Warning! Spoilers ahead for Sex Education season 3.
Otis (Asa Butterfield) should've ended up with Ruby (Mimi Keene) and not Maeve (Emma Mackey) in Sex Education. The new season of Netflix's hit British coming-of-age series brought in many unexpected changes at Moordale Secondary. However, arguably, the biggest surprise of them all was the revelation that Otis and Ruby started hooking up.
Not much was revealed regarding how and why exactly they began seeing each other. By the time the new term started, they were already in the midst of their casual dalliance. Not until Otis came clean about it to Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) were the origins of their set-up via a flashback sequence revealed. As it turned out, it was Ruby who took a liking to Otis during a summer party and, from there, their affair continued throughout the whole break. The relationship was non-commital and carried out in private, hence why no one knew about it initially. Once they went open with their relationship, the couple gained the freedom to fully date each other.
At this point, the nature of the relationship also started to change. Instead of just hooking up, Otis and Ruby started properly seeing each other. Granted, they faced issues early on, especially as she tried to change him so he could better fit her circle of friends, but they eventually got past that. Everything was fine — at least for Ruby, who even confessed that she loves Otis. Unfortunately for her, the feelings weren't reciprocal, as he was still hung up with Maeve. This led to the couple's break-up.
At the end of Sex Education season 3, Otis and Maeve finally got together after years of a will-they/won't-they dynamic. It makes sense considering that they're the show's primary pairing. However, considering everything that transpired between Otis and Ruby, it would've been so much better if the series altered course and developed this new dynamic instead.
For starters, they both grew as individual people during their relationship. Ruby was able to let people in — despite her usual cold demeanor, spending time with her boyfriend allowed her to feel safe with being vulnerable — so much so that he even brought him into her house, something that she never did before, not even with the Untouchables. Meanwhile, Otis was also great. He's a great communicator, and he established his boundaries when she tried changing her looks. The fact that he could have a calm and honest conversation with Ruby after she confessed her feelings was a sign of maturity on his part. For some reason, Otis couldn't do this with Maeve. With her, he's either so good that he's almost a pushover or he's downright mean, as evidenced by his outburst in his party back in Sex Education season 2.
It's clear from the get-go that Sex Education was building Maeve and Otis to be together. Yet, after two and a half seasons of constant push-and-pull, delivering on their romance might be a tad too late now. It doesn't help that Otis' relationship with Ruby proves that he could be happy in a different pairing. Granted, he's still hung up on his first love, and he even admitted that it doesn't mean that he will never love Ruby the same way she loves him.