I wasn’t the only person to marathon Season 2 of Sex Education as soon as it dropped on Netflix. From open discussion about unsolicited dicks to embracing ugly come faces, it was absolutely worth the wait. However, while there are lots that it got very, very right, there are some moments where it slightly missed the mark.
Jackson tells Viv she should wait at least two hours before texting the boy she likes back.
I was hoping Viv and Jackson would kiss from the first moment we saw them together in Season two, and I think their storyline is one of my favourites in Season 2. What I’m less a fan of is the advice Jason gives Viv to help her get the attention of her crush. It feels very manipulative, and the episode seems to reinforce the idea that you should act aloof to make someone more interested in you. Showing someone that you like them is totally ok!
There don’t seem to be any trans or non-binary characters.
For a show that’s smashing it in terms of representing queer characters, Moordale High doesn’t seem to have any trans or non-binary pupils. Maybe it’s just that they haven’t been introduced yet, but when Season 2 makes the effort of having characters actually say that they’re asexual, bisexual and pansexual, it’s a shame that there isn’t any trans representation. It’s completely ok for young people to transition socially – i.e. in the name and pronouns they use or how they dress – and it seems strange that there are no non-binary students at Moordale.
Ola asks Lily for consent before she kisses her, but doesn’t get an enthusiastic yes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ola and Lily’s relationship, but their first kiss is somewhat a grey area when it comes to consent. While Ola definitely asks Lily if it’s ok to kiss her before she does (check!), she doesn’t wait for Lily to confirm that it is ok before she pushes her against the wall and kisses her. Asking for consent becomes a little bit performative if you don’t wait for an answer, and I expected better from Ola. Alongside Aimee’s storyline, I wish they’d taken the opportunity to talk about the nuances of consent, and how genuine mistakes do happen in the heat of the moment.
Nick expects Anwar to douche before they have anal sex.
While it’s totally ok to douche before anal sex, you absolutely don’t have to. Nick – and expecting his boyfriend to not only know that he should douche before anal but also know how to douche – puts pressure on Anwar. It’s acceptable for him to ask his partner to douche before they fuck, but not everyone does do so and that’s something the episode doesn’t mention at all. Especially given how many people will be getting sex education from the show, I’d have liked Rahim to have mentioned that when he talked to Anwar. However, Rahim’s advice that if you can’t talk to your partner about douching then you’re not ready to have their dick in your ass is spot on.
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