The second season of Netflix's Sex Education is officially out and was met with widespread acclaim. Despite that, the finale was surprisingly divisive among many fans. That's not because of the quality of the episode or even the writing. It's mostly because Otis and Maeve are still not together and another obstacle stands in their way.
That should tell you all you need to know about how important the relationships on this show are. Whether it's romantic or friendships, we've grown to care about these connections, for better or for worse. With that in mind, we're ranking the best relationships on the series and the ones that we weren't happy with.
Weren't Crazy About: Jean & Jakob
Jean Milburn is not the kind of woman who gets into relationships. She enjoys her "no strings attached" connections but nothing more. Meeting Jakob changes that as she gets serious with him and by the time season two rolled around, the two were a significant item.
While their relationship wasn't bad, it just wasn't one of the most interesting ones on the show. Plus, Jean told Otis that she wouldn't sleep with Jakob and she did it anyway. It made everything awkward considering Otis was dating Jakob's daughter at the time. For a short period, they were one big strange family.
Loved: Adam & Eric
For most of the first season, Adam torments Eric. He bullies him relentlessly until one day they hooked up while sharing detention. Things couldn't progress because Adam was shipped off to military school, which is where he started the second season.
Adam returned and found Eric was dating Rahim (which is another good relationship). Eric and Adam still shared some tender moments together but Eric didn't want to be with someone ashamed of being gay. Adam made a grand gesture during the school play, finally bringing these two together.
Weren't Crazy About: Michael & Maureen
The addition of Maureen Groff in season two was a welcome one. We had only seen her in passing during the first season but she played a bigger role the second time around. When she spoke with Jean about her lack of intimacy with her husband, one might've expected that to lead the couple to fix their problems.
However, Maureen's attempts to arose her husband led to him shrugging her off. She responded by asking for a divorce and then going out to dance with Jean. Michael never even showed a sign that he wanted to fix their relationship. Maureen deserves better and that's why we don't like this couple.
Loved: Jackson & Viv
Here's one that came from out of nowhere. In season one, Jackson's main focus was Maeve. He was given his own storyline away from everyone else in the second season and it surprised us with how good it was. Viv, a new character, acted as Jackson's tutor.
However, their friendship went beyond that. She helped him run lines for the play while he gave her advice on getting the guy she liked. Through it all, they bonded in ways that not many other characters on the show have. Viv was there for him during a panic attack and told his parents about his problems to get him help. They gave us some touching moments.
Weren't Crazy About: Adam & Aimee
This is actually the first relationship that we see in the series. The very first scene involves Aimee and Adam during an intimate time in bed together. We won't go into the dirty details of it all but it was immediately clear that there were serious problems between them.
Aimee dumped Adam by the second episode but they were still hooking up from time to time. Adam continued to pine for her and tried to get her back to no avail. They never meshed well romantically and only held each other back from being happy. However, the two actors are dating in real life and we support that much more.
Loved: Maeve & Aimee
Though Aimee was a member of the "Untouchables" during the first season, she hung out a lot with Maeve in secret. Maeve was seemingly the only person to truly care about her. In the season finale, Aimee finally ditched her popular friends and chose Maeve over them.
A focal point of season two was their bond. Aimee constantly pushes Maeve to admit her feelings for Otis, while Maeve is the one to get Aimee to report the sexual assault and she's the ringleader of the girls who help her out in the end. Fans adore these two as best friends who support each other. Hopefully, there's a season three so we can get more of them.
Weren't Crazy About: Otis & Ola
A lot of audience members were against Otis and Ola as a couple from the start. They believed that this was getting in the way of the Otis/Maeve endgame everybody wants. That's enough to land them on this list. However, they were actually pretty good on paper. Ola pushed Otis to try new things and he grew because of this romance.
All that being said, they had plenty of issues. It was difficult to get invested in them knowing that Otis had stronger feelings elsewhere. While they should have worked, they never truly did. Add in how much they ultimately hurt each other by the end of their relationship and it was a real problem.
Loved: Eric & Otis
Take what worked about Maeve and Aimee and apply it here. Eric and Otis are the best friends that the show focuses on the most. From the start, we see that Otis struggles with most social interactions but is comfortable around Eric. He can talk to him about his deepest problems.
When Otis left Eric on his birthday and he got beat up, causing a rift between them, it was heartbreaking. Seeing them makeup with each other and spend all of season two without major problems was a welcome sight. These two mean a lot to each other and they mean a lot to viewers as well.
Weren't Crazy About: Maeve & Isaac
Season two introduced us to Isaac. He's Maeve's neighbor at the trailer park, was abandoned by his parents, and is confined to a wheelchair. He sounds like the ultimate sympathetic character. For most of his run on the show, his friendship with Maeve was quite nice. They bonded and he was there for her at a tough time.
However, everything went down the drain in the finale. Isaac finds out about Otis' voicemail to Maeve where he reveals his feelings, listens to it, and then deletes it before Maeve can hear. While we understand that he likes her too, this was incredibly shady. It's the main reason why the season two finale was so divisive among fans.
Loved: Otis & Maeve
You knew this had to be number one. The entire series is built upon this relationship. It is Maeve who truly gets Otis to open up and blossom as a person. She's the only person besides Eric that he seems truly comfortable with. When she goes through a harrowing ordeal in season one, she lashes out at him, yet he waits and protects her.
Neither can truly be happy with significant others because of their feelings for each other. From Otis always putting her first to Maeve sleeping with his sweater by her side each night, their love is clear. The show is pulling off one of the better "will they/won't they" scenarios in all of television.