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The fourth and final season of ‘Sex Education’ hits Netflix later this month, just in time for freshers’ week/cuffing season/the whole bed-rotting trend. The new trailer has dropped and things are looking as juicy as ever for the students of Moordale High.
When we left the gang in season 3, Moordale had gained a reputation as the ‘Sex School’ following an STI outbreak and a student production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that would make the Moulin Rouge! look like your local 50+ Zumba class. Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and semi-reformed bad boy Adam (Connor Swindells) have sex, but break up when Eric cheats on him with Oba (Jerry Iwu), who he meets on a family trip to Nigeria.
Elsewhere, Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) comes to terms with her recent sexual assault, Jean (Gillian Anderson) gives birth to baby Joy, and Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Ruby (Mimi Keene) make a go of things. It all gets messy, though, when Ruby says ‘I love you’ and Otis, well, doesn’t. The resident school sexpert is still pining for Maeve, who is dating – but later dumps – voicemail-deleting, undercover villain Isaac (George Robinson). She’s also off to the US as part of a month-long ‘gifted and talented’ program.
Here’s four things we spotted in the new season 4 teaser.
Otis is preparing to send Maeve an epic sext
After three seasons of will-they/won’t-they, Maeve (Emma Mackey) and Otis are still will-they/ won’t-they’ing, even after kissing on season 3’s eventful school trip to France and Meave learning the truth about the ‘I love you’ voicemail.
Season 4 finds her in America, studying at Wallace University, having been convinced to go by her BFF, Aimee. She’s told Otis that they’ll need to ‘see where they’re at’ once she’s back in the UK. But if the trailer is anything to go by, sexting is very much where they’re at.
Maeve sends Otis a fairly vanilla, PG selfie. He responds with a full-body-shave and a few nothing-left-to-the-imagination snaps, which may or may not be sent Stateside. We’ll have to see how that plays out…
The kids’ new campus is... different
Following new headteacher Hope Haddon’s (Jemima Kirke) failure to clean up Moordale’s image by implementing a school uniform policy and making students wear shame signs around their necks – sci-fi writer Lily Iglehart’s read: ‘I wrote dirty and disgusting words which have brought shame on my peers’ – Moordale is shut down. Otis and co head to Cavendish Sixth Form College to continue their studies.
First impressions? It looks like Google’s HQ, with a slide in the middle of the hallway. But it won’t all be smooth sailing, as there’s a new sex therapist in town.
Jean might need some therapy of her own
At the end of season 3, Jean gives birth to a baby following a complicated delivery. She’s now coming to terms with being a single mum, after discovering on-off boyfriend Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt) is not the father. In the trailer Jean is seen baring her soul at a parenting class, sharing the brutal truth behind her break-up with the group.
Things don’t seem to be going much better with Otis, either. We see him telling her to put her struggles to one side, as he still needs her to be his mum. Sob.
Eric is embracing his dual identities
Gatwa’s Eric has struggled with his sexual identity but this season looks like the one where he finally embraces who he is – in all its shades.
He’s broken up with Adam, telling him he needs to be with someone who is ‘ready to fly’ in the queer community. And he’s wearing some pretty fabulous outfits, ft skirts, sequins and harnesses, while finding his own wings.
In the trailer we see him offering friendly advice to his ex, telling him, ‘You have to believe that you deserve good things. You have to love yourself.’
There’s also hints that he’ll embrace more of his Nigerian heritage, as he’s seen performing in a gospel choir. How these dual identities interact will likely play out over the coming eight episodes.
Season 4 of Sex Education is streaming from Netflix on Sep 21.