Full disclosure: I’m a chronic binge-watcher, and I absolutely could not wait for the new season of Sex Education to come out! After the first season introduced us to a magnetic main cast and a unique, compelling storyline, and the second one built onto it perfectly –– while also leaving us on one of the most frustrating cliffhangers imaginable –– I had high hopes for this third installment following our favorite ‘Sex School’ students. With that said, let’s get right into it on which episodes lived up to expectations, and which, in my opinion, fell a little flat!
Episode Five
The fifth episode of the newest season was exactly the level of full-tilt chaos and comedy that we’re used to seeing in Sex Education. In this episode, we follow our favorite sixth-formers (sans Eric, who is attending a wedding in Nigeria) to a French battlefield where a lot of shit goes down… literally. Rahim’s poop causing an entire car accident was certainly unexpected, but not so much as Adam of all people taking the blame! I absolutely loved seeing their relationship start to form. All in all, this episode did a stellar job with all the characters’ dynamics –– Maeve and Aimee’s fight, Jackson and Cal’s magic mushroom trip, and Jean and Hope’s tense conversation at the hospital, among many others. Of course, the showstopper of this episode was two long seasons’ worth of will-they-won’t-they tension finally getting released in the intensely long-awaited kiss between Otis and Maeve! All in all, this was my absolute favorite episode of season three.
Episode Seven
Coming up second in my personal ranking of season three was the second to last episode, wherein Moordale has its open day, full of the usual shenanigans and emotions brought to us by our beloved characters. Maeve and Aimee reconciling in order to track down Erin and Elsie and leading to the intensely emotional moment where Erin has to say goodbye was one of the most heartfelt moments of the show to date, second only to the bus scene in season two. I adored Viv finally going against Hope’s leadership and teaming up with Jackson and Cal –– along with the rest of the school –– to rebel against being shamed for existing as ‘the Sex School.’ Ruby was a badass, Mr. Groff had a crucial moment in character development, and Jean finally went into labor and nearly stopped my heart when she started hemorrhaging. An episode full of ridiculous comedy and beautifully raw emotion tied altogether!
Episode One
The introduction to the new season was such a great way to introduce viewers to the new storylines our characters were about to tackle. We meet Hope, the new headteacher who seems cool at first but quickly becomes a good antagonistic following act to Mr. Groff, and the self-proclaimed ‘Sex King’ who starts giving out fraudulent advice in lieu of Otis and Maeve running the clinic. We see how Jean’s progressed in her pregnancy and how she’s struggling to tell Jakob –– something that is both endearing and heart-wrenching at the same time, and became one of the most compelling storylines of the season for me! Seeing Eric and Adam’s relationship progress was also such a win, as well as Otis and Ruby’s! Though I have been a staunch supporter of Otis and Maeve getting together, Otis and Ruby was a breath of fresh air that I think was explored and developed really well after their little tryst in season two. This episode definitely was a great way to launch us into the new season.
Episode Two
Following that great introduction to season three in the first episode, we see the continuance of some of my personal favorite storylines –– Otis and Ruby becoming official, Jean and Jakob trying to tackle co-parenting their baby, and Hope starting to seriously crack down on Moordale’s reputation. I loved our first real introduction to Cal, and their dynamic starting to form with Jackson. They were a great addition to the cast in this new season. Adam’s character development continued to amaze me and I grew to love him more and more as time went on and his relationship with Eric progressed. I do, however, believe that he and Eric are no good for each other and should remain friends. My heart practically exploded when Maeve and Isaac kissed, but I was pleasantly surprised that he did come clean about the voicemail Otis left for her at the end of season two. I was so excited to see how the new stories in episode one would play out for the rest of the season, so this episode did a great job starting to deliver straightaway!
Episode Six
Following the action-packed and emotional fifth episode, the sixth did begin to get a little dull for me. It still had its great moments, don’t get me wrong! I thought Otis and Isaac’s interactions were so fitting based on what’s occurred in the past and that Maeve was more than justified to throw them out when they began to interfere with the investigation into Erin kidnapping Elsie. One of the tensest moments of the entire season was Hope calling out Cal, Lily, and Adam in front of all the students and suspending Rahim when he tried to stand up for them. Then I wanted to scream as Eric was simultaneously hooking up with the photographer in Nigeria while his boyfriend was at home trying to write him a poem! It was absolute madness and I think that while episode five was a great turning point in a comedic way, episode six was the sudden switch to seriousness in the third season.
Episode Three
Character dynamics once again dominated this episode as they do most –– ultimately they’re always my favorite aspect of television and Sex Education delivers every single time! The tangibly awkward sibling-like dynamic beginning to form between Otis and Ola was so real when Jakob and Jean moved into one home. I was so glad to see Aimee joining Jean in therapy after what she went through in the second season, and the Otis-Ruby-Eric-Adam double date was so cheesy and charming, my teeth hurt from smiling. Seeing Ruby really develop as a character and open up to Otis in a way she self-admittedly hasn’t done with anyone else was so touching, and then they went ahead and ripped my heart out by not having Otis say he loves her back! Once again, I love Otis and Maeve together, but Otis and Ruby really grew on me in the first few episodes. Their relationship was really compelling, just like this episode was, but outside of the actual dynamics, I didn’t feel like there was anything too substantial going on plot-wise, hence episode three’s lower ranking on this list.
Episode Four
I thought this episode was a great focal point for tension in the new season! We saw friction between Jean and Jakob, Ruby and Otis, and even, quite unexpectedly, Mr. and Mrs. Groff. I honestly wasn’t prepared for the Groff parents to be such a large part of this new season, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Sex Education pulling a ‘person we set up for you to hate is actually very troubled and you should feel bad for them’ trope. Regardless, I think this episode lacked the Maeve content I was hoping for, and the breakup between Otis and Ruby just left me so sad that I can’t bring myself to love this episode like some of the others.
Episode Eight
The final episode of this list and of the third season! Considering this was the finale and meant to be a final release of everything the newest season had been building upon all along, I think it fell severely flat given how great the past two seasons’ finales had gone. The focus on Lily was not unappreciated but seemed to come a little from left field for me, as well as the seemingly thrown-in information about Hope’s infertility. Also, I’m actually pretty upset that the season ends with a cliffhanger suggesting that, after everything that occurred between Jean and Jakob throughout this season, and him finally learning to trust her and co-parent with her, he may not even be the father! Another disappointing end to the relationship was Otis and Maeve finally getting together and her being whisked away by her study program in America. Three seasons of waiting only to be left high and dry –– and with rumors that Maeve’s actress may not be returning for season four, I’m not sure how excited this leaves me for future episodes of Sex Education. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see!