[New post] Sex Education Season One (Netflix, 2019) Review
Connor Clarke posted: " Spoiler Warning: This discussion contains some spoilers. It could be an entire gag from a comedy or in-depth conversation concerning events in the second act. ★★★★ "You can't choose who you're attracted to. You can't engineer a relationship." Ne"
Spoiler Warning: This discussion contains some spoilers. It could be an entire gag from a comedy or in-depth conversation concerning events in the second act.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
"You can't choose who you're attracted to. You can't engineer a relationship."
Netflix's Sex Education has had its latest season released, and given the social media storm, I was intrigued to see what this was all about and started from scratch. I was pleasantly surprised to see a sex-positive, British comedy show that goes out of its way to create characters that you genuinely care about. It is charming from top to bottom, and despite its relatively transparent issues, it's a season of television that is difficult to hate.
There are a catalogue of moments that I could talk about in isolation, how strange the filmmaking choices sound that eventually create rather compelling, amusing sequences. I think it's best, or at least easiest, to start out with the primary cast of characters. Asa Butterfield's Otis is a little Plain Jane but serves as an effective surrogate for the audience - mostly inexperienced college kids just beginning to explore sexuality and traversing through that social landscape. The show slowly introduces some more quirks and problems of Otis' own once the show has found its footing. Really, it's Emma Mackey's Maeve, Ncuti Gatwa's Eric, and Gillian Anderson's Jean Milburn that get all the glory. The play off Otis the best, have the more interesting dynamics with other characters and generally tend to be on the receiving end of funnier, smarter dialogue. Each actor does their role particularly well, though it must be said, with Butterfield understanding the importance of his role and executing it about as well as he can.
The show's greatest accolade is its lack of censorship, the removal of taboo and fear about discussing and showing sex in shows aimed at young adults. Each episode often opens with a different sexual interaction or experience, validating they exist and are genuine forms of pleasure, which is remarkably important to show to people learning about what they do and do not like. There wasn't anything like this three or four years ago when I was in college, nothing to remove those insecurities that every teenager has about their desires and trying to ignore the mistakes that they have made. There are really careful, tender episodes about topics that should not be so rarely spoken about; namely, the episode following Maeve's abortion comes to mind. It's a beautifully performed, written, crafted episode of television. I could go on about how well the relationships are crafted: from Otis and Eric (who already feel like lifelong best friends) being separated by Maeve to Otis and Jean's frustrated complex. The characters all bounce off of each other tremendously.
Sex Education also happens to be a very light show with some broad strokes comedy, John Hughes inspired high-school antics and one of the soundtracks of the decade. I'm thinking of failed lesbian sex scene set to Road to Nowhere, The Smiths' Asleep, a school-band-karaoke rendition of Billy Ocean's Love Really Hurts Without You. Every episode has at least one track in there that fits the mood, from 80s pop classics to original recordings by Ezra Furman. The vibes are just generally great all around. So, whilst the romantic subplots can be very familiar and a little tired, there is certainly enough new, exciting ground being covered for that to be forgiven.
This first season of Sex Education is not without its flaws. The Welsh set high-school, that's actually a college, having a distinctly American feel to it, without a uniform, and varsity jackets galore showcasing that the John Hughes inspiration is taken too far here and there is the most obvious. I truly believe that it's almost pointless to discuss those issues, though, because valid as they may be, they rarely detract from the point of the show. I think it's a special brand of self-aware, well-written comedy goodness that anyone could enjoy if they gave it a fair chance. The fan interaction was rampant from the beginning and, whilst a rabid fanbase isn't always the sign of a good show, I think the love is deserved here. A tight, romantic, contemporary show with some hints of the alternative - a diverse cast, a unique feel; I loved Sex Education season one.
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