Sex Education is a Worthwhile Exploration of Teenage Growing Pains
Sex Education is a hilarious, heartfelt show which captures the confusion of teenagers while also simplifying complicated, heady situations. The show touches on important concepts and issues that a lot of coming of age movies fail to address; it does this without reducing itself to simply being a show about teens checking off developmental milestones. Instead, it plays with specifically crafted, vital depictions of what the modern teenage and family experience may look like.
The main character of Sex Education, Otis, is the son of a sex therapist. While his peers internally remain utterly confused about everything surrounding puberty, Otis effortlessly understands the complexities of the human body. While his mother is a wonderful exclusive resource for all of his friends, it seems to have made Otis somewhat apathetic about sex.
A Refreshing Take on High School Dynamics
An awkward teen and his “bad boy” friend starting an underground sex therapy clinic is a fantastic premise for a show that balances comedy and drama. Focusing on the awkwardness and discomfort of sexual discovery means the show can be as filthy as it wants to be, while still being rather wise and thoughtful toward its subjects, which is very rare in the genre of high school shows.
There are many great things about this show and rightfully so, many people say it gets better and better every season. For some people the later seasons of the show start to feel more like a collage of ‘social tropes’ than a real story, but the amazing cast keeps things under control. The music in the show written by Oli Julian, really helps the show and makes the plot twists that could be pretty predictable, feel a lot more interesting.
The Performance and Tone Balance
Asa Butterfield’s Otis is a wide-eyed kid just trying to figure his way through life as he works at a sex clinic with his mother, played by Gillian Anderson. Without these characters and this dynamic, Sullivan’s decision to create the show would have been lacking. Because the show focuses on developing its own characters instead of just shocking the audience, The series became an instant hit.
That doesn’t mean this series doesn’t have its faults though. The later seasons suffer the most from the writing. The first few seasons spent time working on the main characters. Season 3 decided to build on these previously introduced characters and actually tackle some social issues. This means the scripts tend to be more predictable and less spontaneous. Even with a lot of episode structure issues, the performances give off so much heart that it covers for those actual structural problems the episodes have.
Who Should Engage and Who Should Move On
This is the show for you if you’ve been looking for compassionately humorous, non-judgmental portrayals of teenage sexuality. If you tend to enjoy character-driven, unglamorized portrayals of growth and mature dramas that aren’t afraid to tackle the awkwardness of life, then you’ll enjoy it. It’s a progressive step in the category of shows that fall into the genre of drama-comedy.
Be warned, for those looking for straightforward portrayals of high school life, this show probably won’t be your favorite. It is certainly not for those who become easily frustrated with shows that sport their progressive values. Later seasons may include more of the traditional television tropes that avoid modern depictions of socialobservations, and therefore, may be more grating overall. If you don’t enjoy unconventional shows, then this isn’t the show for you.
