Sex Education Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Debates, Dates, and Awkward Encounters
Paul Dailly
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It wouldn't be the final season of a teen drama without relationships reaching worrying lows, and boy, Sex Education Season 4 Episode 5 left us with more questions than answers.
Otis has been making mistakes throughout the first half of the season, so it was about time he started to feel the heat following his actions.
He wanted to be Maeve's doting boyfriend or a Knight in Shining Armour during her difficult time.
That's commendable, sure, but he was in trouble in the first place because he's getting closer to Ruby again.
Maeve should've been made aware of her being his campaign manager from the beginning, and this mess would have been avoided.
He's so vocal in his therapy sessions about how having difficult conversations is key to good relationships, so it's a shame he doesn't practice what he approaches.
I will cut him a bit of slack because how could he tell Maeve the truth when she was reeling from the loss of her mother and planning her funeral?
Maeve is struggling to comprehend what's happened following the loss of her mother, and honestly, it won't really hit her for some time yet.
Knowing that the first time she cried was when Otis told her the truth about Ruby highlighted as much.
Will this open the floodgates for Maeve to mourn the loss of Erin, or will she merely bottle it back up and suffer more down the line?
Maeve and Otis' date was an utter disaster, and we can thank Joanna. She's struggling in her own way, but getting drunk in a movie theater with teenagers is inappropriate on so many levels.
Anna: Morning. I'm taking Elsie to school. Are you guys going to college? It's been three days. So unless your parents tell me it's okay, I think you need to go.
Aimee: Yeah, my mum's been asking, but rock 'n' roll. I don't care. I'm not scared.
Otis: I can take another day. It'll be fine.
Maeve: Yeah. No, no, no. I'm gonna go to the funeral home with Sean today, so you two should go back to college.
Aimee: Okay, I am actually really scared. I'll go get ready.
We'll get back to Joanna in a little because we're not even through with Otis and Maeve. It's hard to tell where their relationship will end because Maeve will struggle to trust him when she returns to the U.S.
On the one hand, he did tell her the truth, but on the other, she will worry whenever his phone switches off overnight whether he's with Ruby, so it seems like a relationship destined for failure.
Maeve is dealing with a lot. She's trying to find a way to celebrate her mother's life that is fitting of her, dealing with Sean's erratic behavior, and, of course, .
Sean being on drugs resonates with Maeve because she knows there's no happy ending in sight unless he gets clean.
She'll be worried that a similar fate awaits her brother than their mother, so I expect her not to leave again until she gets him into a treatment facility.
She may also put her U.S. dreams on hold to raise Elsie. Maeve was without that mother figure her whole life, so she'll likely want the best for her sister.
Then again, maybe she'll realize that her current placement is best for her because the woman has been excellent to them both.
Otis and O's debate went as well as expected, but I didn't anticipate O rocking up with Remi's book.
Eric: So, I have had an idea, and you can totally say no.
Abbi: Try me.
Eric: Okay, well, you know the other day at the soup kitchen?
Abbi: Yeah.
Eric: I wasn't supposed to go, obviously. But I feel like I was led there. And this is silly. This is silly. This...
Abbi: No, don't worry. I do get it. Go on.
Eric: Okay, well, I then found out that its funding has been cut, and it just all felt like it was supposed to be or something. And I was wondering whether we could use the fundraiser for that.
Abbi: Roman might take a bit of persuading.
Eric: Yeah.
Abbi: But queer people holding out an olive branch to the church? I feel it's givin' "We are gay Jesus."
Eric: We are... We totally are gay Jesus.
Otis saying his father only speaks like that to sell books was terrible because monetizing that behavior is just as bad as doing it. Otis should have condemned his father because he understood the optics of the situation.
The only shocker is how he managed to change the public opinion of O, only for her to leave smelling of roses and people wanting to cancel the OG sex therapist.
That came out of nowhere and will probably govern Otis' arc for the final three episodes. Will he give up sex therapy and do something else entirely?
I think it's fair to say he'll have his hands full trying to patch things up with Maeve, but Maeve didn't seem too annoyed when they were caught in the school.
The only person annoyed was Jean, whom Otis had previously eviscerated by not acting like a mother.
Given their first interaction, Jean's first objective might be to get Maeve out of Otis' life because her body language certainly looked like she blamed Maeve for her being called in the dead of night to the school.
Hopefully, that's not the case in the final episodes of Sex Education Season 4, but part of being a parent is trying to keep them away from what you perceive to be negative influences.
Eric: Hey, Otis.
Otis:Um, hey.
Eric: I have been wanting to say sorry about the club night because it was awkward and not nice, and I feel terrible.
Otis: Yeah... It's fine.
Eric: And it was awk...
Otis: It's fine. Honestly. Like... It probably wasn't even my thing. But I need to tell you something. It happened that night, and I'm feeling really weird about it. Basically... me and Ruby fell asleep together. Nothing happened. But we were hangin' out all night, and we woke up in the same bed.
Eric: Oh... gosh.
Otis: Yeah.
Eric: Have you told Maeve?
Otis: Mm, no. We weren't really speaking when it happened. And... I know it didn't mean anything, but I need to tell her. But her fŐ˝cking mum's just died. So, I don't know. It's, like, the wrong... time.
Eric: Mmm... mmm... Well, the longer you leave that, the more of a secret it's gonna feel.
It's a pity she didn't know about Joanna then because I'm sure she wouldn't be too thrilled about her drinking tequila with her son and his girlfriend.
Joanna is a tricky character to read, mainly because she's been thrust into this universe with a lot of baggage.
With every other character struggling, it's a bit of a tough sell to throw another character like that into the mix this late in the game. On top of that, her lack of care for consequences isn't interesting, either.
Who pays for a service while being fully aware you don't have the money to pay for it? That was embarrassing. Obviously, she's having trouble with her finances if she's racked up a mountain of debt, so it's not uncommon to bury your head in the sand.
The unfortunate part of Joanna's arc is that had this not been the final season, it would have been easier to enjoy. It's difficult when new characters take up all the screen real estate, and the OGs struggle to have a story.
Jackson's arc continues to impress because we've been slowly learning about it ever since Sex Education Season 1.
His health scare has made him ponder the future and how he should probably know about his father's history.
It's a sticky subject for his mothers, suggesting a bigger story than he's been led to believe.
Jackson saying that he was an adult and could make his own decisions profoundly affected his mothers, but it's a shame he's struggling to find people to talk to about it.
Viv and Beau's date was destined for success... until Jackson showed up out of the blue with a lot of baggage.
Thankfully, Viv and Beau are in a perfect place, so hopefully, that continues into the final episodes.
What are your thoughts on Jean seeking help after Otis' complaints? Do you think Jean will try to derail Otis and Maeve?
What are your thoughts on Jackson's quest to find his father? Do you think there's happiness on the horizon for anyone at this stage?
Sex Education is now available on Netflix.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
