#33 - The Secret Life of British Teenagers in the South Asian Diaspora, According to ‘Some Girls,’ ‘Ackley Bridge,’ ‘Sex Education,’ and ‘Waterloo Road’ - Leftist Teen Drama

Episode Transcript
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Hey. I'm Maria. I work at a labor union by day and write and watch too much TV by night. I like to say I've been firmly in The CW's clutches since it was The WB. As the great Seth Cohen on The OC once said about the fictional teen drama, The Valley, TV teen dramas are mind numbing escapism.

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They exist in a fantasy world where 20 something hot actors are usually cosplaying high schoolers in melodramatic depictions of adolescents. But that's honestly why I love teen dramas so much. I love the tropes and the ships and the not at all subtle product placement. I love the early offs theme songs and the cameo performances by pop punk bands. I love the newer generation of shows that are more diverse and representative of the vastness of teenage girldom.
And I especially love the moments when TV teen dramas get political. You guys, we can organize, stand together, speak with one voice. Karl Marx has come alive for me today. Now it just seems so obviously wrong that those who control capital should make their fortunes off the labor of the working class. Well, since you've fired us, you've given us plenty of time to pick in.
Workers of the world, you're not profiting. Long live the revolution. Welcome back to another episode of Leftisteen Drama. I am super excited to reintroduce my friend Avir, who's basically our UK correspondent, I would say, at this point. Today, we're talking about 4 British teen dramas, probably only one of whom our American listeners have actually heard of, which is Sex Education.
But I'm super excited. This episode was Adir's idea after he came on last season and talked about our mutual love, Eric Ette Young, and Heartbreak High. And so, yeah, do you wanna, like, just reintroduce yourself and sort of, you know, what your original vision was for talking about these shows? The main thing we just when we touched on Heartbreak High, we were discussing Anne Marie a lot because of it. She's actually the lead of the show, and she's a South Asian lead.
But it was also the fact that she's a South Asian lead, but we don't really discuss her being South Asian in the show. Like, the show doesn't discuss that. And I just felt like also with Sex Education, a show so, like, prominent with diversity, is great with South Asia but also not so great with South Asian. And so I just thought, like, when it came to British dramas, it's so it's kind of the same in the sense that they're very much on the cusp, but not quite. And so, yeah, there was just so much to discuss.
I just was like I I think it was your decision. It was your idea to, like, be like, yeah. I should just be literally a whole other episode. I was like, yeah. It'd be a great episode.
There's so much to talk about. Yeah. Awesome. Do you wanna say anything else about what you do for a living or your perspective on teen dramas? Because you have a really, like, unique and fun perspective, I feel like, that you bring.
Thank you. I am a writer and a casting assistant, mainly a playwright, and I cast for, like, mainly TV, but also film, but currently right now, television. And, yeah, with teen dramas, I just like how it's it's just so it just feels so relevant all the time. No matter how old you get Mhmm. Teen dramas always become relatable to some extent.
Not even in the sense of, like, oh, this is what I went through during school. But in a sense, like, this is what we go through now even. Obviously, not quite to the same extent as them. But it just always feels so relevant because it's it's in an environment that we have all endured. It's not set in a courtroom.
It's not set in, like, a police station or a specific work environment. It's something you've all experienced. They always detail who the human experience through such a specific lens. And Team Drama is always known for their diversity, which is what I think allows them to have that human human experience. So, yeah, that's why I thought it's my favorite, like, subgenre, I guess, is the term.
It's kinda Yeah. Of the yeah. Awesome. Yeah. So today, we're talking about, like, 4 different British teen dramas that span from 2012 to, like, as recently as 2023.
So we're talking about some girls, Ackley Bridge, Sex Education, and Waterloo Road, but specifically, revival of Waterloo Road. And we'll we'll get into that when we get there. Just before we, like, actually start breaking down the shows, which we're gonna do chronologically, since we're kind of talking about the whole spectrum of representation, we'll see how things have shifted chronologically as well. I mean, I think that it's a really complex discussion, like you said already, that, like, no one of these predictions is, like, perfect by any means. But I think that it's interesting to see different ways we've come far and then other ways that, like, maybe we didn't come as far as we thought we did.
One question that I wanted to ground our conversation is it's a question for you, which is, like, how would you define, like, South Asian? And do you ever, like, feel like there are any, like, misrepresentations or understanding about, like, what the category means, like, in the mainstream? I'm guessing the answer is yes. But Okay. Yeah.
It's so I think when it comes to South Asian, it's a really funny one because you say you're Asian and Right. Because you don't look East Asian. They're like, oh, are you you're Chinese? I was like, you don't look like Chinese. Like, well, no.
Asia is such like one of the biggest con I think it is the biggest continent in the whole world. It's like Yeah. I said with South Asia, it's there's India, there's Bangladesh, there's Pakistan, there's the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and then parts of Afghanistan. Count as South Asia, I believe. I think there's one I'm missing because it would be I think it's b I think it's Bhutan.
Yes. I think it's Bhutan. And so those are the countries that count as South Asian. And, yeah, everyone kinda thinks Asia is China, North Korea, Japan, and then India. And so they think they're like, oh, you're you're from Pakistan.
That means you're Indian. You know, they say they kinda think Pakistan is like a city in India. Bangladesh is a city in India. It's like, no. They they they tell an Indian or a Pakistani that they're the same, and 1 or 3 breaks out.
You know? It's just like it's not the same. But, yeah, it's obviously, like, all part of South Asia. We love all parts of South Asia, depending on who you ask. You know, if you ask an uncle, he would not say that.
But, you know, we we we love India. We love Pakistan. We love South Asia. Absolutely. And then I think, like, interestingly, like, what we're largely talking about today is obviously, like, the South Asian diaspora in England, specifically, which is, you know there's also a lot of interesting conversations about, like, being an immigrant, I feel like, or, you know, 1st generation, I guess, for some of these kids.
Yeah. This episode is really gonna be jam packed with a lot of stuff. As we said, we're really gonna cover, like, the whole spectrum of South Asian representation throughout these shows, starting from, like and really, like, the most apolitical depiction, probably, of all of them, all the way to, like, really overt representation of South Asian teens existing in all their complexity, thanks to sex education, as sexual beings, as Muslims, as queer South Asian teenagers. We also which I think speaks a lot to what this not just country, but world has been like over the past, like, decade and change is that we talk a lot about instances of South Asian teen characters fighting white supremacist hate. Like like, it came up in more than one of the shows.
And it's an unfortunate way that many marginalized teens first get involved in, like, any, like, level of movement work. It's, like, defending their literal, like, right to exist. So we see some of that here too. So I'm gonna start with Some Girls, which aired from 2012 to 2014. So South Kore is the character that we're gonna be kind of focusing on for Some Girls.

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It's an ensemble show with, like, one South Asian character, essentially. But do you wanna describe any, like, helpful context of how this show was kinda, like, seen and received in the UK at the time? So from my perspective, I don't think it was it was a really big show. Like, it like, if you were a teenager during the early 20 tens in Britain, you would have seen this show. But in terms of, like, its representation, I don't think that was really, like, perceived at all negatively or positively.
Like, it just simply was not something that was addressed. Obviously, some people I'm I would assume, like, South Asian or in particular, Indian teenage girls would have loved it. You know, saying this, like, black teen girls, because there's a black character as well in the 4th 4th of that group. But it wasn't, like, a major thing the way that, like, the show we can discuss later, Acuity Bridge, that was a major thing for South Asians. This one wasn't like, it was just a really good show, you know, because of it because it was apolitical messages.
I just feel like it didn't really make waves in that sense. But everyone did like, a lot of people did love the show. It's a great show. I don't think it's a negative one. But, yeah, I think Right.
Perception was just purely for being a good comedy. But I think it was also mainly for the fact that it was for women. Because at this time, the in between, it was a huge show in the UK, which it stars white boys in school. And this was kind of like the women equivalent of The In Between. In my opinion, it was a lot funnier.
I like The In Between, but I thought The Some Girls was better. And that was kind of like the core representation. In fact, it was about women in school who were not, like, subjected to being love interests, not subjected to being, like, their moms being in charge of their lives, that they they will flee their own characters who had teenage problems. But, you know, they were girls. They were young girls growing up.
So, yeah, that was it was more just about being women rather than being people of color. And I do think that, like, thinking about the time that it was, 2012 to 2014, does feel like a pretty important time to have, like, women driven comedy. Like, that's like gamergate Dave. Like Yeah. Wild times on the Internet in terms of, like yeah.
