Sex Education – Season 4 Episode 6 Recap & Review

Saying Goodbyes

Episode 6 of Sex Education Season 4 begins with Eric catching a fish with the homeless lady. They fight over it and she changes into God. She asks why he is turning his back on his church and they argue as he says he sins all the time. She calls him effervescent but with a typo and disappears as Cal gives him bread. It turns out to be a dream and Eric wakes up looking at the portrait of Jesus in his room.

Meanwhile, Maeve has a black eye and avoids Otis who has a neck brace. He is shocked to see O at home. He angrily lashes out at Jean for hiring O and she just sighs. While Jean is distracted, O reads about her research on raising men and Otis’ emission problem from season 1.

Otis finds Ruby to figure out their next plan of action. He acts weird about sleeping together and telling Maeve and she realises he is only talking to her to do damage control even though they didn’t do anything wrong. She says they are not friends and walks off upset.

Meanwhile, Maeve tells Aimee she is not comfortable about her and Isaac. Aimee is understanding and they switch to joking about her black eye being a sex injury. As for Jackson, he keeps panicking about the worst as he is yet to get his test results back.

O helps Jean with her delivery and the latter feels humiliated as she thinks Celia wants her to be trained. O helps her understand that being on air is different from individual sessions. O listens as Jean talks about her fears of trying to get back to work after having a child.

After her husband left, with only a young Otis, she was depressed. She thought it would be enough to run a clinic while being there for him. But she wants more. O understands it can be overwhelming but tells her to trust herself.

As Adam gets ready for the funeral, Jem helps with his tie as he is nervous about seeing his ex, his first love. She thinks it is a she and he is awkward, hinting that he is thinking about Eric. The funeral is off to a wonky start as Samantha, the host is cheery and awkward. Maeve is negative that no one is coming to the funeral. Sean also happens to be MIA but he is supposed to be picking up the flowers.

On their way to the funeral home, Otis tells Eric about the Ruby-Maeve fiasco and then jokingly blames Eric for disinviting him which led to the whole thing. Eric is indignant but is interrupted as Maeve calls and tells them to find Sean. 

Jo takes care of Joy while Jean is overwhelmed with the antidepressants. The younger sister asks for money to repay her loan and Jean considers it. While returning from the pharmacy, they almost run into Dan who has a broken leg (guess he did have an excuse for ditching Joanna). However, it is Jean who hides and Joanna is shocked to learn he is Joy’s father.

Eric and Otis head to a Dodgy Mo’s but Sean is not there. Eric is also shocked to see the fish from his dreams on Mo’s shirt. However, the flowers are and Otis struggles to carry it while cycling. It doesn’t help that he and Eric have a tiff as they finally address the elephant in the room. Otis says they don’t hang out anymore and Eric asks if he has even paid attention to him before Maeve’s mom’s death.

Eric says they are friends but he does feel more comfortable with Abbi and the gang. They have a lot of differences like religious, economic and racial factors. Otis falls and breaks the wreath and tells Eric that they should focus on the flowers.

Cal and Aisha sneak out of art class to make out in the bathroom. Cal gets their period and while Aisha is cool with it, Cal breaks down. At home, their mother checks in on them, but they say they don’t want to talk about it.

Maeve is panicking but is touched when she sees that Aimee has called the Moordale gang. Samantha, however, puts the boys to work to carry the coffin and we have Adam, Jackson, Otis and Eric struggling with it while U2 plays in the background.

Jackson almost drops it as he continues to worry about his health but they make it. Samantha’s speech is peppered with half-research and wrong pronunciations. Sean interrupts and starts mocking the funeral, claiming their mother was a junkie and she never took care of them.

Maeve takes him outside where he rants about how a proper goodbye feels unfair as Erin, their mother never cared for them. He then reveals that he is upset since he will end up like her while Maeve will escape to USA. Upset, Maeve hides in the hearse till Isaac finds her. He comforts her and tells her that it is the reality of dysfunctional families but they do the best they can.

Inside, Beau keeps holding onto Viv’s hand while Jackson is having a low-key panic attack. Adam and Eric catch up as Adam says he came out to his parents and asks when he will stop feeling ashamed. Eric is proud of him and says it will take time. Adam confesses that while he knows they were not right, he misses Eric as he is ‘effervescent ‘ with a typo. Eric is shocked as he recalls his dream. 

At that moment, Maeve returns and finally gives her eulogy. She accepts Sean’s mocking but says that while Erin was messed up, she still cared about them. The guests all tear up and Colin decides to play U2 on the piano as the WiFi messes up. All of them start singing and tearing up.

Jackson imagines it is his funeral and runs out. Viv follows him but before they can speak, Beau shows up. Viv sends him back in but Jackson finds him weird. He calls Beau intense but Viv brushes it aside and goes back in.

The funeral ends and everyone wishes Maeve farewell. Colin and Emily are proud of her and assume she is doing well in her American college, Wallace. Jackson finds Beau messing about with Viv’s purse who says he was just gathering her things. Otis asks Eric if they are alright.

Eric says it doesn’t seem he really acknowledged his worries and Otis says the same thing which has Eric scoffing. He says they should take a break and Otis agrees. Maeve is cold to Otis but he apologises and she accepts.

On her way home, Aimee spots garden gnomes and takes photos. A few construction workers catcall and ask her to smile. Furious, she shouts that she came from a funeral and takes their photo. Empowered, she realises what she wants to say with her photos – to tell off catcallers and to help women not feel scared.

Adam feels sad and goes to his father. Michael is touched but the moment is ruined when Adam spots Maureen’s coat and she too comes out with messed up hair and clothes. Upset, Adam leaves and goes to the horse farm and hugs Midnight. Jackson gets his test results back and he and his parents celebrate when the doctor says he is in the clear.

During the radio show, Cal’s mother calls to ask what they can do better and reveals her reaction to their coming out was bad which they regret. O advises the buildup of trust while Jean says it would help if she learned more of what her child is going through and understand them. Next, Ruby calls out O on air and wonders how people will react to her bullying video. The show cuts her call but Celia goes online to find that Ruby has shared the video of O bullying her.

At home, Maeve tells Otis that she doesn’t want to go back to the US. He hopes she doesn’t regret not finishing her course and she says she wants stability. They kiss and are about to have sex but Otis suddenly remembers his mother crying after his dad left. He panics and stops as he feels miserable. Maeve says it is alright but as they lie down, Otis looks upset.

The Episode Review

There have been all types of awakenings but Eric’s was hilarious and eye-opening. The different clues like Dodgy Mo’s shirt and Adam’s words are all a buildup to Eric realising how he can be a part of the community while also being himself.

Episode 6 of Sex Education Season 4 also has a lot of frustrating moments. It is unfair for Maeve to ask Aimee to not get with Isaac even though she has moved on. Sure, the show is about hormonal teenagers but it feels quite sad how the characters treat their parents and others such as Cal and their mom, and Otis with his mom and friends.

By the way, good on Eric for putting Otis in his place. It was wittily executed but also needed. He also helps Otis understand how they are different and it is okay. The conversation was important but Otis as usual is a man-child who runs away when things get difficult.