TV Show Review - Sex Education (Season 3)

Season: 3
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2021
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Aimee Lou Wood, Tanya Reynolds, Patricia Allison

Description: Teenager Otis (Asa Butterfield), with a sex therapist mother (Gillian Anderson), teams up with high school classmate Maeve (Emma Mackey) to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

Review: To the sounds of “I Think We’re Alone Now”, we look inside a dozen or so bedrooms where people are, with great pleasure, having sex. In every conceivable way, in every possible combination and physically viable position. Straight, gay, solo, all genders, colors and preferences pass by. This sets the tone immediately and it’s clear “Sex Education” is back.
Yet again the sexual awakenings of the students of Moordale Secondary School offer more than enough to enjoy. Especially when their newfound freedoms and carefree self-expression come under pressure with the arrival of a new principal: Hope Haddon. She must restore the neat reputation of the so-called ‘sex-school’ and reassure concerned parents. She does this by a far-reaching restriction of freedoms, with a fascist tenor: discipline, censorship, self-control and uniformity are paramount. Students must wear school uniforms, and expressions of personal taste or preferences are prohibited. Violation is punished with humiliation. The creators bring a fine contrast with the introduction of two non-binary characters, with whom the question of school uniforms is immediately an impossible one.
It's a simple scenario, with urgent underlying themes, at a time when conservative forces are sometimes frighteningly easy to dismiss progressive values and achievement. Season 3 is a long ode to those values. And yes, it’s still needed.
In addition to this sympathetic social agenda, this time the creators also manage well to further deepen the characters’ storylines.
In the process, the writers cleverly manage to debunk every stereotype or prejudice. Mean girls turn out to be vulnerable, angry boys are actually sweet, and the friendship between Otis and Eric who talk very candidly about their emotional lives. This is a rarity on TV. I love the heartwarming transition of Adam, who went from a complete jerk to a love-struck kindhearted young man.
“Sex Education” is still daring and the writers don’t shy away from any complicated subjects. I loved season 3, it didn’t disappoint one bit.