Like, sexism. I feel like I would have really enjoyed this show at the time having been, I guess. I guess, I was a teen at the time. I was, like, 18 in 2012. So I tried to watch the full first season.
I ended up not watching the last episode. But I would manage to watch the first five episodes of the show. I really wanna think I found it on Tubi. I'm really hoping that I can find the rest of the season to finish at some point. But it was really fun.
I agree that it was, like, super funny and, like, in no way, like, a negative representation of anything, just, like, maybe not as, like, overtly political as some of the other stuff that we're gonna talk about. Yeah. Saz has an interesting personality. It's like how she's introduced to us in the first episode by one of the other girls. And they say that on the outside, she's proper sarcastic of serious attitude problems, but on the inside, the same.
And in the first episode, there's also an interesting moment that's probably one of the most, like, cultural moments that we actually get, where she's, like, the mentor to this kid getting bullied who, like, wears, like, a niqab. And her name is Aliyah. And she's just kinda, like, in the corner just, like, shadowing them at first. And it's like, what what's going on here? And later, we, like, find out that she told, like, everything that one of the girls Amber has said about her boyfriend Brandon, like, negative things she said, like, gets around the school because this Aaliyah character who's, like, completely silent and barely seen has just been, like, in the corner listening to everything.
I think it's a really good introduction. It's kind of gonna contradict what it did say about the show in general. But I think when it comes to, like, especially at this time, Warthy Road, the original, had just recently finished slash was finishing, and there weren't many South Asian teen characters, especially girls, in that show. There were some who we might discuss later, but there's one in particular who barely said anything. And she's kind of like a Leo here in that she's conscious there to help the other characters.
Yet here, we've got Salz, who, as you described, she's very out there. You know, she's very sarcastic and she's not that quiet, shy, submissive, South Asian representation that tends to happen with teen girls. You know, she's kind of her own person beyond that, and she's not subjected to just being, like, a branch of her family. She's very much like her own individual. I think this is a really good comparison with Aliyah, though I do think that it's slightly problematic that he chose a Muslim character to be the submissive one.
But I think for the time, 2012, you know, trying to speed the women's version in between it, I think we can forgive them in that sense. But, yeah, I think it's a really good introduction because it shows she's she's a really she's my personal favorite character. She's a great character. She has a great really strong introduction, and she never really feels like she's there to serve the other 3. And so that's the purpose of all 4 of them.
None of them ever feel like that. And she feels like Yeah. To all 3 all all 3 of her friends. Yeah. Totally.
I definitely feel like they all feel like very realized characters. Like, it's a very well developed core 4. It doesn't feel like diversity, like box checking either. Like, it just feels like 4 personas. It's a really great piece of television to watch if you love teen drama.
Absolutely. Especially if you love the more, like, comedy side of the genre. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
So we also, like, sort of find out in season 1 early on the second episode that Saz seems to be, like, kinda judgmental if Amber is more vibrant also a sex life. And at one point in the episode, she says that she's not a slag, and one of the voiceovers literally says, Saz hasn't had much experience of naked people yet. I appreciate always whenever in these teen dramas, there's, like, a diversity of sexual experience because I feel like that is very realistic and, like, everybody in a friend group isn't gonna suddenly, like, even though this is reminding me of everything now, isn't gonna suddenly had to all have sex and, like, a 2 weeks fan or whatever. But, you know, everyone's going at their own pace, and I feel like that was all represented. Yeah.
Especially with a brown girl. I feel like I mean, I can only empathize, but it it must be so terrifying being a brown girl, regardless of how like, when you are, how like sarcastic you are, like sass, there will always still be that constraint that's put on top of you. So I feel like it's a realistic portrayal. I think, you know, I know many people like sass in school and, like, the I also don't feel like they made her lack of sexual knowledge too much of a joke. It was funny when they did it, but it wasn't like we're laughing at her for not knowing sex.
You know, we can laugh with her and her, like, youthful naivety, which I think is quite great. So while citing the show is still, like, fairly apolitical, I do think I really hit the nail on the head with her characterization. Totally agreed. And then the plotline that I thought was, like, probably the closest to like, it's almost like circling, like, commentary, but maybe doesn't quite get there, which is the Harry Faz plot line in the 3rd episode. Her family has, like, an unnamed religion, unless I, like, missed it.
I'm pretty sure they don't name what her religion is. Or they do they do later, maybe. I didn't know she had fun. Yeah. That's the one I have it.
Okay. So we'll go through it. All the girls are hanging out, and Saz says she's upset about what that bitch Charlie and her horrible friend said about her. Apparently, they were talking about Faz in the changing rooms, and she could hear because they were in the cubicle next to her. And they were laughing about her and calling her Harry.

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And she says, in my mom and dad's religion, we're not supposed to cut our hair or shave. Oh, it's maybe Sikhism then, I presume. Okay. I wasn't sure if, like, there was a reason they weren't naming it, or if it was, like, named later, or if it's, like, implied. I was just very curious.
I was, like because I wasn't sure if they were trying to be, like, oh, like, you know, the staff of hippie parents who are a part of some, like, weird religion. Who would have you ever heard of? Or if it's, like, implied to be a particular religion. So I was curious if you know. I think maybe they don't name it for 2 reasons.
I think maybe potentially, it's the apolitical thing, but I I think I'm more leaning towards she is not religious because she strictly says it's their religion. Yeah. I think that's probably why. Because not really a part of her characterization. It's maybe theirs.
Yeah. Which is, I guess, like, an interesting way that they can kinda, like, represent her as, like, a part of a culture that would likely be religious in some way, but also, like, kind of not deal with it at the same time. Like, it's kinda just dropped in there, and otherwise, they're just like yeah. It's not I mean, which is fine, because, like, plenty of teenagers don't identify with the religion that their parents, you know, raised them on. So, like Yeah.
Yeah. Totally buy it. But yeah. I feel like also in my experience of, like, Sikh parents, they tend to be more lenient when their kids are not religious. I feel like this makes more more sense because, like, it'd be a lot more unrealistic for this to be a Muslim family.
I mean, of course, obviously, Muslim parents aren't all like that. But in my experience, Sikh parents are more liberal with it. Interesting. So the the point being that Sez is hairier than the average girl who's shaving every day. And so her friends, I guess, are finding out for the first time that she, like, never, you know, cuts her hair or shaves.
And she does have quite long hair, I feel. So and they're like, whatever. That seems a bit harsh. She's like, that's what I say to my dad. It just goes in one ear and out the other.
He just won't listen. And Viva's like, you're not that Harry. And then Holly, who is a much harsher character, is just like, she's fucking Harry, though. And Amber and Holly then reveal that, like, this is not clearly not the first time that Holly then reveal that, like, this is not clearly not the first time people have talked about this behind SaaS's back and that there is actually quite a few names, terrible names, that people in school use to refer to SaaS as Harry. Like, they easily name, like, 20 names.
Like, I'm like, this is fucked up. So it's kinda like, you know, wet like, I feel like it's not her being bullied for being salvation, but I kind of is just, like, really indirectly is what it feels like to me. I think it's fairly direct. I think, like, this is something that, like, a lot of brown girls do have to deal with. Right.
I mean, brown people in general, but I feel like when you're a man, it's, like, not right. Like you're supposed to have hair or whatever. Right. Some people might make fun of it, but it's not like I wouldn't ever say it's traumatizing. But as a brown girl, I think that's like always, like they always bring up the lips, you know, your arms.
And it's like, so yeah, I think, yeah, I would say it's pretty direct. I think, obviously, I think from the kids' perspective, they don't realize they're being racist. Yes. But I think this is absolutely an act of anti South Asian racism that is just not they're not aware that it's because they're brown. Right.
Just been, like, named as such, even though it is, like, pretty directly happening. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
So I feel like actually now looking back, maybe it's less a political than I remember. I think maybe coming from it from an adult perspective. Because I think even back then, I didn't realize how, like, racist those stereotypes were of, like, very well. I would have I just thought, oh, it's because they're a woman and they're hairy. It was more sexist than racist back then.
But, like, look, it it obviously knowing now in my twenties is obviously it was it was racism. Maybe isn't as play a close because I thought I think I need to properly rewatch it now as an adult. And I think it's also interesting that, like, looking at it from 2024, I've the mainstreaming of, like, a lot of social justice language has led to, like, there being more of, like, that in our shows. And so I feel like Yeah. When, like, an issue is actually taken on in a show now, it sounds different than the way it used to.
