*Spoilers for episode 5.*
Now that House of the Dragon is done with season 1 and I’ve posted all my reviews, it’s back to Ncuti Gatwa and Sex Education. I know that, when I last posted about this show, I said that season 2 seems to be spinning its wheels, but All the Things happen in this episode! Though it’s not a penultimate episode, it brings that kind of energy, with everything coming to a head in the most intense way possible.
At the end of the last episode, Ola broke things off with Otis, and in doing so, called him “uptight.” Naturally, he’s fixating on this and makes the ill-advised decision to prove her wrong by throwing a “small gathering.” This is where it all goes down: the recently blown-up dynamic between Otis and Maeve (who has Isaac in tow,) Eric’s wavering over Rahim and Adam, Jackson’s anxiety about going back to swimming after getting his cast off, and Aimee’s lingering trauma over being assaulted on the bus. Luckily, we also get Jean going out for a night on the town with Maureen (Adam’s mom/the headmaster’s ex-wife,) bringing a little more levity to the proceedings.
Otis is spiraling here, and that leads to all kinds of bad ideas. The “gathering,” while not inherently bad, isn’t ideal, given that it’s thrown solely to prove a point and things get immediately out of control, which Otis obviously doesn’t handle well. He also gets way too obsessive about Ola, is a monumentally sloppy drunk, and burns down relationships in a terrible way.
I really like Jackson’s plot. I enjoyed him as a character last season, but apparently breaking him up with Maeve was the best thing for him, narratively speaking. At the start of the season, he makes an impulsive decision in an attempt to get out from under the pressure of being a swimming champ, and now, with his cast off and training looming over him again, he’s not sure if he can handle going back to it. And that’s before we even deal with the play, which Jackson still hasn’t told his moms about. He has some excellent scenes with Viv in this episode, with both characters sparking off each other so well.
It didn’t quite fit into the flow of the episode summary, but I also want to mention a client side plot with Anwar. The trio of popular kids aren’t as fleshed-out as the other characters, so it’s always nice to see them going to Otis for sex therapy, which inevitably gives them more dimension. Anwar is getting ready to have anal sex for the first time but doesn’t want his boyfriend to know about his lack of knowledge and experience. (By the way, this leads to a fantastic scene of Rahim giving Otis and Eric an illustrated lecture on anal douching.)
Before I get to Ncuti Gatwa, I have to shout out a few prime examples of nonverbal comedic acting. We’ve got Viv walking into a bookcase because she’s so flustered about her crush, Adam price-marking his face at the convenience store where he works, and a full-on plastered Jean struggling to find her straw with her mouth. Top marks all around him, and in an episode where a lot of major stuff goes down, I appreciate these little moments even more.
Eric has a few things going on here. Like I said, his indecision between Rahim and Adam comes to a head, culminating in an excellent speech as Eric gives Adam some truth. He’s also trying to facilitate a patch-up to the rockiness between Otis and Maeve, but his efforts to help only wind up complicating things further. And throughout, he tries to look out for Otis, first when his best friend is too rigid and later when he lets loose way too much.
As usual, Gatwa has some impeccable line readings. After an encounter with the popular girls (inviting them to Otis’s party,) he tosses out a dreamy, “Bye—your hair’s majestic!” And I love his utter sincerity in this line, trying to save Otis from himself as he plans his gathering: “Don’t cook a roast chicken! Cooking a roast chicken is not chill!” Ah, Eric, never change.
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