Through five songs, a look at how the music of Sex Education Season 3 elevates the show

Netflix’s teenage comedy series Sex Education recently concluded its third season, only to be renewed by the streamer for a fourth and final instalment. 

Besides the sex positive and taboo-breaking plot, cleverly written characters with fully defined backstories, and anachronistic aesthetics inspired by John Hughes’ films, the show also has an ethereal soundtrack that only elevates the viewing experience.

It’s also an essential component that makes certain scenes forever etched into the memories of the audience, and sometimes gives these songs a new meaning or a different significance.

American singer-songwriter Ezra Furman has dominated the show’s soundtrack since the very beginning, and as Newsweek notes, he has once again given “the voice” to Season 3. The score, collated by music supervisor Matt Biffa, includes new singles by Furzman, but also a diverse mix of songs from the past.

Here are five songs and sequences from the wildly raunchy show that particularly struck our fancy.

The very NSFW opening montage of Episode 1 welcomes the viewers back into the world of Sex Education, where there is no space for any puritanical views on sex. The Rubinoos version of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ matches the steamy and racy energy in this very long sequence. It’s one of the many covers of this song with the most popular one by Tiffany Darwish.

The energetic guitar riffs and Furman’s vocals juxtaposed against the stoic Michael (Alistair Petrie) arriving at Maureen’s (Samantha Spiro) doorsteps to apologise in Episode 7 implies a renewed sense of hope in their dynamic. The song also underlines the urgency in their meeting after a long, long time. 

Following Michael and Maureen’s long-due reunion, leads to the lead pair admitting their feelings to each other. Otis (Asa Butterfield) finds Maeve (Emma Mackey) smoking in Anna’s (Indra Ove) backyard. “Nothing feels right when you’re not around,” he tells Maeve, as she mirrors his admission and they lean in for a kiss under the rain. “It's everyday I'm in this place/ I feel this way/ I feel the same,” sings Leigh Nash, once again voicing how the duo feel about each other.

The Moordale Seconday choir, under the supervision of Mr Hendricks (Jim Howick), practice this a cappella rendition of Peaches’ provocative breakthrough song. The performance breaks through the funk at first, and later in Episode 7 challenges the orthodox that Hope (Jemina Kirke) wants to impose on the students.

In Episode 3, Otis spends time at Ruby’s (Mimi Keene) house with her father, and even helps her tuck him into bed. It seems like Ruby has developed an even stronger attachment towards Otis. Nearing the end of the episode, she blurts an “I love you” over the phone to which Otis replies awkwardly, “That’s nice.” The song, which goes “Tender is the night/ Lying by your side/ Tender is the touch/ Of someone that you love too much…”: encapsulates the moment of vulnerability the usually tough as nails Ruby displayed. It’s heartbreaking to see Otis not reciprocate the way she had expected. The song also foreshadows the end of their relationship.