Yeah. No. It it feels more, like, in your face now. Yeah. I don't I'm not even sure if that'd be a right issue or just because I'm more aware.
Right. I feel If if I was to watch this now, I've saw this in 2024, I would've had a much different view than I would've had back then just because of, as you said, the the social justice language and the knowledge that we have. And so this, like, reveal that, like, you know, everyone's talking shit about size of hair. She's like, I can't go on my life another day being hairy. I need to shave.
So, like, the girls go looking for a razor, and they're, like, gonna help her. And she's like, if I don't do this now, I might never feel brave enough again, and I want you 3 with me. And so just just like the show is so funny. They end up blowing a fuse of the whatever device they were trying to use to shave her legs with. So they don't finish in that one session, but at the end of the episode, they all meet up later and, like, shave her legs together.
I'm using, like, the hair removal strip sort of method, which is definitely the most dramatic for, you know, television purposes. And I do love the friendship between the 4 girls. You know? It kind of reminds me a little bit it's it's different, but it still does remind me a little bit of, like, the pen 15, like, shape learning to shave together scene. I do love the idea of, like, you know, teen girls being with each other during, like, these milestone moments in their development.
It's very cute. It reminds you of that viral video of those young girls who were, like, the girl who cuts her sister's hair whilst the other one is, like, trying to just record a get ready with me video. Yeah. And we get together just to fix her hair while without them on there. It kind of reminds you of that.
Oh my god. Yeah. This is like sisterhood kind of storyline. I think it's yeah. I definitely need to rewatch the show because I remember this episode so clearly.
It was so lovely to watch. Yeah. That video, I think it's doing another another round on the Internet. Oh. Because I feel like I saw it within the last 24 hours on my feed.

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Yeah. I I'm pretty sure I retweeted it within the past, like, 2 hours. Maybe it was maybe it was your retweet. Yeah. And so then in the 4th episode, Saf actually has her first boyfriend.
And so that's, like, another one of her, like, big season one moments. Yeah. And, like, you know, everyone's kinda talking about something else, and no one's listening as she, like, tries to get everyone's attention until she's met a guy who really likes her. His name is Jackson. She's like, he actually likes me.
I guess it's so surprising. And she met him through her cousin. And her friends are like, wow. We, like, thought you were gay and that you never have a boyfriend, which is funny because it's like this is like the 2012 version, and then you fast forward a few years, and you get Nazarene who, like, actually just, like, is gay. So Yeah.
But I think it's nice that they at least thought she was gay rather than asexual. I feel like asexual is such a they're like, oh, I do still eating like boys. You know, I thought I or I just thought your parents didn't want to like boys. Right. It's a nice, like, way to show that her friends are actually supportive and they're progressive, especially in this, like this was obviously during, like, the high of Glee.
So Oh, yeah. It's true. The whole gag throughout the episode is that it says, can't seem to bring this, you know, boyfriend with her anywhere. And so they're all like, this is a made up boyfriend. And so she's upset when her friends don't believe her boyfriend even existed because she tells them that they broke up before they've gotten to meet this person.
And so then someone shows up, and it's a boy who appears much younger than them, but is supposedly the same age as them or a year younger, something like that. And they're like, is he still in primary school? And she's like, he's 16. And they're like, you didn't shag him, did you? And then he is hilariously the one who says that she's beautiful on the outside but doesn't have the inner beauty looking for.
And so it's a very funny plot line. It just, like, reflects Faz's, like, inexperience to in the months of a comedy show just feels very right for her, like, first boyfriend scene to, like, largely be, like, a running joke. But, like Yeah. It was just love. It's like, it's that thing that everyone everyone has an experience in secondary school or high school, wherever you grew up, where you're like, oh, you had a boyfriend girlfriend, like, yeah, but they just stayed there and they go from different another school.
They didn't go to some school, You know? And so everyone's like, oh, yeah. Obviously, it's made up. And then I thought they did it so cleverly by, like, kind of switching it up. Like, in sex ed, when everyone, like, doubts that Vivian has a boyfriend and ends up being not super attractive in the end, That's always, like, the go to, which is always a really good guy.
Don't get me wrong. But this was really funny where he was, like, he's basically a child. Yeah. It was so well, I think some girls really gets the British comedy so well every single time. It's a great show.
Absolutely. Yeah. It it feels like a very, very British form of comedy, and I really appreciate it. And then so, again, I only got to watch the first one episode. So if you know of anything else, we can talk about it after.
If there's anything else you can remember. But, like, the the last episode I watched, the the big thing was that so, like, one this girl, Ruby funny, another Ruby, who is like a popular girl, which is why it's funny. Gets kicked out of the cool girl clique and tries to you know, basically, like, our some girls become like the b squad for her, and she tries to, like, have them be her backup friends. But in doing that, she attempts to kick Sass out of the friend group and, like, replace her, essentially. And what I really love is that the girls are all just like like, no.
Like, essentially, like, they're like, you can't beat up Saz. Saz is a ninja. And then they're like, we're Saz's friends. And she's like, you all, like, cuss her out all the time. And they're like, well, we can cuss her out, but you can't because you're not our friend.
And, like, they end up finding SaaS and, like, bringing her back and, like, eating with her because she had, like, gone off after she kinda, like, got dismissed by Ruby. And so I did love that. And it also it you know, it felt to me like, you know, this, like, white blonde girl comes into this, like, you know, interracial friend group and tries to kick out the brown girl. Like, fuck you, dude. Like No.
It's a really cute story. Because I think at the core of some girls, beyond any, like, message that they have, it's sisterhood. Like, these 4 girls, like, they're each other's ride or dies. That's my favorite thing about teen dramas, the whole, like, chosen family aspect of it. It always happens in most teen dramas.
And I think some girls really get sick. We don't know if 10 years from now they're gonna be friends. But right now, they they think they're gonna be, like, best friends and that each other's about things and everything. And that's what the show does to us. It makes you wanna be a part of this group, makes you wanna be their friend.
You know, you wanna be one of the girls. Totally agree. I don't know how it ran for 3 seasons, I think, total. Was that correct? Or It was 2 or 3.
2 or 3. Okay. So I don't know if there's any, like, particular plot lines or additional context on how it ends that's, like, relevant. But, yeah, I figured we'd just talk about any final conclusions we have on Faz's character and just the show's depiction overall, South Asian teens. Well, so I think I obviously, I watched it as it was airing, and I thought it was great.
But I think I think maybe because I watched it from a teen lens Mhmm. I I pick up on, as I said before, the racial connotations of her story. It just kinda felt like because I went to a very brown well, diverse, but mostly brown school. And so these stories, they were always they were everywhere where I came across. I think to me, it never felt racial at the time, as I said.
So I completely change my opinion. I think it's very political. It's very racial, but without telling you, it's it's in it's kinda like the opposite of Glee, where Glee will tell you, this is a political message. We're being very political. We're being very, like, progressive.
Whereas I think some girls did it very cleverly in the sense that it's just, they're making it very casual. But I do wonder if the, how like, quote unquote successful that is. I'm not saying it was badly done, but I feel like I don't remember anyone as a teen really kind of noticing that. But then then again, I'm not a brown slash Indian girl. I think maybe, yeah, maybe he better off to leave that to like an actual, like south Asian girl who experienced this.
Maybe they fully resonate. Maybe they fully got it. Yeah. I'm definitely gonna rewatch it now from our political end. This is really reminds me there's actually so much more than I gave it credit for.

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Yeah. Definitely. And sometimes those really, like, subtle, like, experiences of what it's like to be, like, you know, like a a brown girl growing up. Yeah. The high school era is, like, kind of the most powerful depiction they can do because it's like, oh, yeah.
Like, I get made fun of because of my, like, hairy legs or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that kind of stuff is just inherently political in, like, the personal is a political kind of way. So really, really glad that I got a chance to watch the handful of episodes I did.
And, again, it was hard to find some of these shows because I am in the US, and finding things across borders is harder than it should be, generally, I'd say. Yeah. But definitely gonna try to get my hands on the rest of of the show. Yeah. Luckily, if you're in the UK, you can watch on BBC iPlayer.
The entire thing is on there. Very, like, which is free as long as you pay your TV license. Or they it asks you, like, do you pay your TV license? All you have to do is tick yes. They don't check.
