S04.E08: Episode 8

[paulvdb]

Quote

Cavendish rallies to search for Cal. As Eric finds his calling, Jackson discovers his roots. Much like love, truth takes many forms — and it will out.

 

[Aulty]

So many thoughts. It wasn't as bad as I feared - some of the new faces from the Goop school of manifestation and astrology got a bit much by the end, but Cal's story throughout the series was quite good. And I love the actress who played their ma (I've seen her on a few shows recently).

Eric's church story wasn't really something that I can relate to. Nice sentiment that he wants to become a pastor, but does anyone think that this only sounds good on paper because a lot of problems come from the institution itself and are out of the hands of pastors?

Deaf girl looks like Lizzo.

Great to see Hannah Waddingham again.

Fascinating how unannoying Isaac was when paired with Aimee and not used as a roadblock for Maeve and Otis. Same with Ruby when Anwar and Olivia are out of the picture.

I really liked both Viv's and Jackson's stories, and felt they were done well. Also love their friendship.

Couldn't warm to the O and Otis story - and I still don't know if I actually like O. They only have a few months of sixth form left anyway.

Good that Jean decided to tell Dan. He seems like a nice guy, who may not be right for Jean, but right for Joy. I don't have much of an opinion on Jean's sister - she is one of those never before mentioned characters, brought in to stir the pot a bit.
And the story with the Groffs. I really liked the girl on the horse farm, she could be good for Adam, she has good energy. Lovely to see how much Michael enjoys cooking and that everybode else loves it too.

[greekmom]

So many thoughts. I did binge it yesterday and did ff a bit here and there. That should tell you about the quality of storylines.

First the "Goop school".  Some person's wet dream of what education can be. I think it was because it brought the main story of the sex therapy at the school to the forefront and not leave it in the shadows.  Plus it pointed out that for a school that prided it self for being all inclusive, progressive and accepting, you still had groups that were excluded (people with physical disabilities, the hearing impaired), not so progressive (elevator was crap) and accepting (there was still a mean group even though they acted like they were above it all).

I hated the O storyline. Overall, I found that Otis was the better therapist and he shouldn't have given up the position and invited Sarah (aka O) to be part of the team instead of the other way around.

Show was determined to keep Maeve and Otis apart except for 1 brief moment. This really sucks for all us shippers but I also did like Otis with Ruby. It gave Ruby a more human side. 

Speaking of Maeve - we all knew that Dan Levy's character was actually jealous and threatened by Maeve's writing. 

Amiee still shines and glad they toned down Issac to pair the two up.

Eric's spiritual awaking was a snore. The other's storyline lines were meh. I did like Jackson finding out who his father is but the rejection sucked.  

The Groffs were the absolute best and still loved the Adam storyline. Sucked he didn't interact much with the rest of the cast (except for his parents).  Overall, I could watch a show about the Groffs. 

Jean's over stressed, post partum depressed mother and her sister storyline was a waste of Gillian Anderson.  

For all the wait and anticipation for the finale season, it was a bit of a meh for me and I wish they could have given us a glimpse in the future of what happened to all these characters.  

[juno]

I have to admit I really hated this season. They added so many characters and gave them all storylines and I just didn't care about any of them. This season was mind numbingly boring and a slog to get through. I just kept wondering how unlicensed therapists would be given space at a school to dispense advice to teenagers. The legality and safety of this in a school is mind blowing. This is why Otis did it always in secret. Which was another fun part of the "old" series that was killed.

The main characters for the most part I enjoyed. When they had time to be on screen.

Otis still remains this great character that I really enjoyed through the seasons. Still smart, sweet and saying always the wrong thing but always trying to do the right thing. Forcing new characters down my throat and cutting his screen time was Ted Lasso levels of stupid. Ruby and him made sense but when you are forcing a dumb ship for 4 seasons at the viewers better wreck all of Otis' relationships if he can't have Maeve. At the end of the day the boring and pretentious shipping is what really hurt this show.

Maeve was a complete non-factor in this season. A couple crappy moments with her douche professor, some stupid and tropey moments with Otis and off she goes back to America.

Eric and Adam had some terrific growth this season. Especially Adam. Great character and acting.

They killed Jean's character. Not much to say.

Isaac even when paired with the wonderful Aimee was still unlikeable and took screen time away from the main characters.

Don't care about O and all the others. I guess they need a villian every season and a way to redeem them.

[Chaos Theory]

This season kinda sucked and The Goop school really was a wet dream for a “inclusive” liberal education that really wasn’t all that inclusive.    I did kind of like that the show resisted the urge to have Otis abs Maeve end up together but also explained why.   They are still teenagers and yes it would be oh so romantic for Maeve to give up all of her dreams of success and self reliance be with Otis or for Otis to abandon his friends  and family to be with Maeve but that’s not how life works.     Even though the Adam and his father story was cut off  from the rest of the show it was among the more interesting parts of the show.   The second half of the season was better then the first half and the sex clinic makes more sense as an underground clinic then one that is acknowledged by the teaching staff but I think the school itself is supposed to be a fantasy just to show that the perfect ideal inclusive left wing school has its issues as well.

