling life as it comes at him. He messes up but he’s still generally a very nice, supportive, and sensitive person.
This!!! I don't understand why there are so many people getting mad at Otis for not reciprocating Ruby's feeling as much as she did! It's not always 50-50 in a relationship, sometimes one loves the other more and sometimes it's the other way around. And it takes time to develop feelings, especially intense feelings like love. I know it sucks when someone you love don't love you as much (or worse, at all) but it's a bitter pill you have to swallow in life. You can't force feelings on people. If Ruby had been more understanding and given Otis more time, their relationship might have developed further. This goes to show that SexEd stands out in a way that there's no real "heroes" or "villains", there are just people who make mistakes and mess up like every human being does.
Totally agree. None of us are perfect and as we develop as human beings we make mistakes along the way.
"Thank you" is actually a more appropriate response to a declaration of love than "I love you too". It's the love you are grateful for, the other person isn't (or at least shouldn't be) asking you for a declaration of love in return. Just declare your own love when you are ready and don't pressure someone into saying something they aren't feeling or aren't ready to say.
I'm not saying this is always an easy thing to do. It requires honesty, humility and possibly a whole lot of patience. Still, I believe it's the right way to act.
@@jessicavermeer7811 ....yeah I feel somehow had Otis said "thank you" instead, it would've been better.
lmao you're basically Friends' Emily
Otis and Eric in the booth during the last assembly made me wish we had even more Otis And Eric together. Made me feel like we didn't get enough of their banter
I will say that as a person with physical disabilities (not to the same extent as Isaac) that the intimacy scenes shown between Maeve & Isaac meant more to me than I ever thought it would; I was sobbing because not one piece of media that I have seen had ever shown intimacy in such a beautiful, honest & realistic way in regards to disabled people. I have never seen anything that has shown that people with disabilities are and can be desired and loved, that it isn’t a heroic move for the non-disabled characters to be in relationships with someone with disabilities the way that SE did with Maeve & Isaac… I have believe since I was 13 that I would probably never find real love, that disabilities are something that you have to be loved *in spite of* not a part of you that will and can also be loved about you and I’m currently 24, it truly meant the world to me to an extent that I currently cannot yet fully comprehend.
(Edit: Spelling & Grammar)
Same, so.many feelings!!! ❤❤😭😭
Yeah, I don't like Isaac as a character, but I loved that scene with him and Maeve.
I also loved Issac telling Mauve he deserves to be with someone who is 100% sure of their feelings for him. Such great representation! ❤️
Oh my god I saw the scenes and I thought "I've never seen anything like this!"
I am not visibly disabled but I was on the verge of tears. Yes! We need more of this!
I also love how he broke things off with Maeve after finding out she kissed Otis. Unfortunately a lot of people think that if you're disabled, you should "take what you can get" and therefore disabled people should continue to be with someone even if that person hurt them or is a terrible person. I love how they didn't push that bullshit narrative by having Isaac and Maeve go back into a romantic relationship. He knows he deserves better and won't take anything less just because he's disabled.
I’m honestly starting to get pretty fed up with that trend of looking for "the real villains" in pieces of fiction, where it ends up blaming some characters for interpersonal mistakes/shitty behavior while ignoring or minimizing the actions of the intended antagonist, especially when said antagonist represents a bigger systematic oppression that needs to be addressed (like Hope and the school administration in the case of SE).
I’ve seen that kind of discourse since the Devil Wears Prada thing and I feel like it kinda dumbs down the way we critique fiction ?? idk
(also non-native speaker mandatory disclaimer : sorry if bad english lol, anyways stan maeve x aimee !!)
Yeah, some good faith critique is my plus.
TALK YOUR SHIT KENZA👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I blame the trend for hot takes, which incentivises people to say something surprising that *sounds* smart over something obvious but true. (Btw your English is excellent.)
I think people should always be called out for shitty behaviour. Whether they they are the protagonist or the antagonist.
@@funpolice5821 Well I definitely agree with you here ! But that’s not really my point, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t call out some characters’ shitty actions because they aren’t the main villains, but that by saying these characters are actually the "true" villains, I feel like it undermines the actions of the antagonists that the show runners intended and it's gravity. Like sure, Otis and Eric (and many others) have been acting like dickheads during this season and I’m all for calling them out, I’m invested in their character arcs and I want to see them grow out of their flaws, but personally I don’t believe that teenagers cheating on their boyfriend or being a jerk to their loved ones sometimes is worse than a school principal using their authority to bully and/or shame their students into submission.
It’s the lack of nuance that tends to bother me I guess, hope I made myself clear !
the ending was really beautiful, Maeve having a home with her sister, and Amy and Otis both telling her to go to America, and the queen deserves it i love it and i’m so proud of her
Can we add that it's great that Amy's assault wasn't just a "special" episode but is an ongoing story arc with her character?
And I do hope they're are going in the direction of Eric not being into monogamous relationships but realizing he's been a major jerk in the meantime.
It would be so interesting exploring polyamorous relationships throug Eric, it would give him a great character developement. I would love it!
Tbh honest even if Isaacs character was flawed it allowed for the best and healthiest s*x scene in the whole show to happen. Talking openly about concent, disability and pleasure without pe*is centric interaction was wonderful and the hottest scene in the whole show imo. Maybe *I* was the issac stan all along.
YES IT WAS SO GOOD also it was shot beautifully, and the swelling piano in the bg genuinely made me emotional
exactly! that scene made me want to fall in love again and i cried
Maeve and Isaac just work better together overall tbh. He's not perfect but definitely better than Otis. They work much better as friends than any romance involved.
Finallyyy someone said it!!!!🙌
it wasnt hot at all lmao
I screamed at the: "focking Trev0r"
It lives in my head
Maeve should just be that strong independent woman character in S4 and honestly, she deserves it.
Fr this motis/rotis debate is getting old. Maeve is better off without otis anyway
@@misssteak1290 how better off without him care to explain? 😂
@@JaySewani maeve just has a lot going on her plate, with studying abroad and getting good grades and all, the last thing she needs rn is a relationship
@@misssteak1290 I love Meave, but honestly she has also broken Jackson and Isaac's hearts, which people just conveniently forget about. This became apparent to me when she chose Isaac after Motis first kiss scene
Honestly, hope they don't make another season. This open ending is perfect.
We’re kind of forgetting that these characters are teenagers, exploring and experimenting with their lives and feelings. I would complain if they had been too linear and uni or two-dimensional characters. Instead, they have been written as complex as real adolescents, so they make mistakes, make bad choices and let their feelings run amok, but they also learn and grow and become the people they’re going to be as adults.
