Reviews by:
@the_owlseyes
@starwards1
@thefilmobservatory
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“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life”
Bob Marley
PLOT
"A teenage boy with a sex therapist mother teams up with a high school classmate to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school" or "A celebration of sexuality and personality".
SCRIPT
This series is able to make you love each character. Almost everyone get an arch and the show knows how to develop even the minor ones. I also like how the series deals with sexual and social taboos with humour and sharpness. It uses a mix of ingenuity and shamelessness. But limiting it to sex would be unfair. Because the show is also about frienship, love, family, life and death, divorce,...a lot to unpack.
Now, the characters. Otis has a wonderful arch but it falls short during the third season. Eric and especially Maeve aren't well written, because they don't present a notable growth. The best side characters are Adam, Lily and Jackson. The best character is Ruby and I don't like the fact that the screenwriter wasted her relationship with Otis to make him kiss Maeve, who is a bit toxic and manipulative. She evolved, she had a great development and she is wasted for no reason. I know that this is a spoiler but this is what I didn't like about the third installment. I hope that the producers will listen to the fan and solve this error because Otis and Ruby are more than shipped, they're loved.
Obviously there're some cliches but overall it's pretty engaging and entertaining.
Script: 9/10
ACTING
All the actors are well cast and they all put a lot of effort in their performances. Asa Butterfly and Gillian Anderson are the MVP of this show and they're able to carry it on their shoulder with ease. I think that Ncuti Gatwa and Mimi Keen are the most entertaining performers, especially Ncuti, who's pretty charismatic. Emma Mackey and Connor Swindells are okay. I think that this show is able to allow all the actors to shine in their own way. I want to be sincere with you. I want to see more of Mimi Keen, because she's more potential than the others and his character has been set up for an interesting arch.
Acting: 8/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
Light is mostly flat but colours are used to perfection. Some episodes display good looking scenes. I think that it could've been better if they went all in with originality but they prefered to use it only in certain moments. It's a pity, because this series could've aspired for more.
Photography: 7/10
EDITING
Sometimes it is remarkable, sometimes is just mediocre. I think that the first season has the best kind of editing and this fades away afterwards. Slow Motion isn't used a lot. The series prefers to use fast cuts in a comedic way and, sometimes, tilted shots. This isn't the best aspect of this series but it works.
Editing: 6/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
They're imperceptible. There's just one episode where they're heavily employed, and it's one made of an animated prologue. Not much to say. Fortunately they've been able to keep it as realistic as possible. As it should be.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
Most of it is made of pop music. I find it particularly fitting and the instrumental parts are well done, because they're able to enhance the quirkiness or the drama on screen. It feels uplifting. It isn't the best I've ever heard but it works well, because it defines the show's tone and style.
Soundtrack: 7/10
COSTUMES
Didn't expect that. The costumes are bright and colourful and are used as an expression of every character's personality. They're relevant to the point that the third season go against it and change it, to show how its relevant to wear what you like. Usually teen dramas are a bit uninspired and formulaic in this section.
Costumes: 7/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 9/10
Acting: 8/10
Photography: 7/10
Editing: 6/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 7/10
Costumes: 7/10
AVERAGE: 7,14
An amazing series about growing up, relationships, sex and more. Check it out because it's better than most teen dramas on the market.
Director: Ben Taylor, Kate Herron
Screenplay: Laurie Nunn
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, Aimee Lou Wood, Chaneil Kular, Simone Ashley, Tanya Reynolds, Mikael Persbrandt, Patricia Allison, Anne-Marie Duff, Rakhee Thakrar, Jemima Kirke
Soundtrack: Matt Biffa, Ciara Elwis
Cinematography: Jamie Cairney, Oli Russell
Running Time: minutes
Budget: $ million
By @the_owlseyes
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So the third season of Sex Education dropped after what felt like forever and just like everyone else I pretty much dropped everything and binged all eight episodes of it. And in short, I really, really loved it! I genuinely think Sex Education is one of the best shows running today and boy, talk about not judging a book by its cover. Or, well, a show by its title. I watched the first two seasons when I was pretty bored and I didn’t know anything about it. I also didn’t have any expectations going in, but MAN was I blown away. The first two seasons were really deep and actually thoughtful, and did so much more than they needed to. Now coming to season 3, I did have fairly high expectations, season 2 left on a pretty big cliffhanger and I was really excited to see where they took the story further. And did it disappoint? Not at all! There were a couple of things that did bother me and I totally get why some people were disgruntled by this season, but personally I really think they stuck the landing. One of the reasons why I love this show so much is because it does an excellent job at getting you very invested in its characters, and I mean like VERY invested. It’s very natural and organic so everything feels very real, and raw. Above everything, Sex Education is honest.
