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Sex Education fans praise Aimee and Jean's "powerful" sexual assault conversation
21 September 2021, 15:05
Sex Education stars enjoy road trip across the US
PROTECT AIMEE AT ALL COSTS.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details of sexual assault.
Yet again Sex Education continues to teach us more about sexual assault and consent than we actually learnt whilst at school.
Season 3 of Netflix's highly-rated series dropped last week and the heartfelt storylines continue for the students of Moordale Secondary School.
One storyline we're all particularly invested in is that of Aimee Gibbs (Aimee Lou Woods). Season 2 saw Aimee's life be turned upside down after she was sexually assaulted while riding the bus. The horrible incident soon began to affect Aimee's mental health and the girls of Moordale all rallied round her, helping Aimee ride on the bus again for the first time since the assault. Aimee actually won her first BAFTA for her incredibly moving performance.
READ MORE: Sex Education fans are furious over who Otis ends up with in season 3
WARNING: SEX EDUCATION SEASON 3 SPOILERS BELOW
Season 3 continues with Aimee still struggling to deal with the trauma from her sexual assault. Aimee no longer takes the bus to school and now drives. But having not overcome her fears, she decided to seek professional help from Jean (Gillian Anderson) who explains that the incident was not her fault.
In the powerful scene, Jean tells Aimee: "What that man did to you the bus has nothing to do with your smile or your personality and is only about him. And it is absolutely not your fault."
Aimee also asks Jean how she can become stronger like her or Maeve. She replies: "Oh, I bet you're stronger than you think you are." Aimee then says: "I just wanna be the old me again." And Jean replies: "Well, you may never be the old you Aimee. But that's okay."
The internet has been praising Sex Education for the way it has handled dealing with the trauma that can stem from sexual assault and not brushing the aftermath under the rug.
This scene between Jean and Aimee in #SexEducation is so important and I just think this show is one of the best TV shows right now. Period. pic.twitter.com/kVshgRQ3k6
— Nora Dominick (@noradominick) September 18, 2021
A very sad and realistic part of the new season of Sex Education where Aimee no longer feels comfortable riding public transit and decides to drive because of sexual assault.
— Darrell Owens (@IDoTheThinking) September 20, 2021
SPOILER FROM SEX ED S3 /// this scene hits quite abit hard for me because of how Aimee is still struggling to cope with her trauma but i’m so proud of her for trying her best to find way to cope with it by seeking professional help. #sexeducation #sexeducations3 #SPOILERS pic.twitter.com/wEyf23uWAj
— yuh (@stfuazmie) September 17, 2021
The way this show handled Aimee's sexual assault storyline is just... wow #SexEducation pic.twitter.com/JxKplojgtQ
— 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐲 🍭 (@kweenvish) September 17, 2021
The entire segment around Aimee's assault and her discomfort with intimacy was the best part about season 3 for me. So so important.#sexeducation pic.twitter.com/05B1hUbv1T
— Tapsi Chadha (@TapsiChadha) September 21, 2021
In an interview with E! News, Aimee revealed how emotional filming the sexual assault scenes really were. She said: "There are things that happen to us in our lives that just stay with us forever and they change us, and it's really emotional playing someone who is going through such tectonic shifts within herself."
She added: "The other week I had an interview, and it was about therapy; they said, 'What was it like doing the scenes with Gillian?'" she recalled. "And I started talking about it and then all of a sudden I was in tears. It wasn't like I was actually sad but it's almost like muscle memory."