[mrsbagnet]

I liked the season, although I did find most of the new kids kind of annoying.

I'm really glad they had Viv's storyline with the gonna-be abusive boyfriend. It was pretty clear that he was moving too quickly and was over-the-top jealous, but of course, the average teenager in love (or adult, for that matter) wouldn't understand what red flags those things were, no matter how smart she is. I'm glad her friends rallied around her and warned her, and that she listened to them.

I liked Eric's storyline up until the "I'm going to be a pastor" declaration. I didn't really buy that as the resolution his visions brought him to.

[TiredMe]

Well I admit I’m annoyed I invested 4 seasons only for Otis and Maeve t0 end up apart. Definitely too much focus on new kids. Waste of Dan levy too imo. Oh well. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I binged today. 

I blew my stack when the pastor said that the church wouldn't accept the charity donation to keep the soup kitchen open because of 'values'. The dog actually came in the kitchen to see what was going on. It's not so much as the hypocrisy and the pastor was a blatant coward. 

I was also galled when the internship girl was all, "eh, maybe I'll open a tech company". So you took an actual, potential writer's spot.

I don't like the show forcing O on me knowing what she's doing. I never thought she stole Otis' idea, but I didn't see her more than superficial.

Ruby and Aimes were the MVPs of the season for me.

I do hope some good cam come out of Cal's plot.  

I had a good laugh at the 'antiquing and true crime' radio show. 

I didn't think that Otis should have been all highlander about a single therapist, but I don't think Otis validating O as actually having talent is valid either from what I watched. 

On 9/21/2023 at 12:26 PM, Aulty said:

Eric's church story wasn't really something that I can relate to. Nice sentiment that he wants to become a pastor, but does anyone think that this only sounds good on paper because a lot of problems come from the institution itself and are out of the hands of pastors?

I thought he was going to do something outside of the institution because, yes, problems. I didn't really buy the turnaround of his pastor at the end. Eric was fair in saying 'there's going to need to be more than just some discussions'. 

On 9/22/2023 at 4:35 AM, greekmom said:

First the "Goop school".

This is such an elegant and stark depiction of the school. 

On 9/22/2023 at 4:35 AM, greekmom said:

I hated the O storyline. Overall, I found that Otis was the better therapist and he shouldn't have given up the position and invited Sarah (aka O) to be part of the team instead of the other way around.

I just never bought her talent as a therapist. There's no question Eric was the better therapist. She's an influencer. Ruby was right. He's more approachable. I think Otis saying they should work together would have been a better resolution.

I can buy the Maeve & Otis ending. It doesn't mean they won't talk to each other ever again. Otis was right; she would have ended up resenting him if he latched on to her to say. If you love someone, set them free. Otis wants to be a therapist; he's going to need an advanced degree. There's no reason to follow Maeve to the USA to do that and get saddled with debt. Similarly, it's not like Maeve couldn't come back at some point. If she gets published, it won't matter where she writes. 

I would agree that the season was kind of flat overall. They kind of painted themselves into a corner by ending the school last season because you can't bring everyone back, but you'd think you want to feature the 'regular' characters more. There weren't even any teachers in the school this season. 

 

[festivus]

23 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wound up loving the season. It has flaws, things that annoyed me, and like anything else was imperfect. But overalI I loved it. Enough good to outweigh the problems.

 

I may be the only person who liked Eric's journey with his religion. I thought his visions were hilarious and totally suited his character. But I am often the only person in my more politically oriented communities who has an active spiritual life and has had good experiences with religion, so I accept that maybe I shall stay alone in this opinion. Also, I'm not as gracious or patient as he is and would probably not have invited the bigoted pastor to dance.

Not the only one. I'm an atheist and it was my favorite story. I've liked Eric's journey with his church throughout the series, this was the logical conclusion to it, I felt. All season I thought it was going towards a realization that he wanted to be a pastor. I really felt his struggle to want to be himself but still want the community that his church provides. So he will be part of the solution instead of the problem.

I've loved Hannah Gadsby since I saw them in the show Please Like Me. 

So, I did not mind Jean's sister showing up, they felt like sisters to me and I loved how her sister kept farting on her. What I did not like was the whole baby storyline. It would have been so much better if they had Jean dealing with the many, many, ways that menopause can fuck with you. That's something I can relate to and something you don't see nearly enough of. Plus, I wanted to scream at how GA held that 8 week old premature baby with its head flopping around all the time. She has three kids of her own in real life and should know better. It took me right out of the show every time. 