Just say you pay your TV license, and then you have access to the BBC iPlayer. Those are legal reasons. I do pay my TV license. Yeah. I was gonna say, that sounds like something you would definitely be on top of.
They also work for the BBC, so I could not possibly not pay TV license. So we're gonna move on to what I think will probably have the most content for us to talk about, which is Ackley Bridge, which aired from 2017 to 2022 and has so many characters that it's you know, for most of the other shows we're talking about, we're, like, talking about the South Asian representation that exists on the show. Whereas for Ackley Bridge, like, South Asian representation is baked into the show. And there's, like, plenty of characters, if only a few lines, who are South Asian, but then also ones who have, like, you know, full plot lines that we're gonna talk about. So the main people we're gonna talk about are Nazarene Paracha and Naveed Hayder with special mention to Alia Nawaz.
I did see. But there's also, like, plenty of other characters inherent to, like, you know, the setting of the show, essentially. I think you had mentioned that this was a really groundbreaking moment for South Asian representation on British teen drama. So do you wanna maybe introduce us to how this show was, like, received and, you know, the history of it? I think when it first came out, it was kind of promoted as, like, a South Asian drama, like, about South Asians.
They very quickly realized it wasn't just South Asians. It was also white people. But then you've also got to realize that to get South Asians on on a British screen, unfortunately, you've gotta send to white people to get the commissioners, to get the audiences to pay attention. So I personally was like, okay. I I think it's fine.
But I could also it was fine because they very much centered the brown people. Like, Amy Lee Hickman, she's from the dumping ground, which is another British show, which is a huge show. And now she's gone to this. And now she's in, like, a net Netflix series, and she's, like, been able to grow a huge queer from I think what was so great about Acrybridge was a lot of these people, this was their very first credit. I think her name is Mariah, the woman that plays Alia.
This is her very first credit as well. They they very much go on the ground casting from drama schools or even people who'd never been in a drama class beyond their GCSEs. Like, they were getting people from all over the place, which for better or for worse, you know, it had, you know, it had some good results, some bad results. But I think in the end, you know, we got some really great actors. Gurjeet Singh, who plays Naveed.
I'm pretty sure he, he'd like studied drama and everything like properly before anyway. But yeah, it was able to really put a spotlight on South Asian actors, as well as like the stories that they had. And so I think it was, I, from my memory, it was perceived pretty well because I think a lot of time whenever South Asians watch stuff with us at the forefront, we are always still forced to see one story. Heartbreak High as one example. Whilst Amery isn't like I think she's a great representation to a certain degree, but other people are like, oh, she's just too out there.
She's too, like, wild. She only has, like, a white best friend. You know, some people have issues with that. Whereas here, it's like, yeah, Nazarene's best friend's white. But then, you know, Ali is like a full on, like, she's dedicated to a religion.
All her friends are brown, you know. So if you don't like Nazarene, you can go to Aliya. Or if you don't like the fact that they're only focusing on brown queer girls, Naveed's there for brown queer boys. And then there's so many other characters who were like, you know, he they're athletic, they're intelligent, they're captain of the football team, or like co captain of the football team. And so it really kind of gave everyone something.
And so I think that's why it got a lot of it lasted for, I think, 6 seasons, maybe 5 seasons, which was a huge deal because it was like we'd never seen anything like that. Even to this day, we still never seen anything quite like it. And so, yeah, I I was obsessed with show, at least for the past 3 seasons until Nazarene left and and Naveed left. And it just kind of Yeah. Talking about those 2.
I'm like, I yeah. I don't think I would I don't know if I would be able to keep watching about those 2. Have you you've only gone to season 2? Yeah. So I I watched up to 211.
So I still need to watch the season 2 finale, which I am gonna do. The 3 premiere is like the beginning of the end. I won't spoil it. But Okay. You'll know as soon as you watch it.
This is this is like you'll be like, okay. This is my last time watching the show. Cause they make it very clear why you should no longer continue. Unfortunately, man. Okay, cool.
I really tried though, but obviously the actors couldn't stay. But I will say it really got annoying that they stopped focusing on the brown people off season 3. Like, it kind of became really, like, this is not what the show that we signed up for was, which is really weird because the first things were excellent. I hate when that happens. Yeah.
Especially when it feels like it's, like, fundamentally shifted the formula of the show, and it's like Oh. Yeah. I don't get why so many teen dramas just switch up the writers' room by, like, season 4. It's like I know. Just like if you guys can't do this anymore, then just be I would rather you just end it Yeah.
With the, like, original vision. Like Yeah. Yeah. Or it's it's I'm thinking it might just be a pay thing, because maybe they have to pay them all by the My god. You're so right.
I think I remember that being I mean, I'm sure it's a little different. But, like, I I feel like if these are the same largely the same conglomerates that people are negotiating against. But, like, I feel like I remember hearing that being a thing during, like, the WTA and the fact strikes. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

(01:46):
Definitely. Didn't wanna play the, like, premium once you, like, had a certain amount of seasons or whatever. Yeah. But I don't know. Just fork out the money, and you can get, like, an excellent legacy for the show.
And so it's just weird. Yep. Oh, my god. Yeah. Yeah.
There's a big difference between, like, being a show that's buzzy for, like, a couple months and, like, being a show that people think about in the teen drama canon for, like, ever. And Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Really could have been that because those first eight seasons were just I really loved all 3.
Five stars for me. And then, unfortunately, 4 was just that's what people talk about now. Just, like, oh, but, yeah, let let's stay on topic. We'll get to something that's unfortunate. We'll get there.
We'll get there. Basically, the, like, concept of Acley Bridge is that the South Asian and the white teens have moved into a new school together and are integrated had previously not been integrated. And so that does create a very interesting, like, set of tensions that obviously continue to come up as these two schools merge. So, yeah, I really enjoyed watching, as I said, like, the first almost entire two seasons of the show. I thought it was such a fun British teen drama.
And I love Nas and Naveed, and I love their friendship being, like, you know, for at least when they first become friends, closeted, you know, queer Muslim teens is really just I think beautiful. It's it's really, like, one of my favorite friendships. It's, like, up there with, like, Eric and Otis and Maeve and Amy for me. Yes. I love the both of those friendships.
That's one of the ones where I see people do that, like, either or on Tumblr with GIF sets. And I'm like, I couldn't I don't know if I could ever choose between my children like that. Yeah. So in the first episode, which is, you know, obviously the beginning of this, like, experiment of the new school, the Pakistani kids immediately deal with white supremacist nonsense. I feel like we slowly learn more and more about this, like, faction of the white folks in town who, like, are just straight up, like, white supremacists, who, like, believe that England should stay England and such.
We'll get more into that as the show progresses. But Jordan Wilson is kinda like one of these kids. And he had said something racist, like, right off the bat, but then he, like, does this, like, elaborate racist prank where he, like, puts up a banner. It's an image of a woman in a niqab and texts. It's like, new school rules.
1, bunking off, loss of leg. 2, phone in class, loss of hands. 3, all Asian girls covered and ugly white girls. And so one of the school workers sees him putting it up and, like, manages to, like, sneak up on him and but, like, a bunch of the South Asian students, like, see it and they, like, run to beat him up. I just bunch of the South Asian students, like, see it, and they, like, run to beat him up.
I just appreciate that people aren't just, like, taking this, like, sitting down, and there is a lot of, like, just, like, united, like, fuck you. Yeah. I I feel that's, like, again, one of my favorite parts of t and j is when they all kinda come together for as a united front, but also just it kind of like defies. Because obviously this is like come came after Wardley Road, which they had very submissive brown characters, both boys and girls and like grown adults too. Whereas here in the first episode, they're like beating up the races.
Whereas in what you wrote, they one of them literally just runs away. You'll never see him again after he gets picked on. Whereas here, they're like running towards the racists, you know? And so I think Yeah. It's such a good like comparison between the 2.
And then, yeah, so later Jordan is like caught, and he's like, I was just trying to make a point. And they're like, what point? And he's like, well, that I'm racist. And yo, I you know, I'm a white person in the US, so I have at least one part of my family that's racist as it goes. It literally reminds me of, like, something that happened to me when I was in, like, 8th grade, and, like, one of my cousins was, like, telling a racist joke to the other.
And I was like, what are you like, whispering. And I was like, oh, what are you guys, like, talking about? And they were like, oh, well, you wouldn't wanna know because you're not racist. And I was just like, I've never heard someone self identify as racist. I was so, like, aghast, you know?
