Top 10 Best Sex Education Moments

Throughout the show, Adam has struggled with who he is and what he wants to do with his life; it was clear early on that while he doesn’t excel academically, he’s an extremely gifted dog trainer. He constantly interacts with dogs and in the season 3 finale, decides to try his hand at entering a competition with his beloved dog Madam. He’s supported by his mom and Miss Sands, and it was great to see him realize his talents. While Adam didn’t place in the competition, the judges heaped praise on him and encouraged him to keep at it. We hope that by season 4, he’s still following his dreams and working with animals.

We all knew Ola and Otis were never going to work; they were just never good together and Ola definitely deserved better than someone who was still pining for somebody else. But then she had a dream about Lily and discovered she was pansexual. Though it took Lily a while to reciprocate Ola’s feelings since she’d never considered she might not be straight before, eventually, love won out, and they were a couple by the season 2 finale. Ola was even on hand to help with the school play and rolled with Lily’s imaginative fantasy life. In a show full of great LGBTQ+ representation, Lily and Ola still stand out and are fan favorites.

Hope eventually revealed herself to be far more of a prude than initially believed, desperate to censor Moordale so that it could lose its X-rated reputation. But despite the terrible decisions she made while headmistress, like publicly shaming students and promoting abstinence-centric sex ed, Otis still treated her with the utmost compassion when he encountered her in the hospital. He was there for his mother, while Hope was there to start yet another round of IVF after failing to conceive for years. He helps her to see that infertility doesn’t mean someone is a failure, a heartfelt conversation that Jean overhears, later encouraging Otis to pursue a true career in therapy.

Isaac was always a complicated character; though he was funny and likable, he did let jealousy get the better of him at the end of season 2. But though he and Maeve ultimately weren’t meant to be, their scenes together were always great, including the one where they discuss taking things to the next level. It’s extremely rare to see people with disabilities portrayed as having desires and being intimate in the media. It’s something that often goes forgotten, ignored, or misrepresented on purpose, which is what made this moment so important not only to the show and its narrative, but to disability representation more widely.

Adam and Eric always had a difficult relationship; Adam initially disparaged Eric and it took them – and everyone else – a long time to overcome this. But finally, at the end of season 2, Adam made his feelings for Eric publicly known instead of trying to hide their connection. He crashed the school play and asked Eric in front of everybody to hold his hand. It was a display of affection that showed just how far he’d come by this point towards making amends and acknowledging his bisexuality. It was bittersweet since it did cause Eric and Rahim to finally break up, but it was Adam’s best character moment hands down.

At the end of season 2, Otis left Maeve a long voicemail confessing that he was still in love with her and wanted to be with her – only for it to be deleted by Isaac. They danced around the issue for most of season 3, but Maeve finally found out about the deleted message and, while on the field trip to France, asked Otis to recreate it. He recited it from memory, with Maeve getting to hear everything he’d tried to say to her months ago, and once everything was out in the open they kissed for the first time. It’s still not clear whether Otis and Maeve are endgame, but we’re holding out hope.

After confessing his anxiety disorder to Maeve in season 1, things got too much for Jackson to handle. This causes him to injure his own hand in an effort to escape the pressures of competitive swimming in season 2. But once he’s healed, he’s pressured to start swimming again, and is on the brink of hurting himself for a second time when he’s found by Viv at Otis’s party. It was a hard scene to watch, especially when the two fight later on because Viv tells Jackson’s moms how much he’s struggling. It shows that sometimes the right thing to do to help someone is also the hardest thing, and thankfully they were able to reconcile by the end of the season.

Early in season 1, we find out that Maeve’s tryst with Jackson has resulted in an unwanted pregnancy. Since they’re both teenagers she makes the decision to terminate, something a lot of shows often shy away from, even today. Maeve asks Otis to pick her up afterward, but she almost goes through the experience alone – until she meets Sarah. Though they don’t initially get on, once the procedure is over they’re able to bond, with Maeve giving Sarah her chocolate pudding. Sarah offers some sage advice about why she shouldn’t feel guilty about doing what’s right for her at that time, but still understanding how hard it is to go through.

Eric has already come out to his family before the beginning of the show, but his parents hadn’t yet come to terms with his sexuality or the way he expresses it. After becoming the victim of a hate crime midway through season 1, Eric’s finally feeling strong enough to be himself again by the finale, dressing flamboyantly to attend the school dance. Outside, he and his dad have a heart-to-heart, where his father explains that he’s just worried about Eric and the people who want to hurt him, which is why he questions the way Eric dresses. In the end, they learn to understand each other, with Mr. Effiong praising his son for being unapologetically gay.

In season 2, Aimee Gibbs is the victim of assault while riding the bus to school. Though she tries to put on a brave face after Maeve encourages her to report it to the police, it traumatizes her far more deeply than anybody knows. Eventually, during the show’s “Breakfast Club” homage episode, Aimee confesses that the ordeal has left her unable to ride the bus anymore. At the end, all the girls come together to support her and join her on the bus so she can face it again. It was an amazing moment of solidarity, and many people watching will, unfortunately, be able to understand exactly how Aimee and the other girls feel.