[possibilities]

I would have loved a menopause story. As someone going through it right now, I can say it's truly full of drama. 

The pastor would rather CLOSE THE KITCHEN and LET PEOPLE GO HUNGRY than accept the donation from the school. That is more than cowardly. That is well and truly evil, in my opinion.

Edited September 28, 2023 by possibilities
fix typos

[DoctorAtomic]

9 minutes ago, possibilities said:

The pastor would rather CLOSE THE KITCHEN and LET PEOPLE GO HUNGRY than accept the donation from the school. That is more than cowardly. That is well and truly evil, in my opinion.

I'm still yelling about it. I was slightly confused at Eric's enthusiasm for being a pastor within that context versus coming up with something out of the box. 

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm still yelling about it. I was slightly confused at Eric's enthusiasm for being a pastor within that context versus coming up with something out of the box. 

I think every movement needs people on the outside as well as those on the inside, so the pressure/wisdom comes from all directions. Also, we don't actually know where Eric will become a pastor. He might choose a denomination that is embracing rather than excluding, and which values feeding people more than building walls to keep them  out.

[DoctorAtomic]

I suppose. I just thought it was a little flat. Most of the season was for me. 

[bilgistic]

I, too, was underwhelmed by this season, and that made me sad. I loved this show's past seasons, and while this one didn't feel like it was just existing to tie up loose ends, it didn't feel fully formed, either. The storyline with Maeve's mother's death felt most complete and true to the spirit of the show. The funeral was funny, odd, painful and touching, just as the show has been when at its best.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think maybe they kept Maeve off in America for too long before bringing her back. She was going to enroll in Cavendish, so an episode or two of her there might have been better. She can still get the call about Southchester and decide to return. 

I would have liked to see how O dealt with Maeve.

[HurricaneVal]

I would have loved to see Maeve enrolled in the GOOP school.  The eye rolls would have been epic!

Not to mention, Maeve would have resolved the whole O storyline in a fingersnap.  She would have just pointed out to Otis that it doesn't matter.  Does he want to help people or not?  There's no money involved, so who cares?

[DoctorAtomic]

Maeve would have also pointed out the hypocrisy of the school too. They were voting on who they liked more? Or something. Nothing to do with actual therapy, which no adult at the school would sanction anyway. 

[ahpny]

On 9/25/2023 at 12:25 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I can buy the Maeve & Otis ending. It doesn't mean they won't talk to each other ever again. Otis was right; she would have ended up resenting him if he latched on to her to say. If you love someone, set them free.

This is not a sentiment first coined by some TV writter, but it's been mined before in other TV shows. What this reminded me of was a long ago episode of Northern Exposure, where there was a test question posed to many of the characters on the show, each of whom had to answer the same question before being permitted to cross a bridge. Prior to the main character answering this question, all of the others answered the question incorrectly. The test question was "how do you keep the one you love?" Only the main character answered correctly, by noting that it was essentially a trick question, because true love is not possessive, and you'd always want what is best for the person you love, even if that means letting them go. So the correct answer was you don't keep them at all.

Edited October 1, 2023 by ahpny

[AllAboutMBTV]

I can only repeat what I saw on a "Sex Education" Tumblr post: "I didn't like this season, but I will miss (some of) the characters." (Parenthetical mine.) I hope the actors go on to much better things.

[DoctorAtomic]

I did like Ruby's arc. 

[ichbin]

Welcome to the wokest, most diverse, issues driven school and community ever! It was amusing after awhile to see just how much could be thrown into the mix, as though someone had a nearly never-ending list of items, each in need of a check mark by the end of the season.

I'm glad the core characters got fully finished stories that left them on the upswing by the end. I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

 

[Bastet]

Hmm.  Most series finales underwhelm me, or even actively piss me off.  But I liked this one.  In fact, while nothing ever topped the first season, I found this season better than the last.  Maybe I just had really low expectations, given the declining quality, but I enjoyed it.

I love where we leave Maeve as the series ends!  The talk from Jean and the interest from the publisher prompting her to tell the professor about himself was gratifying.  When he trotted out that old "I was just trying to push you to be better" crap and she shot it right down, saying even if it's true, it's not right; his words crushed her, and unlike most of his students, she doesn't have a safety net and didn't grow up being told she's brilliant and deserving, so she almost didn't come back because of him, I was cheering, and then when she told him he's going to come across other students like her, and needs to understand that as a teacher his words hold a lot of power, I felt proud of her -- she's always stood up for others as well as herself.  And I liked one final "dickhead" in her note to Otis.

Also gratifying was Jean coming to her senses, and not damaging her career because of motherhood yet again.  I still say she should have had an abortion, and this post-partum story really grated in the first half of the season, but they did some good stuff with it in the second.  I like what's now possible for her and her sister, and that she and Otis are back on solid ground.

