Ola's Blossoming Pansexuality
Okay, I'm just going to say it: Ola (Patricia Allison) is hands-down my favourite character in Sex Education. She's funny, self-possessed, and always speaks her mind. Ola fan club, party of one, right here! That's perhaps why it was so hard to watch her and Otis' absolute car-crash of a relationship throughout season two. It's painful. Thankfully, the storyline born out of their eventual breakup is a wonderful revelation for both the show's audience and the character: Ola and Lily's (Tanya Reynolds) interest in one another.
This storyline takes the classic trope of a character realising their best friend is actually "The One" and turns it on its head. In episode four, Ola takes an online quiz and candidly tells Adam (Connor Swindells), "I'm a pansexual, apparently". Recent government research suggests that pansexuality accounts for just 4% of the British LGBT community, so the fact Sex Education chose to include the topic as a storyline with one of the show's main character is a real step forward in terms of representation.
"Pansexuality is a more developed concept of sexuality," says Dr. Jones. "Most people know the terms heterosexual (meaning that the person is attracted to people of the opposite sex), homosexual (meaning that the person is attracted to people of the same sex), and bisexual (meaning they are attracted to people of either sex). "Many people may confuse bisexuality with pansexuality but they are actually very different. The difference comes from understanding the difference between sex and gender. While a bisexual individual may be interested in a person of either sex, a pansexual person is interested in a person regardless of gender."