Why ‘Sex Education’ Champions The Imperfect So Perfectly
By: Saamir Ansari
Tags: TV Series, Review, Netflix, Sex Education, Sex

Incluvie Score: +5

Having read nothing about this show when it came out I decided to give it a go simply because of the title. It immediately reminded me of my one experience at college where, in clichéd fashion, I tried and failed to put a condom on a banana.

Since then I have always thought that sex education needed urgent rethinking and was curious to see where the show tried to take the plot and I have to say it is a real triumph. The ability to combine serious issues with an engaging plotline while championing diversity and no easy feat but the show pulls it off with tremendous aplomb.

Sex education classes often present education as a whole with a conundrum and all too often end up as a complete disaster. Awkward, sweaty-palmed teenagers like me trying to put something that resembles a balloon on a piece of fruit as a teacher tries to take things seriously amidst all the giggling.

Maybe if I had been given the chance to chat to Otis or Jean back then I would have changed my mind.

As I began watching the show it wasn’t long before I was taken in by the quirky 80’s style, hilarious comedy value, honest portrayal of adolescent sexuality and the difficulties associated with puberty.

The real magic of Sex Education is its superb ability to blend all of these components together in such a way that allows the characters to pursue well-crafted, multi-faceted story arcs. The stellar performances from both up and coming and more established stars give this all a sense of believability.

At its core the message is clear: imperfections are a part of who we are, don’t hide them. Be yourself, no matter what.

The show champions the idea of staying true to yourself, which is perhaps the most important lesson for a 15-year-old struggling to feel accepted could learn. This is principally seen through the central characters of Otis and Eric.

Otis, superbly played by Asa Butterfield, is a brilliant paradox; helping others with sexual problems while being a virgin who’s unable to masturbate. His piercing blue eyes express his vulnerability and make us love him but his poor decisions and tendency to say the wrong thing make us want to pull our hair out. One of the main plots of the series follows his initially odd friendship with Maeve, a stand out performance by Emma Mackey, as they start giving out sex advice to students secretly. Otis finds that beneath the scary persona she puts on is a kind, fragile person whose beauty lies beyond aesthetics.

Eric, brilliantly portrayed by Ncuti Gatwa, is a whirlwind of infectious laughter and energy, and this exuberant, outgoing character steals every scene he is in. Despite being bullied and appearing as one of the school’s outsiders, along with Otis, I found myself imagining how brilliant it would be to have a friend like Eric in real life.

Otis and Eric

Gillian Anderson gives arguably a career-best performance as Jean Millburn who, despite her flaws and intrusion into Otis’s private life, is one of the most patient, discerning and kindest characters in the show.

Jakob, her lover/handyman, very well played by Mikael Persbrand, is calm and endearing, even if he takes too long in the shower, leaves coins around everywhere or uses the loud blender to make smoothies.

Despite his imperfection, Jean still falls in love with him and their topsy-turvy relationship is a brilliant central piece to the plot and shows the idea of accepting one another’s imperfections is something that is required even in adulthood.

Jakob and Jean

Olivia, Ruby and Anwar, three of the school’s most ‘elite’ students, represent the anxious world of inner turmoil and problems being masked behind unpleasantness. They push people away, often saying rude things to people for no reason only to deflect their inner troubles onto others.

These characters’ attempts to be so perfect and together are riddled with imperfections and flaws which represent the hidden fears and pain of everyone, hiding behind filters and endlessly edited content.

The series shows that behind these façades that they’ve put up are some truly touching moments — Anwar coming out about his homosexuality to his family, (which Eric wrongly assumed he had already done) or the fear of losing his virginity, Ruby’s father having MS or her public photo shaming, and Olivia feeling like her face is hideous when she has an orgasm — these characters show that their seemingly imperfect qualities or lives are what make them human.

Jackson, played by Kedar Williams-Stirling, is the school’s heartthrob and sporting champion, who is unlike the previous three because he’s already an incredibly likeable character from the onset. Furthermore, we see him transform from the stereotypical laddish sporty type to reciting Shakespeare in public. However, he is also not without his troubles. His mother’s pursuit of perfection leads to imperfection in his own life through crippling anxiety attacks and the propensity to self-harm. Once again the show displays a surprising level of maturity and seriousness in conveying real-life concerns through his story arc.

Jackson

Lily, played brilliantly by Tanya Reynolds, and Ola, played by Patricia Allison embody the idea of being yourself and they take the show to the next level. Whether by inhabiting wild extra-terrestrial inspired fantasies, realising bisexuality and embracing it or wearing makeup and bright coloured clothes, these characters always cherish who they are.

Lily is constantly seeking a sexual partner to lose her virginity and draws comics of alien beings that she thinks would be perfectly suited to the task. Her character is very forthcoming and direct, even in the most awkward moments, like when she tries to sleep with Eric only to discover that he’s gay.

