Summary
Sex Education Season 2, Episode 3 deals with family issues and speaking up against sexual assault — it’s also Maeve’s birthday, which she hates.
This recap of Netflix Series Sex Education Season 2, Episode 3 contains significant spoilers.
- Read the Season 2 review.
- Read the recap of Episode 4.
- Read the recap of the previous episode (2).
- Access the archive of all the episode recaps.
It isn’t a Sex Education episode without a strange opening scene. Episode 3 opens up with a teenager called Olivia practising her dancing in front of her mother. A young man named Malek comes over and they rush upstairs to Olivia’s bedroom to pretend to practise. They turn the music up so Olivia’s mother does not hear and so they can have sex. As she orgasms, she puts a pillow over Malek’s face, which infuriates him.
Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) experiences something traumatic on the way to seeing Maeve; it’s Maeve’s birthday, so she has made her a cake. Aimee hops on to a heavy bus. Mid journey, she notices a man w–king behind her and Aimee immediately demands the bus driver stop the bus so she can get off. When she gets off, she notices that she has semen on her jeans.
Episode 3 sees Otis not handling his mother’s personal life very well; he does not like that she’s with Ola’s father and that she’s working at his school. Eric wonders if Jean will find out about their sex clinic. On the way into school, Rahim wants a word with Eric — he asks him out on a date. At school, Meave continues to watch Ola and Otis from a distance, her jealousy evidently strong. Malek asks Maeve for an appointment at the sex clinic at a low price but she rejects him; Otis tells Maeve he thinks his mother will be bad for business.
Episode 3 presents a character that has tried to block out the sexual assault she has just experienced; Aimee tries presenting Maeve with a cake and Otis wishes Maeve happy birthday. Aimee tells Maeve what happened with the man on the bus and tries to make out like it was nothing; Maeve insists that Aimee reports this man so they both head to the police station.
Jean’s life at school is quiet and Groff questions Jean’s presence, but then Malek arrives asking for some advice. Malek queries why his girlfriend puts a pillow over his face while she orgasms. Jean goes into a lecture about fetishes, which encourages Malek to ask Olivia if she wants to f–k a ghost. Meanwhile, at the police station, Aimee explains to a police officer what happened.
An angry Olivia approaches Otis about Malek and Jean’s advice. She admits she covers Malek’s face at the end of sex because she thinks she has an ugly face when she climaxes. Otis advises that Olivia and her boyfriend should work on trust and that learning to enjoy each other’s pleasure is a shared moment.
Jackson’s willingness to learn a new hobby comes to fruition in Episode 3; he tells Vivienne about auditioning for the school play for Romeo and Juliet and he asks for Shakespeare tips. Vivienne advises that the script is poetry and there is a beat to it. She advises Jackson to think about someone he cares about when he reads out the script.
Back at the police station and Aimee has given in her jeans for evidence — the police want specifics which forces Aimee to attempt to leave, but Maeve is worried the man might sexually assault someone else. This is a key moment in Episode 3 where Maeve convinces Aimee to speak of her experiences and to not brush the sexual assault off.
Otis’s bad mood peaks at dinner time; Otis sarcastically asks his mother how school was and while Jakob eats like a caveman, Otis starts being rude to him. Otis, Ola, Jean, and Jakob decide to cut the tension and play monopoly but as Otis is made bankrupt he flips over the board in anger — “Why do we think this is a normal situation?”. Ola and Jakob leave and an upset Jean wants Otis to apologize.
And it is also date time for Rahim and Eric; the restaurant Eric chose is not good, so Rahim suggests they leave. Eric takes him to an arcade and while on the dancing game, Rahim kisses Eric.
Nearing the end of Episode 3; the police give Aimee and Maeve a lift. Aimee reveals that Maeve hates her own birthday and that she’s in love with another boy and that she should tell him. Meanwhile, Malek and Olivia put tape over their faces to have “sex at their ugliest”. When Eric and Rahim head to the pharmacy, Eric sees Adam working there. Shocked by Adam’s appearance, Eric calls an end to the date.
The real trauma comes to the surfaces near the end of Episode 3. Aimee is dropped off home and Maeve tells her it was one of her best birthdays ever. When Aimee heads inside, her mother asks about her day. Aimee swiftly heads to her bedroom and breaks down in tears — this was a heartfelt moment where it is revealed Aimee was staying strong all day in front of people.
When Maeve returns to her caravan, her mother Erin shows up. Erin has been beaten up — her boyfriend left her after finding out she has kids. Maeve tells Erin she can stay but that they are not on good terms.
Otis finally puts on his big boy pants and grows up a little in Episode 3. He heads to Ola’s house and apologizes to Jakob but also reminds him that he already has a father. On the way to school, Aimee decides to walk as she is not ready to get on to the bus. Jackson attends his audition and he breaks into Romeo’s lines perfectly — it is obvious he has got the part.
Sex Education Season 2, Episode 3 closes with Otis talking to Maeve at her locker. He asks her how her birthday went and he gifts her a gift; a 5-year diary — he’s ripped out Maeve’s birthday days. Maeve stops Otis and it is clear she is about to tell him that she loves him, but then changes the sentence and does her usual banter approach.
Index Cards
- Jean has her own sex clinic space now.
- Jean has a brief chat with Groff’s wife Maureen She asks where her shade of lipstick is from. She really wanted to ask a different question.