It’s so refreshing to see a show about teenagers where the kids actually look and talk like teenagers. It’s modern but also timeless, a show that is unquestionably relatable for pretty much every young person. You can ‘probably’ relate to at least one of the characters in this show. And it’s really all about these people and their relationships. The character work is simply brilliant and they’re all very unique. It just blows my mind how the show deals with so many characters and keeps them all interesting and makes you care about all of them. It really goes to show how much they care about their characters as well, no one is sidelined. And I think I connected to the characters the most, this season. Maeve had always been my favourite, and she still is. I love Emma Mackey as her, and I love how they broke many tropes to create this strong female character but by season 3, we get to know her really well.
Yes, there is the usual love triangle to create a tension between Maeve, Isaac and Otis but I think it’s handled beautifully. Otis too, is a great character this season, I think this is Asa Butterfield’s best performance yet. The complicated relationship between Maeve and Otis is probably my favourite part of the show. Sex Education has this amazing way of making us like characters we hated at first. It’s full of redemption arcs and I’m all for it. They somehow made me care so much about Ruby. I adored the relationship between Ruby and Otis, it shouldn’t have worked on paper but something about it is really perfect. Headmaster Groff as well went from a character I had a strong dislike for, to one I actually sympathized with a lot. Same goes for Isaac. Adam should get a special mention for being the most interesting character by far, his arc was surprisingly wholesome. I also loved what they did with Jean this season but no spoilers. Honestly if I sit here and ramble about EVERY character on the show this would be a million pages long. They were all great, no surprises. I loved Eric, Rahim, Jackson, Lilly and almost everyone. Every character has something that’s flawed about them but it makes the show more realistic.
Now, the new characters… Wellll I think they could’ve been handled better. Cal is great, and I’m glad they’re in the show but some times, it kind of just feels like they were only in the show for tokenism, so that they could say ‘we have a non-binary character in our show’ And I’m all for representation, I just wish they did more with Cal so it didn’t feel like tokenism. Which by the way, I’m pretty sure was unintentional. Sex Education is all about being open minded and progressive, it’s part of why it’s so popular. Hope’s character arc left a sour taste in my mouth, something about her part in all this felt weird, and it’s probably why some people feel like there’s something ‘off’ about this season, and I get it. And I also didn’t love how heavy handed it was at times? Some of the dialogue seems too on the nose, or too perfect, like we’re watching the show with rose-tinted glasses. I’ve got some other minor nitpicks about character decisions and stuff but since you read the title, you know that I just honestly do not care. This may not be the ‘best’ season per se, but it is my favourite. And I don’t usually make a distinction between best and favourite but for this season, some of it definitely doesn’t work but the parts that do, I live for them.
The writing is just incredible, I still can't believe it's this good. And the cinematography too, is beautiful. It's the best looking season yet. It’s hard to describe what this season made me feel, but it’s very emotionally satisfying. It breaks your heart but heals it as well. The ending felt very bittersweet and overall, it’s just so profound and poignant. It makes you cry with its rare, genuine moments but also laugh a lot, because the comedy is wondrous. Not everyone gets a happy ending and I think just like real life, it’s a mixed-bag of emotions. Beautiful but heart-wrenching. I’m very excited to see where this show is going to go in season 4, which is coming to Netflix by September 2022 at the earliest.
By @starwards1
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5/5
Dramedy/Teen
SPOILER WARNING
Introverted late-bloomer Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) teams up with tough-skinned outcast Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) to run an underground sexual health therapy clinic, helping the students of Moordale to understand and cope with their emerging desires and frustrations.
