Netflix’sSex Educationhas a knack for addressing countless issues faced by adolescents, adults, and, well, people of all ages. Across its four seasons, the Netflix original is known for confronting an array of social topics in an authentic way, including themes of bisexuality, asexuality, sexual assault, teenage pregnancy, mental health, self-harm, crises of faith and more. What makes the series stand out is how it gives us an uncensored view of such significant topics through a unique blend of empathy and humor. However, despiteSex Education’s unfiltered view at a variety of teenage issues, the show barely scratched the surface when it comes to issues related to disability — that is, until the fourth and final season, which just recently landed on the streaming service.
Finally,as the series concluded, it felt like it came out swinging this time with various representations of disability, as well as increased focus on the impact of accessibility and casual ableism on the lives of disabled people. This wasn’t always the case with previous seasons ofSex Education, as well as many other shows that treat disability as an afterthought, but the series’ culminating season finally brought disability more into the forefront.
Disability Has Long Been Overlooked
Firstly, even prior to the series opting to focus more prominently on disability in its last season,Sex Educationis a masterpiece, full of colorful characters and compelling storylines. But, as we know, the series is known for addressing complex teen concepts with sensitivity, empathy, and a touch of humor. After all, throughout the show’s tenure, we see it handling a variety of issues, ranging from teen pregnancies and abortions, to masturbation and STIs, asexuality, pansexuality, bisexuality, body dysmorphia, slut-shaming, sexual assault, drug addiction, mental health, issues of mortality, and more. However, disability is one concept that felt like it fell by the wayside.
Prior to the last season, the raunchy series only dabbled with issues of disability. Its representation of disability started in Season 2 withIsaac (George Robinson), the show’s first disabled character who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury. Even then, we only briefly got to know Isaac, who served as more of a foil to any potential relationship between Maeve (Emma Mackey) and Otis (Asa Butterfield).
Sex Education: Best Moments in the Series, Ranked
Sex Education has had a number of great moments throughout its four-season run. Here are our picks of the show’s ten best moments.
As the series continued in Season 3, Isaac’s character developed further as we got to know him on a more intimate level. His connection with Maeve especially blossoms into a romance, which leads to a compellingly pivotal scene where the duo discusses what they can do in a sexual context, shedding light on demystifying the misconceptions surrounding sex and disability.
However, despite this growing prevalence of disability as the series went on, its representation still felt overshadowed, especially compared to some of the other storylines, which have taken the forefront, such as Maeve and Otis’s growing relationship, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa)’s struggles at reconciling his sexuality and religion, and Michael Groff (Alistair Petrie)’s journey towards redemption. We’re not saying these aren’t compelling plot lines, but the show’s tendency to focus a tad too much on them comes at the cost of more attention being spent on disability.
Scratching the Surface with an Unapologetic View of Disability
Despite Isaac’s character not being fully developed in the second season, Robinson still gave us a compellingly raw view of disability, as someone who is quite divisive and headstrong, instead of the typical on-screen perception of disabled characters seen as inspirational. This unapologetic projection of disability, which aligns with the show’s broader transparent look at teenage issues, continued as the series progressed through its third and fourth seasons.
The last season ofSex Educationalso brings this perception of disability more into forefront, with increased screen time of disabled characters. Notably, this season sees Isaac navigating the lack of accessibility at Cavendish College, the new school replacing the now-closed Moordale Secondary, as well as pursuing a budding relationship with Aimee (played by Aimee Lou Wood). Alongside increasing Isaac’s presence to a more prominent level, the last season also introduces a new disabled character in the form of Aisha (Alexandra James), a deaf student at Cavendish College, who wears a hearing aid and is a skilled lip-reader.
But despite her introduction, Aisha’s character was severely underdeveloped as the only things we knew about her beyond her disability was that she is ethically non-monogamous and that she is interested in astronomy. The neglect in fleshing out her character beyond these basic personality traits was a missed opportunity for the series. Nevertheless, it was a welcome depiction of disability, not as inspirational and without tokenizing disability. Rather, Sex Education took an authentically unapologetic approach in highlighting disability.
