Warning: This post contains spoilers for Sex Education season 3.
Why killing off Jean Milburn would have been a huge mistake in Sex Education season 3. Jean’s season 2 storyline ended with the news of her surprise pregnancy. The series has never shied away from tackling various issues — be they about sex, identity, relationships, pregnancy, and abortions. For three seasons, Jean has been helping to kick-start the discussions surrounding these topics; in season 3, however, giving birth nearly ends Jean’s life and her death would have been a smear on an otherwise fantastic season for various reasons.
In Sex Education season 3, Jean went a few months without telling her ex-partner Jakob that she was pregnant. Once she did, things began to change for the better in that there was more open communication between the two in the midst of merging their families together. However, Jean had to endure various remarks about her age and her pregnancy being high-risk because of it, which fueled her anger towards the often sexist attitudes of others. When Jean went into labor early, everything seemed fine; but then she lost a lot of blood immediately after giving birth to Joy and there was a cliffhanger that suggested she could be killed off the show.
The series certainly made it seem like it would happen, but killing off Jean would have been terrible for a number of reasons. It wouldn’t have matched the tone of Sex Education which, despite addressing some very serious issues like sexual assault, has always maintained a lighthearted tone. Jean dying would have certainly changed the tone of the show, at least for a while. What’s more, it would have been a bad look considering how Jean was treated by others for being pregnant during her perimenopausal era. To have her die immediately after childbirth would have delivered a terrible message about women being pregnant later in life. In a way, it would have also justified her treatment by doctors and their sexist behavior towards her.
Jean is a wonderful and multi-faceted character. She adds a tremendous amount of warmth, hilarity, and depth to Sex Education, with her actions and words bringing balance to the show that is otherwise full of teenage characters and their problems. Gillian Anderson is also exceptional in the role and it’s hard to imagine the series without her; to have killed off her character would have been a great loss to the series, potentially altering its DNA forever. Plus, to have her die just as Jakob had a breakthrough with regards to his trust issues would have been awful since Jean’s death would have advanced his pain and development while fridging her in the process. Rather, Sex Education showed that Jean can have complications in birth without having to kill her off to forward either Jakob and Otis’ storylines.
The realization that Jakob might not even be the father of Joy gives Jean another storyline in an as yet announced Sex Education season 4. This is on top of caring for a newborn, continuing to be a therapist, and working on her relationships with Jakob and Otis. Sex Education made the right decision in keeping Jean around and only teasing her possible death, the repercussions of which would’ve been far too great to overcome.