This was, like, one of my because, like, I mean, I also grew up, like I don't know how it's changed now because my town has changed a lot. But I grew like, went to a high school that was more black than white. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, getting called racist was, like, the worst thing you could get called at my high school Mhmm.
Or my middle school. Like, you didn't you didn't wanna be racist. And, like, to hear somebody self ID ing as a racist was, like, more than my little 13, 14 year old brain could handle. Yeah. Like, I could imagine them, like, being like, yes, I believe this, this, this, and this, but I'm not racist.
Like, that's as far as I can imagine. But actually saying that, I've never had one before. Like, at least not I've also seen it on Twitter. But not, like, not on Google. Since Elon, like, took over Twitter too.
So that line, actually, I was like, well, that reminds me of that part of my life. And then Jordan and just to stop there, though, Jordan, like, walks in the class wearing, like, a hijab later in the fucking story. And, like, again, kids have to be held back from beating him up, rightfully so. And he even gets on the intercom and, like, says some, like, shit about how, like, even if you're white or Asian, there's no jobs for us. And it's it's kind of an interesting like, they are all working class kind of Yeah.
Thing there. But clearly, they also show how, like, working class white resentment often gets, you know, placed on immigrants and people of color. I think it's a really interesting comment because it just shows how, like, misguided he is and how he's actually a victim of the system himself because Mhmm. He realizes himself in that quote where he says, doesn't matter why our agent, there's no jobs for us. We're the immigrants, the benefits of government.
It's like, like even though he's saying it in a race the way he is true, it is true what he's saying is that because he's not realizing that it's not an exclusively race thing. I think that's what actually British does really well. You can tell when they brought in the white people to the show, it wasn't just to appease the white audience. It was Bogenetics about Klaus as well. And I think they do it really well from the get go, especially here with Jordan.
Jordan has a really great character arc throughout the seasons. I think he stays on beyond season 3. Okay. Most of it's such a blur that I don't really like, they pretty much get with everyone but, like, 2 people. But, yeah, I think he has a really great arc, and I think the show does really well by mixing race with class.
And, yeah, he's great for that. Absolutely. Yeah. Like, there are rich brown characters, and there are, you know, poor white characters. And Yeah.

(02:07):
The head teacher is literally South Asian. Yeah. And obviously, Alia is his daughter. And we'll talk even more about we get to the episode that's really focused on her about how class plays a huge role in her story. One thing that I love is that the show often opens or just shows us Nazarene and Missy on this abandoned couch in their working class neighborhood.
I always love a cute little, like, recurring, like, place that, like, other teen friendships happens. You know, like, Eric and Otis' bike rides. Like, it just reminds me of that kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, I can't imagine people actually doing this, but I did love Oh, you. Yeah. Totally. Disgusting, visual, beautiful. I don't wanna think about the logistics.
Yeah. But so they are neighbors. So they've been friends, like like, seemingly forever, but never went to the same school because the schools weren't integrated. And so Nas has her Pakistani friends and kind of gets embarrassed by Missy. And Missy really tries to be, like, friendly to all the girls, and it, like, really backfires.
And Naz tries to be, like, she's alright, you know? You just gotta give her a chance. But, like, Missy and Nazarene actually end up in a physical fight at the beginning of the first episode. Exactly. I mean, they have a you know, I mean, I haven't seen their whole journey, but from what I've seen, have a have a good journey.
Like, I I appreciate that these kinds of things do externally push on them, but they seem to, like, you know, work through it. And the 2 families being neighbors and just, like, holding each other up and, like, you know, Nathreen's mom always being there for Missy and Hailey is is really beautiful. It yeah. It's a it's kind of like a everybody could take on a chosen family in a sense where it's like they would never call it that. They would never call them their family, but it is that really.
They'd like they are like a family. It's like it's nice they're brought together because of the proximity, but I would say it's mostly because of Naz and Missy. Yeah. And so then in the second episode, we have an interesting Nazarene plot line where she, like, decides to wear a headscarf. That's just not how she expresses herself, you know, previously or after.
So it's kind of like an experiment for her in this episode. Her mom asked her if she's a bloody Arab. Oh my god. Jesus. Like But I think that's a really good take on, like, how this is not a word, but the arabification of Islam, because like Islam is based on agriculture, West, like, she, like, it's not really a part of Islam.
And like, I think it's a I don't think she had the best intentions when she made that comment. But I think it was a good question on, like, she's not doing it. You could as because clearly, she's not doing it for the right reasons. And so Mhmm. It's a good question.
Just just wrong messenger, I think. Yeah. And she asked if she's wearing this to hide from Missy because they're still kind of working through the kinks of this integration. And later, she does take, you know, take the hijab off and says she wasn't wearing it for the right reasons, which her mom had been trying to point out throughout the episode. And Saddiq, who's the school sponsor that we had mentioned before, he actually, like, hears his daughter criticizing, like, Nazarene's choice of whether or not to be wearing a headscarf.
And he's like, don't tell others how to live their lives. Isn't that what half the country thinks we do anyway? And I thought that was an interesting point. Yeah. And I do love that there's a representation of both, you know, girls who choose to wear their headscarf and ones who don't, and that they're both seen as equally valid.
Yes. Yeah. I think it's also quite nice. We'll talk about it. You can tell she's not repressed and it's fully a choice.
And it's like, she fully also believes in Islam. And I, while she's quite like, mean, she's a mean girl. It's like, it's the Islam is not the reason for that. She just is a mean girl. But she is kinda kinda go into it with her family, but it's not really related to religion.
But, yeah, which is quite nice. Yeah. Honestly, it is. And I I mean, I can't think of any other, like, Muslim mean girl character. Like, can you like, I'm just thinking about it.
Nothing is immediately coming to mind. I can only think of, like, the nagging auntie stereotype. Like, in another British show, the guy that plays her dad, who's in another show, could Citizen Khan, which is obviously, you know, a funny, like, take on Citizen Kane's name. Yeah. They have, like, the nagging aunties, but it's, like, super stereotypical.
Whereas this is, like, no, I wouldn't say that at all. Yeah. Like, it's just like, yes, Muslim Muslim people can also be mean, believe it or not. Like Exactly. And, like, unfortunately, some people really need to see that representation.
So Yeah. Let's go. More mean girls of every religion. Yeah. And so then, a rumor goes around about Nasreen and Corey.
And then, like, they also, like, actually, like, end up kissing and everything. But Missy is like, oh, I think Corey has a thing for her jobies. And Naz is like, well, I don't want Corey. And this is the first time we see her come out to anyone, and it's to Missy. And she says, I don't want a boy.
And it takes Missy a minute. She has to keep being like, no. I don't want a boy, like, ever. And she's like, what? You some big Harry Leather now?
Which I think kind of, like, just sums up what the, like, general sentiment around being a lesbian, it seems to be in the neighborhood. Or people do eventually, like, accept it, but that's kinda, like, their first baseline, like Yeah. It reminds you of the Derry Girls coming out scene in Yeah. Sexism. And she thinks, like, it's a joke.
Right? And then she does the which I think really fits Missy's character even if it elicited a bit of an eye roll as she does the, like, do you fancy me? Like, question. I couldn't imagine her not asking that. Like, she would expect of course, she would ask that.

(02:28):
But, yeah, it's interesting. It's interesting that, like, rejecting this white boy and, like, wanting to make sure that Missy doesn't continue trying to, like, get them together is something that makes her finally be like, I'm gay. Like, she just forced out the closet in, like, the not friendliest way possible. But I do also love how, like, soon that is into the show. Like, it's only 2 episodes in.
Yeah. Because I didn't realize it. I didn't have any instinct. I just thought it was gonna be purely about religion or, like, her mother making her do certain things. But, yeah, I thought it was really great at how, like like, from the get go, but, oh, okay.
We've got a lesbian. It's also like, they like lesbians are not also as commonly given like a good character arc, but obviously it's heart stopper, but I don't think they have like, they're not the main characters. Whereas Nazarene, she's like the main team. Her and Missy, like they're bigger than like Naveed. You know, he's great too, but, like, Missy and Nas, like, the main 2.
Like, without them, you don't have the show, which we end up we end up learning that down the line. Yeah. Sounds like it. And so then we have, like, I I hate a seizure student relationship, and we unfortunately get that. Yes.
So I would say that that's, like, annoyingly stereotypical, like, gay representation of, like you know, where it's not exactly, like, positive, and it's kind of, like, honestly playing on what are often anti queer stereotypes of what Yeah. A t shirts would do, like like going way back. And they they made her brown as well, which is annoying because then the good lesbian relationships that you have, it's nice with a white girl. I said, okay. Yeah.
