The creators of Sex Education had announced that the series was going to end after the fourth season, which is why they tried to give closure to each and every character one way or the other. Probably that’s why the show feels a bit cluttered, and a lot of issues do seem a bit forced, but still, the show manages to maintain its charm through its scintillating performances and the thoroughly researched narrative. We love Sex Education because it is a world where everyone is sensitive and ready to improve at any stage of their lives. We want to be part of a world where people acknowledge diversity, value differences, and are ready to learn and unlearn if the need arises. So, let’s find out what happened in the lives of the various characters, the conflicts they encountered, and if they were able to understand themselves and the society they live in any better.
Spoiler Alert
What Was Happening In Jean Milburn’s Life?
A lot was happening in Moordale, and it seemed like everybody was going through some sort of crisis in their personal lives. Jean was having a hard time coping with her personal and professional life, and doctors had told her that, based on her medical history, she was more susceptible to postnatal depression. Jean’s sister, Joana, came to live in her house, as Otis had contacted her and told her that his mother was in desperate need of a helping hand. Joanna had her own share of problems that she chose to ignore, but they all caught up with her in the end, and she realized that she would have to deal with them and there was no escape. Joanna had been abused in her childhood, and though she always said that it didn’t bother her, it had a huge impact on her life, the kind of choices she made and the kind of person she had become. Jean empathized with her sister, but at times, she became too much for her to handle.
Sex Education Season 4 gives a sort of closure to both of them where, on one end, Joanna decides to stay back at her sister’s house and do something constructive with her life, and on the other, Jean decides that she would tell Dan that he was the father of her daughter, though she was still pretty sure that she would be the one who would bring up Joy. Jean also decides that she won’t give up on her professional life, as she lived doing what she did.
What Problem Did Viv Have With Beau?
Viv liked it at Cavendish College, and there was a guy who was giving her a lot of attention, which had made the entire prospect of attending college even more interesting for her. Viv was not used to such kinds of things, and she got awkward, and Jackson started teasing her. It was all happening very quickly, and it seemed like this guy, Beau, was totally into her. He asked her if they could study together, and while he was at her place, he expressed that he had started liking her. Things escalated very quickly, and soon, Viv and Beau started dating each other. Beau was a really insecure man, and he always felt that Viv had something with whoever she talked to.
Beau started having a lot of problems with Jackson, and he didn’t like the kind of relationship they had. Viv assured Beau that she and Jackson were just best friends, but Beau didn’t have an ounce of trust in his girlfriend. Jackson tried telling Viv that something was terribly wrong with Beau, but she didn’t take his words very seriously. Things became really aggravated when Beau assaulted Viv, as he pressed her hand very tightly and told her that he didn’t like her proximity to Jackson. Viv got scared, as anybody would, after that incident, and she stopped talking to Beau. She told Jackson and her other friends about it, and they all told her to take a step back and not stay in touch with Beau.
Viv realized that this behavior was not normal and that she should stop trying to justify Beau’s actions in her mind. Viv took charge of her situation and told Beau that he should stop approaching her time and again; otherwise, she would be forced to take strict action against him. Beau backed off, and Viv learned a major life lesson in the process. She was glad that she came out of her toxic relationship just in time, as things from hereon would have just gotten worse.
Did O Win The Election?
Otis was a bit taken aback when he got to know that there was another clinic run by one of the students, a weirdly named O. No matter how much he tried, nobody came to him for therapy, as they were all quite comfortable with him. Ruby told Otis that she had attended primary school with O, whose real name was Sarah Owens, and she also revealed that this so-called therapist was herself a bully back then. Children used to harass Ruby as she used to wet her bed, and after meeting Sarah Owens, she actually thought that she had somebody in whom she could confide. But Sarah turned out to be worse than the lot, and after promising Ruby that she wouldn’t tell anyone about her wetting herself and providing her with new sheets and all sorts of help, she went and told all the other girls about it. Ruby was distraught, and together with what was happening at home, it had a deep impact on her sensibilities.
After putting all sorts of accusations on each other during the debate that was organized between the two contenders for the position of therapist, O revealed to Otis why she had been such a horrible person back in the day. She told Otis that she was the only person of color in her class, and to make matters worse for herself, she had found out that she was asexual. She had a hard time fitting in, and she thought that if she belittled Ruby, she could be friends with the popular girls. A third candidate named Connor also joined the race for the position of therapist, and he won by a huge margin because students were fed up of seeing Otis and O always trying to get the better of each other. But Connor didn’t take the position as he had realized that he wasn’t cut out for the job, and Otis, who was the runner-up, also gave up his spot as he believed that O was more deserving.
Did Adam And Michael Reconcile?
Adam and Michael’s relationship was the sweetest thing that happened in Sex Education Season 4. Michael was trying his level best to be a better husband and a better father, but he, too, was struggling to find his ground. He wanted to get back with Maureen, but she knew that Adam wouldn’t like it, and the boy still felt that his Father would disapprove of anything that he did. Adam decided that he would not go to Cavendish College and instead join an apprenticeship where he had to teach kids horseback riding. He met a woman named Jem, who owned the stable, and thought that she would judge him for his queerness and his not knowing things, but it turned out that she sort of liked him. Adam realized that his parents were seeing each other again, and he wasn’t able to take it all in. He went to his father and told him that he should stop pretending to be somebody that he was not, as he knew that he always hated him and considered him to be worthless.
