WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of Sex Education, now streaming on Netflix.
Sex Education continues to delight Netflix audiences with its inclusivity, quirky humor and plenty of sex in the newly released third season. With a roster of endlessly entertaining characters -- from Maeve Wiley, the brilliant bad girl, to alien obsessed Lily -- Aimee steals the show with charm and the most compelling character arc.
Otis, the son of a sex therapist, opens a sex clinic in his high school to help his peers (and himself) navigate their awkward teen years. Sex Education approaches uncomfortable subjects with honesty and nuance, tackling topics that are often considered taboo or inappropriate. It features an ensemble cast of diverse characters, all on their own complicated journeys of self-discovery. While Otis and Maeve, the main will-they-won’t-they pair, are the focal point of the show, Aimee is undoubtedly the best character.
Aimee is truly unique, both within the world of Sex Education and more broadly, defying archetypes and tropes. She is introduced as one of the popular girls, though she doesn’t quite fit in and maintains a secret friendship with outcast Maeve Wiley. Despite being a rich kid, she never acts like a snob and is kind to everyone. She says that she always has a boyfriend, and it is quickly made clear that she puts their happiness above her own. Initially, she seems vain and simple, serving as comic relief and a character foil to balance Maeve’s darker, more troubling role.
However, as Aimee develops, she ditches the popular girls to stand up for Maeve and takes their friendship public. She becomes a supportive confidante who always shows up for her misunderstood friend. She seeks guidance from Otis in the sex clinic when her new boyfriend makes her realize that she doesn’t know herself or what she likes. Per his advice, she learns about her own desires and preferences, establishing a relationship where her needs matter.
Aimee’s story takes an upsetting turn in Season 2, when she is sexually assaulted while riding the bus to school. She looks particularly cheerful and innocent as she carries a cake for Maeve’s birthday, a juxtaposition that makes the incident all the more upsetting. She denies her trauma at first but becomes increasingly insecure, pulling away from her boyfriend and developing a fear of the bus. With the help of an unlikely group of supportive girls, she confronts that fear and gets back on the bus with friends by her side. A lesser show may have ended the storyline there, but that is only step one in her healing process. Although Season 3 spends most of its time on the adolescent struggles of Otis, Aimee’s secondary story of coping with her assault simmers just below the surface.
Aimee's evolution is subtle in comparison to Adam Groff coming out as bisexual or Otis losing his virginity after being too repressed to touch even himself, but it feels so honest and real. Aimee finds herself disconnecting in school, afraid to be touched by her boyfriend and feeling safer “on her own.” At the behest of Maeve, she goes to therapy and finally opens up. Rather than shy away from the lasting impact of sexual assault, Sex Education leans into it. In a particularly moving therapy scene, Jean tells Aimee that the assault had nothing to do with her, even if she smiled at the man first, and that what he did to her was entirely about him. It is a profound lesson on its own, but Aimee continues, saying she just wants to go back to who she was before. However, Jean tells her “that may never happen and that is okay.” Though she is changed by her experience, she has not become hardened or bitter as a result. Aimee remains lovable and goofy, still providing an endless source of laughs.
Television has a rocky history of depicting sexual assault, and it is rarely handled as deftly or with the vulnerability that Sex Education achieved. Unlike many shows where characters quickly bounce back from trauma, Sex Education makes it clear that healing is a process and that Aimee will carry her trauma with her, just like in real life.
Fans rooted for Aimee from the beginning because she was funny, but she is the clear winner of “Best Character” after growing into a strong, vulnerable and honest woman. She matures substantially over three seasons, both as a result of and, more importantly, completely unrelated to her assault. Aimee continues to be a supportive friend but learns how to put herself first when need be. She ends the season finally single, growing more and more comfortable with herself and baking anatomically correct cupcakes. A true inspiration, hopefully, fans can continue to root for and laugh with Aimee next season.
To witness Aimee's stellar character development in Sex Education, Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
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