The latest season of "Sex Education" was enjoyable, no doubt. But the magic that was created by the aspiring romance of Otis and Maeve, the magic that made people of all ages to feel like teenagers again, was it really there? This season finally brings Otis and Maeve together. But I don't think any of the fan of this show wanted this cherished moment to take place the way it did.
Let's start at the beginning. Season 1 entirely focused on Otis and Maeve. Each episode uncovered small portions of their life and while dealing with sexual issues of other students, Maeve and Otis were slowly getting closer, and that's what made the show as great as it was. And how much do we know about the other characters? Enough to acknowledge that they are part of the story too, and also not so little that their existence in the story can be ignored. And that's how it should be - the other characters should grow around the main protagonists, not the other way around.
However, in season 2, we didn't get to see Otis and Maeve the way we did in Season 1. Season 2 introduced new characters and a lot of the story was built in order to tell us more about the other characters, and that's fine. I don't mind getting to know the other people in the show too. But if it comes at the expense of the screen time of the main protagonists, that's something I don't appreciate. Another noticeable thing in season 2 was that students were less dependent on Otis for sex advice. Rather they acted more maturely and sometimes we saw the other students giving advice as well. At first, it was a little weird for me to not see Otis in his usual role. But then again, it's only natural - everyone is supposed to act matured as they grow, and so it was fine too. But I definitely expected to see more in the Otis-Maeve story.
Season 3 took quite a turn from the previous two seasons. Every piece of story seemed like an attempt to delay the endgame (Maeve and Otis). In the previous seasons, the stories progressed in a pretty much consistent pace. But in season 3, while the first half seemed extremely dragged, the second half was way too rushed. Season 3 starts with the secret casual relationship between Otis and Ruby, and it was really amazing to see these two together. We slowly explored a side of Ruby that we only got a glimpse of in Season 2. But the problem with that is that the character of Ruby was so well developed in this season that it overshadowed the lead female protagonist Maeve. Throughout the whole season, we do not see much progress in the character of Maeve. In fact, being romantically involved with Isaac portrayed Maeve as the completely opposite of the person we all fell in love with. Also, after the breakup of Ruby and Otis, the character Ruby was pretty much tossed aside. Through the first half of the season, we saw an emotional bond forming between Ruby and Otis. So, it was totally unacceptable to me that the post-breakup emotional turbulence was not explored at all. I definitely expected a reaction to the scene where Ruby discovers Otis with Maeve, and the story of Otis and Ruby definitely deserved a closure.
I'll hang on to the story of Otis and Ruby a little longer. And it'd be unfair if I don't say this - Otis was a complete jerk! Even though the story was told keeping Otis in the center, let's consider it from the point of view of Ruby. For people like Ruby, who've always kept a wall in between to conceal their real world, it's not easy for them to let anyone see beyond that wall. This barrier protects them and shields their vulnerabilities. So, when Ruby got involved with Otis, she instinctively kept it casual. But it was Otis who was not content with the dynamic of their relationship and wanted to explore beyond that. Because of Otis' pushing Ruby gradually started making space for him on her side of the wall. We saw Ruby do things like going on a double date with her boyfriend's best friend or taking Otis to her house and introducing him to her father - which were quite unlikely of Ruby. And all of these would be okay if Otis actually wanted a meaningful relation with her. But the way he looked at Maeve at the bus, the way he talked to Maeve about the voicemail - they all suggest that he was still hopelessly in love with Maeve and there's the hypocrisy. While you're still in love with someone else, how is being with someone else and pushing them a more intimate relationship fair?
Same goes for Maeve. Putting aside however much I hated Maeve and Isaac being together (and this one doesn't make sense either. Someone tries to sabotage your chance at love, and start making out with them?), while you're already involved with someone, how is that kiss with Otis justified? We all wanted to see Otis and Maeve together, but definitely not like this. This just takes the magic away.
However, apart from the central storyline, I really liked how the character of Adam was developed. On the flip side, Eric's story was just annoying. Starting a new relationship with Adam when he's already with Rahim or making out with Oba in the gay club while being in a relationship with Adam - I'm not sure if the writers put much thought while writing these stories.
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