My thoughts exactly.
Yes, exactly, repeated bad behaviours made sense to me because they're teenagers.
Amok amok amok! But yes, I agree
Yes, all this discourse is so reductive. People complain all the time, they want real three-dimensional characters, but the second a storyline is not perfectly done with all characters good and moral, then it's actually bad tv.
And they stay there, condemning a 16y/o for cheating, like that's not actual real life. Instead of noticing the messages, the themes, the development of the characters for "good and evil" (can a teenager really be evil tho?)
I know Aimee going to therapy and understanding her trauma is not as clickbaity as "this is the true villain of sex education" but this type of bad-faith review on something for being different is what keeps uninspired tv on the air.
(btw this is not about this video in particular, more like all the main critics of the show go in the same direction. For example, people barely talk about Hope more than to say she's horrible, when clearly she's the nuanced comentary on the education system that Groff couldn't be)
Eric is the true villain of season 3. he just cheated on Adam like that and i hated how he kept forcing Adam to come out to his mum when he just wasn’t ready
Ditto, Eric has cheated on both of his boyfriends now, and Adam definitely deserved so much better!
Y e s
@@astrident8055 Nigeria wasn't his home country, he was from the uk lol.
@@astrident8055 It is not about the fact that he wanted to be with more than one person a a time That is completely fine and great for him.
But he shows a pattern of lying, being unfaithful and not caring about other person's feeling.
Polygamy is all about openess and honesty. Eric has NONE of it!!!
Also please stop saying that cheating is fine... and then saying that cheating is somehow related to the queer community. It is not any more related to the queer community, than it is to the straight people
@@khailils446 English is not my first language. Country of origins ? Where his family comes from. My point stands. He even says it himself : « take me to me my people »
I don't really agree with the idea that they HAVE to wait until the end for maeve and otis to get together if they're endgame. like…if we care about the couple (which i do) wouldn't we want to see them together for some time before the end?
I agree, I’m so tired of shows and movies where we wait for the main couple or ship or whatever to get together and then the second they do, the movie ends and we don’t get to see them actually together
There's plenty of drama to be had with people in a relationship, especially in a fucking high school.
Like, Brooklyn 99 had Peraltiago hook up at the end of season 2 and the show went on for another 6 years.
Those beloved characters do stupid things because they are in high school!
The cheating suuuucked. But he was conflicted as hell and that boy has no idea how to handle his feelings beyond “happy and bubbly”.
Imo the show is realistic as hell, teenagers and relationships are chaos.
Agreed!
I liked otis’s dynamic w ruby more (because he was acc able to standup to her and she was able to open up to him), I feel like they could’ve grown together really well, and I’m upset w the writers for getting her to breakup w him for not saying ily💀
Otis and Maeve as endgame just no longer makes sense to me
The writers forgot Ruby existed after the breakup. Also Otis sucks.
Although I feel like they could have grown a lot together, it makes total sense that Ruby would break up with Otisat that point, because she was still developing emotionally, and still learning how real relashionships work. Otis being honest about not loving her back was the mature thing to do, but she is just not emotionally experienced enough when it comes to relashionships to understand that yet
I know ! I was so exited because I thought I was going to see a show with a romantic plotline that grew in a natural way and DIDNT just regress to the “will they won’t they” completely undermining most of the character development. Maeve and Otis making up as friends, and Otis and ruby being together would have felt like such a natural conclusion to the show and it just felt kinda ruined.
Otis with Ruby, and Maeve with Isaac. There, everyone is happy.
@@WolfQueenLydia tbh I think the writers were definitely setting that up as a possibility, because I honestly don’t think it’s completely insane to say that Maeve was in love with Isaac. The main example where I think this can be seen is when she has to choose between Otis or Isaac after the kiss in France. In the scene before they kiss Otis discovers Isaac deleted the voicemail and Maeve asks Otis what it said. Now at this stage Isaac had already admitted deleting it and told her a fake version of what it said, so the fact that Maeve asked Otis at all shows she already suspected Isaac had lied about what it actually said, if she loved Otis at all why would she choose to not only forgive, but also start a relationship with the guy she believed had lied to her twice about Otis’ feelings for her? When Otis told her what it really said she must have realised then that her suspicions were right and Isaac had lied to her twice about the same thing. She kisses Otis and you think ok so if she kissed Otis and knows Isaac is a lying prick who can’t even tell the truth without telling another lie in the process that should mean she’s going to break up with Isaac right? No. When Otis gives Maeve a lift to Anna’s house in the next episode Isaac is acting all defensive and basically telling Otis to fuck off, again, you would imagine that if Maeve loved him then at this point she would at least defend Otis, but she just lets Isaac verbally abuse him as if he hasn’t done anything wrong. Admittedly that scene kind of makes sense because she had just found out her sister was missing and wouldn’t really be prioritising her relationship but at the same time it would have taken like 5 seconds for her to go Isaac stfu nobody asked for your opinion. The only reason Maeve and Isaac aren’t still together is because Isaac chose to end things with her, I guarantee if he hadn’t done that she never would have left him for Otis and they would still be together now. She never loved Otis anywhere near as much as he loved her, that’s not to say she didn’t have feelings for him because she did, but she chose to be a dick rather than addressing those feelings. You even see when Isaac breaks up with her that she tries to stop him leaving, he even says “we don’t have to talk about this when you have other stuff to worry about” and she still tries to stop him leaving because she wants to talk to him and be able to get through the ‘rough patch’ (for lack of a better phrase) of her kissing Otis. And as for Otis and Ruby it was so obvious that Ruby still loved him even after the breakup, from a writing standpoint why would you spend so much of episode 5 proving that if you didn’t plan for it to carry over into season 4, and tbh I think Otis did love Ruby but couldn’t see it because he was blinded by his love for Maeve. Notice how he keeps telling Maeve about Ruby when she didn’t even ask “Ruby picked this out for me” “oh and me and Ruby aren’t casual anymore, we’re official” exactly the same way Ruby’s dad said she talked about Otis “always going on about you, Otis this and Otis that”.
I always have to remind adults watching these shows that these characters are teenagers and to think back to the things *we* did at that age and how frustrated we would be watching that now.
Also Hope was a red flag for me the moment she assumed Jackson the head boy was Adam the white boy.
Hopes introduction was a whole red flag xD I cant believe the students fell for the "cool teacher"-behaiviour
Yeah Isaac's character was weird this season... His apology was objectively bad and selfish, and Maeve forgives him so fast, it didn't make any sense... Then he conveniently opts out and we never see him again.
he's inlike the last 15 mins of the season wydm???
