Created by Laurie Nunn, Sex Education season three ended with Maeve heading to the US to attend Wallace University while the lovelorn Otis was left behind in Moordale.
The show’s devoted fan base followed the journey of Otis as he navigated the complexities of growing up. However, the central focus for many viewers has always been the tumultuous relationship between Otis and Maeve.
With their will-they-won’t-they dynamic, the burning question for fans is whether they finally find happiness together in this concluding season. Well, we do have a conclusion and fans of the duo may not be too happy with it. But it makes perfect sense for Otis and Maeve.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Sex Education season four
As season four of Sex Education kicks off, Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey) try to make long-distance work. The challenges of differing time zones and Otis’ awkwardness with sexting make communication difficult, but their mutual desire to make their relationship work is evident. Otis misses Maeve intensely and fears losing her.
However, the plot takes an unexpected turn when Maeve receives a life-altering phone call, which sees her return to England. Her mother Erin’s overdose brings Maeve back to their hometown. She reignites her relationship with Otis, but something is not clicking anymore.
The fact that Otis fell asleep with Ruby after working on his election campaign comes as yet another hiccup in their already precarious equation. They still manage to work through it as Maeve decides to stay back in Moordale to be with Otis and enrol in Cavendish, where the rest of her friends are going for their sixth form. A harsh assessment from her Wallace professor, Mr. Molloy (Dan Levy), also discourages her from pursuing her course.
Struggling with grief, Maeve seeks solace in Otis’s mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson). They share an incredibly tender moment together where Jean encourages Maeve to seize the opportunity to go back to America despite her fears. Thankfully, Maeve realises the significance of this chance and understands that she should not hold herself back.
In a heart-wrenching moment, Maeve informs Otis of her decision to return to America, possibly for an extended period. Her lifelong dream of escaping their town finally beckons. However, this choice means that she and Otis cannot be together. With no foreseeable plan for Maeve’s return, they realise it would be unfair to both of them to hold onto something they both seem to have outgrown. They spend one last passionate night together, but by morning, Maeve is gone.
Otis and Maeve’s on-screen chemistry had fans rooting for them, but their love story was doomed from the start. Nonetheless, the final season of Sex Education delivers a bittersweet ending to a brilliant show.
