'Sex Education's Otis and Maeve's ending could not have been more perfect'
Contains spoilers for Sex Education season 4
Chuck and Blair, Lucas and Peyton, Damon and Elena. All the way back in Sex Education season one Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey) joined a long cliched list of teen drama 'will they, won't they' couples, but unlike so many other pairings in the genre, these two didn't end up together. And we couldn't be more thankful.
Season four of Netflix's Sex Education opened with what every Otis and Maeve shipper has been dying for, the pair together, albeit separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Maeve is studying in America and Otis joining a new school, Cavendish College.
It's taken a long time to get to this moment. Over the course of three seasons they've had numerous things get in the way of being together; from Isaac (George Robinson) deleting that voicemail to Otis having an entire relationship with Ruby (Mimi Keene), things have not been an easy road for Otis and Maeve. But season four gives the couple a proper chance at being together.
Except, it doesn't exactly work out. There's the awkward nude photos, Otis getting jealous over Maeve's new friend Tyrone, Otis neglecting to tell Maeve about spending the night with Ruby, Maeve bringing booze to their date and getting drunk with Otis's aunt, and Otis still thinking about his mum whenever they try to have sex. All in all, it's not a promising start to their relationship.
And yet, you still feel like there's going to be a chance for the pair to end the series together; that something will happen to grant that 'perfect fairytale happy ending' where they run off into the sunset and are together forever.
Refreshingly, it doesn't. Instead what happens is so much better.
In episode seven, Jean (Gillian Anderson) gives Maeve the pep talk she needs to go back to America and finish her course. After dinner that evening Maeve tells Otis she's not sure if she'll be coming back to Moordale after it finishes, but she wants to see if they could make their relationship work. Otis says he doesn't think they could as he "wouldn't want to hold her back" and in the end it would be too difficult. They tell each other "I love you" and have sex for the first time.
Maeve leaves Otis in early the next morning, leaving behind a note, which he doesn't read until the end of episode eight. The very sweet note sees Maeve thank Otis for everything, telling him he'll always be part of her. And honestly we can't think of a better ending for Maeve and Otis.
It breaks the classic teen show mould of suggesting the person you're with when you're 18 is who you end up with forever. Sure, it happens for some people and there's nothing wrong with it if it does, but it's not realistic for many. By the time you're in the second term of university, the high school partner is usually long forgotten about. Otis and Maeve were aware enough to realise keeping a new relationship going across two continents just isn't feasible.
And let's be real: they didn't always seem to make the most sense as a couple. We can't really imagine what a life for them would look like. What would they talk about? What shows would they binge-watch together? Who is taking out the bins?
Thankfully, we still got to see the moment everyone was waiting for where they did eventually have sex, and it was much more poignant watching it, knowing it was probably the only time they were going to do it.
Their breakup was full of love for one another, putting themselves and their own needs first, rather than prioritising a romantic relationship and seeing that as the *only* end goal. Maeve was finally able to get out of Moordale (her dream) and be appreciated for the incredible writer she's becoming.
We won't deny it could have been cute to see them end the series together, but it's so much more rewarding to think about the exciting independent journeys they have ahead of them.
Sex Education season 4 is available on Netflix now
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