By: Ica Hontiveros-Cheng
It seems like it was so long ago when one of the most memorable voice messages in pop-culture history was deleted at the second season finale of the Netflix series ‘Sex Education’. Much to the wrath of fans who have been eagerly waiting for Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey) to finally get together.
Now we finally know what happens next-and my, oh my, there’s a lot that happens in the third season of the British comedy-drama, which drops on Netflix on September 17.
The third season opens with quite a shocking montage of what our horny teenagers from Moordale High have been up to during the summer to the tune of ‘I Think We’re Alone’ . Just a bit of a warning, don’t watch it with your parents or kids around. It could be a bit awkward.
As the first minutes of the new season rolled in, I actually found myself trying to remember the characters and where we saw them last at the end of the second season, so don’t skip that recap or if you can afford to do a re-watch that’s also a good idea.
So, Otis and popular girl Ruby are secretly having casual sex, while Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Adam (Connor Swindells) have been going steady. Maeve has to deal with the fallout of reporting her mum to the authorities, which as you may recall led to her younger sister being placed in a foster home. During this difficult time, Maeve has become closer to her neighbor Isaac (George Robinson). Otis’ mom, Jean played by none other than Agent Scully herself, Gillian Anderson is far along in her pregnancy with Jakob’s baby and she hasn’t told him yet. So yes, there’s a lot going on but wait there’s more! A new headteacher has settled into Moordale, as you recall, Adam’s father, the disgraced Headmaster Michael Groff (Alistair Petrie) stepped down after the “Chlamydia scare” and the school’s much publicized “sex play”. This new headteacher is Hope (Jemima Kirke) gives a good first impression to the students but there’s actually more to her than a positive outlook and catchy dance moves.
Along with headteacher Hope, new characters also include Sudanese-American recording artist Dua Saleh, who plays Cal, a non-binary student who transferred from Minneapolis. We follow Cal through the season as they go through the challenges of non-binary students. Mr. Malfoy himself, Jason Isaacs plays Michael Groff’s older brother, Peter Groff. I mentioned in the vlog review that I appreciated how the series follows Michael’s journey after his fall as headmaster and his divorce from Adam’s mother. We get to know more about Michael’s character and why he is how he is. I love that they get to flesh out the character in the third season.
Speaking of fleshing out characters, we also get to learn more about ‘It’ girl and Otis’ current flame, Ruby (Mimi Keene), I always thought that she could pass as Dua Lipa’s younger sister, what do you guys think?
So far, that’s a bit of a round-up of what’s been going on with the characters as well, as a bit of a teaser on the new ones to be introduced in this third season. You’ll probably agree that its a lot, but wait there’s more!
We are taken outside of the walls of Moordale High School for a field trip to France and a wedding that takes place in Nigeria, so its a nice change of pace and setting for a couple of arcs in the season. Let me just warn you that an episode that involves a toilet in a bus, may not be suited for those with weak stomachs.
The third season, may not have TV defining moments like the bus scene, or that voicemail but there are still a couple of mind opening moments, such as how the series continues to advocate for a modern, inclusive and comprehensive sex education program for students that does not include shaming and really outdated views on sex. For me, and this was already at the last episode, I was surprised at the physical pain that one non-binary character, was going through, because they didn’t have the right support and didn’t have others to talk about their struggles with.
The season ends with a couple of big cliff hangers, and the episodes leading to the finale, definitely had my brain exploring possible outcomes. Not renewing the show for a fourth season will surely be absolute torture for fans. So yes, Netflix, please, please continue these stories, with how things ended, there’s definitely more to tell.
Season 3 of ‘Sex Education’ drops on Netflix on September 17.