‘Sex Education’ Season 4 Episode 8: That’s The Time I Love The Best

Four seasons of Sex Education have painted a world that feels like utopia compared to the contemporary world we live in, and the series finale ties a bow on stories about nonbinary gender dysphoria, homosexuality and its relationship to faith, accepting long-held secrets, confronting abuse, and more. Though the season has slightly faltered with the addition of a handful of new characters and not enough runway to fully explore all of their nuanced stories, the final episodes provided a satisfying conclusion to the journeys of some of our favorite TV characters. 

One of the most impactful throughlines of the season has been Eric grappling with where his Christianity fits alongside his queer identity. The season has led up to Eric’s baptism and at the start of “Episode 8,” Eric has decided to move forward with the ceremony after initially declining to participate. Moments before the baptism is to start, his pastor informs Eric that the church cannot accept money from the Cavendish fundraiser because certain members of the congregation don’t feel comfortable with the inclusive atmosphere of the school. 

This changes everything for Eric. As he stands on the precipice of the holy water bath, he makes an irrevocable decision: he claims his identity. In a moving speech, Eric announces that he’s a proud gay man and will only follow through with the baptism if this is accepted by the church. Only his mother stands in support, so Eric leaves. The magical surrealism of this storyline from the past few episodes appears again in “Episode 8” when the woman who has appeared to him as God appears and tells him that this is exactly what she wanted him to do; that this is the beginning of a long, hard road; that this is his life’s work. 

Eric’s story coincides with Cal’s, who has gone missing and thrown away all of their belongings while dealing with severe dysphoria. Eric sees them in the clearing, sitting on a rock and looking out at the beautiful nature ahead of them, and approaches them cautiously. Jackson also arrives breathlessly and the three of them sit together at first in silence and then in a safe place to share their most personal fears. It’s Eric’s first chance at being an inclusive leader—he later voices it by telling Otis he wants to become a pastor—and Cal is the first person he is able to help. 

Cal’s disappearance is also the “event” of the episode that brings together various characters and provides space for them to work through the lingering issues from the season. Roman, who has been frustrated by Abbi’s disinterest in sex and clocks that she is actively sabotaging their sex life, is finally able to say these things to his partner. Aisha also pipes up about how Abbi forces them to constantly be positive, even when those feelings are unnatural. Abbi, for her part, explains that everything in her life has been negative for so long, being positive is her way of shielding herself from the hurt. But with O’s guidance about how this toxic positivity can actually hurt her, Abbi unleashes her real thoughts about both of her friends—Roman moans unattractively when they get physical and Aisha picks at the skin under her nails in a way that irritates her. 

Ruby also gets her moment to shine—at a key moment in the Cal search, Otis discovers that they were last seen at the burger spot at the mall. Initially, the girl in charge of security footage refuses to hand over the tapes but when Ruby steps in and recognizes her from Moordale, the girl freaks out and does anything she’s asked. Both O and Otis also apologize to Ruby. She accept’s O’s but seems to brush Otis off, though there’s a strong likelihood that her walls will come down eventually—especially since Maeve and Otis have broken up. 

That’s right, the will-they-won’t-they couple lands on “won’t.” Maeve heads back to America and Otis initially blames Jean for her departure. But he’s not that dense; he apologizes to his mom and later finds a letter from Maeve from their final night together in which she thanks him for being a safe place for her to open her heart and that she’ll carry him with her forever. “You cracked my heart open,” she writes. “I think what I’m trying to say is…thanks for everything.” Cue the tears.

In America, Maeve gets a phone call from a book agent expressing interest in her book. It turns out, her roommate Ellen who won the internship turned Maeve’s pages in after she found them in the trash and used her internship connections to submit Maeve’s work on her behalf. (But don’t worry about Ellen; she’s decided she’s going to become a tech billionaire instead.) This prompts an apology from Molloy, whom Maeve reprimands for tearing her down. “You don’t get to be the gatekeeper of my dreams,” she says, and Molloy is sheepish and expresses jealousy that all of his students are at the beginning of their journeys while he’s treading water in the middle of his.

Jackson also finally gets answers about his parentage by showing up to Jerome’s house unannounced. Jerome slams the door in his face, though, and his moms finally reveal that Roz had an affair with a married man and was impregnated by him. She sent countless letters to him with updates about Jackson but he was never interested in meeting him. When his moms met, they made a commitment to be a family, no questions asked. 

The final season dealt with abuse in different forms across many of its stories. Aimee was sexually assaulted in season 2 and spends this season dealing with the emotional aftermath. She turns to art—photography, in particular—and stages a photoshoot in front of the bus stop and burns the jeans that she was wearing that day. It’s her catharsis and letting go of the pain she was carrying allows her to open herself up to a new relationship with Isaac. 

Viv’s abuse came at the hands of her now-ex-boyfriend Beau. He spends the episode trying to make contact with her multiple times, weaponizing his interest in her to have her cave and take him back. But by episode’s end, she tells him off and demands he leave her alone, ridding herself of his presence once and for all. 

Adam’s abuse at the hands of his father was emotional in nature and in season four, both Groff men are finally able to talk about their feelings. His dad arrives at the horse stable, triggered by Cal’s disappearance and Adam’s lack of response, and finally tells his son that he loves him. He admits that he doesn’t dislike himself and that he made Adam feel small because of that, and the admission gives Adam the space to open up to his colleague about his bisexuality, which lands him a date with her. The conversation also opens the door to Adam’s family getting back together as he invites his dad in to watch television together.

Jean’s sister Joanna also finally admits that the abuse she endured as a child has pervaded her entire life and derailed progress in every aspect of her life. She’s avoided settling down because the thought of being in one place means she won’t be able to pretend anymore. After their screaming match last week, Joanna calls in to Jean’s show asking for help and in return, Jean admits on-air that she’s been dealing with postpartum depression. The open dialogue between the sisters repairs their relationship and Joanna moves back into Jean’s house to help care for Joy. 

The final set piece of the series is the Cavendish fundraiser, where the money will now go towards helping Cal pay for top surgery. Eric and Otis make up and fill each other in on everything that has transpired in their lives since the funeral. Aimee’s artwork is sold for a large sum of cash (their teacher buys it, banking on Aimee’s career taking off) and Eric’s church family, including his pastor, arrive with the hopes of utilizing Eric to start important conversations within the church. And finally, the answer about the student counselor is answered: Ruby’s candidate Connor wins but immediately relinquishes the title because of how much work it takes. Otis came in second place but he also hands the title away to O, finally acknowledging that she was in fact there first and is quite good at what she does. O accepts and asks Otis to partner with her because they’re a good team. 

Sex Education’s legacy is one of inclusivity and sex positivity, filled with raunchy, embarrassing, endearing, and relatable moments. When we leave the characters for the final time, there’s a sense of hope for each and every one of them—whether they’re in new places or sitting pretty in familiar ones; whether they know where they’re going next or still figuring that out. “Episode 8” is a beautiful send-off to the weirdos, the cool kids, and the ones without a clique. Until the very end, the show told us that the only way to live life happily was to be yourself, and that bright-eyed message will be missed. 

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.