Who does Otis end up with in the Sex Education finale: Maeve or Ruby?

The Sex Education series finale dealt with a plethora of emotions and finally answered most of our questions about the main characters. We find out whether Otis ends up with Maeve or Ruby, Joy’s biological father, whether Jackson finds out about his father, and who finally becomes Cavendish College’s student counselor.

In this article, we’ll talk about what happens to Maeve and Otis, the most popular couple from the series. The Sex Education finale ends with Maeve and Otis going their separate ways. Maeve returns to America to continue her education, while Otis stays back in Moordale to finish school. Maeve and Otis do not end up together.

However, I feel this is the best ending for both of them because of several reasons. While Otis and Maeve do not end up together, they still end their relationship in a healthy tone. I would believe they continued to remain friends, though they were away from each other.

1. Do Otis and Maeve end up together in Sex Education?

No. Otis and Maeve do not end up together in Sex Education. In the Sex Education finale, Maeve returns to America. Before leaving, she tells Otis she might not come back as she had always wanted to get out of Moordale. Her course in America gives her a lot of opportunities to work towards her dream of becoming a writer.

Who does Otis end up with in the Sex Education finale: Maeve or Ruby?
Maeve and Otis | Source: IMDb

Maeve and Otis share one last night together before she leaves Moordale. While the two end things on a positive note, they decide not to remain in contact for a while to sort things out. But Maeve leaves Otis a letter before she leaves, saying that Otis will always be in her heart, proving that she did love him. It also shows that she intends to remain friends, which would happen sometime in the future.

2. Why Maeve and Otis Do Not End Up Together

The makers already gave us a hint that Maeve and Otis would not be endgame at the end of the season 3 finale when Maeve takes up a creative writing course in America.

After all the trauma she went through all her life, especially in the last season, Maeve decides to focus on individual growth and rightly so. She had never had a good time in Moordale and saw better opportunities for herself abroad, which she decided to pursue.

Who does Otis end up with in the Sex Education finale: Maeve or Ruby?
Maeve in Sex Education Season 4 | Source: IMDb

After Maeve’s mother’s death in season 4, she decides to stay back in Moordale for a while. Shortly before, her professor at Wallace University, Mr. Molloy, tells her she is not cut out to be a writer. Molloy’s words affect Maeve negatively, and she loses confidence in herself. All of this culminates together, and Maeve decides to stay back and not return to complete her course.

However, Maeve has a conversation with Otis’s mother, Jean Milburn. Jean tells her that she is extremely brave for having the courage to deal with all the trauma she went through and bringing herself up amid all adversities. Unknowingly, she advises her not to lose faith in herself and continue to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.

It would not align with her character if Maeve had stayed back in Moordale just to be with Otis. After all that Maeve has gone through in the series, it is only deserving that she ends up pursuing her dreams in the hope of a better life, away from the toxicity in Moordale.

Moreover, after her mother’s death, she has no family left. Her brother, Shaun, remains unavailable most of the time and is extremely irresponsible. Moordale will always bring back memories of her traumatic childhood, so it is a good decision on her part to move away from it all and start a new life abroad.

As for Otis, he might take some more time to figure out what he wants to do with life, but he, too, could do well with some alone time. Otis had a lot going on last season, with his mom giving birth to Joy and him having to deal with himself and his issues like an adult with very little parental support. So, he, too, could deal with such issues as of now.

All in all, both Maeve and Otis never got the timing right. Throughout all four seasons, both had feelings for each other but could never act on them on time; hence, it did not work out for them. When it finally did, it was difficult to be together because the timing again messed it all up. They were never meant to be together in a conventional way.

3. Do Otis and Maeve sleep together?

Yes. After a number of failed attempts, Otis and Maeve finally have sex before Maeve leaves for America. The two share one last together in Otis’s house, where they sleep together for the first time.

Who does Otis end up with in the Sex Education finale: Maeve or Ruby?
Maeve and Otis Sleep Together | Source: IMDb

Just like their relationship, the timing never worked out for Otis and Maeve sleeping together. They tried to have sex several times in season 4, but it doesn’t work out for them for various reasons.

At the beginning of season 4, Maeve tries sexting with Otis, but Otis is too insecure to send his pictures back. It does not work out, but the two later have sex over the phone.

After Maeve returns to Moordale, the two share a moment of passion after trespassing into their old school. But Otis does not seem to be in the right headspace and ends up confessing to Maeve about spending time with Ruby. Things don’t work out once again, and they get caught by the police for trespassing into their school.

Maeve and Otis again try to sleep together in Maeve’s house, but Otis’s panic attacks mess it up. He confesses that he has had panic attacks while being sexually involved due to his repressed childhood trauma. Though it was gone for a while, they are coming back again.

Finally, Maeve and Otis are able to sleep together before she leaves for America. Both deserved to share one night of passion together after having feelings for each other for years.

4. Who do Otis and Maeve end up with?

Both Otis and Maeve remain single at the end of the Sex Education finale. Maeve decides to focus on her career, and it seems like dating is quite off the table for her right now. The makers gave no hints about any other endgame for her, as she seems to be in love with Otis.

Otis does not end up with anyone, either. The series ends with him reading the letter Maeve left him, as he clearly still has feelings for her. The process of healing is long and slow, so it will take time for both Maeve and Otis to get back to dating again. Since the series is over, we can say that both were single by the end of the show.

5. Why does Otis not end up with Ruby?

Though Maeve and Otis have been loved as a couple since the beginning of the series, Otis and Ruby also have quite a few admirers. Many fans rooted for Otis and Ruby to end up together, but unfortunately, that did not happen either.

Ruby and Otis do not end up together as Otis never really had real feelings for Ruby. While he may have been attracted to her briefly, he never reciprocated the strong feelings Ruby had for him.

Who does Otis end up with in the Sex Education finale: Maeve or Ruby?
Otis and Ruby in Season 4 | Source: Netflix

In season 3, Ruby and Otis date briefly. Ruby brings Otis to her real house, and it is revealed that she comes from a very humble background. She does not come from a rich household like she pretends at school, and she also has her own issues, which we see more of in season 4.

Ruby develops true feelings for Otis and tells him that she loves him. However, Otis does not reciprocate her feelings and hangs up on her, which leads to them breaking up.

In season 4, Ruby helps Otis with his student counselor election campaign, but they do not get back together or share a romantic moment as such. Otis spends some quality time with Ruby, and they both end up falling asleep on the same bed, but nothing happens, as Otis keeps stressing (quite irritating, I must say).

So, Ruby and Otis did not end up together as Otis had always been in love with Maeve. At the end of the season finale, Ruby finally gets to be friends with the popular kids in school, which she always wanted.

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6. About Sex Education

Sex Education is a British comedy-drama streaming television series created by Laurie Nunn for Netflix. It premiered on January 11, 2019 and has an ongoing manga adaptation that began serialization on July 15, 2022.

It follows the story of Otis Milburn, an awkward teenager who is trying to navigate his life through high school. He is trying to find his own sexuality while helping others in his school with their pressing sexual problems in his makeshift sex clinic. His source of advice? His mother, Dr. Jean Milburn, a real sex therapist and his biggest source of embarrassment.

Pratyasha Sarkar

Pratyasha Sarkar

Officially a student of literature, but unofficially a defence lawyer of fictional characters. I am mostly either feasting on chocolate chip cookies or binge watching sitcoms. Also, I firmly believe mint ice cream tastes like toothpaste.

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