Sex Education Seasons 1 & 2: Review

Let's talk about sex.

Actually let's dance around talking about sex, give the kids a few naughty words to giggle at and not explain very much at all. That's what I remember from my sex ed classes in year 6 of primary school. The teachers would put on a cartoon video, we'd laugh and while I'm pretty sure we understood the ins and outs so to speak, I can't remember any mention of STI's, LGBT+ sexual relationships or masturbation. The High School equivalent I can't remember being much better as this one seemed to be more about scaring us than actually answering any questions which the class will have been too nervous to ask anyway.

While sex education is improving massively in schools and colleges and becoming much less of a taboo to talk about, it still feels like a difficult barrier to break down and no show has attempted to break this ice wall of awkwardness more than Netflix's Sex Education.

I really didn't expect to enjoy this show as much as I did. Even more surprisingly I didn't expect to learn more about sex than I did from any of my sex education classes. After the release of the brilliant second season this show has gained a considerable teen following (we are ever a predictable demographic)

So today I want to take a look at why this show works, the places it doesn't and what shows like Sex Education mean for Netflix and teen TV as a whole.

1. Narrative

Otis (Asa Butterfield) is a virgin at college and feels as if he is the only one. He struggles to masturbate and thinks that something might be wrong with him. His situation is not helped by the fact that his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) is a professional sex therapist and her often intrusive observations do little to help his confidence.

Between his mother's hilariously genital based house decor and college peers who seem to be having sex constantly Otis begins to feel even more freakish and isolated.

In a jungle of raging hormones and laxed parental supervision Otis's friends and peers begin to have problems and questions, lucky for him he's grown up knowing way more of the answers than he's ever wanted to.

Together with fellow loner Maeve (Emma Mackey) Otis sets up his own secret sex therapy clinic for cash.

The first season sets up a very episodic structure. Usually we begin the episode with the client or clients experiencing their problem which will become the main focus of the episode with an overarching plot relating to the personal problems of the main cast. Otis and his mum, Maeve struggling to pay the rent in an on and off relationship, Eric being bullied by the headmaster's son and struggling with homophobia and religion.

The show has a strange balancing act of being a comedy and being a drama. A lot of the sex therapist stuff, especially the many falluses in Jean and Otis' home, is obviously played for laughs but the series touches on a lot of really delicate and emotional issues such as abortion, slut shaming, sexual assault and body shame and it handles these with an ease which I cannot imagine being easy to write. There were definitely times during the first season where the balancing act didn't quite work for me but this was more due to the look and obvious stylistic influences the show has decided to take on.

2. Look and Influences

Sex Education is hardly the first show aimed at teenagers which talks about sex. There's actually a whole genre of them. They're usually crude, focus more on the comedic side with a predominantly male perspective. As I'm describing it now you can probably think of a few instantly, American Pie is probably the most well known one but there are hundreds of films like this that were popularised in the late 80's and especially during the sexual revolution of the 90's.

Sex Education takes a lot of obvious style queues from these American flicks. It's especially noticeable in the warm colour grading and cinematography which makes Britain during term time look like some kind of tropical paradise. The second season especially has a very noticeable teal and orange colour grade which gives it a very american look, possibly a homage to 90's teen films or a tactic to attract an American audience... possibly both.

What Sex Education doesn't do (thank god) is fall into the trap of copying their plots. Overall this makes a series with very modern values but with a sense of bawdy awkwardness that those 90's films relied on for their comedy. The most noticeable departure is the attention given to the multiple and diverse female characters on the show, especially in season 2. I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum but Amy's character arc throughout season 2 is the best of the series and covers a topic that many women face with honesty and a delicacy I haven't seen used before for this kind of story.

Sex Education is also much more diverse than it's stylistic predecessors. Numerous LGBT+ characters including an Asexual character have been on the show. It's also much more racially diverse which was a breath of fresh air to this genre usually soley dominated by white 30 year old men trying to play 15 year olds.

One more modern film which I can see stamped all over Sex Education is the influence of Mean Girls. From it's sense of humour to it's colours, exaggerated story and characters and even soundtrack. There's even a moment in the second season which is downright ripped from Mean Girls!

This mixture of awkward British humour and American cinematography would only work on a show like this. Without the comfort of the warm, musical-like look the sex talk would be pretty hard to watch. Imagine a teen sex show shot like the office... no thank you!

This style lets the show get away with a lot and gives a clean and upbeat feel to the show which makes it an easy binge. Ultimately this is feel-good tv and they don't want you feeling uncomfortable watching it.

3. What does Sex Education mean for TV?

While it might be easy for people to pin this series as something trashy to pass the time I believe it's far more than that. Part teen soap, part comedy part actual sex education stuff that we probably all should have been taught but never were, this show sets a new president for what teen audiences want to see. We want complex characters, we want diverse casts and we don't want to be talked down to but we do want to get talked to honestly. Sex shouldn't be a taboo subject but it should also be shown in a more realistic way. For many this will be the most realistic depiction of what a first time is like and the problems that young couples face. It's a show which reaches out to people who are confused and misinformed and actually gives some very real positive messages about young relationships.

4. Conclusion

Sex Education is a series I can't help but recommend. It puts a smile on my face and is a very easy binge. While some might be put of by the explicit stuff (I mean it's called Sex Education so you get what's on the tin really) but without this element the show wouldn't be able to explore the themes it does with any kind of integrity. Would highly recommend!

8/10