Ditto, and Isaac also has the NERVE to think solely about him and Maeve's relationship when her little sister goes missing. The dude NEEDS to think more about his priorities!
@@trinaq That actually pissed me off so much too, it was horrendous! Maeve should have never spoken to him OR Otis ever again tbh
So true and also in the past season he already knew that Maeve had feelings for Otis and he still was trying to do anything to be with her, he even deleted the voice message. And in this season when he finds out about Otis and Maeve he says that he deserves more than that etc. I mean, I’m not saying that he was wrong but I don’t understand in what moment he stopped being obsessed with her. I feel like this season was kinda weird because they were trying to make a lot of things and that resulted in the actions of some characters not feeling natural. Still, it’s far from being bad
Isaac is very selfish and i don't understand why Maeve wants to still be friends with him, and even apologizes to him in the last ep as if she's somehow in the wrong? Someone needs to tell Maeve she deserves better, because she clearly doesn't realize it.
it always bugs me when people act like that if a character isn't 100% perfect then that means they're a bad person. Otis has flaws that's what makes him an interesting character to watch.
Yes ive been telling people this!! Not only with Otis but also with Eric.
I could watch a full season of Adam and his family honestly.
When you list out the plot points, I realized how there's so many stories going on but even then, so many people, including me, enjoyed this season very much.
I am definitely someone who doesn’t care if there’s a lot going on if it’s done well. It felt like this season was more like giving an episode for all the side characters instead of having them all center around a main plot. Perfect for folks like me who care more about character than plot
Right after I finished binging the season...Amanda does truly have the senses of a Jedi.
I just finished today too aha
Lmao me and my wife literally just finished and this pops up….my phone was definitely listening
Perhaps because the season aired recently? And Amanda is always making videos abnout recent stuff?
@@caros.6072 it’s just weird when literally right after watching the show i picked up my phone to see this lol….Damn maybe she is a Jedi
I don’t see Otis as the villain, I see him as a flawed teenager who’s made his fair share of mistakes and bad decisions. Almost like a human being.
Like every other character in the show too. You get it, why don’t these writers get it
I thought Eric was the villain. All Otis did was being honest.
I do agree he is a horrible son sometimes in the way he talks to his mom.
I think being shitty to your mom is part of being a teenager sometimes, he clearly does care for her and he is a good son when it matters
Not proud to say it, but I've snapped at my mom growing up sometimes in ways she did not deserve
It just makes the character more realistic, he isn't perfect, he's a teenager
Also, Ruby friends were comically annoying, but not in the fact that they were funny, but the fact that it was almost unreal how annoying they were.
Like, I understand sticking up for your friend, but they are such cunts.
I mean everyone has done that in real life sometimes we can't control our anger but than we say sorry so he did the same 😂 🤷
racially motivated
I agree with you that Otis wasn't the villain but I don't think Eric was either. I think we have to remember these characters are teenagers and yes, they do a lot of stupid things. We don't have to demonize them for making mistakes, that's why this show it's so much better that literally every other teen show out there, they're real, bad and all. Otherwise Adam would still be a one note bully, Meave a one note bad girl, Ruby a one note mean princess and so on right?
Thank you! Otis was NOT in the wrong for how he handled the Ruby situation, I actually thought it was the most mature thing he did, and she was the one who ended it.
I don't think most people are being critical of Otis for not saying "I love you" to Ruby. More so the fact that he was the one who expressed he wanted a deeper relationship with Ruby knowing full well he loves Maeve.
@@orangesky8864 YES! You said it so well.
I honestly don't think he is mature at all, he just pretend to be mature but childish in heart, when he is with his mom he can be awfully childish at time
@@orangesky8864 Well, he knew he loved Maeve when he left her the voicemail, but she never answered, thus giving Otis the impression she didn't reciprocate his feelings. I think Otis was actively trying to get over Maeve and while he did want a real (non-secret) relationship with Ruby, he didn't quite expect for things to move as fast for her as they did. Her confession took him off-guard. Maeve was not really a big factor in their relationship until right after, when they had the conversation at the gas station in France.
@@曾華偉-l6g i mean he's 17, "pretending to be mature while being childish" is the very definition of a teenager.
"When I was in high-school 50 years ago."
Girl...me too. Me too.
Amanda is still salty about HIMYM and I, for one, agree. 🤣
Yes, seven years later, and we're STILL mega salty about the lacklustre conclusion!
So salty!
Barney and Robin were perfect
They built up the mother to such high standards, surprisingly managed to actually meet them with the short time we spent with her character and then threw that all away to shoe horn in a 10 year old plot plan that didn't fit anymore. The thing is I feel like it actually could've been a really great and poignant ending if it had been well done/they had managed to keep a thread of why Ted and Robin *could* still work over the years but the fact that it was all so rushed (especially the Robin and Barney break up) meant there wasn't time to establish a good reason for the audience to want them to be together again.
Sorry for the rant, I guess I am also salty 😂
@Rita 25 y.o - check my vidéó This bugged me too, from the word go.
I don't care how much he was "trying to change" he was still very abusive.
Some shows just need have a proper idea of how it's gonna be like from the get go, like fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge created the show, knew exactly how long it was gonna be like and didn't give in to the corporate greed when they offered her a third season to just stretch the story, and squeeze some more money out of it.
She didn't exactly know, she actually wanted to leave it as it was in season 1 and Amazon and BBC wanted more but she refused until she got an idea to continue and finish the story, that's why there's a three year gap between season 1 and 2. What creators and producers need is integrity, but I guess money beats that 😐
Hope is the villain and imo she wasn't redeemed she was shown to have a problem with being a control freak in all aspects of her life.
no hes shown dealing with pressure in all aspects of her life. From the school board to her attempts at pregnancy.
The only thing I didn't like about series 3, is when Maeve said she didn't trust anyone to Isaac, which has been her arc for most of the series. I felt that was a bit silly, as she does trust both Aimee and Otis very much, that line could of been 'you know I don't trust that easily', rather than 'you know that I don't trust anyone'. That whole scene is good but change that line.
"The third one is always the worst" this season was scattered. The writing went from serious subject matter to making characters as evil as a disney villian. The character of Hope was the biggest missed opportunity, they could have written her as a woman reasonably struggling with factors out of her control. Instead her own issues feel tacked on and fumbled, as if another person was writing her and they decided "ooooo shes a bit mean, let's attatch a random problem she faces and that will make her relateable". So disappointing.
