The missing cast for Sex Education season 4 is good news for Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey). Netflix's British coming-of-age series is confirmed to return for its fourth year, although some of its notable characters won't be back for the outing. This is disappointing as Sex Education has done a great job diversifying its storytelling to make it more relatable and appealing to a wider audience. Despite this, however, the absence of certain characters also has a couple of upsides.
Moordale Secondary has undergone several changes in Sex Education season 3, which were primarily motivated by the arrival of new Headmistress Hope Haddon (Jemima Kirke). While dealing with the institution's fresh rules, the students also tackle their respective personal issues, including Otis and Maeve. After years of back-and-forth and dating other people, Sex Education's main romantic pairing finally got together, only to be physically separated once again after Maeve decided to push through with the study abroad program in the U.S., leaving Otis back at home.
The pair getting together only to part ways again was arguably frustrating. This Otis and Maeve dynamic in Sex Education has been stretched out for far too long without any kind of payoff. Luckily, it seems like Netflix is ready to finally fully tackle their relationship as hinted by Ola's (Patricia Allison) absence in Sex Education season 4. Since Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt) and Jean (Gillian Anderson) rekindled their relationship and even now have a child, Ola and Otis have essentially become half-siblings. They live under one roof, and with the arrival of their sibling, it's safe to say that they will continue that arrangement. Not featuring Ola would be quite tricky, unless parts of Sex Education season 4 take place elsewhere. Perhaps, Otis spends the school break following Maeve in the U.S. where they can properly carry out their romance.
Sex Education Needs To Finally Deliver On Maeve & Otis
From the get-go, it was clear that the show was building towards Otis and Maeve eventually being together. Starting out as business partners and then friends, the pair's relationship organically developed in the show's first year. Beyond that, however, Netflix may have milked this Sex Education plotline way too much. The will-they/won't-they romantic trope is tried and tested in media. For years, it was what kept viewers from religiously following shows like Cheers, Friends, and Frasier. Sex Education could have better utilized this storytelling trend for Otis and Maeve it didn't feel dated and boring compared to the more interesting and modern relationship stories in the show. The fact that there was even an argument that Otis should be with Ruby (Mimi Keene) instead is a testament to this. As Sex Education potentially nears its end, it needs to finally deliver on the promise of a satisfying pay-off for Otis and Maeve's arc, especially after years of building them up without no narrative reward.
Despite the criticism on how Sex Education handled Otis and Maeve's romance, it remains to be one of the best original shows on Netflix. As its primary character, however, the series needs to make sure that it makes up for the couple's rather frustrating arc in the last three seasons. Downsizing the cast and possibly introducing an out-of-town narrative that will really delve into their relationship offers the series the best opportunity to do that.
Sex Education will return for season 4 on Netflix.