Free form – Style

The popular series “Sexual Education” has completed its fourth season. “Kommersant Style” tells about the twists and turns of the plot both on the screen and in the personal lives of its main characters.

“Sex Education” (aka “Sex Education”) is a famous Netflix series about teenagers who explore themes of friendship, relationships, growing up and, of course, sex. It was well received by both audiences and critics – in 2022, An Education won an Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series. A short background. Jean Milburn (played by Gillian Anderson) is a professional sex therapist who lives with her teenage son Otis (Asa Butterfield), who, with his classmate Maeve (Emma McKee), opens an underground sex therapy clinic at Moordale School. In the final season, the action moves from this familiar school to Cavendish College – a place of artsy aesthetics and free form of self-expression. It’s a gossip-free zone and has it all: meditations, silent discos, sound baths and yoga for mental health. Here, the most popular children are strange and unusual, their identities are amorphous, and their relationships are open.

The narrative, in fact, is based on the interaction of several characters: Otis, Eric, Maeve and Aimee are the backbone of the characters from the very beginning of the series, new kids from college appear, there are parents and in general the world of adults, with their own equally pressing questions and problems. The mix of characters and the situations they find themselves in is interesting, and it’s quite interesting to look at the plot intricacies and development of each character.

For example, Otis is too busy with the problems of his new school, his relationship with Maeve, he is dressed and looks exactly the same as at the beginning of the first season, it seems that even his jacket has remained the same. His character can be called the core of the plot around which everything is built, and this season he gives less advice about relationships and sex to others, but he understands his personal situation.

Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) begins the season by testing out a new vibrator and recording her experiences in a pink notebook called “My Healing Journey.” She experiments with style, starts a new relationship, becomes a cool photographer – all as a way to get rid of the trauma of abuse, which was shown in previous episodes.

Eric Effionga (Ncuti Gatwa) is the real style star of Sex Education, wearing bright makeup, Nigerian print overalls, a yellow tartan kilt and painted heels. The unexpected development of his storyline is not so much a search for his style, but a spiritual search: he begins to literally receive messages from God and decides to become a pastor – albeit far from the usual one in the generally accepted sense and, it seems, one of a kind.

Maeve (Emma McKee) grows up, goes to study literature at a prestigious American university and, of course, looks different than when she started. She loses her mother, tries to build a long-distance relationship with Otis, makes vital and defining decisions, and therefore her image becomes more balanced and whole, like herself.

Adult characters show the whole picture of all possible development options for seemingly mature relationships and middle-age problems: from late motherhood and postpartum depression to hot sex on the first date.

It has been repeatedly noted that such series about teenage and other sex are practically never made, and therefore one can regretfully draw a line under the final credits. However, dating with the heroes cannot be avoided – the actors of the series have already achieved serious success and continue to actively build their careers. Thus, Emma McKee became the face of Burberry fragrances; she, Shuti Gatva and Connor Swindells (his friend Adam from the first seasons) played roles in the movie “Barbie”, and such projects are a sign of getting to the top for any aspiring actor. Simon Ashley, an actress from the first seasons of An Education, became the star of the series Bridgerton, starred in both The Little Mermaid and Barbie, while simultaneously signing a contract with the cosmetics brand La Mer.

Irina Kiriyenko