That was with even more to it that we'll get to than that. Wow. Yeah. Like, the worst white person it could have ever been. We also find out in this, like, 3rd, 4th episode, like, space that Nazarene's dad is trying to set her up with an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
So that, like, becomes a thing that recurs a little bit. Her mom is also dead set against it from the beginning, which I I love her her mom. She's a great character. She's so good. Yeah.
She's brilliant. She's so good. I don't wanna, like, spend too much time on this. But yeah. Like, there's a little bit of, like, sneaking around between Nazarene and teacher, miss Therese.
Eventually, like, she basically gets led like, Nazarene gets led on by this teacher who then is like, wait, no. Like, you know, this is illegal. And it's like, yeah. You're you're stopped. Okay.
Okay. I know. Maybe you should have thought of that a while ago. And Nazarene, in the 4th episode, tells her father she can't marry the guy in Pakistan. It kinda goes back and forth and flip flops a bit.
And then the teacher is actually outed at school, and that's when she actually rejects Nafreen altogether. When she's like, oh, I could come out and we could, like, be together. And she's like, no, we could not. No. We And, you know, it really I think we do a really good job of showing I don't know if it's, like, as explicit as I would, like, love it to be that, like, this is, like, literally, like, not okay.
But, at the same time, I do think the depiction really shows, like, Nazarene being, like, a teenager with all of these, like, idealistic ideas of what their relationship could be and being clearly so much younger and immature than this teacher that, like, it it shows why it makes no sense. You know? Also just like the desperation of finding common ground. Like, it's kinda like when, like, a lot of teen lesbians, they end up just staying the other lesbian in the class because there's any other possible option. You know, everyone else has like so many other options.
And so it kind of gives that in the sense of like, I think she knows this isn't the right choice, but I just don't think she knows why it's not the right choice, but she just knows it's not right. And so, yeah, I think it's it's well done in that sense from her perspective. And so everyone's talking about mysteries coming out. And, like, at her home, Nazarene's kinda like, it's 21st century in England. Like, everyone's fine with it.
Like, it's not a big deal. And her mom says, we got gay girls in Pakistan. We just don't go on about it. Now, Thoreen said, it feels like there's one rule for them and one rule for us, you know, referring to white people as them, and about being queer openly, which is obviously a tension that Will can kind of continue to see throughout the show. By the end of the episode, Nazarene actually flirts again with the idea of this arranged marriage being her, like, way out, just like, you know, pretending, essentially.
That brings us to the 5th episode of the first season, which is, like, a very monumental episode where Nazarene comes out to her mom. It's a huge it's a weird, great scene. Nazarene's mom finds out that Naz has asked to have this marriage arranged from the end of the last episode. And her mom goes off and gets really mad and kicks the dad out. And seeing herself is, like, holy cow.
I can't do it. Yeah. Yeah. I can't do it. I can't get married.
I don't want to. No. I I can't wear any of this. I can't. I can't just can't do it.
Oh, fuck. I want it. Don't cry. I want it. Oh, grab your tea.
Oh, tell me what's wrong. Sit down. It's not a boy. It's not a boy. It's not a boy.
It's a girl. It's a girl. It's a girl that like the boy that you like him. I love a girl. What?
Is what? Oh, just don't listen to me just for a minute. Okay? I love I love another woman. Mom.

(02:49):
I'm a lesbian. She does sulk at first, and, like, we do see a moment where her mom's, like, in bed and doesn't make breakfast for the kids one morning and everything because she's so devastated. But, you know, she does she literally Googles Yorkshire lesbians, which is, like, fucking hilarious, and then, like, goes where they are. What did your mother say? And what could she say?
I got out in our community that I was gay. Sometimes our people are just so bloody backward. I have friends who've never seen their family since coming out. So you walk away from your family? How could I?
I love them, so I got married. Mommy, mommy, look. Sweetie, this is Kenny's auntie. This is my daughter, Anjana. Hello, Betty.
I'm loving that picture. Love that. Oh, very good. And, this is my partner, Kate. Hi.
Hello, Kate. I'm Bikram, my husband. Hi. And It's a date soon. It is.
I just love that they let the mom go on a journey with it. Like, it's realistic that she wouldn't immediately be, like, that's cool, but I like that she kinda gets there. Yeah. I think it's, like, it's really aided well by the actors. Amy Lee Hickman, who plays Naz and Sinatra Sark, who's, like, British royalty.
She's, like, she's so good as Knise, and she's just, like, like, you never root against her even when she's being homophobic. You forget why she's feeling the way she's feeling even though you know she's wrong. And you wanna go on that journey with her to see because you don't know if she's gonna accept her or not. Like, you'd like you'd it's done so well in a way where it's like, as much as we love her, this might be like her line that she'll never cross. And so I think it's done so well in the sense that we love Kenny so much that we're willing to see her go on that journey.
Even if it might not be the ideal journey, it's a really well done story. I think, in my opinion, it's the best one from the entire series. Yeah. Really good at it. It's really well written.
Nazarene's mom does find a, you know, lesbian who is married to a gay man to appease her parents, but also has a lesbian partner and a kid. Yeah. And, like, Bickram also the the gay man also has a partner, and, like, they're all just living their little, you know, chosen family gay life. Which is actually, like, I like how it wasn't presented like a failure. Like, you didn't they didn't neither one of them seem sad about it.
Like, they all actually they actively chose that, which is really nice that, like, it was a way to put up, yeah, I can still make my parents happy whilst making myself happy. I'm not sure how realistic it is is that that would happen. But, like, I hope it happens, like, in the world. Okay. It sounds it seems really nice.
Everyone like, they seem to be friends with their marriage partners. This whole situation of learning of this as a thing inspires Kaniz to kind of create her own scheme for Nazarene. And she kind of accepts her, and then is like, okay, I wanna introduce you to this guy named Naveed at the skating rink. So we're introduced to the fact that he is good at ice skating. She said, if you don't see many Pakistani men skating, do you?
Which is almost like, okay. You guys all use the f slur, dude. Like Pretty much. Just go there. Just say he's a sassy.
Use all the words. And so, the funniest thing is that Missy is like, you conniving old so and so. And, like, I love that little moment of the 2 of them being like, oh, look what she's done. Missy is like, I don't know if you've fussed it, but Naveed is gay. And and she's like, yeah, I do know.
He told me when we were out there. I mean, it's an option. And then Missy's just like, I love your mom, and she's like, so do I. And I'm like, oh. It's amazing.
The writing is so good in these early seasons. When Kanev is talking to, like, the the lesbian who's in that interesting, like, family dynamic, you know, she hears that other friends of this woman just don't talk to their parents after coming out. She kind of frames it as, like, oh, you, like, leave your family. Like like, they're the ones making the choice to not be with their family when, like, actually, like, the family is the reason that, like, it's not the like, not accepting the the gay Yeah. Gayness of your family member is the reason that they lose their family, not like Yeah.
You're choosing to be gay. So you're you know, so it was it was interesting. And it's interesting that, like, when like, the way that Kanise's mind works, it's like, how can we, like, keep her in the family by any means possible, basically. Yeah. It's really it's like a survival story for her as well.
Because, like, that's like I know she shouldn't, but you that's clearly her favorite daughter. You know, that's her that's her favorite child. I don't know. Revia is not giving me a lot of reasons to love her. In some of these episodes, I'm like, you're out here stabbing people and shit.
Yeah. No. I mean, that's that's why it's so great. Like, there's so many flawed characters. No one's so much of, like, a hero or so much of, like, a terrible person.
You know? Like, they all feel, like, real complex people. Even, like, Jordan, I think he was, like, the initial bigger of the series. There's so much complexion just to him. Exactly.
So that's great. Yeah. So, yeah, the second season begins with Nazarene having agreed to do an arranged marriage with Naveed, which is really the beginning of their friendship. And so, Naveed is starting at Ackley Bridge at the beginning of the 2nd season, and Naveed and, like, kinda brushes off her mom asking if she's gonna tell everyone she's engaged to him. You know, she's like, you know, this is the best thing for both of you.
She's like, remember, be friendly. Maybe a little more friendly than usual, but not too much. They want people to talk about them and be like, you know, Naveed and Nazarene are a couple. And so they're, like, in school trying to decide what they're gonna do, like, you know, gay panic. And, like, they're like, I guess we should kiss and hold hands.

