Sex Education season two broke new ground with the Otis and Ruby's storyline
Note: Contains MAJOR spoilers for Sex Education.
Sex Education is back for season 2 and it's even better than ever.
The hilarious yet insightful Netflix Original is popular for its genius mix of embarrassing high school antics and poignant teenage storylines - and the second season is no different.
In fact, season two takes things even further by tackling some hard-hitting issues like sexual assault and self-harm while still keeping the playful tone we've come to love.
In particular, the storyline surrounding Otis *drum roll* losing his virginity, is a good example of how the show turns traditional TV tropes on their head to tell a more important story.
The show is about sex (the clue is in the name), and when the defining characteristic of one of its main characters throughout season one is that he's unable to masturbate, you'd think that him losing his virginity would be the climax of the second season - pun absolutely intended.
But, this was not so.
Yes Otis popped his cherry in season two (with Ruby of all people, and who saw that coming?), but this momentous occasion is all but ignored in favour of a more compelling tale.
A post shared by Sex Education (@sexeducation) on Jan 22, 2020 at 11:23am PST
After their night of (not so much) passion, Ruby and Otis weren't 100% sure whether they had used protection or not. In an attempt to be safe rather than sorry, they decided to get the morning after pill. Very sensible.
Except, purchasing the morning after pill doesn't turn out to be as easy as they thought. Otis can't buy it for Ruby - despite, let us highlight, having played an important role in the reason why they needed it.
Why? Because, as the chemist tells him, he "doesn't have a vagina."
And once Ruby musters the courage to buy it for herself, she is interrogated by the chemist with multiple questions about her sex life and periods.
When did you last have sex? Did you use contraception? When was your last period? It goes on and on, leaving Ruby clearly, and understandably, embarrassed by the whole exchange.
Sadly, this echoed the experience of many watching at home. And yet, it's something we rarely see portrayed on-screen, let alone in such a relatable way. Usually, sex storylines are all about the act itself and even when the morning after the night before is featured, it's not usually framed in this way.
The fact both Otis and Ruby were too drunk to really remember the incident allowed the show to bypass the event completely, meaning that the audience knows what they know.
They had sex, but the most memorable bit about the whole thing is that it was really hard to get the morning after pill when they needed it. What's more, this allowed for an important discussion about consent too.
This turn of events was also the secondary storyline in an episode, which predominantly focused on the fallout from Amy's sexual assault, and the bond formed between the other female characters.
Sex Education could have easily made this all about Otis, who went on his own journey through the second season, finally having sex.
Instead, creator and writer Laurie Nunn chose to turn the camera away from Otis - and frankly, the millions of times we've already seen the male virginity story play out on our screens, and instead, focus on this particularly difficult and often ignored part of sex.
And that's exactly why we love this show so much. Bring on season three.
Sex Education seasons one and two are streaming now on Netflix.
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