So how would you propose hope was written to make her a better character? I really want to know what you think. Personally, i liked how they portrayed hope in the show. Everyone has their own "seemingly random" struggles that other people don't know about, and that's about the same as real life. Plus, she was also under a lot of pressure by the school board to salvage moordale's reputation, so i guess it explains why she made her choices, although it doesn't excuse them.
@@misssteak1290 I'll start by saying I'm in no way an author of fiction but I'll give it a shot.
I think the issues with Hope stem from the overarching issue with the season, that being they are trying to do too much. Hope’s character arc is so rushed, and ham fisted that she is forced into actions that no one in her position would do. We learn that she is an amazing woman with previous achievements and a strong work ethic. She is many things but bad at her job is not one of them, at least, there is no reason she should be. She goes from a motivated authority figure to a weekly villain without us seeing any real justification for it. I know Maeve’s actor Emma Mackey once said she felt Miss Sands was Maeve’s Miss Honey, so I’ll steal her analogy and say they basically turn Hope into Miss Trunchbull. If they slow this decline down over the course of 2 seasons, showing how she feels she was losing grip, showed her own personal struggles then I might believe her being driven to some extremes, but public shaming is just ridiculous. They hint at such depth to Hope, the parallels she sees in Viv and then turn her into big brother over text. They hint that she has made personal sacrifices to achieve the career she has, but we never see her personal life beyond reading a newspaper. And for a show that does well at discussing reproduction, they make a complete hatchet job of female fertility. They open all these doors, and then nothing happens because they insist on having too many plot lines for 1 season.
@@Dustbinlid1 I agree with the majority of your points and I do think Hope feels kind of rushed - they probably should have given her arc a full 2 seasons, but I guess they wanted to set up the school closing for next season (and really, the most unrealistic part of this season was all the students actually thinking her dancing in ep 1 was cool lmao). That said, I honestly thought the way Hope's character talks about fertility tracks with the way she treats the trans/nonbinary students in a very TERF-y way. Ex. she claims to want to empower women and multiple times says stuff about being supportive of feminism etc, but then turns her feminism into a way to attack students like Cal who don't feel comfortable in uniforms and sex ed classes that are divided into two neat little 'boy' and 'girl' gender groups with no place for nonbinary people. During the finale, she tells Otis her body "isn't doing the one thing it's meant to do," which also tracks with the kind of gender essentialism popular in a lot of TERF circles where womanhood is (at least in part) defined by reproduction. The fact that she couldn't have a biological child was driving her frustration with what she perceives as a failure of her own womanhood, which I think contributed to a lot of other decisions she makes throughout the season. I guess this TERF angle might have felt a little more well-rounded if they'd had a line or two refuting this idea, but tbh maybe they just didn't think Otis should be the one saying it, or maybe they didn't have the time to fit it in this season given just how many other plotlines they were juggling.
@@Dustbinlid1 The "they crammed 2 seasons worth of content into one season" thing is probably the biggest downfall of this season. Why does it feel like some characters are pushed into the background? Because they have too little time to put in everything. Why do some plotlines feel rushed? Because they have too little time to put in everything. Why does some stuff feel tacked-on or an afterthought? Because they have too little time to put in everything and had to probably scrap stuff that had made it better implemented.
@@Flameclaw123 I actually got such TERF-y vibes from Hope from the start, and now that you mention it even the sex shaming (publicly in this case) can be a very radfem thing. I truly wish this got delved into more, because unless you're really searching for it these things do come across very random and extreme. For someone who is into data and TED talks etc abstinence only sex ed and public shaming are... an odd choice. Given more time there's definitely a way to do this more insidiously, like how she treats the girls when she calls them to her office.
Personally as a woman around Hope's age I wasn't able to relate to her at all. I guess we can hope she'll do a Mr Groff next season and we'll get to really delve into her psyche?
I think we can all agree that Goat is the MVP of season three
The fact you didn't make a pun about goat being the GOAT...
I feel like their gearing up to make Eric polyamorous. Like his whole reason for cheating was that in the moment it felt right, and honestly I see why, it was a huge, overwhelming moment of acceptance and love that he wasn't expecting. He did something in the moment that was pure emotion. I can understand that. Cheating isn't right and Eric was in the wrong but he seems to have trouble with monogamy in general. I hope they have him grow and recognize healthy and communicative ways to love non-monagamously. Just my thoughts.
I agree i agree I AGREE!! Im all for poly rep!!
That is definitely something they're missing on show. Maybe we'll get some polyamorous representation next season!
If they do that people will just complain that they are making out poly people to be cheaters
It would be amazing
@@whatcanidooo noo, that would give Eric character growth and tools to use comunication and consent to handle lust. It would be perfect for Eric!
I'm just kinda assuming that the start of next season is a timeskip and Maeve is back after her study abroad.
Man, Adam’s character growth and even his family’s growth was so good. He made me so emotional at times 😭
I would've loved to see more of Florence or any other other asexual representation. Not just as a background character with 1 line of dialog but an active role.🤲
Well, maybe in other show, I understand that a show that centers in sex, has to explore more dynamics around sex rather than focusing in the absence of sex (i would be interesting) . I would be interested in seeing a show that explore in ace characters, though, because it is a perspective that I don't fully understand.
We definitely need more ace representation :)! I'd also love to see some aromantic representation but I haven't seen any yet, sadly.
I don't know why people think you have to say I love you back when somebody says it to you. It's much worse to lie about that than it is to not say it back but he should've had a conversation with her about it earlier. I would have addressed it right then and there but then again I'm almost 30 and not a teenager so.
Tbh this whole "X is the real villain" is starting to bother me. It's become trendy to retroactively redeem bully characters and vilify protagonists. Not every show/movie has a villain, even if it has grey or morally imperfect characters. Otis has done bad things, so have Eric, Ruby, Adam, Ola etc. The beauty of this series is in its character explorations. Trying to wear them down to 'good' vs 'bad' ruins it.
(That said though, this season did fall a bit flat for me and many characters made choices that felt out of nowhere)
exactly, Ruby unapologetically and *soberly* bullies everyone everyday, yet no one ever bats an eye, Otis drunkenly made an asshole speech, has apologized profusely again and again now, and everyone still treats him like he's scum
@@williambuttlicker5654 Right! I know that Ruby was a bit more vulnerable this season which was nice to see, but it doesn't make her a good person suddenly. Otis isn't perfect but he has tried every season to make up for his mistakes and become better
I think sometimes we as viewers get really upset when we see teenage characters realistically acting like teenagers because we rather not think about it. Repeating the same mistakes is just way too relatable.
