The penultimate episode of Sex Education season 3 is Netflix comedy at its prime
Sex Education season 3 came out four months ago, and there are still several moments that have stuck with us. The character development for our main players such as Otis (Asa Butterfield), Maeve (Emma Mackey), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Adam (Connor Swindells) is just beautiful, and we fell in love with new student Cal (Dua Saleh).
The kids at Moordale Secondary School are taking less s**t than last season, which proves detrimental for their new headmistress, Hope (Jemima Kirke). Each character really grows and finds themselves because of their many obstacles, and all of that comes to a head in the penultimate episode of season 3. Tensions are brewing episode after episode as Hope introduces new rules to her students, which more often than not embarrass and suppress them.
Spoilers ahead for Sex Education season 3.
Remember–Moordale is now known as the “Sex School” after their chlamydia outbreak in season 2, and Hope is there to make sure they become a respectable school which parents and people in the community can be proud of. However, her methods are quickly rejected by the students, who feel as though she’s taking away parts of their identity and self-expression.
The students’ frustrations all lead up to episode 7, where they finally stick it to Hope for once and for all.
Sex Education is the best Netflix comedy
Netflix Life celebrates “The Besties” this week — an awards show where we highlight the best, the worst and the craziest moments from Netflix in the past year — and we’re happy to award Best Episode to Sex Education season 3 episode 7!
During the school’s Open Day, where Hope is eager to show off the new and improved Moordale, Viv goes against the plan and instead reveals a video presentation of the self-proclaimed “Sex School.”
While this is going on, we get to see what Lily (Tanya Reynolds) is up to while staying home from school. Because of Hope, Lily decides to ditch her eccentric and alien-loving style after she’s judged for the NSFW story she wrote. She doesn’t feel like she belongs anymore, and while the students are rebelling back at Moordale, she’s sadly throwing all of her stuff into a box, removing all the personality from her bedroom.
Cut back to Moordale, and the school choir is up on stage performing their rendition of “F**k the Pain Away.” Fans will remember Mr. Hendricks teaching them the song in an earlier scene, which Hope was, of course, completely against. While Hope and the other administrators are disgusted by the performance, other students get up and start dancing along.
Cal gets their big moment after Hope locks them in a classroom, forcing them to crawl through the vents of the school to get out. Towards the end of the song, the vent Cal is in crashes through the ceiling onto the stage and they crawl out, only to triumphantly flip off Hope with two middle fingers.
It’s a satisfying scene for viewers, as Cal and Hope have a particularly strained relationship throughout season 3. Because Cal is non-binary, they feel more comfortable wearing their school uniform baggier and with pants, something Hope doesn’t allow. Hope doesn’t understand where Cal is coming from and doesn’t even try to. Hope is a villain to the students because she doesn’t let them be who they are.
Elsewhere in season 3 episode 7, Otis goes over to Lily’s to try and help, Eric confesses to cheating on Adam, and Jean (Gillian Anderson) gives birth–only to suffer a hemorrhage. The episode ends with Otis and Maeve making up with a kiss in the rain, while Otis’ phone rings about his mom. It’s the perfect cliffhanger going into the finale, where we fortunately find out that Jean survives.
The penultimate episode of Sex Education season 3 is hilarious, satisfying and emotional. We get a lot of wins for our beloved characters, along with a few concerning moments which lead us into the final episode. It’s arguably better than the season 3 finale, and it’s the perfect way to write a comedy. If you haven’t watched the critically-acclaimed show yet, you’re seriously missing out.
Sex Education season 4 is officially in the works, and we hope to see it soon!