Gillian Anderson's Best Role Since 'The X-Files' Is This 93% RT Netflix Show You Can't Miss

It's hard to find a show as wonderfully charming and edgy as Sex Education. Created by Laurie Nunn, the oftentimes raunchy, yet authentic series follows a group of teens in their sexually explorative years as they balance an array of personal dilemmas that revolve around sex. Though much of the story brilliantly depicted the younger characters, one standout performer served as the series' backbone: Gillian Anderson as Jean Milburn. She's more than just Otis’ (Asa Butterfield) mother. Her sex-expert standing made Jean a crucial character in the larger Sex Education universe.

What Is Netflix's 'Sex Education' About?

Sex Education follows the socially awkward Otis, the son of a sex therapist, who uses his learned knowledge to start an underground sex advice business with his friend Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) at Moordale, their UK high school. Determined to help the perceived helpless, their booming business thrives as their classmates seek out their guidance for their personal sexual problems. As Otis and Maeve attempt to navigate their tension-filled romance while balancing their other relationships, their setup gets rocked when mother dearest gets called in to become a consultant at the school.

Gillian Anderson's Jean in 'Sex Education' Is a Brilliantly Complicated Character

Anderson's Jean is a truly complex character. She teeters in the middle of morality, yet draws you in with her confidence and strength. Through most of the series, we watch as Jean embarks on a serious relationship with Jakob Nyman (Mikael Persbrandt), a widowed plumber and father of one of Otis’ classmates, Ola (Patricia Allison). Though it seems like it would be just a one-night stand (like many of Jean's escapades), there's something more to Jakob that she's taken by. He challenges her, yet eases her.

The series shows how, as much as she strives to be a good mother, Jean puts all her eggs in Jakob’s basket. That is, she believes having a child together later in life is what they need. Jean's pregnancy and the birth of her baby girl, Joy, upends everything in her life. As much as Otis wants her to be a mother to him, she can't. There's a fear of messing up that causes her to put a wall between them. She is even willing to play more of a maternal role to Otis' friends — namely Maeve, after her mother's death — adding to the animosity between Otis and Jean. Now, as a mother again, Jean gets a do-over.

However, she's highly unaware of how her self-absorption and past traumas come into direct conflict with nearly every relationship in her life. She's steadfast to a fault. As a therapist, she's used to giving others her opinions based on her convictions, but she's not the type of person who can take it when it's dished back to her. Jean is deeply complex and flawed, making her one of the more fascinating characters. She may seem like she's got her feet on the ground, but she's aloof about her own issues that alter the lives of those around her.

'Sex Education's Talented Ensemble Allows the Netflix Series To Thrive

Gillian Anderson might be the strong backbone of Sex Education, but the Netflix series is as impressive as it is because of its sharp ensemble. Thanks to their unique characters, layered with real-world strife as they attempt to find their place in the world, Sex Education thrives as a brilliant, character-driven series. If you look at some of the supporting players — Ncuti Gatwa, Connor Swindells, Aimee Lou Wood — they took their massive success on the show and allowed it to catapult them to stardom. Through the arcs of Gatwa's Eric Effiong and Swindells' Adam Groff, Sex Education invited audiences to explore the difficulty of being both out and closeted in high school. The contrasting stories and how sexual identity is a major part of high school give Sex Education the opportunity to explore the wide spectrum of experiences. When it comes to Jean and both young men's identity arcs, she balances her maternal instincts with her broader therapeutic brain.

Sex Education even had Hannah Waddingham playing one of Jackson's moms. Waddingham's Sofia Marchetti couldn't be further from Jean. She's warm, kind, and only looking out for her son's well-being, especially as a queer woman herself. Giving audiences two different perspectives on parenting shows that there is no right way to be a mom. Sex Education has some really captivating stories that evolve and mature as the seasons go by.

With a large ensemble, Sex Education had just enough characters to tap into the different high school themes and assets that resonate. From learning how to live up to a demanding father's expectations to finding the strength to put yourself first when instinct tells you to care for family members who can't care for themselves, Sex Education worked hard to ensure that, through its lightness, real-world issues take shape as well. With a wonderful arc through all four seasons, you'll see why Anderson was an integral part of the series. With heart and humor, sentimentality and seriousness, Sex Education is a stellar series that will continue to be adored with every passing year.