[New post] Sex Education Season Two (Netflix, 2020) Review
Connor Clarke posted: " Spoiler Warning: This discussion features some important narrative information that could spoil the text for you. It does not necessarily spell out the film's conclusion, but it does talk about events in detail. ★★★★★ "You have to let the people yo"
Spoiler Warning: This discussion features some important narrative information that could spoil the text for you. It does not necessarily spell out the film's conclusion, but it does talk about events in detail.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
"You have to let the people you love know that you love them, even if it causes you a great deal of pain."
Netflix's resident British favourite, Sex Education continues its fine run of form with a second season that capitalises on all the brilliance of the first season, adding incredible depth to every character whilst also being a riotous laugh. It's not necessarily a surprise; Netflix has shown good faith in its television shows by renewing for multiple seasons at a time with proper funding and strong promotion. If Stranger Things, Daredevil, Better Call Saul, etc. etc. were anything to go by, this season should have raised my expectations. However, I was still mightily surprised, pleasantly, at the quality of the writing and pacing of Sex Education.
There's not an average episode in the bunch; each of the eight one-hour narratives continues the trend of discussing and deconstructing the sexual experience as a teenager. It traverses sexual assault, addiction, and sexual identity crises, with the greatest of care whilst still managing to impress comedically. I've shuffled over a lot of the themes in the matter of one sentence there, but the narrative arc for Aimee Lou Wood's Aimee is probably the most complete the show has ever put together. It makes a side character feel like the most important, supported person in the show, making you somehow furious and sad all at once. Similarly, Jackson Marchetti (who only began to break out of his athletic-popular stereotype in the fledging episodes of season one) has a vital narrative in season two. The pressure he faces from his domestic life and the decisions he takes to escape that do break down the conventions of a character type somehow still invading our media. Season two makes everyone feel involved, growing in their own ways while still interacting with each other fluidly and not taking the spotlight away from Otis, Maeve and Eric.
Ncuti's Eric is still very much the best of the three with a love triangle that you never expected from the first episode; his chemistry with Connor Swindells' Adam Groff is powerful enough to make Groff do a complete 180°. The show is looking its best here also, benefitting from what feels like a budget boost, with a wonderful animated sequence in the opening of its seventh episode and quite a bit more emphasis placed on editing and framing. The opening montage of the first episode is the perfect example, blending those oh-so-wonderful soundtrack choices with comedic timing in the filmmaking and performance perfectly.
There are characters here that never seem to get the same treatment, like Ola or Adam's parents, who feel like something of an afterthought in a few episodes. However, there's not much to complain about here - Otis and Meave are compelling main characters who dance and flirt around what is lying at the heart of their connection. Indeed, its final moments of the last episode are something of a bait for a third season but will have you on your feet, screaming at the television, desperate for the next instalment.
Sex Education season two has everything that its predecessor possesses but in greater detail and without the need to contextualise and exposit. It's a beautifully open show that is equal parts raunchy, socially necessary, and gloriously funny. It's a pleasure to watch from back to front.
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