Aimee's assault and its ongoing aftermath storyline has been my favorite of the series, as they really took the time with it -- so, so thoughtfully written and portrayed, and I appreciate it.  Love her series of photos in The Jeans, and then dancing around them as they burn.

I love her friendship with Maeve, and that of Viv and Jackson.  And Eric and Otis, of course, even though it had more problems.  The show was pretty terrible with its romantic pairings, but it's a great study of friendships (Maeve and Otis made for another great friendship, but of course they went this tired romance route).

I'm glad Otis got over his O obsession to listen to her when she said navigating conflict and having difficult conversations is the mark of a real relationship, so that he could go talk to Eric.  I love that we've always known their friendship is forever, it just has some bumps.  And their Footloose dance was fun.  I like their interaction when Eric reveals he wants to become a pastor.

Viv being so firm with Beau, that she doesn't know what made him like this and it's probably something sad, but it doesn't matter, she doesn't want anything to do with him, so if he tries to contact her again against her express instructions, she will report him was fabulous.

As was Ruby's speech about "this stupid college" making her "have the feelings, or something", because they can be quite ridiculous, but they're trying to make the world a better place.

I love Adam's dad's apology, but the absolute best thing about that scene was "Do you want to hug a horse?"  And later, with "Come on, Michael, we're trotting" as his dad participates in his class?  So cute.  The notion that family could ever be repaired was unthinkable for so long, but when the four (including Madam) of them sat down to watch that stupid reality show, a healthy future was completely believable.

Ruby's eye roll at Abbi's nonsense about the power of intention manifesting Cal was perfect.  As was Aisha telling her to fuck off, since every time someone wants to express a warranted, natural emotion that happens to be negative, she shuts it down.  Nice commentary on toxic positivity.

Eric's pastor can get fucked.  "Don't let this ruin your special day"??  You folks are so bigoted you will let a soup kitchen close rather than take money raised by LGBTQIA+ kids* and he's supposed to want y'all to baptize him?!  Good on Eric for getting up there and telling his truth, giving the congregation an ultimatum, and then strongly saying "I have my answer" and walking away when they show their asses.  Beautifully performed.

(*Speaking of, I haven't really gotten invested in Roman, but I absolutely loved "I can" when Abbi said she can't believe the church is refusing the money.)

Cal stabbed my heart again in this one, when they said they don't think the world wants people like them in it.

As a peeve, though:  As this series ends, I would like to again officially register my extreme displeasure with shows insisting on showing me text messages on screen.  Even with my glasses on, I cannot read most of them unless I get closer to the TV, and I'm certainly not going to get up and do that when I'm watching something in bed.

Edited October 26, 2023 by Bastet

[Paloma]

On 10/21/2023 at 1:41 AM, Bastet said:

Viv being so firm with Beau, that she doesn't know what made him like this and it's probably something sad, but it doesn't matter, she doesn't want anything to do with him, so if he tries to contact her again against her express instructions, she will report him was fabulous.

Loved your whole post, but in this scene I couldn't help but think of the often-cited fact that leaving an abuser is the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence. Although this was not a fully developed domestic violence situation, Beau was showing all the characteristics of an abuser--being possessive and controlling, and he did grab her at one point. I'm sure it would have gotten worse physically if she stayed with him, and the sad truth is that many women do stay with their abusers or go back to them after leaving. Still, I'm glad the show gave Viv a positive ("happy") ending that could also be instructional for viewers who may be in a similar situation. 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Paloma said:

Loved your whole post, but in this scene I couldn't help but think of the often-cited fact that leaving an abuser is the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence.

Gods, yes.  The average victim of domestic abuse leaves SEVEN times before finally ending the cycle -- and that statistic lumps together those who are finally able to achieve safety with those who kill in active self-defense and those who die in their final attempt; the attempt to leave is the most-violent phase in any abuse cycle. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Bastet

[Roseanna]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:35 PM, greekmom said:

I hated the O storyline.

Not exactly that, but I didn't find her sincere because she often smiled when she said something where there was nothing to smile about.

I guess it was only her habit to look friendly, but if your words and facial expressions aren't in sync, the person you are talking to is tended to believe that you don't really mean what you say.  

[mrsbagnet]

I keep picturing the scene when Roman pulls Otis aside to tell him when and Abbi tried to have sex, she set his blanket on fire. I don't why, but the way he says, "My nan knitted that. I'm gutted," makes me laugh whenever I think of it.

[Bastet]

10 hours ago, mrsbagnet said:

I don't why, but the way he says, "My nan knitted that. I'm gutted," makes me laugh whenever I think of it.

I cracked up so disproportionately at that, I am right there with you.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Bastet