Sex Education (Series 3)

[The Mollusk]

Surprised to see no thread for this yet and also that the previous two series got very minimal/dismissive coverage on here, as I think it's a brilliant show with a consistently impressive cast, frequently very funny and touching, great soundtrack by the marvellous Ezra Furman... I could go on.

I hoovered up the first two series in a short space of time earlier in the year and have been very eagerly anticipating this new one. Watched the first two episodes last night and was overall very much into it. Adam Groff is such a wonderful character and the chap who plays him is superb, his range from brooding angst to total slapstick is seriously impressive.

One of the best things about the show is, as you'd expect, how sage, nuanced and compassionate its sex and gender politics are. It strikes a solid balance between the humour and anxiety that comes to everyone at some point in their lives regarding how we think about sex and it's frequently warm and relatable, and very well written. I love it.

[Ja'moke]

I really enjoyed the first season but I gave up on Season 2. It seemed to move away from its original concept and became more focused on the relationship drama. But I've seen reviews saying that season three is a return to form.

[Milo]

I'm sad that the Caerleon campus of Newport Uni closed but glad it's getting a sort of second life that isn't a load of Redrow houses.

Edit: I mean, it will be a load of Redrow houses but at least the show gives it a bit of a continued existence after Newport Uni ended up not really existing. Which is symbolic of Wales' crappest City.

[The Mollusk]

I really enjoyed the first season but I gave up on Season 2. It seemed to move away from its original concept and became more focused on the relationship drama.

What a strange thing for a relationship drama to do!

[mjwilson]

Surprised to see no thread for this yet and also that the previous two series got very minimal/dismissive coverage on here

I do think that shows which drop all their episodes at once have a real problem with provoking any kind of conversation because everyone is watching at different times, so there's no real way of having any kind of co-ordinated discussion. I mean, Barry Jenkins had a new show out this year and nobody talked about it. Not just on here, nobody talked about it anywhere at all. (Please ignore this claim if there was an extensive thread in Picture Box.)

(Disclaimer: it's possible it's just because I'm an old fart and this binging malarkey is new fangled nonsense to me.)

[The Mollusk]

No I think that's probably a fair point! There's no room for weekly discussion or speculation, so it stands to reason that people who think it's redundant to simply preach to the choir about how good the show is might not have anything they want to share about it at all.

I'll try to keep bumping the thread as I go (although I'll probably become discouraged if there aren't any replies) but if anything I hope the thread might convince newcomers to give the show a watch, because it is genuinely brilliant at times. It's got fuckin Gillian Anderson in it, surely a web forum full of nerds should be all over that!

[Theremin]

Been watching this with my partner as our lastest trashy binge.

Definitely agree so far that S3 is funner and nippier than S2.

I think S2 got bogged down by having to set up and develop loads of new characters, relationships and motovations - so certain episodes felt very workmanlike.

Now in S3 there's a pretty broad stable of defined characters already set up, so it's easy to just cut nippily back and forth between them and keep things energetic.

[Ian Drunken Smurf]

Been watching 1-2 episodes a night with my wife once the kids are asleep each evening. Found episode 4 difficult to get into.

Find myself questioning too much about the school - e.g. it is a new school year yet Jackson is still head boy, almost seems like a three year sixth form... Also who introduces a school uniform during the school year without notice...

[MojoJojo]

Find myself questioning too much about the school - e.g. it is a new school year yet Jackson is still head boy, almost seems like a three year sixth form... Also who introduces a school uniform during the school year without notice...

The whole American school in Wales setup is annoyingly distracting.

[Ja'moke]

What a strange thing for a relationship drama to do!

Well, yes, but I meant more at the expense of the comedy and the original sex education concept.

[Better Midlands]

The whole American school in Wales setup is annoyingly distracting.

Yes, I think I got three episodes in.

Maybe I should give it another go.

