'Sex Education' Actor Asa Butterfield Fills Us in on Otis' Relationships in Season 3
The actor speaks with L'OFFICIEL about Otis' love life and the ups and downs of another term at Moordale High.
As students head back to school this fall, so do those at Moordale High in Netflix's Sex Education. In Season 3, out today, class is back in session for Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey), Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa), and the rest of the crew, but now there's a new headteacher (played by Jemima Kirke) determined to reform Moordale's "sex school" reputation after the chlamydia outbreak and racy, alien-themed rendition of Romeo and Juliet from the previous season.
The students don't make it easy, of course—Otis is having casual sex with the stylish queen bee Ruby Matthews (Mimi Keene), Eric and boyfriend Adam Groff (Connor Swindells) are talking about going all the way, and there's another student calling himself the "Sex King" doling out misguided sexual health advice on campus. Meanwhile, Otis and Maeve are keeping their distance after the voicemail he left professing his feelings for her was deleted from her phone by Isaac (George Robinson), leaving them in a limbo of miscommunication.
"The cliffhanger from Season 2 still looms, there's quite a lot of tension there," Asa Butterfield, who plays Otis, tells L'OFFICIEL. "Otis thinks she ignores him, Maeve doesn't even know that voicemail existed, so neither of us totally get where each other are at when [the season] starts."
Because of the time gap between Season 2 and 3, Butterfield says both characters have had the chance to grow up a bit. For Otis, that means sporting some facial hair and trying something new in the dating department. "Otis is off doing his own thing and has got a casual relationship with Ruby, which is the first time he has experienced that," Butterfield shares.
"It was nice to get more scenes with Mimi," he continues. "I think she really does a great job of capturing Ruby's humor, but also the new sides to her that we haven't seen. We had a lot of fun playing with this quite unexpected relationship."
While its obvious that the pair won't last, it becomes a fun detour on Otis' path back to Maeve and the audience gets to see Otis inhabit Ruby's outwardly posh world. "His kind of sassiness is a treat," Butterfield says of the new facet of his character that Ruby brings out. Plus, she gives him a total makeover.
"She definitely rubs off on him," Butterfield shares. "Finally he's not wearing scrappy t-shirts all the time, but it doesn't last too long."
Otis rubs off on Ruby a bit, too. We witness more vulnerability from her character and get to see behind the perfectly manicured façade.
The show also gives us other new subplots to follow, like Otis' mom's pregnancy, Maeve's own strained relationship with her absent mother, the introduction of non-binary student Cal (Dua Saleh), Lily Iglehart's (Tanya Reynolds) struggle with feeling like an outsider, and headteacher Hope's crusade to bring order to Moordale.
The latter becomes a major transition for all of the students as new uniforms and rules are enforced and the abandoned bathrooms that served as a hookup spot for class cutters, smoking spot for teachers, and most importantly, the meeting spot for Otis and Maeve's clinic, is torn down. Throughout the season, Hope's relationship with the students becomes more antagonizing, until the students decide to fight back (which involves a scheme that delivers another sex-themed musical number).
"In dividing the students and stripping them from their identities, Hope actually brings them closer and unites them through a common adversity," Butterfield says.
And what comes of Otis and Maeve? Well...we're left with another cliffhanger.
"[Otis and Maeve] are both still learning and kind of dealing with things outside of their relationship which I think is important for them, to experience growth before they potentially come back together," Butterfield reflects.
But don't worry—Otis and Maeve stans will still get to see the pair share the screen as Season 3 expertly teases the will they, won't they of it all. You'll want to stick around because in Episdoe 5, Butterfield hints, "It's a huge pay-off, and something that has been building up for a while in the show."