Maeve and Aimee's relationship was so genuine, I was touched with how much support they gave each other. And laughed at their argument, in the fact they both pissed each other off and miss each other, but don't want to apologize yet lol
Prediction for season 4- Otis waits for Maeve, who comes back... with an American boyfriend. Endgame- Maeve and Otis DON'T end up together, but Maeve ends up super successful and Otis lives a quiet but happy life in a remote island.
I'm really a fan of romance stories where the characters never wind up together but still live happy, fulfilling, romance-free lives. "Adam" is one of my favorite movies because both he and his love interest end up accomplishing their goals after breaking up and are happy with the decision. I would be DEVASTATED if a girl chose me over a promising career.
"Otis is the villain."
Me: They're teenagers!
Did they miss the over the top bullshit with the new head teacher? What a truly awful person/character.
And?
I agree wholeheartedly about the Eric storyline because he actively chooses to cheat. He pulls away from the first kiss then goes back in. It's unnecessary, he could've come to the same realisation without the cheating.
Secondly, I personally find it hard to follow the timeline of the show. It kind of seems like it all happens in like a week to 10 days but it must actually happen over closer to 6 weeks. The perceived shorter timeline makes it feel like all the mistakes the characters make are worse because they just made that same mistake yesterday. Idk if that makes sense but I feel the timeline is hard to follow and makes everything worse
Disagree. It was important part of him exploring his culture and a perspective Adam just can’t be part of.
@@barboralitvanova5111 he didn’t have to cheat on Adam tho. There’s ZERO excuses for cheating.
@@GabrielisSus he’s 17, he wasn’t happy in the relationship and was discovering a new part of himself. Also if you are planning on breaking up with someone and there is no lying and sneaking around then I’m sorry but I think majority of people wouldn’t even consider it as cheating.
@@barboralitvanova5111 wdym??? He kissed another guy while in a relationship with Adam, that’s cheating even if he was going to break up with the Adam afterwards. He can still discover himself without being unfaithful, if he was unhappy in the relationship he should’ve communicated it or just broken up with Adam instead of cheating. He has cheated on BOTH of his bfs now with zero remorse for it (well he did feel a BIT bad but that’s legit all) They literally ruined his character for me with this season. The fact that you are excusing cheating is v concerning.
@@GabrielisSus no offence, but I think you will change your outlook with age.
I spent way too much time trying to remember why naked running boy looked so familiar. Should have known the wisdom of the Jedi would uncover the mystery.
same!!!
when she said it it totally clicked haha
I fail to see how Otis is the villain in Otis-Ruby situation. I mean... Why should he love her? They weren't together for that long and it wasn't healthy relationship for most of the time. Also, he's a teenager :D
I really liked that Maeve didn't give up her studies abroad for Otis, though.
I hate that Adam and Eric were even put together as a couple. This show was great about avoiding tropes until "bully and bullied are in love" popped up. Their relationship was built on abuse. It was never gonna last.
At first I was fine with the relationship but Adam ACTIVELY trying to be a better person but the fact that everyone thought that Adam would hurt Eric little did they know that it would be Eric that would hurt Adam.
I think the point is that people make mistakes, and these characters are written as flawed. Because people are flawed. And it is a trope because it happens in nature, thus it makes sense that Eric would get into this relationship. You are right that it wasn't going to last, but it is realistic. They also subverted it by making Eric the villain in the end. Which i hated for him but again-- they're flawed for a reason.
On the contrary I think Adam and Eric were handled pretty well post the first initial season. Adam did try incredibly hard to be better and Eric was a huge part of his growth and character arc as a whole. They were never going to last, but they were incredibly important to each other’s individual journeys. That’s why Adam thanks Eric in his poem, for showing him how to deal with his feelings in a rational way and giving him the chance to open up and explore his sexuality. Not everything has to boil down to a toxic trope. There are many terrible executions of the bully x bullied trope, I believe this isn’t one of them.
To me it pandered to the bully might like you trope. And growing up as gay I would hate for other gay kids growing up to fall for their bullies or thinking they could change them
Agreed, that's why i never shipped them and i am glad it ended. I kinda hope Adam will get with Rahim they seem like they would be the "we are different but our differences actually work together" kind of couple.
amen. people getting angry at characters(and or voice actors/actors on other instances) is really stupid. the move itself is stupid, but directing your anger towards the actors/characters is wrong. if you are gonna be irrationally angry, at least point your anger to the proper direction. but maybe i am wrong to think that they still have rationality at that point. hmm...
I did like how they expanded the cast myself. Especially Lily’s story
I love Maeve, and I'll be happy no matter who she ends up with, or even if she ends up deciding not to be with anyone, as long as she's happy. Also, re: Eric, I was more bothered by the fact that he went off with a guy he'd just met in a country where being gay is illegal - I was so sure that whole thing was going to end horribly, and the fact that it only ended with Eric cheating on Adam (horrible though it was) was actually kind of a relief.
In truth, though, the real reason I will never forgive the showrunners is for what they did to Jonathan. HOW DARE.
tl;dr, the microwave was the real villain of this season. There. I said it. Come at me, microwave fans.
dude i seriously want trigger warnings for cat deaths, i was literally so shocked i had to stop for a minute
The one thing that pissed me off about Jonathan was that it made an so much effort to humanize me, and somehow rekindling that relationship with his wife, even though I don't want them to be together 'cause it just degrades the character arc of the last season.
NO FORREAL THOUGH I was so scared that he was going to get beat up again??? Teenagers really have no self preservation instincts 😭🖐🏽
It’s Eric. He was so awful to Adam this season
Likewise, I don't know why the writers had Eric act so out of character, and not care about cheating on Adam.
@@trinaq he was absolutely not out of character
@@astrident8055 the forcing his boyfriend to be ready to have s3x was not in character for someone who is best friends with a "sex therapist"
Trina Q not super out of character seeing as how he got w adam by cheating on rahim
@@trinaq Being gay, selfish, extra and a cheater is exactly his character.
It's terrible how negatively stereotypical Eric is written imo, like to a concerning degree, and he's easily one of the, if not my least favourite character of the show aside from characters meant to be piece of shit villains like Groff's brother, Hope or Groff. Heck, after having explored Groff's trauma, his own psychological issues, him slowly finding his will to live again, i probably am rooting for fucking *Groff* more than Eric atm.