It wouldn’t be possible to overstate how much love I have for Sex Education. Ever since Laurie Nunn’s wonderful creation first graced the small screen in January 2019, audiences have slowly become apparent to the fact that this series is undoubtedly one of Netflix’s best. Part of what makes it so special is Nunn and the writing team’s ability to transcend and subvert the expectations of the already fun and unique concept. It’s all about introducing frequent teen stereotypes and then subverting them to round out each of the characters as entirely three-dimensional – the rebel girl’s hard exterior comes from trauma caused by her toxic and unsupportive family situation, the popular mean girl doesn’t live the spoilt and easy life that many might assume, the gay best friend isn’t there to solely crack a few jokes and be awkwardly shoehorned into a love triangle with the main protagonist, but goes on a compelling journey of self-acceptance and discovering their identity, possibly becoming the best character of the show. Practically everybody with lines gets some time in the spotlight, leaving no character bland or unexplored. However, while the subversion is an important element, the series also sincerely deals with an impressive number of heavy subjects, such as abortion, divorce, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual assault, anxiety, and self-harm, and it strikes a perfect balance between the drama and comedy when showcasing storylines about these things. And yes, there is a lot of sex, but it’s never done in a gratuitous manner, rather just honest portrayals of the greatness and the awkwardness that can come with it. It’s a testament to Sex Education’s ability to be so much more than the racy romp that the title suggests it to be that I took so long to address this aspect, as the series is so much about the nuanced characters, and both heart-warming and heart-wrenching drama – overall, there is evidently a lot of ‘heart’, and I find the series absolutely irresistible.
For this review, I’m going to largely walk through season 1 in open detail, so if you haven’t seen it and ignored my spoiler warning, I’d strongly recommend you stop reading from here.
Season 1 unsurprisingly begins with a… sex scene! I always advise people teetering on the edge to not get the wrong idea of what the show is about from its opening, but the sequence is funny and does give a good impression of the witty case-of-the-week style that the series uses to great effect. Adam Groff (Connor Swindells) and Aimee Gibbs (Aimee Lou Wood) are having bedroom troubles leading to the former becoming Otis’s first unofficial client. Off the bat, we already get a look into the life of gruff bully Adam, who has always lacked a supportive father, and is the victim of personally invasive rumours regarding his “big, massive elephant’s” phallus. Not that this excuses his abusive behaviour, but we already get to understand a bit about why he is the way he is, leading to his fantastic eventual redemption arc in the following season. Aimee is somebody who’s always ‘fake’ due to her compulsive people-pleasing, and she hasn’t really found herself. She’s in with the popular clique but isn’t treated kindly by her friends, and Adam isn’t a particularly thoughtful boyfriend (these things may not sound important, but they all result in significant moments and character development for her). Though this is the central plot of episode 1, what steals the show is the introduction to one of the best friendships on TV: Otis and Eric (Ncuti Gatwa). We quickly hear Ezra Furman’s upbeat teen anthem ‘Love You So Bad’ playing over a hilarious conversation about Otis’ inability to ‘get it on’, as they ride their bikes to school, past the luscious woodlands of what I’m pretty sure is South Wales (where a lot of the series’ filming has taken place). The main other introductions of the important characters for season 1: Jean (the wonderful Gillian Anderson), as Otis’ loving and outrageously open mother, Head Boy Jackson Marchetti (Kedar Williams-Stirling), as the determined swimmer and popular, initially-seeming-to-be-a jock, oddball outsider Lily (Tanya Reynolds), the legendary Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt), Jean’s plumber-turned-love interest with a heart of gold, Jakob’s daughter Ola (Patricia Allison), who’s thrown into the mix mainly as another love interest for Otis before later coming into her own, Mr Groff (Alistair Petrie), as Adam’s father and the stern and rigid headmaster of Moordale, the rest of Aimee’s group, Ruby (Mimi Keene), Olivia (Simone Ashley) and Anwar (Chaneil Kular), ruling the students’ social hierarchy with an “iron fist”, as the ‘Untouchables’. Smaller supporting characters introduced this season include the chipper and nerdy Steve (Chris Jenks, “built like a Chupa Chup”), Eric’s caring but traditional parents, Mr Effiong (DeObia Oparei) and Mrs Effiong (Doreene Blackstock), Jackson’s mothers Sofia (Hannah Waddingham) and Roz (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), the maritally neglected Mrs Groff (Samantha Spiro), the Dahl-esque English teacher Miss Sands (Rakhee Thakrar) and the hilarious music enthusiast Mr Hendricks (Jim Howick). Wow, that took a while. It’ll be a helpful reference point though because now I don’t need to introduce each of those characters separately when they are featured in a prominent arc! Now, back to the story.