[The Mollusk]

My own take on the criticisms raised in here about how it looks is that it intentionally tries not to exist within the strict parameters of any one particular time or place (even though it's definitely more situated in 20th/21st century Great Britain than anywhere else), perhaps in order to subvert the misconception that the woke politics of sexuality/gender identity aren't something that's only just come into existence, they've always been there to some extent. I think it mostly succeeds at this, and personally I don't find anything about the show's aesthetic to be distracting at all. I think it's weird that people are able to totally suspend belief for certain works of fiction but not for others. It's a made up story, it can be as unreal as it wants!

[MojoJojo]

It's not just about how it looks - the way that sport is so important to the school, the trailer park, the military school - these are all clearly US things. And it's not really a case of suspending disbelief - I don't believe it's trying to exist out of any particular time or place, because it's very specifically a US school. It just happens to be in Wales, and you're left wondering why.

They should have just set it in the US and have everyone put on a Welsh accent.

I should say, I do actually like it and glad to hear the third season is good, but the weirdness of the setting can't be ignored.

[The Mollusk]

It can't be ignored because it's a huge integral part of the show, but it absolutely can be accepted and even enjoyed as such. I'm living proof of that.

Also people do live in static caravan parks in this country.

[Better Midlands]

it's very specifically a US school. It just happens to be in Wales, and you're left wondering why.

I just happened upon it when it was only the one season without knowing anything about it and was increasingly confused as I watched.

[madhair60]

there was an outcry on twitter because episode 3 of this has a cat getting squashed

[The Mollusk]

^ Watched that episode last night. That scene is unnecessarily fucking brutal. I mean it is a comedy drama and the scene is definitely presented comedically but it's proper grim. They really didn't need to show the aftermath which is

Spoiler alert

a cat crushed under a telly surrounded by a pool of blood

[close]

since they make it extremely apparent in the setup that it's going to happen. This show can be very cartoonish at times and it almost always works to its advantage but that bit was a total misfire.

[madhair60]

this is just between me and you, smashed cat

[The Mollusk]

Hahaha

[Ian Drunken Smurf]

The whole American school in Wales setup is annoyingly distracting.

Even my wife (Russian born) started questioning the logistics of the seemingly daytrip to France, given that, as she put it, "they had to get round the M25 and truck backlog" both ways!

[Ian Drunken Smurf]

this is just between me and you, smashed cat

That was a definite "highlight".

[Ian Drunken Smurf]

Is anyone else still confused by seeing some things being 80s/90s (lots of the cars) and then smartphones etc.?

[The Mollusk]

Nah not confused by it at all. Surely if that's confusing then the heavy abundance of bright, outlandish retro fashion is absolutely confounding. Personally I just think it looks cool and am happy to go along with it without question.

[The Mollusk]

This interview with the creators does a really good job of explaining their aesthetic decisions for the wardrobes, locations and other deliberately placeless/timeless design choices:

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/where-is-sex-education-set

[non capisco]

It's got fuckin Gillian Anderson in it, surely a web forum full of nerds should be all over that!

Went off her when I read about the 1984 miners' strike tbh.

[The Mollusk]

Went off her when I read about the 1984 miners' strike tbh.

Credit where it's due, she ruined so many lives so sexily.

I'm four episodes into this series now and I'm finding the massively ham fisted presentation of the new principal's backwards regressive attitudes quite a chore. At its best this show does a great job of keeping the viewer lingering for resolution of difficult relationships and attitudes but this person is just an out and out fucking pain in the arse. At least Groff had slapstick and being a pathetic hopeless nutter on his side, he's very watchable all the time. There's basically nothing likeable about Hope - see what they did with her name there!! - and she's such a villain that any sort or redemption that might be coming isn't enticing at all. I really hope they subvert my expectations with her character but at the moment I'm struggling to see how they will.

The rest of the show's still very good though!

[Ian Drunken Smurf]

I wondered whether Hope was in fact an allegory for Modern Britain seeking its own way in the world and reverting back to Victorian values...

[Mr Trumpet]

The whole American school in Wales setup is annoyingly distracting.

I could never get past this. Seemed like a British show made for Americans. Sixth formers getting bullied for their lunch money ffs

[The Mollusk]

You should read the interview I posted above.

[Mr Trumpet]

No