Rewatch sessions #54:

• Title: Sex Education
• Network: Netflix
• Released: 2019
• Genre: Sex-comedy; Teen-drama
• Stream: Netflix

Now, it's been awhile since I've done a show that I didn't really like on first viewing for this write-up series. I didn't expect to like it any more than I did the first time around either, so I knew what I was getting into jumping back into Sex Education. I don't have disdain towards the show, I watched it for what it is, and at certain points even enjoyed it for what it is, but given that it is a highly rated show by critics and one widely beloved by viewers, my opinion is that Sex Education is, for lack of a better term, is overrated.

Off the bat, I have to give Sex Education praise for certain aspects of its production, specifically setting and costumes. It's actually set in modern day UK, but its retro aesthetics which can be seen in fashion, decors and sets, gives the series a 80s/90s high school movie vibe. It's an intriguing blend 80s/90s style amongst modern technologies, and though this aspect becomes less noticeable in the latter seasons, it is one of the more unique things about this show. Another unique thing is the premise itself. Sex Education is a sex comedy where an erotophobic virgin boy with a sex therapist mother, Otis, and a misfit outcast who's strap for cash, Maeve, start up secret sex therapy clinic at their sex rampant high school to help students and make money. But, my issues with the series begins with this premise, or to be more specific, it's handling of it, especially in the first season.

Otis is good at talking to people like a therapist, but given his naivety and his own sexual troubles, it is clear from just watching the first episode that Otis shouldn't be giving advice on sex to anyone, yet alone gullible teenagers. That is fine in theory, but the issue is the show doesn't make it convincing enough that it is self-aware of that. Interesting sexual topics and conflicts are brought up, but in a lot of cases the show takes a left turn, gloss over any technicalities of said sexual conflict, and introduces some underlying emotional issue, basically saying "hey, this is the real cause of the problem!" For instance, in the very first episode, Otis' first patient is one with a strong gag reflex, and after a lot of dilly dallying, near the end of the episode, Otis sits down with her and asks "why do you feel you have to give your boyfriend blowjobs?" before the scene fades out. We didn't need more than that to know where that conversation was heading, or how it ended even, but what if the girl had said she wanted to give her boyfriend blowjobs as it's something she enjoys doing herself... how could Otis have helped her? He couldn't, he doesn't have that kind of knowledge.

It's even worse when Otis watches porn or uses a simple search engine to try and treat a patient... which raises the question 'why the patients, who are suppose to be computer literate teenagers, couldn't just do that themselves?' I guess if you want to suspend your disbelief you could tell yourself that having a sex therapist for a mother gives Otis just enough knowledge to discard all the bullshit you can find online? But the show doesn't doesn't send that point across. Another case of the show lacking self-awareness, is in the 4th episode when Otis' advice to a lesbian couple, who were initially shown scissoring but having a major lack of sexual chemistry, seems to be... get better at scissoring? 'Scissoring' can be a complicated way to have lesbian sex. It takes a lot of time to get right, and sometimes it just can't be done depending on the body types involved. So if a lesbian couple is having a lack of chemistry in the bedroom, the obvious advice would be to... fuckin' do anything else! It's ok for the teen characters, especially Otis, to not know this, but the issue is, the show gives no rebuttal on that issue. Again, it takes a left turn and the underlying conflict is that the couple never wanted to be together in the first place. Even if that's the case, that alone wouldn't stop sex from being enjoyable... (I mean, once you do anything else but fucking scissoring that is). And another instance of this show seemingly not understanding how lesbian sex works, is in the 2nd season when another lesbian couple can't have sex together because one has vaginismus and can't be penetrated... YOU DON'T NEED PENETRATION TO HAVE LESBIAN SEX! How is this series written by mostly women!?

In regards to all the issues I raised, season 2 is better. Though Otis never really faces any consequences or repercussions for his actions, putting his actual sex therapist mother in a similar situation that he was in, made things more convincing without the writers having to change the way they went about doing things. It also gets a bit better at giving actual sex education, and the writing does less diverging from the sexual issues at hand. But one issue continued to plague Sex Education in season 2, with even more damning effect... BORING STORYTELLING! Besides a couple, most of the storylines and narratives in Sex Education play out like they were written by an AI who scanned through the scripts of every low-budget and uncreative high school teen drama. They're overly familiar, cliché, and predictable. There's just nothing about the stories here that standouts in anyway, not in the ideas themselves nor the way they are executed. It heavily relies on love triangles and will-they-wont-theys for conflict, and this is especially the case for the 2 main characters. By the time we get to the 3rd season, this reliance has detrimental effects on both their developments. Character development is more fortunate to side characters. Adam, Aimee and Mimi are all characters with interesting narratives and development throughout the 3 seasons who've all shown growth in their own ways, but unfortunately at some point or another they too find themselves connected to uninspiring or just bad storytelling.

On top of all that, Sex Education has such an unnatural way of going about things. I know it's a sex comedy that's purposefully over-the-top, but its silliness sometimes clashes with its sentiments. Sentiments I always agree with wholefully by the way, but rarely ever get any emotional impact from, even though the show insists on knocking viewers over the head with it every single time! Throughout rewatching 3 seasons of Sex Education, I also grew tired of almost every conversation, plot, and every other little thing revolving around sex. I know it's essentially the premise of the series, but it's always so forceful and in-your-face about it, that it makes sex come off as the lamest fucking thing ever. I don't know, it just feels like there's something missing here when it comes to sex, and even though this series has numerous amounts of sex scenes, almost one per episode, it's probably one of the most unsexy shows you could ever watch.

rating:
       season 1: 6.3 out of 10
       season 2: 6.7 out of 10
       season 3: 6.7 out of 10