(03:10):
Like, and so they end up kissing, and, like, people whistle and everything. And Alia's like, that's disgusting. As she does. Yeah. Yeah.
Later, Nathreen tells Missy that they're just trying to make everyone know they're a couple. And Missy says they could have done every position in the Kama Sutra, and she still wouldn't have thought that they were a couple. And she checks with Nazarene, and she's like, if that's what you really want, I think a really poignant Nazarene line is, I want an easy life, but I'm not gonna get that around here, am I? And she just it really feels like she feels trapped, and I feel like this episode of her having to, like, break out of that and realize that, like, if she does, like, you know, this isn't the only option. Like, I feel like she begins this episode thinking this is literally her only option.
Yeah. It's nice to kind of realize there's more to it than what she thought. Right. And so, you know, the the families are gonna get together to talk about the engagement. And Alya and her friend call Nathreen to flapper to her face, and they say that it's all around the school that Nathreen and Naveed are sleeping together.
And another there's a lot of girl fights from this show, Aliyah, and Nazarene end up fighting. I don't know. Gender fight representation. And so Nazarene confronts Naveed later because she was not on board about, like, spreading rumors that they're sleeping together. And and he's like, I thought this is what we wanted.
She says it is, but this is not Fifty Shades of Pakistani. Look, it's alright for you. Lads can get away with saying stuff like that, but and he's like, please, Nazarene, don't finish with me. I need this. And she says, we both do.
This is not a game. This is real. This is gonna be our life from now on. And he says, again, you're not gonna finish with me, are you? And she says, like, I've got a choice.
Oh, that's a pretty good line. And so this is also the episode when Nasreen finds out her dad has had a second family or maybe she's the second family the whole time. It's hard to say, which one is the second family, but it's it's a devastating blow, obviously. And I think that, like, her emotions about that might, you know, contribute to her decision to call the engagement with Naveed off. And by the end of the episode, Missy and Nazarene are declaring that they must find her a girlfriend, which kind of shifts where the focus is for her, I feel like, as the season continues.
That first episode of the second season is a good introduction to, like, Naveed and Naz and their friendship, and then, like, we kind of, like, slowly get more and more of each of them as the season progresses. I did think that he was gonna just be there for that and then they've been him off, but he has such a good arc. Like, he actually becomes a certain character, which is it's nice that they kind of have their own up separately. Like, we usually get 1 brown character or 1 gay character or 1 brown gay character, but we've got 2 here and we've got loads of surrounded. So it's nice to have them, you know, gather in separate arcs together.
Yeah. And, yeah, Naveed is definitely one of, like, the best characters. I mean, like, obviously, he's a comedian, and so he's very funny. And, yeah, I just I love it. Yeah.
And that is really great too. I've never met him or anything, but he seems so much different than Naveed, which is great. So in the 3rd episode of the 2nd season, we first get Naveed checking Corey out in the locker room. Again, this is Corey from 1st season. He's like the hot guy, the hot white rugby dude who, like, sleeps with everyone and, you know, is the fittest kid in school, whatever.
Like and of course, that's who Naveed has a crush on and who is he's, like, very good friends with. You know, aim high. Aim high. I also thought there was a really funny plot line that I'd want to briefly touch on this episode where they are trying to do a school play, and, like, Mandy jokes that it's gonna be a Midsummer's white dream because none of the brown kids have signed up. And Ali and her friends come in all, you know, wearing like, I think they, like, match what color hijab they're wearing, like, often on this show.
But in this time, they're all wearing white. Yeah. And they say, like, this isn't our culture, like, Midsummer Night Dream. And one of the teachers said, if you think they don't sing and dance in Pakistan, and they're like, well, what does a white play with Greeks and fairies have to do with us? Emma, of course, tries to make the case that Shakespeare is universal, and Alia tells her that she doesn't know anything about them.
Eventually, they do have Alia be, like, the assistant director. They're like, you can keep this cultural, and I thought that was a funny way to, like, flip it and be like, now you have to do work. Have you complained? But also, important to the Naveed of it all is that Emma Keen, the teacher, overhears Naveed being funny. And it's just like, you're funny.
You should audition, which is hilarious parallel to My So Called Life, Enrique Vasquez, is told by his teacher when he hears him doing an impression of his teacher that he should be in the drama club. So I'm just like, I love these teachers clocking these gay scenes and being like, get your ass to drama club. They don't say it. They don't say okay. They just say, you should join the drama club.
That's just what Missus Chees did in Glee. Every time everyone he's meant to get into Glee, he's like, no. It's because you're gay. You can't sing, but it's because you gay. Yeah.
Well, I think I literally said that's on our My So Called Life episode, but it's literally the future of being, like, I know what you are. I know where you belong. Like but, no. I mean, like, it's it's it's low key, like, actually, like, really good teaching to be like, I'm not gonna, like, be like, you're gay, but I'm gonna push you to where maybe the most nurturing space for that would be. Yeah.
Yeah. No. It's not. Yeah. Yeah.
And so then in the 4th episode of the second season, Nazarene is on a dating app, and she ends up bringing her to the football pitch, which is very funny. And so she actually goes on a date with one of the girls, but is asked to go back to her hers so quickly that she, like, freaks out and, like, makes an excuse and gets out of there. So she continues to try in the 5th episode of the 2nd season to be on the app. You know, she's lying to say she's 19, you have to be at least 18, and then she needs somebody who she believes his name is Samira and is also Pakistani. Basically, she is being catfished by her own mother.
Kaneev has created, like, a 21 year old lesbian who came out to her husband and moved away. Like, you know, she's created this whole, like, backstory and shit. When it eventually comes back around, Kaneev explains to Nazarene that she just wanted her daughter to tell her things, and that's why she did it. Nazarene has a really great line where she says, being a lesbian is who I am, and I have to deal with everything that comes with that, the good or the bad. You know, kind of like, you're trying to shield me from, like, this, but, like, I have to do it fact that Kaniz does something bad.
But because of her characterization, we still love her regardless. Let me Mhmm. Forget why she did it. Even if it's wrong, even if it's, like, terrible, it's like, yeah. We'll we'll forgive her because she's Kaniz.
And then we have a little bit of more movement on the Naveed and Korey front. You know, Naveed is bringing Korey water before a rugby match, and there's a lot going on at home for the Wilson family. So Korey is, like, worried about his rugby match, and Naveed is kinda, like, comforting him. And he makes Corey say, I'm not gonna blow this, like, over and over again. And then Naveed just, like, goes for it and kisses Corey.

(03:31):
And Corey just says, like, what are you doing, man? Honestly, not the worst response of that situation that's ever happened. Like, he doesn't, like, freak out and get violent or anything, which unfortunately, for a straight dude is, I know the bar is low. But I was surprised by how, like, early they Naveed had, like, a crush on Cory. That's parallel to Missy with how he reacts.
Keith kinda says the same thing that she says. I mean, it's like, oh, so you like, I think he's like, do you fancy or something? Oh, right. Yeah. Only says he thinks I'm fit.
Yeah. Which is, like, is that quite pretty much what Misty says as well. Yeah. In this case, it's like, actually, yes. Yeah.
And Naveed later tells Nasreen, you know, may get another great moment of them being friends and confiding in each other. You know, that he tried kissing Corey, and she's like, oh my god. What happened? Like, laughing. And this is after Corey accidentally injured Riz during rugby, and he had to, like, get taken off the field on a stretcher.
And so he literally says which again, funny ass ass guy. He broke Rizz's neck. I think I'm next on this list, which is hilarious. But it's also just, like, not true, which is like I honestly was, like, very pleasantly surprised with the depiction of Korey in this show, because I feel like there isn't ever a moment where, like, he's he's always trying to support Naveed. It's not necessarily like he always does the right thing or says the right thing, but it always feels like it's coming from a place of good intention.
Yeah. And it's, like, it's nice that he doesn't have to go on a journey of realizing that Naveed is a human. Yeah. You can see it from the back straight away, which is Yeah. Again, the bar is on on the floor, but at least it's not him on the floor.
Yeah. Absolutely. And so then on the 6th episode, Naveed and Corey kind of have, like, a parallel moment where Naveed is gonna go on to the play, and they're comforting each other, you know, kind of like a parallel to the rugby match. And Naveed tells Corey he thought that Corey hated him. And Corey says, of course not, you muppet.