Ola, who is Jakob’s daughter, is one of the most self-confident characters in the show. She starts an ill-fated relationship with Otis which ends after she realises that he still has secret feelings for Maeve. Instead of wallowing in self-pity she embraces her newfound discovery of being pansexual and starts seeing Lilly.

Ola and Lilly

Another key character who illustrates the conflict with trying to be yourself is Adam Groff, played brilliantly by Connor Swindells.

Adam is a conflicted, aggressive outsider and a bully who is seen as the antagonist of the show in the early episodes. It’s a nuanced, understated performance that shows a beautiful sense of vulnerability through the subtleties in his expressions. He reminded me at times of George McKay (1917, Captain Fantastic), conveying unspoken thoughts in his eyes and slight gestures so well.

His father Principal Groff, brilliantly played by Alistair Petrie, comes across as a mix between Ed Rooney (Ferris Buellers Day Off) and Basil Fawlty (Fawlty Towers) and can’t understand people being themselves. Instead, he intimidates others and alienates himself from other characters in the show, including his own family.

Everyone in the show is willing to show who they are and embrace their apparent imperfection except for him. This leads to the animosity between him and Adam and his wife’s eventual request for a divorce.

Principal Groff and Adam Groff

Adam and Eric’s subsequent rollercoaster of a romance brilliantly conveys the imperfection concept too. It’s not coincidental that Adam refers to Eric as “trombono”, even though he later admits that he was fully aware that he played French horn. It’s this denial of who Eric is that is central to Adam’s own crisis in understanding his sexuality and feelings — by denying their existence.

The aesthetic is crucial to the mood of characters throughout the show. It’s no surprise that Eric ditches his colourful clothes that are an obvious reflection of his vibrant personality and brilliant sense of humour when he experiences a terrible, unprovoked attack that makes him question whether or not it’s acceptable to publicly show the world who you really are. However, Eric learns to overcome this and to feel comfortable in his own skin. He never appears more confident or true to himself as when he arrives to the prom dressed in his most extravagant outfit of the entire show. His reconciliation with his own father in front of Adam at that moment is a deliberate display by the writers which gives us another beautifully poignant moment in the series — a stark contrast between the two boys’ relationships with their fathers.

Eric keeps pieces of broken pottery in his drawer that remind him of Adam even though he has seemingly found the perfect partner in Rahim, played by Sami Outalbali. Rahim is the “hottest guy” Eric has ever seen but despite this Eric can’t get Adam out of his head. The pottery he keeps in his bedside locker shows us that Eric thinks about him often.

The broken pieces are still beautiful even though they are broken. They can be fixed and they still touch his heart despite being imperfect.

Eric accepting Adam in the Season 2 Finale

There doesn’t seem to be any good reason for Eric and Adam to be together. They have a complicated history — Adam brutally tormented Eric and made his life a living hell by bullying him for years but it's clear that Adam is undergoing some profound changes too. His behaviour is never condoned or forgiven but on some level, we understand that Eric sees something in him, a light amidst the darkness. Adam’s imperfections aren’t rejected but are instead embraced by Eric, who rejects the seemingly perfect Rahim.

Adam running to Eric to ask him to hold his hand in the finale of season two captures the core message of the show in exhilarating fashion — that someone can get a second chance even if they aren’t perfect.

Perhaps the best example of how the show excels at tackling serious issues while championing imperfection and staying true to yourself comes from Maeve.

Maeve Whiley with her new look in Season 2

Our first impression of Maeve is someone who is incredibly independent but very guarded and standoffish. The writers allow us to slowly see Maeve differently through her increasing resilience, intelligence and warmheartedness, despite her difficult life circumstances. Following on from the importance of aesthetics throughout the show it’s unsurprising that she changes her hair colour as her strength of character develops, especially when her mother, Erin, says that she used to have the same style.

Maeve reluctantly allows her mother back into her life despite constantly criticising her, perhaps just for the sake of her three-year-old sister, or half-sister as Maeve reminds her mother. When Erin loses her job and Maeve suspects she could be using again she asks neighbour Isaac, played by first-timer George Robinson, to find evidence. When he does Maeve is forced to make the decision to call child services and report her mother, stating that she is unfit to care for her three-year-old daughter.

The scene in which her mother is taken away by social services is truly heart-breaking yet it provides us with the lesson some lies and actions, and the inability to change despite being accepted for your other imperfections, cannot be permitted, no matter how difficult the decision may be.

Both seasons of the show left me wanting more and I can’t wait to see where the story takes these incredibly talented actors and memorable characters in Season 3.

The ability to balance humour whilst addressing real-life concerns and championing diversity is a tremendous feat. Promoting and cherishing the importance of being true to yourself and making others follow you is a testament to the great achievement of this show.

Review by Saamir Ansari of Incluvie

Incluvie rating where +5 celebrates diversity, 0 ignores diversity, and -5 is hateful towards diversity