Sex Education: Season 2

January 19, 2020 7:52 AM - Season 2 (Full Season)

The second season follows Otis, who after finally securing a relationship with Ola, gets hit with the reality and pressures of a high school romance.
posted by Pendragon (15 comments total)

Watched a couple of these last night. Could be just me, but so far it seems sillier than season 1.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:27 AM on January 19, 2020

Whew this was a ride. A good ride! Mostly. Almost perfect, really.

Some other shows in recent times spread themselves too thin by running the story in way too many threads and by that, ended up kind of shitting the bed. Sex Education, in this season, didn't. Everyone got their own little arcs and they all grew throughout the process. Everyone got more depth. They even managed to introduce new characters!

Was it all a bit too predictable? Yes and no. The moment Maeve's mom showed I knew this will not end well. With Adam, I felt that for a while they're gonna foreshadow him snapping and doing something really bad; but towards the end I was really hoping Eric/Adam would happen and I'm glad it did.

They touched on sexual assault and PTSD with Aimee's storyline and sure, in a bit more pop-culture way than they should have (GET THAT GIRL A THERAPIST, STAT) but overall, it wasn't the worst portrayal of it in television by far (yes, the bar is rather low.)

I was surprised when Viv just went straight to Jackson's parents but honestly? He *was* doing self-harm and was clearly didn't know how to deal with things. Their growing relationship was probably one of the few things that could have used a bit more screen time but overall I'm happy where they're at and I'm pretty sure Viv/Jackson will happen by the end of Season 3.

Haha sorry just kidding this is a Netflix show it's gonna get canceled after 2 seasons like the others because fuck Netflix.

*ahem*

Gillian Anderson was great as usual, Jean had probably one of the biggest arcs (besides Otis) this season. I do wonder where they'll take that come next season (lol, see above) with the pregnancy thing but I think they could be a great couple with Jakob and there are plenty of signs that this could still happen. It was great to see her make friends with Maureen who was also a delight of a character.

And Otis, who's trying his best — like everyone else — and failing, spectacularly at times, but ultimately confronting his father — as he should be — and finally confessing his feelings to Maeve. Now, yes, I'm a bit angry of those final 3 minutes that were solely there as a setup to once again delay them getting together and setting up season 3 (lol) but this was a huge progress for him.

Maeve was great as ever, trying to do the best with the truly shitty cards that was dealt to her, confronting her feelings and everything.

And finally there's Ola/Lily who I'm very happy for. The musical in the finale was also exquisite and it's great to see Lily let her crazy fly and everyone just running with it. Truly glorious. Season 3 (lol) needs even more Lily. Hell, I wouldn't complain that much if Otis/Maeve would happen earlyish next season (lol) so they can focus even more on the rest of the cast, in a way.

I think they managed to balance the comedy and the drama overall well... ish. The first part felt a bit too comedy-heavy while the second part got more of the drama, but I'm mostly okay with it. The opening montage of the first episode alone should earn this show a fucking Emmy, tbh.

Overall I'm happy and I love all of these characters I'm looking forward to Season 3 that will likely never happen because again, Netflix execs are assholes who only care about new subscribers and seriously, fuck them. I'll be happily reading the post-season 2 fics on AO3, though.

Signed,
Someone who really liked Sense 8 and The OA
posted by KTamas at 10:59 AM on January 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

P.S. It was a bit too convenient not to fire Chekov's Otis Stole Mom's Notes; i'm a bit salty about that.
posted by KTamas at 11:01 AM on January 19, 2020

Haha sorry just kidding this is a Netflix show it's gonna get canceled after 2 seasons like the others because fuck Netflix.

There almost certainly will be a season 3.

And I find this whole "fuck Netflix" attitude a bit strange... Most of these shows wouldn't even exist without Netflix. And most cancelled shows seem to lack the streaming numbers that Netflix requires.
posted by Pendragon at 12:19 PM on January 19, 2020 [4 favorites]

Ahhh, I really enjoy this show. So much so that I’m a bit sad I already devoured this new season and will have to wait a year, but since s3 does look like a go I’ll make do.

Sepinwall had a review where he noted that the first half of the season was too done up with love triangles, and I’d agree with that. But it did end strong.

Team Lily 4ever, btw. She’s the best. They’re all the best. ... Except Headmaster Groff.
posted by rewil at 12:38 PM on January 19, 2020

The musical in the finale was also exquisite

I would be delighted if season 3 were to be turned over to Lily to write and direct, tentacle sex and all.

I love the use of music and color in this show, and I like how some elements are so deliberately out of synch (e.g., the cars are all older, but everyone has a smart phone).
posted by Dip Flash at 6:13 PM on January 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

I was very impressed with how well this season managed to flesh out its very large cast of characters without resorting to melodrama or twisty plot logic. Some of it felt a bit neat or tropey, which I never felt in season one, but I do love the mix of humour, sadness/drama and the bold sex talk/scenes. This is a really fucking sexy show, even when it's talking about douche-ing.