Aimee and Adam break-up, when the former realises that that he’s a toxic person to be with, but more importantly, after witnessing Otis’ impressive knack for therapy, Maeve proposes that the pair set up an entrepreneurial sex clinic for the students of Moordale to come to booked sessions with their quandaries and questions alike, setting up the backbone of the whole series. Sex Education quickly establishes its fast and funny tone, while also working to erase many different taboos that have led to so much misinformation and invalidation surrounding sexual health in the past. It’s the most honest teen dramedy on modern TV, making for perfectly balanced moments of hilarity and heart that allow audiences to connect with it so quickly. Episode 2 is also entertaining and engaging but it was the third that fully captured me; the storyline of Maeve’s abortion is handled phenomenally, serving as a wonderful example of female empowerment and solidarity, while also massively furthering her character. Episode 3 also beholds our first major instance of Otis and Maeve bonding (apart from a brief hint of what they have in common in the previous episode) as we get to see the latter’s tough exterior being temporarily deconstructed and these two uniquely clicking, not to mention the classic and tender, “You waited”, “Of course”, exchange. The following episode sees our lead protagonist faced with an uncomfortable dilemma, as Jackson is eager to take his casual relationship with Maeve to the next level, and goes to Otis for personal advice, who’s in denial of his romantic feelings towards her. Despite the oh-so-honourable Otis’ attempts to avoid assisting or interfering with Jackson’s advances, the latter ends up committing to a ‘grand gesture’ that our knight in shining armour intended to fail. However, to Otis and the audience’s surprise, it doesn’t, and Jackson’s iconic rendition of Billy Ocean’s Love Really Hurts Without You seemingly seals the deal for a conflicted Maeve. I’m not really a fan of love triangles, however, I think that Sex Education gets away with them, as the consistent message is that love is messy, which is something that teenage romance is especially notorious for. The series is subversive in its manner of making all characters involved in them actually likeable and sympathetic in their own rights, and even the supporting ones get to be in the spotlight and stay on in the show after initial introductions as solely being love interests. We also meet Jakob this episode, who’s the plumber fixing Jean’s sink, leading to the pair’s unique relationship that begins with their ‘compatible pheromones’ and continues to be potentially the most unconventional one on the show (“Jean, you have to stop breaking things when you want sex”). Moving onto possibly the strongest entry of season 1 – episode 5 – which nicely demonstrates the series’ fantastic ability to intertwine storylines, while simultaneously giving mature insight to its characters. The setup is that the sharing of an explicit picture threatens to humiliate a mean girl, Ruby, and ruin her life, leading Maeve on an urgent mission to find and stop the person behind the mask. She understandably enlists Otis to help but he’s meant to be celebrating Eric’s birthday with him, so he’s torn and unsure about which is the morally best option. What episode 5 does so cleverly is perfectly balance character development and arcs by displaying Otis’ selfishness, generating sympathy for the previously unlikeable Ruby, offering a sadly authentic background to Maeve’s trauma, and depicting the terrifying reality of homophobia that Eric becomes a victim of, all in about 46 minutes. It’s heavy stuff but this episode is particularly exemplary of Sex Education’s impressive ability at handling it, while maintaining the light touch that the genuinely funny comedy brings. Final note: the ending of that episode is one of my favourite moments in the series, as the students of Moordale stand in solidarity against the shaming and show that there is hope yet for positive social change.
After Otis and Eric’s inevitable falling out, Episode 6 is what I consider to be downtime for season 1 but not necessarily in the best way. We see some of our favourite protagonists at their lowest and unfortunately this makes the enjoyability of season 1 also reach a lower point, as the narrative here dictates a lack in the usual, charming interactions between the main characters. Eric is channelling his anger from the violence he suffered through lashing out towards others, as he’s frustrated with the injustice of the world and the way that he’s treated. Episodes 6 and 7 overall form fantastic and character work for Eric, but in the former, he isn’t acting like himself and is downwards spiralling. It’s obviously a deliberate decision from the writers but, when you isolate Episode 6, that doesn’t change the fact that the vibrant and hilarious energy that Eric usually brings to the show is missing. Meanwhile, Otis tries but fails to hook up with the impatient Lily, leading us to delve into Otis’ past and understand the stem of his sexual repression caused by the disgusting infidelity of his father, Remi (James Purefoy). We also meet Sean (Edward Bluemel), Maeve’s unreliable and problematic brother, the storyline involving which is executed very well but this episode is partly a set-up for the prominent elements of this arc. The penultimate chapter of season 1 is another great one, as Eric’s arc of finding himself comes to a satisfying and heartfelt conclusion, when he reconnects with his religion, family, and inner self. One of my favourite scenes here takes place when Eric meets an eccentrically dressed