Your main "will they won't they" relationships in TV shows have to be resolved by the end of season 3 of a show, in my opinion. That's the max before it stops being pleasantly tense and enters into the annoyances. So, maybe they got Otis and Maeve together just in time, but it will depend on whether they keep holding the relationship hostage for drama in season 4 and moving forward. Good writers would take them and write a good, interesting, mostly healthy relationship and use that as a part of the show that becomes something people like. Bad TV writers would constantly pull them apart and stick them back together ad nauseam, so I guess we'll see which kind of writers Sex Ed has.
It's already a shame that they jam packed the season with other stuff to the point that not enough time was spent building up the reuniting so that the last episode when they finally do fell pretty flat, it would be a real shame if they ruin it further in season 4+ because they don't have a good enough writer's room to find some other way to keep the show interesting than holding that core relationship at gunpoint every season. It will also make season 3 even worse in retrospect, if they wasted the potential of Otis+Ruby being a good filler relationship for a couple of seasons until they are finally ready for the end game just to keep Otis+Maeve on a knife edge because they don't believe they can write a healthy relationship that isn't constantly under threat that will be interesting television.
i think they should have maeve and otis just get together and then explore their new relationship, what changes and how they deal with it. it would be quite nice.
tbh the part I like least in this season is the Eric cheating part.
the two I like most is Adam's character development
aaaand I like Cal was introduced as a character :)
THANK YOU! I think the Maeve & Otis situation is too drawn out even in S2, but I didn't like Ruby & Otis's relationship because Ruby is rude to Otis (and eveyone, really) even though it's part of her tough act. She needs to learn how to form genuine relationships, either with friends or boyfriends. Otis's lowest point was the drunken speech at the house party, not those points mentioned in the article. And you're totally right, he's a teenager so he will screw up, but he is NOT the villain. I don't understand why the show runners can't think other things for couples to do, so they have to postpone the get-together plot till the end of the show. I mean Issac has a point, Otis doesn't truly understand Maeve's challenging family situation, though he tries to be there for her. There are other ways to write conflicts. You can do better, writers.
Look. I just wanted Otis to try and make amends to Ruby after she broke up with him, and tried to make her understand that sometimes love is not synchronous, but he was willing to try if she was willing to be a little bit patient. But they both just went off in the separate ways and Ruby didn't even confront him like "oh so you were just with me because SHE wasn't speaking to you?" which would have been expected.
I don’t know! But maybe! I haven’t seen the season yet!! Haha
Same
You should absolutely watch it before finishing this video because you might be looossstttt
Just letting this play without audio and will come back once I finish the season haha
@@AmandaTheJedi will do!
@@OneTopic hi one topic!
Omg all of what you said 💯!! Just finished season 3. These are TEENAGERS! They’re supposed to be clueless and have meandering interactions with each other. I didn’t appreciate a lot of otis’s actions in the last season but he showed incredible maturity by the end of S3. Also agree that I don’t think Eric (my FAV) would have had the same story arcs if the show wasn’t renewed for another season. Definitely felt like too much backstory given how short the season was. As someone who has worked with and researched teen sex education/pregnancy prevention in the US i love the overall message of the students advocating for themselves against a repressive administration, but I do think the “sex school” rally was too over the top. It’s enough of a fight to get curricula to teach teens medically accurate anatomical terms and safe sex practices; it just felt very “glee” IMHO. Absolutely adore the show regardless ❤️
Absolutely, you perfectly summed up most of my thoughts on the season!
One thing I haven't seen anyone talk about but I would love to hear some opinions on: The one thing I hated most about the entirety of this season was by far the implication in the finale that Jakob in fact isn't the father. I know they're setting up conflict for season four, but it makes the whole character development for Jean, Jakob, Otis and Ola completely redundant. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't know what else Jeans "Oh sh*t" could possibly mean.
True, I felt so bad for Jakob, the fact that he's been through so much regarding loss and betrayal and still trying to do his best only to be forced to raise a child with a woman who cheated on him is really painful
What I didn't like about Otis, was the fact that he actively sought a deep connection with Ruby, but when he finally got it, he realised he didn't want that, at all, because he didn't have that sort of feelings for her
Which is shitty
But not knowing what you want and hurting someone accidently because of it, it's peak teenagering
Eric did the same as well, twice
He literally told her he likes her not love her but in time he was sure he would that's how relationships work u don't instantly love someone it takes time
You Ruby fans are too much now
There was no deep connection between Otis and Ruby yet 🤷
@@DevinSpeaks Yeah but he should have worded it better, maybe an "I'm not ready yet" would have suffice, idk if Ruby could be mature enough to handle it
@@JaySewani Maybe not for Otis, but Ruby trusted Otis more than her literal friends
She opened up to him like she never did with anyone, she said she's never invited anyone else to her house or introduced them to her dad (later in the episode she finally invites her friends over)
Otis pushed her to do that, unknowingly he asked her to reveal her biggest secret, she did, and he didn't understand how much that meant
@@Sabrina-sc1db sorry but I really don't care for Ruby's character
I personally think that the problematic thing with Otis' behaviour is that he tells her that he's not sure she means it when she said that she loves him. That part of their conversation bothers me. It's one thing not to love some back, while it may hurt the other person it is the way it is, but telling them that you don't know if they actually love you that's... something else.
Yep
Agreed. I think that was the very thing that caused her to break up with him, not necessarily the fact that he wasn't in love with her yet
Did anyone else think the Lilly story was going to end a lot worse? I really didn’t think she was going to come out of the depression alive which broke me
With Ruby and Otis, I wish there was more of a conversation about how someone not falling in love on the same timetable as another person in a relationship is okay. I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to always say I love you back even if it isn’t true, but I don’t think it’s a breakupable offense!
Although if that conversation happened and he broke up with Ruby for Maeve it would have felt hollow so I understand why it didn’t happen.
Everything you said in this video is exactly how I feel!! Im so excited for season 4. Not a fan of the Eric storyline (why the cheat?!) But loved season 3. I do ship Otis x Ruby not gonna lie lol
Eric is the supervillain, every time it seems like he switches partners. When Adam did his big gesture he just dropped Rahim like a hot French potato. I feel like that was a little foreshadowing to him betraying Adam. If he could leave Rahim on a whim, he could do the same to Adam.
And , like, the Nigerian guy it's not like if, he knew him since childhood smh.
lol Otis deserves Eric
But the ralatioship with Rahim had this weird doomed aura because Eric's family didn't like him and made such a big show of telling him Adam is better for him, so either Rahim and Eric would not have lasted as well, or Eric's family kind of pressured him to break up with Rahim
Eric is likely poly and discovering that. Adam bullied him so I don’t feel bad. Karma
@@witchplease9695 lol, I like you
@@elecrom_9757 Yeah, Rahim and Eric seemed a bit weird. Honestly, Rahim is a bit off. Interesting, we didnt get a little back story or home life to Rahim. He is just: Gay French boy who likes poemsand threw his shit out a bus.
