Sex Education season four
Netflix’s raunchy comedy Sex Education returns for its fourth and final season with Otis (Asa Butterfield) and friends starting at an upscale new college. The location may be different, with some more fresh faces, but the drama and comedy are still the same. Although the first two episodes of this final outing don’t give any indication as to how this fan-favourite series will bow out, they’re nevertheless indicative of a strong return to form, for better or worse.
It’s the first day at the fancy Cavendish College for Otis and best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), with some other former Moordale students also continuing their studies there. Otis is excited to restart his work as a student sex therapist, but soon realises that the campus already has one in the form of O (Thaddea Graham). Meanwhile, his relationship with Maeve (Emma Mackey) is facing some struggles after she leaves for another college to pursue her writing career. Things aren’t any less stressful at home either, with his mother (Gillian Anderson) recently having a newborn.
Throw in a handful of relationship dramas and other smaller subplots, and there’s a lot packed into just the opening episodes alone. The script mostly does a solid job of juggling between the various plot elements. However, an unpleasant side-effect is that scenes can radically shift in tone in short spaces of time to a distracting degree. The comedy is also rather hit-and-miss. For every fantastic gag and one-liner, there’s another that doesn’t hit its mark, particularly when it comes to the raunchier shock humour.
What Sex Education nails, though, is its handling of its titular subject matter. These scenes not only embrace sexual diversity with open arms, but they also navigate the talking points with sensitivity and tact to break taboos and give viewers helpful information and advice. Even stronger is the sense of warmth and companionship shared between the cast, which lends a feel-good charm to events.
Although season four will be the last time that viewers will be reunited with the Moordale gang, the final season is shaping up to be everything that fans have come to expect from the show over the years, even if there’s going to be some rough patches along the way.
Andrew Murray
Sex Education season four is released on Netflix on 21st September 2023.
Watch the trailer for Sex Education season four here:
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