In Sex Education’s Overstuffed Final Season, You Never Stop Coming of Age

Sex Education’s final season finds itself in a strange predicament: the Netflix teen comedy-drama that premiered in 2019 made superstars out of its cast. Initially, the series’ biggest name was Gillian Anderson as a sex therapist, but she was only the initial selling point before international audiences fell in love with the rest of the cast. Simone Ashley rose to fame as the leading lady of Bridgerton Season 2. Three of its main actors (Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Conor Swindells) all appeared in Barbie. Ncuti Gatwa is also going to be the new star of Doctor Who. Emma Mackey won the BAFTA Rising Star award this year. Suddenly, everyone got very busy and the show that brought them to fame was faced with no other option but to end before most of its cast members leave.

Season 4 ultimately feels reluctant to be a final season. After the explosive Season 3 finale that saw Moordale High being shut down, the cast finds themselves in a new environment. Season 4 takes place at Moordale College, a free-spirited, inclusive, paperless school that is probably every Fox News watcher’s worst nightmare. This also brings new characters, specifically Abbi (Anthony Lexa), O (Thaddea Graham), Roman (Felix Mufti), and Aisha (Alexandra James) as the most popular group in school that are all openly queer. It’s a complete subversion of not just the previous Moordale school, but of every school environment most teen dramas take place in.

But this change of scenery is one that ultimately hurts Sex Education’s final season. It’s no fault of the new characters, they are all wonderful and fit perfectly into the show’s colorful dream world. But a final season is an opportunity to start winding things down, narrowing in on your main characters arcs and bringing everyone to their conclusion. But so much change makes it seem like Sex Education doesn’t want to end, and it feels like it’s accelerating along toward a potential Season 5 for most of Season 4. So many main cast members are gone (Ola, Olivia, Anwar, Lily, and Jakob are missing, most of whom are not even mentioned in the last season). It made me wish Moordale High’s closing had been the end of this season instead to serve as a more definite conclusion to this phase in these characters’ lives.

Despite this, there is a lot to love in Season 4. One of the shining points of the season—and the entire series—has been Eric (Gatwa). He gets the most introspective and compelling plotlines as he wrestles with his Christian faith and his sexuality. Gatwa has been a series highlight since Episode 1, and this final season is a clear display of his incredible talent. It’s no question he will continue to land big roles beyond Barbie and Doctor Who. He is simply a star, and Eric is where he shines the brightest.

Season 4 also pairs Isaac (George Robinson) and Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) as friends—and potentially more. I never thought Isaac’s character fit perfectly in Sex Education’s world, but he finally seems to find his place with Aimee. The two have a great opposites attract dynamic (deeply cynical man and uproariously goofy woman), and their storyline about using art as a way to process internal emotions was a stellar way to send off both characters and a brilliant resolution to Aimee’s journey processing her trauma. 

Sex Education has had another shining star that you never see, and that is composer/songwriter Ezra Furman. She has been turning in absolutely beautiful pieces for four seasons straight. She is a fundamental part of the audio-visual language of Sex Education—bright colors, a killer soundtrack, and the most beautiful folky melodies. Furman’s crackling voice is imperfect and heart-wrenching. The show would not have the soul it does without her, and she desperately deserves credit for her wonderful work. 

After four seasons of will-they-won’t-they pining between Otis and Maeve, there is finally a conclusion to the couple that incited the entire show. It’s definitely bittersweet, but perfectly fitting for a series that has always been most interesting through its side characters. It’s a show that turned stereotypical mean girl Ruby into one of the funniest and most refreshing characters, and gave the mean Headmaster Groff a redemption arc. The main couple getting together hasn’t been the point of the show in a long time. They have outgrown that concept and that growth provides a much more emotionally developed end for the two of them.

But poor Maeve. Maeve has received the worst plotlines in terms of perpetual emotional turmoil, and Season 4 is no different. It’s unfortunate the show ends with her having so few moments of happiness in this final season. Her major moment that speaks to where the character will go after the show ends is done completely off-screen through no effort of her own. While she does get a bit more power by the finale, she feels like a character that has been beaten down more than any other, and that unrelenting negativity is a bit disproportionate in hindsight.

The truth is, Season 4 is often a bummer. Sex Education managed to develop its own voice through its mix of colorful aesthetics, awkward sex problems, and genuine emotional storylines about teenage and adult anguish. But Season 4 leans hard on the latter aspect. Jackson, Cal, and Viv all spend Season 4 dealing with very heavy issues. The funny school hijinks that littered the previous three seasons are unfortunately few and far between. It often feels overbearing with the juxtaposition of the color palette and concept against the more tumultuous issue-of-the-week storylines. Sex Education has always been special for its ability to balance its two sides. Season 4 prioritizes getting its final words in over maintaining its tone.

The thesis statement of Season 4 is presented in a conversation Maeve has with her writing tutor Thomas Molloy (Dan Levy). When discussing his works, they weigh the artistic merit of writing something that has something to say about the world versus something that’s “all heart.” The conversation ends by deciding that heart is the hardest but most rewarding way; the way that inspires less people but impacts them in a greater way. Seasons 1-3 of Sex Education are almost all heart. Season 4 the least so, and chooses to say something at the cost of some of the show’s soul.

That is the most pressing thing I miss in Sex Education Season 4: the goofy high school antics. Everything is serious and everything requires a deep conversation. People fell in love with Sex Education because of its distinct voice and aesthetics. They fell hard because it was a unique and funny high school show with lovable characters that had its heart splattered directly on its face. I wanted to see more of Otis and Eric’s bike rides where they gab about drama in Season 4. I wanted to see teenagers hanging out and goofing off. I wanted these kids to be kids. 

Season 4 was not always what I wanted it to be, but the series finale was. It brought those silly small moments back. It made me remember why these kids were so endearing in the first place, and why I’ve loved watching this show for so many years as I grew up alongside these characters. And while not everyone gets a happy, conclusive ending, they all get something that lets us know they will be okay; that they are working through it.

Sex Education ends by saying that therapy and growing up are an ongoing process that never ends. You don’t just come of age once and then you’re grown. You come of age over and over again. You constantly need to build yourself up, take more risks, and deal with your troubles no matter how overwhelming they are. By the time the final credits roll, you don’t get a sense these characters are done with their issues. You understand that they finally learned they will be growing up for the rest of their lives. There is a comfort in realizing awkwardness isn’t a phase, it’s forever. 

Sex Education Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix. 

Leila Jordan is a writer and former jigsaw puzzle world record holder. Her work has appeared in Paste Magazine, Gold Derby, TheWrap, FOX Digital, The Spool, and Awards Radar. To talk about all things movies, TV, and useless trivia you can find her @galaxyleila

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