The ending to season 2 of Netflix's Sex Education is proving divisive among fans of the show, with a couple of clear reasons to as why, including the relationship between Maeve and Otis. The British teen dramedy was a big hit for Netflix when it debuted in January 2019, mixing lewd comedy with authentic teen relationships and a serious discussion of important matters around sex and sexuality.
Sex Education season 2 continues to build in the wake of the season 1 ending, further developing the characters and relationships of Otis (Asa Butterfield), Maeve (Emma Mackey), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Adam (Connor Swindells), Ola (Patricia Allison), Otis' mother Jean (Gillian Anderson), and many more. It's another season filled with teenage turmoil and adolescent angst, with various couples getting together and breaking apart.
Sex Education season 2 culminates with a big musical showing in episode 8, with a production of Romeo & Juliet: The Musical - created by Lily (Tanya Reynolds) - where most of the storylines come to a head. In the end, there are some big decisions made with major repercussions likely for future seasons of the show, including Jean becoming pregnant, Eric choosing Adam over Rahim, and Otis declaring his love via voicemail for Maeve, only for newcomer Isaac (George Robinson) to delete it. It's some of these closing moments and what they mean that have led to division over Sex Education season 2's ending.
Sex Education Season 2's Ending Is Dividing Fans
Although Sex Education was among Netflix's most popular shows of 2019 (and may well be again for 2020), that doesn't mean everyone is pleased with it. On the whole, Sex Education season 2 has, like the first run, received strong reviews and plenty of praise from fans and critics alike, but the sticking point does appear to be the final episode. Take, for example, ratings for the show on IMDb, where it has an 8.3 overall. Of the show's 16 episodes, 15 of them are rated an 8.0 or above. The lone exception is the season 2 finale, which has 7.4 (and with more ratings than any other season 2 installment). That's a sharp contrast to the rest of the series, especially when episode 7 of season 2 has a series-high 9.0 rating. IMDb isn't a perfect gauge, but it is indicative of fan-feeling towards a show, and that rating suggests many aren't too happy with the ending.
That's backed up, albeit more anecdotally, by social media discussion regarding the series. Searching in particular for 'Sex Education ending' or 'Sex Education finale' on Twitter mostly brings up a string of annoyed tweets as the top results, from fans who are unhappy with how the final episode of Sex Education went down. There are surely many fans satisfied by Sex Education season 2's ending, but it's nonetheless suggestive of a mixed response, with one main reason apparent.
Season 2's Ending Is Mostly Divisive Because Of Maeve, Otis & Isaac
The ending of Sex Education season 2 serves as a reversal of the season 1 finale. In the closing moments of the show one year ago, it was Maeve who realized her feelings for Otis and went to declare them to him, only to see him happy with his new love interest Ola. The season 2 finale isn't a direct mirror, but it performs the same function: Otis goes to declare his love for Maeve, only to have his efforts thwarted by Isaac, a new friend of Maeve and someone who is setup - or at least setting himself up - as a potential suitor for her. When Otis asks him to tell Maeve to listen to her messages, Isaac instead listens himself. Upon hearing Otis profess his love for Maeve, he chooses to delete it.
Isaac has drawn a lot of fans' ire, with viewers unhappy at the new character coming in and spoiling the pairing of Maeve and Otis, especially in such a manipulative, underhand way. However, it goes beyond that too and more into the fact that, for another consecutive finale, there's an open ending designed to further draw out the will they/won't they relationship of Otis and Maeve. Given how season 1 ended, it arguably might've been more narratively satisfying for Maeve & Otis to get together in this finale, but instead that's something now held back for at least another year.
Eric & Adam's Storyline Is Also Controversial Among Sex Education Fans
While the brewing love triangle between Maeve, Otis, and Isaac, and how that plays in the season 2 finale, have suffered the brunt of frustration among the less satisfied Sex Education fans, it isn't the only plot point from the ending to have drawn ire. The pairing of Eric and Adam has also proved to be controversial among fans. In the end, Eric chooses Adam over his new boyfriend Rahim, realizing that's the person he loves and, as his mother says, makes him sparkle. Of course, Eric and Adam's relationship is far from complicated than just that.
This is an argument that plays out in Sex Education season 2 itself, with Otis unhappy at Eric potentially choosing to be with Adam. On the one hand, the pair do clearly have a connection and understanding of one another, which is why Eric ultimately chooses him. However, as Otis and subsequently a number of fans have pointed out, this is the person who bullied Eric for years, who made his life miserable, and who he was constantly scared of. Whether this is Sex Education normalizing abuse, or showing that people can grow and change, is a big point of division among fans, especially with Eric rejecting his seemingly healthy relationship with Rahim for a potentially more toxic, or at least complicated, one with Adam.
Sex Education Season 2's Ending Is Deliberately Frustrating, But Not Bad
With the division around Sex Education season 2's finale, it raises the question of whether or not the ending is actually bad or not. Taken as a whole, the finale as an episode works as well as the rest of the season: there's a great mix of comedy and drama, some surprising twists, a lot of heart, and as a big showstopper the Romeo and Juliet musical is every bit as bizarre and insane as you might hope. There are issues with it - Mr Groff's descent into full-on cartoon villainy feels a bit much, and the least believable arc in such an authentic show - but otherwise it's largely true to itself and the characters.
When it comes to Eric and Adam, it's an understandable if bold choice that feels ripe for further exploration in season 3 - Rahim was nice, but this does allow for more narrative juice. The same goes for Otis and Maeve: having them get together in the finale might have been satisfying in the moment, but it then would risk closing off more doors than having them apart does. It is of course deliberately frustrating, as most cliffhanger endings are: designed to make you want more, to clamor for a resolution to the story, and clearly to make fans wish even harder for Otis and Maeve to end up together (which is likely part of the endgame for either season 3 or at some point in the future). But Sex Education season 2 does it with a mix of humor and heart, which is the crucial factor. Sex Education season 2's ending is frustrating, especially with another long wait likely, but it's also likely the right one for the future of the show.