The old Michael that we were made privy to in Sex Education Season 1 would have suppressed his emotions and sat down in his office and hid from all the confrontation, but he was a changed man now. He found his son and told him how much he loved him. In a heartwarming scene, Michael said that he was never able to make peace with himself, and just because he couldn’t accept his own failures, he started putting the blame on others. He said that he knew that he was the worst Father one could ever ask for, but it was a fact that he adored his son and could go to any length to see him happy. Adam and Michael had a reconciliation of sorts, and the former invited his Father to stay back at his mother’s house so that they could all spend some family time together. Jem asked Adam out for a date, and he was becoming more and more confident, not only about his sexual orientation but also about who he was as a person. It had been a very tough and lonely journey for Adam, but in Sex Education Season 4, it felt like the boy had started finding his ground and becoming more comfortable in his own skin.
Were There Issues Eric Was Facing In His Personal Life?
Eric had started feeling that he didn’t understand a lot of the things that he was going through in life. From being a person of color and dealing with discrimination to not being able to openly tell the people of his community about his sexual orientation, Eric was going through a lot.
Otis also knew that, but he was in denial, and he ignored the issue for the longest time. When Eric found Abbi, Aisha, and Roman in Cavendish College, he didn’t even realize that he started spending more time with them as they could relate to him, maybe more than Otis in some aspects. Otis felt the pinch, but for the longest time, he chose to ignore it until one day, things went overboard and got messed up. Eric’s family was asking him to get baptized, but he didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. Eric felt that it would be hypocritical of him to be baptized when he knew that the church did not accept people like him, and they believed that indulging with people of the same sex was a sin. On the one hand, Eric had dreams where his conscience was asking him to follow the path of God and do something for the happiness of his family, but on the other hand, he also knew that he would have to say things that he didn’t mean. Eric’s church was short on funds, and they were going to stop conducting drives where they gave free food to the entire community.
Eric didn’t want that to happen, so he asked Abbi if they could raise funds and give them to his church. Abbi agreed and actually ended up raising a considerable amount of money, but the Father, at the very last moment, told him that the church couldn’t take anything from him or his college as their ideals didn’t match. Eric was hurt, and during his baptism ceremony in Sex Education Season 4, he declared that he didn’t have any qualms about the fact that he is gay, and if his community would accept him for the way he was, then he would be ready to get a baptism and do whatever they asked of him. The community was not ready for it, and they still held onto their orthodox and archaic views. The only silver lining in the entire story was that Eric’s mother stood up and said that if no one did, she would accept him for who he was. Eric knew that he had done the right thing, and now he had to make things right with his childhood friend, too. Eric and Otis resolved their issues, and once things went back to normal, they realized that people would come and go, but they would never be able to take the place that they had for each other.
Did Otis And Maeve End Up Together?
Maeve had finally reached Wallace University, and she hadn’t expected in her worst nightmares that she was going to have such a hard time there. Her writing teacher, Thomas Molly, just didn’t like her and criticized every piece that she wrote. He was very harsh with Maeve, and he told her that she was not cut out to be a writer. To make matters worse, Maeve’s mother died of overdosing, and she had to return to Moordale to do the last rites. She started hanging out with Otis and eventually made the decision not to go back. Otis told her that he had slept with Ruby accidentally, though nothing had happened between them that night. Maeve was mad at Otis at first, but eventually, she forgave him, and she also told him that she was planning to take admission to Cavendish College and not go back to Wallace.
Otis believed that Maeve was doing it because she wanted to stay with him, but in reality, she was feeling demoralized, and she had lost all confidence in herself. Maeve started believing that she could never be a writer, but she met Jean Sex Education Season 4’s ending, and she realized that she was wrong in judging her worth like this. Jean made her understand that she couldn’t let a person’s bias and opinions come in between her and her dreams and that she should go back and live the life she always wanted to.
Maeve decided to go, and obviously Otis felt bad, and he even fought with his mother for instilling the idea in her mind. But Otis eventually realized that it was the right thing to do and that he should get in better shape. Otis and Maeve both knew that maybe it wasn’t destined for them to be together, but they would always hold a very special position in each other’s lives. Maeve wrote in her letter, which she left for Otis, that he was the one who had taught her to trust in love and to be happy, and no matter where she went or who she was with, she would always treasure the time she had spent with Otis. The hopeless romantic in us wants to believe that one day Otis and Maeve will once again cross paths and get their “happily ever after,” but we also know that until then, they would have to live their lives to the fullest, value the people they had in their lives, and not take anyone for granted ever.
Final words
We loved the series, and we have a bias towards it, though we won’t deny the fact that it has flaws. Sometimes, it did become a bit preachy, and at times, it always felt that the writers unnecessarily created subplots just because they wanted to address some issue. Apart from that, we thoroughly enjoyed the arcs of various characters, like Ruby, Eric, Adam, Michael, Maeve, Aimee, Isaac, etc. It’s not easy to put a stop to such a popular franchise, but we believe that the makers have done the right thing, as anything more from here would have been a bit of a stretch. The best thing about the series, apart from the amazing performances, was the thorough research the writers based the conflicts on, and it was an eye-opener for a lot of people who weren’t aware of all the issues. As a fan, I would have wanted Otis and Maeve to end up together, but then I guess that’s how life is, and sometimes we have to accept and move on.