I've seen a lot of people fixated on Eric cheating, and I wonder why. That's the most in-character thing to happen. Hell, that's how he ended up with Adam in the first place! From the go, Eric has always wanted to be who he is, and he has shown again and again that he felt restricted by his school life, by his town, by his family... And he's immature and selfish about it, because he's a teenager! He makes mistakes in the process of discovering himself, and that's a very authentic experience for young gay men. But of course, through the lens of a TV Show we expect characters to have this unreal moral compass and to have standards and be able to reflect upon how they affect those around them... While in reality, people aren't always all good and pure.
Me at Otis, Maeve, and Eric in season 1: my sweet children I will protect you.
Me at all of them in season 3: YALL ARE SOME DEMONS AND WE NEED YALL BACK
Otis in season 1 was not good either tho imo
@@MariaFlores-ef1oz lol what else wrong he has done other than shouting on his mom ? 😂
People hate him for no reason common some teenagers do they are going to give you your perfect protagonist he also have some issues 🤷
@@JaySewani
The way he’s treated the women in his lives is despicable.
@@desireeloveros1055 lol which women you are talking about? 😂
@@JaySewani
Maeve, first and foremost, especially in season two. Let’s see he basically pimped her out to Jackson in season 1 but it was actually all a ploy to ruin their relationship. Mind you this is all without her knowledge.
Season 2 ola and Maeve were basically pitted against each other (while unintentionally) by Otis causing both girls but mostly ola to become catty and jealous of each other’s presence In Otis’s life. The entire debacle ended in that disaster of a party where Otis was a complete asshole to both Maeve and Ola. But the entire dynamic with Isaac
Season 3 he completely ignored Maeve literal months. He’s entirely self absorbed. He has ZERO understanding of her life. Also the pissing contest with Isaac. They’re both pricks in each interaction.
Ola, secondly, also in season 2. See Maeve. But also he just kept fucking up with her. He made her insecure in comparison to Maeve. He was really bad at fingering. Till finally she’s like "fuck you I’m done"
Ruby, she didn’t need to hear “I love you” but a conversation was well deserved. She turned from this bitchy mean girl to a more nuanced character and let’s face it Ruby and Otis brought out the best in each other.
And yeah his mom deserved more respect from him.
He deserves to be single and needs to do some soul searching before he can become a part of a relationship.
Cannot wait to hear your thoughts on the final season!
This show is filled with empathy.
There are no villains here, there are only humans.
Love how Amanda is fifty fifty film/series critique and also great life advice 👍👍👍
I'm not really attached to the main cast. And i like how imperfect the characters are, and how their actions are not completely blown out of proportions. I think that makes them more realistic. I actually learned so much from this season about being kind to yourself, and that everyone makes mistakes and life is messy and you're most likely not going to behave in the most appropriate way at all times.
Can we talk about the soundtrack though? I immediately went to Spotify and downloaded every song by Ezra Furman
The only perspective I can add is that as a polyamorous person, I as a teenager went through a lot of what eric is kind of going through and I think he maaaay be recieving some sort of arc in that direction because well honestly it´s the only thing missing xD And the reality is that he is a teenager who will make mistakes and has to learn how to accept what he feels without hurting the people he loves. I personally think it would be really intresting
If the Principal was just up front and honest with the parents and the kids about the decisions being made by the board, I wonder if any of the events that happened would have happened.
your hair gradient is absolutely gorgeous
I do not see any serious issues with Otis. He's still the good ol' Otis who fucks up, but then tries to fix it. Honestly, Eric is closer to being a villain now what's with him being a serial cheater (no, I do not buy cheating as a logical/healthy step to accepting yourself as a gay person/exploring your sexuality or whatever).
My real problem with the Otis/Ruby storyline is that it's basically the Nice-guy(TM) fantasy. All he did was treat her like a human being and not just a sex object, and that was enough to get her to fall in love with him?
Did the writers get that storyline from reddit?
I really liked the season the best, the struggles seemed genuine. And i was happy to see the development of the side characters and them addressing more topics like disability and being non binary or self identity. Also progress isn't linear which happens to teenagers. The whole poop sock thing although goofy, showcased how adam is genuinely a decent guy who was trying his best and he can see other ppl struggling and is willing to help. He became my favorite character, i could see myself in Ola when my parents divorce and she was going through it, she is a teenaged lashing out during major changes in her life. In general the characters just felt so real to me so i enjoyed it a lot. Also Otis this season he was afraid of making more damage like what happendd last seasons with the clinic so he tried to keep for himself, and he didn't wanna lie to Ruby which was the better thing to do. I wish we got even more development from her and that she stayed with Otis. Maeve doesn't need a relationship she is smart and is gonna do great in America. I just grew even more attached to the characters and i liked the new angle they gave this season.
i do love how they did ruby’s and adam’s characters developments
People right now won't tolerate a single mistake from a fictional character because they need to feel morally superior to everyone else. And if you call them out on their bullshit and explain that every makes mistakes, specially as a teenager, they will act like the character's mistakes are too big or too unforgivable. At the en of the day, I think they simply lack the self awareness to realize that they've also made pretty big mistakes, some even unforgivable.
*YA MC doesn't return a late-introduced character's feelings*
'Journalists' : VILLAIN !!
I completely agree with you about Otis and Eric!
I also felt like Adam's father stroyline was unnecesary.
I 100% with what you said about Otis. You’re one of the few people who doesn’t think he was awful for just being honest with Ruby. She was terrible to him for most of their relationship but because he’s nice he looks past her meanness and that’s why she falls in love with him. But it’s completely understandable that he didn’t feel the same way.
Ngl, I disagree with the ruby/Otis take. I think the issue at hand wasn’t really saying the I love you back ( it’s better that he didn’t). What I didn’t like was him trying to tear her barriers to satisfy his need for a deeper connection. Like ok, lots of ppl have sneaky links to get over people but he wasn’t built for those types of relationships ( which was fine) but with him still having feelings for Maeve he decided to date ruby which made no sense. Then he goes further with the whole meeting her family and home situation ( when she expressed how she doesn’t like that and not even her friends know about). Like he kept escalating that connection. For a character like ruby that’s seriously toxic since she’s just not used to that. It felt like he was so blindsided by his own desire for a connection that he wasn’t thinking about how that would affect her. Like him showering her with all his care, affection, and genuine interest in getting to know her was a lot. He shouldn’t have done all that. He should of just stuck to his guns and kept it broken off
I see your point, however, I think that there is a difference between trying to get or know someone better to build your relationship them, and saying 'I love you'. In general, I think it's fair that Otis wanted to form a more meaningful relationship with Ruby, instead of getting treated like literal dirt in public.
