Sex Education (Season 1) Review

Posted on the 13 January 2019 by Caz @LetsGoToTheMov7

Set in a sixth form section of a secondary school, Otis is a socially awkward teenager and lives with his sex therapist mother. He therefore knows a lot about sex and relationships, teaming up with Maeve they set up their own sex clinic.

Netflix really do love promoting their original series and this one was no different. It builds up the tension and wonder surrounding it which is something I fall for each and every time and therefore end up binge watching the whole series in a few days. This one has eight episodes which are around 45 minutes in running time. So it really doesn't take too long to watch it.

Given the synopsis about the show I thought it was going to be more about Otis and giving the advice and working his own "clinic" but that is only part of this show which I thought had a lot more going for it than being funny about sex. It combined many different problems and issues faced by not only teenagers but everyone. They leave nothing unturned as we get to see abortion, virgins, masturbation, gay and lesbian relationships as well. How drugs and drink can effective anything towards sex as well.

Something I was very confused about though was knowing that it is a British show, or at least it is supposed to be set in the UK. But after watching the first episode for about 15 minutes I was rather confused about that. Considering the school while yes they mention secondary and sixth form everything about it and the way the teenagers seem to go on is straight from any American High School film/tv show you have seen. So that took some getting used to, but I guess it was to help it in the US and other countries as that is what people have grown to expect over the years.

Otis is probably not the person you would expect to be able to help people with anything sex related considering he was still a virgin and had never actually even touched himself. Some repressed memories were to blame for that and that is something we slowly find out about as the show goes on. He has a very strange relationship with his mother Jean as she has no filter and will ask him anything and everything. She puts a strain on the relationship with her son when she decides to write a new book which is basically about him.

Maeve is another of our leading characters, she is struggling to survive and has a nickname stuck to her (again sex related) and must still deal with that on a daily basis. Eric is gay and his dress sense is very out there, so he is bullied at school by a lot of different people. Adam is the son of the headteacher and bullies Eric amongst others, but again he has his own things going on. Jackson is the star swimmer at the school but his perfect life isn't as it may seem to everyone on the outside. We get to follow these characters throughout the season with plenty of twists and turns to come. Some of these are obvious but others not so much so it certainly manages to keep your interest.

It briefly touches on it being illegal at that age to sext and the sending of photos which can really have a huge influence on your life for years, if not ruin opportunities. So it does have a little bit of information that could help maybe some teenagers who will watch this series.

I thought Asa Butterfield puts in a very good and impressive performance leading the show, totally awkward at times and he does that very well. Working well with those around him. Gillian Anderson is as good as ever and I was impressed with her in this one. Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa in what is pretty much their first big acting jobs and that is pretty impressive. Mackey reminds me of a younger version of Margot Robbie, I couldn't help but think that every time she was on-screen!

Everything was left with cliffhangers which certainly suggests that a second season will be coming out, something that Netflix have not yet announced. But I am sure with how successful this has been in the first few days it could be coming very soon. A good mixture of comedy with real issues is something I thought they got spot on throughout this series.