I think the final episode (particularly the final 15 minutes) fell too much into cliche - and I found the play stuff cringeworthy as hell. I think the writers fired off too many twists, which always feels like a desperate attempt to stave off cancellation.

I love this show a lot, though. I do want a third season. But I want it to feel as fresh as the first two seasons - and not as predictable as much of the finale was.
posted by crossoverman at 2:39 AM on January 20, 2020

I enjoyed it all and was surprised that it didn't fall into cliche too much, because it would have been very easy to do that. The second season of a sneak hit rarely goes as well as this.

I wasn't surprised that Viv went to Jackson's parents. She's exactly the kind of person who knows what the textbook answer is for any issue and would do the right thing without worrying that it would lose her a friend, because she's a Good Girl and isn't used to having any friends to lose. I loved having her as part of the mix.

Adam... I was so worried he'd hurt himself and so glad he didn't, but I'm not convinced he's good for Eric. I think the actor makes Adam seem more charming than he ought to be. Glad to see Goff get punished though, he's thoroughly earned it,

Maeve is just a champion fighter. And if Isaac hurts her I'll be very angry with him! He's charming and just a bit underhanded so I like having him in the mix too. I don't judge him too harshly for deleting the message. That seemed to me about the same level of selfishness as Ola wanting Otis to stop working with Maeve.

Gillian Anderson is luminously wonderful as always. Was her ex always a man-o-sphere celebrity before? I thought he was a psychologist in season one.
posted by harriet vane at 6:58 AM on January 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

So Adam has like, severe and undiagnosed ADD or something along those lines, right? We see him twice cause problems for himself through honest effort but crucial inattention to details, and now I kind of feel like everything about his character being a loner and a fuckup is him not getting the help he needs and at some point he stopped trying. Pushing people away by being a bully and not trying in school became protective measures for him, with a learning disability layered on top of repressed queerness.

And I find this whole "fuck Netflix" attitude a bit strange... Most of these shows wouldn't even exist without Netflix.

That's true, but the problem isn't Netflix canceling shows per se, it's how they go about it. If they canceled shows while giving the showrunners warning so that they could wrap things up, no one would complain (much). The thing that gets people up in arms is how frequently they seem to cancel shows without allowing a proper ending.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:14 PM on January 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

yeah exactly what vibratory manner of working said. i was perhaps a touch too salty in my post but that's precisely because i care about the show and this happened to many, many netflix shows now that i cared about.
posted by KTamas at 6:45 AM on January 25, 2020

p.s. i'm obviously happy that season 3 while still not a done deal is extremely likely happening.
posted by KTamas at 6:47 AM on January 25, 2020

I loved this season overall, but felt that they had too much to wrap up in the last few episodes that left a lot of weird sloppy threads. I hope we're supposed to assume that some of this stuff will be resolved next season?

I felt a little sick at the plot point around Jean's notes. It utterly strains credulity that she would a) take notes under everyone's full name b) leave her notebook lying around unsecured c) not notice that it was missing immediately. Otis taking it and then leaving it in his locker--when his key is assigned by the school!--was not just careless, it was truly beyond the pale of selfishness and he deserves real consequences for that. Headmaster Groff photocopying it was straight-up evil and he'd better get truly punished for it, though I don't even know what the appropriate punishment would be.

Eric's mother's lackluster reaction to Rahim was strange to me. What do you mean, Rahim doesn't make Eric sparkle? I mean, he absolutely does. The rivalry where Adam allegedly makes Eric laugh more than Rahim seemed contrived and not supported by, uh, everything we've seen this season.

Speaking of Rahim, his lecture on anal douching was amazing. I mean, the actor's delivery was amazing -- charming, good-natured, preternaturally unembarrassed, but completely straightforward. Just make that clip widely available as a free video beamed to anyone nervous about buttsex.
posted by desuetude at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2020 [4 favorites]

let’s talk about sex baby, let’s talk about season 3 of Sex Education.
posted by Pendragon at 11:49 AM on February 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I LOVED the version of Romeo and Juliet that Lily created. The forecasting of the hyper sexual reading she was going to deliver in the posters - a forest of penises - was perfect. As a Lit teacher, I have taught that play so many times and each time I’ve wanted to shout about the teen lust theme. As a template for the goings on in Sex Education, it’s also great.

Also, Jean’s outfits! Swoon!
posted by honey-barbara at 7:49 PM on April 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

A teaser for season 3 dropped, along with the release date: September 17.
posted by Pronoiac at 9:43 PM on July 21, 2021 [1 favorite]