Ruby and Otis and Maeve and Eric and Adam.

Ruby and Otis forever.

Ruby and Otis

I don't think a lot of us expect - after two season of being invested in Meave and Otis - we would find ourselves rooting for a character we never see coming: Ruby. A big reason why Ruby-Otis made us stan is because... they go on date! Couples in Sex Education the TV show found love by circumstances (the writers set up the scenarios for them to be a couple). We don't even see Adam - Eric go one date except that one picnic. Ruby and Otis is closer to the real world: You hook up then decided to go on dates, you open up and developed feeling for each other. We get to see a different side of Ruby just as Otis start discovering it. They even compromised to make it work.

I'm surprised by how much I ship this couple because I'm so used to consider character like Ruby (on other shows) as an interlude between the main couple. Sometimes they are the rebound girl used as a plot device to teach the male character a lesson. But part of the reason why we love this couple because he genuinely wanted to get to know her. He still does even after she breakup with him. Credit to the show writers for making her more than a one time fling.

It was just exciting to watch their unexpected relationship, just as exciting as it was to watch Maeve and Otis during season 1. I thought to myself: maybe Sex Education doesn't need to end with Maeve and Otis, maybe the show has figured out a way to beat the traditional sitcom trope. But that didnt happened, and it was disappointing to see how Ruby-OT was abruptly cut short.

Though Ruby appear less and less after that, her impact remains throughout the rest of the season. Because now suddenly we see Otis and Maeve in a different light.

Maeve and Otis

It's so easy to hate this pairing, because as the seasons progress, they feel more like a relationship made for a TV show. To put it bluntly: Otis and Maeve is Ross and Rachel. The writers of FRIENDS famously has to come up with enough plot to keep Ross and Rachel separated for 10 season, just so they can get back together at the final moment. Much like their predecessor, Otis and Maeve suffer from this syndrome. The show start with them and probably will end with them. And we will hate them for it.

Because of how set up these TV couples usually are, sometimes it frustrated viewer to watch what they already know what's going to happen. It frustrated them further when someone like Ruby come into the mix and the show remind us it will always going to end this way.

But Sex Education is a pretty smart show that has proven itself to be more than capable of reinventing itself out of cliché and stereotypes. So let's keep our finger crossed that they can deliver something refreshing and unexpected.

Eric and Adam

It's a Sex Education tradition that by the end of the season somehow we are collectively mad at Eric

The problem with Eric start right from the beginning when the show fail to answer: why did Eric choose to be with Adam? It felt like an missed opportunity to not let Otis ask that question, because if your best-friend is dating his ex-bully, you would have SEVERAL questions.

That missing link kept coming up whenever you see Eric-Adam together. What do these boys like about each other? What do they have in common? What do they talk about on date, when they're texting? Unlike Ruby and Otis, their journey to become a couple is sort of a mess. If you notice, scenes between them this season are about figuring out a relationship problem.

We simply didn't see Eric and Adam being in love, the only time that happened is right at the end, through the words in Adam poem. So why is Eric in this relationship anyway? I actually understand the reason why he break up with Adam more than why he chose to be with Adam.

Eric

I admit, given this is the main gay character, I feel obligated to defend Eric. Because watching him on screen remains important to me.

When Eric was at his cousins wedding in Nigeria... it felt like a real life enactment of me at virtually any family wedding. It was definitely triggering to see. I can't articulate that feeling, when you stand outside and stare into the crowd, all of them smiley with the couple and wonder if this will happen to me. Not getting married, but coming out. Will I ever be accepted like this? How do I even fit into all of this heteronormative traditional family. You feel profoundly lost, in the middle of an event that has suppose to be about joy and union.

I think dating Adam makes Eric felt like going back to the closet. Being in Nigeria reminded him how tired it can be to constantly hide part of yourself like you can’t even breathe. He already been through that 2 seasons ago, so why want to go through that again now?

That not to say what he did wasnt stupid. Ultimately, Eric doesnt know what he wants, he didnt know what he want with Rahim and now its Adam. Sometimes you gotta remind yourself all of them are just teenagers - no one know what they want at that age.

Or the simple truth is the show doesn't know what to do with his character now. Much like Jackson, Eric has a fantastic 1st season followed by 2 seasons that doesn't quite match up to their debut. Now their trajectory seems even more is unclear

Adam

I didn't understand why Adam father was include in season, like why we need to hear more about this awful villain from last year. It took awhile for me to realize that Adam and his father's stories ran parallel with each other. They both go on the same journey of dismantling the toxic masculinity traits they've inherited.

In the end they both didn't get "the girl" (i'm putting in quote here as general term). And I believe even if they did get "the girl", those relationships wouldn't last. Both Adam and his father are emotionally stunted men who couldn't access their emotions in a non-destructive way. How could he in a sustainable relationship, if your only mode is either complete shutdown or blow-up.

Adam’s arch this season has always been about how to express emotions, something he learn not to do from the generation of men in his family. That's why it's especially painful to watch their break-up scene, because we never see Adam express so much. He's like a robot learning how to properly process pain for the first time.