Casual Ableism and the Lack of Accessibility
The first episode ofSex EducationSeason 4 sees an awkward elevator exchange between Aimee and Isaac at their new school, Cavendish College. When the elevator abruptly stops, their conversation turns to their motivations for taking art class. In classic oblivious Aimee fashion, she asks Isaac if his reasons for taking art relate to any trauma relating to his disability. Of course, Aimee’s oblivious fashion is countered by Isaac’s snark, as the character responds that he uses art “to find catharsis from the daily emotional torture of being in a wheelchair through the magic outlet of painting.”
This incredibly cringy dialogue sets the tone for the season’s coverage of disability. Though numerous compelling plot lines take shape during the concluding season — most notably of which is Cal (Dua Saleh)’s journey through their transition — the writers managed to give the culminating season a compelling story arc about the lack of accessibility in school, riddling the final slew of episodes with subtle ableist remarks and blatant inaccessibility.
The elevator scene with Aimee and Issac also features him lamenting that the school can afford a meditation room, but it can’t somehow manage to fix its elevator. This, too, emphasizes one of the season’s supporting, but significant storyline on the lack of accessibility.Supporting Season 4 characterAisha, who relies on lip-reading, similarly faces casual ableism, and some of her closest friends don’t often consider her needs. In a brief moment, Aisha is in a group conversation and Abbi (Anthony Lexa) turns away from her to say something, subsequently informing Aisha that she will “tell her later” when Aisha asked what was said.
Highlighting Societal Barriers
The ableism sprinkled throughout the season reaches a crescendo in the penultimate episode moments before the students’ mock exam. Isaac, once again, comes up against the broken elevator, which prevents him from taking his exam. He decides, in protest, to pull the fire alarm, and he blocks the stairs with chairs and tables, with Aimee’s help. This points to the key message that inaccessibility is distressing. As Isaac says, “It’s annoying, isn’t it? Not being able to get where you need to go.”
The scene serves as a blatant reminder of the lack of accessibility and casual ableism that disabled people face every day. Accessibility, as Aisha accurately points out, is largely seen as an afterthought. It’s incredibly draining for disabled people to constantly have to ask for accommodations and things that should already be in place. For instance, in an earlier episode, Aisha goes on a date with Cal to the movie theater, which doesn’t put the subtitles on. Cal says they’ll go and ask for the subtitles to be turned on, but Aisha insists against it as she doesn’t want to “make a fuss.”
This illustrates the unfortunate reality that disabled people’s requests for reasonable accommodations are often dismissed, thereby making them disillusioned about the possibility of having to fight for their accommodations to be met. In Isaac’s case, it takes creating that “fuss” in order to get his needs met and, precisely, the elevator fixed.
Sex Education Creator Unveils the Reason for Concluding the Series in Season 4
Sex Education’s Laurie Nunn believes Season 4 is the perfect time to end the series’ story arcs.
Finally, the college community comes together, takes ownership over their mistakes, and conducts a sit-in until real change is enacted. This includes funds being allocated to buying a new elevator, as well as Aisha’s friends making more of an effort to communicate in sign language. With a focus on allyship and honest accountability,Sex Education’s Season 4 sheds light on the need for society to come together to break down disability-related barriers. As Isaac aptly puts it in the penultimate episode, “It’s everyone’s fault because it’s everyone’s responsibility.”
Further, the series reinforces the notion thatit’s societal barrier— not individual disabilities — that are truly disabling. In a compelling moment that is reminiscent ofMean Girls, one disabled student summarizes this concept, known as the social media of disability: “I wish people understood that our problems come from barriers in society, not from our disabilities.” This line perfectly sums up howSex Educationputs a spotlight on disability. As the series unfortunately draws to a close, let’s hope this leads to more authentic representations of disability on screen.