man with painted nails on the road, just asking him for directions, reminding him that there are others in the world like him, who feel free to be expressive and bold. Other touching moments include Eric’s mother simply telling him “Everybody loves you”, his mass in the church, with the priest similarly informing him that the people there are his family, and his heart-to-heart with his overprotective father. It’s beautiful and hits all the right notes, ultimately leaving Eric as a major standout of the show. We also get the ‘Happily Ever After Ball’, which Otis and Maeve hilariously agree is an “appropriated American tradition that celebrates sexism and peddles an unrealistic portrayal of romantic love” before each being dragged into it by their less cynical respective dates, Ola and Jackson. The potential for Otis and Maeve to get together is heating up this episode, and reaches a climax during the former’s speech to save a fellow student from hurting himself, after they were rejected by their crush (that part’s a long story), when he states that “You can’t choose who you’re attracted to” and that relationships can sprout from finding the right person by “dumb-luck”, clearly being poignant for and relevant to the pair’s history and status. However, this is all goes down the drain when Maeve finds out about Jackson’s payment to Otis in exchange for advice and causes a lapse in trust between them. At least this is positively contrasted by Otis’ apology to Eric and their subsequent reunion, which leads to a heart-warming (and very unprofessional) dance between the two best friends in front of everyone in the hall. As for the rest of the ensemble, Adam has a climactic standoff with his bully of a father, Jean and Jakob hook up, Sean slyly pretends to the customers of a shopping centre that him and Maeve are orphans, to evoke pity and consequent money that they can use to afford a dress for her. Maeve isn’t happy about it so Sean explains his mentality, which is that they were left alone and will die alone, showcasing the kind of isolated attitude that she’s struggling to avoid possessing, due to all of the darkness in her familial and social history. Episode 7 smoothly branches into the season 1 finale, as every major storyline comes to a satisfying and/or cliffhanging conclusion. Otis makes a kind-hearted gesture to apologise to Maeve, who understands and accepts but the potential for them to get together is foiled when she goes to his house only to see him with Ola, who’s now his girlfriend. You can’t help but feel for the charming Jackson Marchetti when he realises that his love for Maeve is unrequited and the two break up. They also started to tackle Jackson’s ongoing struggles with anxiety earlier in season 1, which later becomes one of the best storylines of season 2. Jean and Jakob are secretly having an affair, making things very awkward for Otis, who’s obviously dating his mother’s partner’s daughter! A rift is caused in Otis and Jean’s relationship when he discovers that she’s been writing a personally invasive book about him but her later apology and a mature conversation and understanding rounds out the overall relatable arc of a parent’s difficulties in navigating a relationship with their teenager. We also get an… ummm… interesting development in the dynamic between Eric and Adam, which is to be explored in much depth in the following season. And finally, Maeve shows her true selflessness when she unfairly takes the blame for Sean’s drug-dealing on the school campus. It’s heart-breaking to see how intellectual and capable Maeve really is but how her getting “unlucky in the family department” has dictated so much of her life and happiness. Sean then leaves without warning, continuing the tragic trend of rejection and abandonment in Maeve’s life, and making it all the more clear why she struggles to hope and trust others. Overall, it isn’t just Butterfield and Mackey that inject so much chemistry into Otis and Maeve’s relationship, but largely the writing; the two share a rare understanding of each other, and while he can be a total arsehole due to ignorance and accidental insensitivity, he’s shown to unconditionally care for her and be eager to stick around, therefore serving as a foil to her difficult family.
The contemporary tone and expression are nostalgically imbued with the verisimilitude and charm of John Hughes, complete with an energetic soundtrack, composed largely of Ezra Furman’s catalogue of original guitar-focused tunes written for the show and hits from the 80s and 90s, as well as fashion choices inspired by that era. It’s also well-shot and makes you wish that you could live in South Wales so props to the team literally behind the camera and those that handled location scouting during pre-production. Through Sex Education’s combining of the star power of Butterfield and Anderson with the unprecedented talent of newer performers like Mackey and Gatwa, this is the best cast for a teen film or series that I’ve ever seen, and I’d like to clarify that there are no weak links. I think I’ve covered everything so there you have it: my complete thoughts on season 1 of one of my favourite TV shows, Sex Education. (I’m likely going to post this and then be kicking myself after about 5 minutes when I realise that I missed something crucial that I wanted to talk about but I hope you enjoyed this review/breakdown nonetheless). I would highly recommend Sex Education to anybody with Netflix who’s getting bored with the oversaturation of uninspired mainstream content, and is looking for something refreshing and creative, but can also handle the raunch!
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