‘Sex Education’ Season 4 review: How did it end?

The Netflix hit “Sex Education” has come to an end.

Ever since it first premiered in 2019, the raunchy teen comedy series has been a star-maker for its young cast: Ncuti Gatwa began as an unknown, but he’s since gone on to co-star in the billion-dollar hit movie of the summer, “Barbie,” and he snagged the coveted role as the “Doctor Who’s” latest Doctor. 

Co-star Connor Swindells was also in the “Barbie” movie, as was Emma Mackey. 

Mackey was also in talks to be the next Lois Lane on the big screen – she ultimately lost the role to Rachel Brosnahan, but she snagged high-profile roles (she was in “Death on the Nile” and she played Emily Bronte in “Emily”).

Now streaming, the fourth and final season of “Sex Education” showcases why this series was such a career-launcher. 

Throughout its four seasons, the show has been alternately raunchy and full of heart, as it followed Otis (Asa Butterfield), a socially awkward high schooler who is embarrassed by his sex therapist mom, Jean (Gillian Anderson), but uses his knowledge to set up a sex education clinic at his high school.

Rounding out the cast is his charismatic best friend Eric (Gatwa), troubled former bully Adam (Swindells) who was briefly Eric’s love interest, snarky Maeve (Mackey), conflicted athlete Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling), flighty Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood), and former popular mean girl Ruby (Mimi Keene). 

Season 4 finds the gang in new and unfamiliar territory, scattered to the wind. 

Maeve is in America, attending Wallace University, with Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) joining the cast as a professor that she butts heads with. Her “Will they or won’t they?” dynamic with Otis is finally on a “They will,” albeit it’s long distance. 

Otis, Eric, and Ruby are at the artsy Cavendish College, where they must navigate a new social hierarchy. Eric becomes popular and Otis feels lost in the shuffle. Otis also gets an enemy, since the campus has a rival sex therapist, O (Thaddea Graham). 

Adam and Jean get the short end of the stick this season, with comparatively dull and isolated storylines, as Jean is a single mom yet again to a new baby. Adam, meanwhile, is finding an interest in horses for some reason. Poor Adam feels like the writers didn’t know what to do with him.  

There’s a few missing faces, such as Ola (Patricia Allison) and Lily (Tanya Reynolds), since those actresses didn’t return. But the main characters all get mostly satisfying conclusions to their stories. 

It’s a shame to have the cast spread out for the final season, but it also gives this show a necessary atmosphere of growing up and moving on. We’re not leaving these teens stagnant, flailing through high school forever, we’re leaving them when they’ve matured and shifted to new phases in their lives. 

“Season 4” isn’t the show’s strongest, simply because this ensemble comedy is best when everyone can interact and isn’t so far-flung. 

But, it’s still a worthy swan song for a rare Netflix show that lasted 4 seasons. 

There’s still a lot of trademark irreverent comedy, smart writing, oddball situations and emotional nuance.

There’s a reason that “Sex Education” has been a star-maker for its young cast: its mixture of goofy humor and likable and quirky characters made it one of the modern era’s stellar teen comedies.