Will one of the best Netflix series get a worthy ending? Season 4 of ‘Sex Education’ is so good

As we know, when things are at their best, you should stop. ‘Sex Education’ creator Laurie Nunn apparently thought so too and, after three great seasons, ended her rightly celebrated Netflix series with season 4. This had already become clear in advance, as several of the leading actors had already landed bigger roles in other projects ( For example, Eric actor Ncuti Gatwa is even the new Doctor Who). The official confirmation of the farewell to “Sex Education” only came with the first teaser for the finale.

But Can season 4 bring the events in and around the British nest of Moordale to a complete conclusion? After the eight new episodes we can say yes, even if the road there is a bit bumpy this time…

New school, new happiness?

After Moordale Secondary School had to close its doors due to funding problems, the students are distributed to other schools in the area halfway through the year. Otis (Asa Butterfield), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and some of their famous classmates end up at the modern Cavendish College, where, to their great surprise, sexuality and gender identities are treated much more openly and tolerantly.

Still, as a young sex therapist, Otis wants to give advice to the people around him again, but to his dismay he discovers that this position is already filled by the clever O (Thaddea Graham). And if that’s not enough excitement, Otis also has to deal with his stressed mother Jean (Gillian Anderson), who has just had another baby, and the spatial separation from his great love Maeve (Emma Mackey), who is in trouble . prestigious writing course traveled to the US…

A bumpy start

Fortunately, in Season 4, ‘Sex Education’ continues to rely on the proven recipe that made the series so great from the start: Light-hearted but smart, life-affirming humor is mixed with colorful coming-of-age dramanostalgic charm mixed with the hopeful depiction of the reality of the lives of today’s diverse adolescents.

This time, however, dealing with everyday youth problems is not as organic as before – which is mainly due to the somewhat forced change of the school environment. Otis and Co. encountering a real training utopia that is not only conjured up out of nowhere, but also seems to have been completely removed from reality. The student population determines what happens here, presents itself as sexually diverse and deals openly with problems. Anyone who gossips about someone else here has to pay into a bullying fund.

Sex education

Starting date
11-01-2019
|
50 minutes

Series:
Sex education

Of
Asa Butterfield,
Emma Mackey,
Ncuti Gatwa

User rating

4.1

On power

At first it is difficult to give the impression that the simple location trick is not really motivated by the story, but only serves to turn the diversity dial to 100 and higher in the last eight episodes, albeit with new characters and the new environment . indeed provides a fresh dynamic.

All letters of the LGBTQ spectrum

On the one hand, it is gratifying that the ever-progressive ‘Sex Education’ now wants to aggressively use the remaining letters of the collective abbreviation LGBTQIA+. The case for mutual, albeit unfortunately still utopian, acceptance as a path to happiness is stronger than before. On the other hand, yes The season is sometimes so overloaded that many important topics are only touched upon superficially, sometimes even too clumsily and the story sometimes lacks focus due to the many sideshows.

But just now When the makers of ‘Sex Education’ return to the already established characters, they are back: these magical momentswho, sometimes with their wonderful humor and sometimes with their genuine warmth, completely immerse you in the bizarre world of Moordale and quickly make you forget many a constructed conflict (especially Otis and Maeve’s relationship goes a bit in circles).

More emotional than ever

Ultimately, the majority of the loose plot threads are tied together in a satisfying conclusion, with Maeve’s further self-discovery (trust) and the rapprochement between Eric’s ex Adam (Connor Swindells) and his father, former Moordale director Michael (Alistair Petrie). , are the most consistent and at the same time touch the heart the most.

In its fourth and final round, ‘Sex Education’ finally hits the right note time and time again when it comes to tolerance, loss and the other pitfalls of the daily lives of young people (and sometimes adults) – and is more moving than ever to the bittersweet final to tears.

Conclusion: the fourth season of “Sex Education”. It may be a bit different from the more rigorously told previous seasons, but it nevertheless brings the stories of Otis, Maeve, Eric and many others to an emotional conclusion that already makes us miss the climax of the series.