‘Sex Education’ Season 4 Episode 1 Recap: Dick Pick Debacle

New year, new school! It’s the final season of Netflix’s hit British drama Sex Education and we’re leaving the halls of Moordale Academy and starting up at Cavendish College. Well, some of us. The new season sees Maeve across the pond studying English in America, Adam at home on his couch guzzling cereal, and fan favorites like Ola and Lily off of the series entirely. But best friend anchors Otis and Eric lead a Moordale crew—including Jackson, Vivienne, Aimee, Cal, Ruby, and Maeve’s ex Isaac—through the machinations of their new school, which couldn’t be more opposite from the structure they’re used to.

Just like old times Otis and Eric bike to school, nervous about being outcasts yet again. But they soon find they have nothing to worry about: Cavendish exalts its students’ uniqueness and they (well, Eric) are embraced immediately. Cavendish’s “cool” kids Aisha, Abbi, and Roman are an eclectic bunch that walk the new students through the rules of the school: everyone is encouraged to express themselves, no gossipping, and gender fluid bathrooms (obviously). 

Otis seizes the moment to start up his free sex therapy clinic, passing out fliers that he designed before being informed by Isaac that the school is also paperless. That’s not his only problem, though; Otis has competition at the new school. There’s an established sex therapist named O who is booked out for weeks and eerily good at her job. When Otis arrives in her office to chat about their opposing practices, she reads him for filth—not only does she find his accusation that she stole his idea absurd, she gives him a free therapy session just to prove how good she is. 

O’s insights appear to be spot on, too. Maeve and Otis are maintaining a long distance relationship, but when she sends him a photo of her boobs, Otis does the absolute opposite of what he should do and never responds. But it’s not for a lack of trying! He takes many unflattering pictures of his junk, even shaving his pubes to make it more palatable. But he’s scared to send them—as O susses out, it’s not just that he feels uncomfortable sending a nude, but he’s also afraid to be so vulnerable when he’s not sure if Maeve will ever return from America. 

Despite the fierce competition from O, Otis doubles down on what he says is his calling. He gets up in front of the entire school to plead his case but fumbles the bag entirely. First he insinuates that he and his mother are in a sexual relationship (his classmates don’t ridicule him, but rather pity him and applaud him for being brave) and just when he regains control of the situation, his failed dick pics accidentally get broadcast for all to see. 

Embarrassed, Otis runs to the booth where he’s set up his sex clinic. He’s sulking, but not for long: Cal, who has recently begun taking Testosterone, was turned on by the entire display. Not because they find Otis attractive, but because their sex drive has been over-acting on T. It’s Otis’s first chance in the new season to prove why exactly this is his niche, and soon he’s reassuring Cal that what they’re experiencing resembles a teenage boy’s puberty. It not only calms Cal down but also gives Otis the confidence in himself that the dick pic debacle briefly shook.

That confidence extends to his personal life, too. After avoiding Maeve for the whole day, Otis finally calls her and explains that he was freaked out by her nudes, echoing the exact reason that O laid out. Maeve reassures him that she’ll come back to the UK after her course and the two decide to try having phone sex as a way to feel closer to each other. But right after they both finish, Maeve says she has to go—she’s meeting her classmate Tyrone for pizza. Though she reassures him, Otis looks him up to see who his competition is. 

Maeve seems to be thriving in America. She’s made a group of friends and is already a standout in an English class that could give her a leg up in publishing (Dan Levy joins the cast as her hardass professor, author Andrew Molloy). The only missing piece is an in-person boyfriend as she’s constantly bombarded by people making out and barred from her dorm room by a roommate constantly having sex. With Tyrone in the picture and Otis doing his best to sabotage himself, Maeve may have some decisions to make while abroad.

The series premiere also checks in with a few other fan favorites: Eric’s mom is hellbent on getting him baptized; Otis’s sex therapist mom Jean is struggling with being a single parent after giving birth and breaking up with Jakob, and is adding a new job to her resume: radio host; Mr. Groff is a substitute teacher at Cavendish but still struggling to reconnect with his estranged wife and son, while Adam is sulking at home looking at pictures of him and Eric; Aimee is obsessed with dildos; Viv is taking time to adapt to the technology at Cavendish, but hits it off with a nice classmate; Ruby is adjusting to not being a popular kid and eats lunch alone in the bathroom; and Jackson is roaming the walls of Cavendish without a storyline yet. 

We get eight episodes in this final run, and thankfully we’re off to a banging start.  

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vulture and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.