Sex Education Season 4 Episode 4 Review: Love Triangles & Betrayals

There’s never a dull moment in Moordale, but Sex Education Season 4 Episode 4 will go down as one of the series’ darkest installments yet.

The series did a great job of infusing humor through the darkness, but it’s difficult to believe things will get much better for everyone as Sex Education Season 4 continues.

Erin was never the best mother to her children, and let’s just say Maeve and Sean will harbor a lot of resentment towards her.

At one point, Maeve didn’t care whether her mother was in her life because Erin had many selfish traits, but they managed to work through their issues on Sex Education Season 3.

On top of that, Erin was instrumental in her decision to go off and study in the U.S., so while observers might paint her as a terrible mother, there was a lot of good in her.

It’s just sad her children never got to say goodbye to her before she died. Anne-Marie Duff is a busy actress, so there was always that possibility the show couldn’t lure her back for the final season.

Still, realizing that Maeve and Sean were led into a room and told that their mother had passed away 20 minutes before was difficult for many reasons.

Sean: Do you think it’s weird if I finish the sweets? She’s hardly gonna need them now, is she? Can no one take a joke anymore?
Maeve: Do you remember when Uncle Pat died?
Sean: Um… Yeah, kinda. His funeral was the first time I had beer.
Maeve: You were eight.
Sean: Yeah. Uncle Pat’s girlfriend gave it to me. Now she could take a joke.
Maeve: I remember seeing him dead. He didn’t look like himself. After that, I couldn’t remember what alive Uncle Pat looked like. I don’t think I can see Mum like that. If that’s okay.
Sean: Yeah.

Maeve had just traveled across the planet to help her mother back to health, but what was Sean’s excuse?

Why did he wait outside on Maeve instead of rushing to the hospital when he heard the news?

After all, He called Maeve so he could have been with his mother during her final hours but chose not to.

Sean didn’t have the best upbringing at Erin’s hands, but maybe a part of him felt he couldn’t go into that room without his sister by his side.

The saddest part of Erin’s death was Maeve’s means of coping. Finishing the crossword she started while waiting to see her mother in the hospital took precedence over her feelings about her death.

People deal with death and grief in very different ways, and I respect Maeve for not feeling pressured into viewing the body.

Far too often, people feel like they have to see the bodies of loved ones in the morgue, but the truth is, many people prefer to hold on to the vision of the person they had when they were alive.

I dread how Maeve would have reacted had she felt pressured into going into the morgue.

It’s hard to tell where Maeve goes from here, but I hope her mother being the one to give her the money on Sex Education Season 3 Episode 8 will be what gives her the drive to return to the U.S. and wipe that smirk of Thomas’ face when she thrives.

People write their best work when they’re caught up in their feelings because it’s a great way to express how you feel. For that reason alone, Maeve will probably turn to her writing and deliver more words from the heart.

Maeve’s meeting with Otis was somewhat marred by the fact that they were brought back together due to Erin being in the hospital, but would it have hurt Otis to text his friends and let them know he was okay?

Of course, Eric thought Otis was dropping everyone because Maeve was back, but for someone who tells people that communication is vital to cultivating relationships, you’d think Otis would practice what he preaches.

Granted, he probably feels some type of way because he was with Ruby when Maeve needed him the most.

If Otis makes it out of Sex Education Season 4 without looking like a heartless schmuck, he needs to be truthful with himself and those around him about how he feels.

Hiding the messages from Ruby is a recipe for disaster, and at this stage, I’m just waiting on Aimee telling Maeve that Otis’ ex is his campaign manager.

Aimee: Hi.
Sean: Hi. Um… I’m gonna head off, uh, but Maeve’s still in there. She’s just finishing her crossword.
Aimee: Okay. Is everythin’ all right?
Sean: No, not really. My mum died.
Otis: Fսck.
Aimee: Oh my God, Sean. I’m so sorry. Should we go and get Maeve?
Sean: Um… I wouldn’t. I’d just let her do her thing.
Aimee: Do you wanna sit with us?
Sean: Uh… No.

Ruby going toe-to-toe with O — er, Sarah revealed a glimpse of the Ruby we know and love from Sex Education Season 3.

Unfortunately, O understood how to push Ruby’s buttons, so telling her that she’s only helping Otis because she’s jealous is something that will come back to bite her.

Ruby is activated in her quest for revenge, and maybe she’ll be the one to show the video of O bullying her all those years ago.

Ruby is determined to take down O, but she might invest too much time in this mission and not enough time in finding some friends of her own.

O is a frustrating character because she’s showing up in places she shouldn’t be, such as Jean’s show.

I mean, what the heck? That came out of the left field, and it was a perfect way to rile up Otis and the people who are so fiercely against O.

The debate will be interesting because Ruby is slowly realizing she isn’t a priority in Otis’ life, so she has the potential to leave Otis high and dry, which is looking more likely by the day.

She could see that Otis was reading her messages and not responding, which is more rude than simply not looking at them.

There may be an opening with the cool kids because it looks like Aisha and PK are realizing that they’re not equal parts of the friend group.

Abbi gossiped and diminished their thoughts on O, which shows that Abbi wants friends who agree with everything she says.

Might this lead to Ruby exposing the truth about Abbi and taking her place? Watch this space.

That’s not to say Abbi is a bad person. Just that she wants her friends to fall in line. It was sweet that she showed up to help Eric with the soup kitchen.

You don’t often get people who will drop everything they do to help those in need. Eric wasn’t interested in it until he helped the homeless woman find the community hall.

Seeing how busy it was, he realized that there’s more to life than hanging around with friends, and that’s what his mother has been trying to make him understand for a long time.

Now that he knows the funding is gone, I expect Eric to be more active in the community and try to help the people who need help the most.

Maureen and Michael’s reunion didn’t resonate with me because it doesn’t feel like they’ve done enough work apart to consider getting back together.

Maureen was taken aback by hearing her ex-husband pose as Martin because she never heard him speak about his feelings.

That’s the critical reason their relationship fell apart, so maybe she was caught up in the moment hearing him open up, or maybe there’s a chance they will be together when Sex Education Season 4 concludes.

What are your thoughts on the latest relationship highs and lows?

Do you think Maeve will stick with Otis when she learns the truth?

Hit the comments below.

Sex Education Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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