But I also get why Ruby acted the way she did.
They just weren't meant for each other, in my opinion.
@@juliasyk3121 see I disagree. What he doing wasnt just getting to know her, he wanted to break her walls down and wasn’t ready to accept the consequences of those actions. Again, for someone like ruby who keeps things under tight wraps to just let Otis see behind that mask was him building more than just a connection and he should’ve understood his place and either leave the sneaky link alone or just respect her emotional boundaries cause he obviously wasn’t ready to handle her full emotions.
Also, he could’ve asked to not be treated like trash, totally acceptable. But he totally crossed the line of their arrangement but wanting a connection, that’s not how sneaky links work ( and he knows this and should’ve ended it ) it’s like he wanted his cake and ate it too ( kinda selfish) again considering what yee of character ruby was. I think if he were over Maeve they could’ve been good because you can’t deny she had positive change with him and they were genuinely building a connection. I personally feel like Otis needs to not be in a relationship till he can figure what he wants before he hurts people
@Jane 24 y.o - check my vidéó and u really didn’t read the whole comment. I explicitly stated the I love you part was like the only thing he did right in that situation. I’m talking about him breaking her walls down to satisfy his own needs for emotional intimacy which ended up being toxic for ruby. He crossed lines that he shouldn’t have
We need a whole video with all of your relationship advices !!!
ever since the show began i've been a shooter for platonic maeve/otis! they work so much better as best friends than romantically in my opinion so it was a bit disappointing when i realised it was still going to go in that direction... but it made sense for the characters. i feel like every single action from every character makes sense even when they're shit LOL like the amount of "no, what the fuck!! well, makes sense..." moments i have watching this show...
they're teenagers being treated as kids AND adults at the same time, they're going to make shit decisions and mistakes, and then they're going to make them again, and that's why sex education is my favourite show. there's not one character you look at and go "well they're just shit" and then hate them for the whole show (except hope, the microaggression queen), everyone has loveable moments and unlikable moments just like they do in real life.
Hey Amanda! Love the perspective on how villainous the characters were 'portrayed' in season 3. I didn't even think of it that way, and now I know why this season rubbed me a little wrong. Especially with Eric. Although I am sad for Rubi, she's now more open and ready for more the next season. Always happy to see your videos! Question though, have you seen Y: the Last Man on Disney+? Would love to hear your opinion about it!
OMG I'm so glad you addressed the ola thing honestly she's my least favorite character she just treats everyone really shitty andtheshow just ignores that
I think it’s too bad when in a TV show, the interest surrounding a couple’s relationship is only focused on will they or won’t they. In reality, relationships are hard and messy and glorious and complicated, they require growth and sacrifice. So I think the real question is, will they or won’t they last? And it’s a missed opportunity to not delve into those relationship dynamics.
That relationship advice is on point, I have a friend that went to study in another state while her boyfriend of high school stood behind, them at her last year of college she went to study in another country on the other side of the ocean for six months. They married last year and have been a happy couple since they're 13 years old. Don't give up on your dreams for anyone, kids. If they can't accept your dreams, they don't deserve you
Could you imagine if they use Maeve to Segway into a Sex Ed US version.
The thing that I both don’t like about Ruby and Otis and ironically enough about the Himym ending, is that it keeps on pushing the idea that every person has their one true love. And if doesn’t work out with that person then life lost all it‘s meaning. The reason why people loved the relationship between Otis and Ruby, Barney and Robin and Ted and the mom, was because they felt real. Those relationships aren’t perfect. But both parties try to grow and become more mature thanks to the relationship. Otis and Mave are sure still cute and all, but not only does it not feel as earned now, it also gives away a wrong message to the audience that a lot of us had to struggle with when they were younger.
I do believe tho that this trope can genuinely work. Friends with Ross and Rachel worked for me, but mostly because both of them never had any partners that suited them better than each other. And we also saw throughout the show that they aren’t perfect, but that they work on their stuffs. I feel like a lot of writers try to emulate that love story not realising that it’s actually much more mature to show that true love also grows from the work you put in to it and just because you’re meant to be!
when my ex told me he loved me (we had been together for like a week) i said something like "oh shit thats fast" while internally freaking out :DDD so ,,,, i feel you otis :')
Real question: Is anyone still shipping Otis and Maeve? Im so fucking done with them tbh
Likewise. Much like Ross and Rachel, they were cute at first, but now their "Will They/Won't They" arc is more annoying than charming now.
I generally don't ship Hetero pairings, but I'm miraculously not at that point yet there the will-they-won't-they makes me hate the characters involved.
Same! But besides that, why don't they just put them together ( if that's the plan all along ) and spend all the will-they-won't-they-time with actually writing them in a relationship? I always think it's sad when a show puts so much time into "teasing" a relationship but ending it with a big kiss and never actually writing the damn thing :'D
I love them you guys clearly never shipped slow burn ships before
Their relationship feels forced at this point. I think Otis x Ruby were great, and that Maeve needs to be independent for awhile
Yes, yes and yes. A thousand times yes, I agree with everything you said in this video. It's everything I thought while watching the series but could put into words.
Also, your hair looks great 👍
OMG YES my fave RUclipsr reviewing my favourite show
Sex Education really frustrates me because the relationships feel real. As a teenager myself who has relationships, surrounded by other teenagers who have their own unique relationships that come and go, stay together and break up and get back together, this feels just the right amount of frustratingly accurate.
I can even forgive Eric in a way, even tho I was a big fan of his relationship with Adam, that he feels like he wants to love more openly, I was in that situation! My girlfriend was always really careful on our dates not to look as a couple in case someone was watching and that made me really sad. I knew she was going through self-acceptance and didn't want to face her family who she feared wouldn't accept it very well and didn't want to risk strangers cussing on us. But I STILL felt hurt and wanted to be more open. Then we broke up, had a year long break of being really good friends before getting back together again, promising each other to be honest and compassionate. That's where we are now and I'm the happiest I've ever been in a relationship so far.
And this kind of conflict of what you expect from your partner and going that extra mile to understand what they're going through and loving them enough to respect that is exactly what Sex Education could show us with Eric. Or they could show that this IS better for both of them. I just love this show honestly, it makes me self-aware in a mostly good way.