And Naveed says, I'm sorry about what happened. And then Corey oh, no. This is the line that you were talking about. Yeah. Corey's like, so you think I'm fit.
Yeah. Oh, that's alright. I'm Yeah. Yeah. No.
No. It's okay. I'm just making the connection now. And Cory says he won't tell anyone, you know, that he's gay and tells him to smash the play. And so then we come to the 7th episode, which I think is probably one of the ones we'll have the most to say about, which is when Nazarene meets Sam.
I don't know if you wanna say anything before we get into the specifics, but this is a weird one. All I'll say is not my favorite story. I think there there are other ways to do this. I don't think they really did this. You could tell they really tried, and they were really honing in on the white meat bound kinda connection and trying to bring in race and class, which they did do, but I just yeah.
We'll get into it. But, yeah, I'm not a fan. So this whole plotline begins when somebody in a chicken costume steals Nafrine's sister's shoes at the mosque. And Nafrine sees it and, you know, yells after her, but Sam gets away on a motorcycle. Then when they get to school the next day, there are, like, literal white supremacists outside the school giving out literature against Muslim extremists.
Yeah. From the start of the filming of this. Oh, okay. They filmed they filmed in public, and people actually joined in thinking it was a real, like, race riot. The actress for Sam was on the podcast saying that they had to tell people, no, we're not actually protesting this and to leave the vicinity.
I was like, that must have been terrifying. That is scary as shit. Holy shit. And yeah. So then this is what we were saying before.
These are the people who want to keep England England. It's a very similar messaging to what white supremacists in the United States use. You know, these people are all fucking hateful and awful and, you know, have a lot of parallels, unfortunately. So, and she confronts her and says, you know, like, I saw you take these shoes with them off. Like, I want them back.
And at first, Sam, like, denies it, but then they end up fighting, and it comes out that Raziel, the Nazarene's sister, had called Sam a lesser. Basically, mister Shah, who's, like, the new deputy head, he wants to start a LGBTQ support group. Actually, he assumes there's already one, which is funny, and they're just like, no. We don't have that. And Mandy would be.
The head teacher says, it should be managed carefully since some people in the community wouldn't be happy. So they do engage directly with, like, that Yeah. Perceived aspect of, like, the different cultures. And, you know, it's already been brought up by Nathreen feeling like there's a double standard. A bunch of girls, including Raffia, gang up on Sam in the bathroom and hold her down and write a slur on her forehead in Sharpie.
It was really hard to persuade her. I'm not gonna and they really want us to feel sorry for her, but I didn't I know. Thought that. I was like, okay. It's just like an everyone sucks sort of moment for me.
Yeah. Yeah. Like, really it is. Okay. Like, you can all just, like, fight each other, and I'll see who, like, is the race to the bottom.
Like, I don't like, this is just Yeah. Yeah. Literally not. And so meanwhile, in the inside the, like, cafeteria, people are, like, know, talking about the pamphlets that have been given outside their school, and they're like it's like they think halal food is terrorism. You know, it's kinda like this is ridiculous.
Like But it's a typical, like, you can this this happens, you know? Right. So yeah. So as, like, silly as it is, it's a real life depiction, really. And so the kids are kinda talking about, like, what are we gonna do about this, like, racist rally happening in our community?

(03:52):
Meanwhile, Nazarene confides in this that she had originally hoped that being gay wouldn't be a big deal to her sister, but now she's not so sure after, you know, the the hate crime she she committed against a different lesbian. So Sam, like, kind of, like, just gets in the middle of the cafeteria with, like, you know, the the word on her head, and she's, like, knocking away over the bully food and just, like, making a whole scene. And, you know, the new deputy head does say, like, loudly, homophobic bullying will not be tolerated at this school. And so now, Serena finds Sam in the bathroom, and it's like, have you done that before? She's like, not to so many people, but I've also never had this written on my head before.
And she says, I get called it all the time, and I just say and what every time. You should try it. And she's like, what do you mean you should try it? And so Sam, like, immediately has clocked to Nazarene. And, like, Nazarene thought she was being slick, and she wasn't.
And Nazarene is like, well, maybe if you stop stealing people's things, like, people would actually like you. And Sam tries to kiss Nazarene, which is a wild choice. So she pushes her off, and it's like, get lost. And, unfortunately, it doesn't end there. You know, we all would have hoped that maybe it would have.
But then, Nazarene is like to Missy later, like, how could she have known I'm gay? He's like, gaydar, ain't it? And then she makes a funny joke, which is, how's your luck, a? You want some lady lovers to appear, and you end up with a Murgatroyd kissing you on a toilet. And so, like, that's the last name of Sam.
And, like, this family is, like, one of the, like, racist families in town, and it's, like, clearly known to be such. And so Naveed and Nazeem have another of their lovely conversations. Naveed's asking if she's gonna go to the LGBTQ support group, and she says she might as well write lesbian across her forehead. And Naveen said, that looks becoming quite fashionable, I hear. And she's like, well, maybe we can make up our own support group.
And he's like, what? Just you and me? And she's like, start by talking about any social issues, you know, like living in a Brexit austerity Britain and having to contend the twin shackles of racism and homophobia that binds our lives. Naveen's like, right. Where did that come from?
And she's like, Diva Magazine. And so a Nazarene does actually peek into the LGBTQ group class room and sees that only Sam has been, like, you know, brave and out enough to have shown up. And then she panics and leaves when Sam sees her, but Sam follows her into the bathroom. And, like, it's like you wanted to come to that meeting. You should learn to take a risk some time.
And she writes her number on Nathreen's arm, and Missy assumes that Nazarene isn't gonna text her. She even says, like, Sam's a 3 and you're a 10. But Nazarene texts Sam a chicken emoji, you know, playing on the fact that she was wearing a chicken costume to begin with, and they start flirting and such. And Nazarene ends up leaving Missy's party too, like, her engagement party, I think, and, like, goes to see Sam, and they end up, like, sleeping together. And she does get her sister's shoes back, at least, but, like, lord.
It goes from 0 to 100 so far. So I'm like, it's I don't think we needed this trajectory to tell the story they wanted it to. I feel like we could've done this another way. Absolutely. And, like, you literally see the, like, flag of, like, the hate group on the outside of the fucking house.
You see it later in the protest. I just think they could have had her as, like, just like a child of a racist family that was, like, a bit on let me just inform which she is, but it's like she's actively a part of this as well. That's the problem. Yeah. Like, really annoys me.
The good thing about the show prior to this is that the brown people were their own characters, but here they were using Nazarene as a brown lesbian as a way to kind of humanize this, like, racist person. And just play they really let themselves down in this instance. Because I think that they this is everything this is against everything that the show was about. And it was really annoying because like Nazmi had to really try hard to get us to humanize Sam, which in the end, it does work because we do end up feeling sorry for her. And they end up using the brown characters, like in that scene where they write the slur on her head.
They use those brown characters to make us feel bad for her, which is why I actually was like, I'm not gonna feel bad for her because they chose the brown if they chose the white characters to do it, I would go, okay. I get it. But they specifically made the brown people do it, and I was like, okay. It's just a bit to me, it's very lazy. And I think it's first it's actually this show, which always stood against that kind of storytelling.
It just felt, like, completely against what they typically go for. It's even, like, the language that, like, Nazzarina's using. It's like, she says very felt like a perfect fit. Like, it's just I don't know. Like, it's just like they're trying so hard to be like, oh, opposites attract.
But it's like one of the opposites is, like, literally a white supremacist. Yeah. Like Opposites attract is supposed to be, like, you know, top of the class versus, like, a jot. Yeah. Or, like, a a bully versus, like, a woman bully, but, like, you know, an outsider versus, like Yeah.
A child. Right. Brown girl and a racist. Like One of my favorite opposite attractions that is from a British teen drama, which is why it's coming to me, is Rich and Grace and Chen Theory of Skins. More it's like the metal rocker and, like, the really, like, you know, cutesy, like, girl who's the the daughter of the the headmaster.
Like, that's opposites attract. I don't know how the fuck this shit is. Or like like Ruby and Otis, or even like Maeve and Otis. Like, I think that those 2 are just so perfectly, like I keep referencing sex offender. They have always they've always got the best traits, but like Yeah.
That's what it is. Not like a racist. And I will keep going through it, but I I think that, like you said, they could have had her just be misguided and, like, very quickly kind of, like, break from her family, but that's not what happens. So Yeah. So Nas, like, goes to the shops, and she passes the the rally that had been, like, you know, advertised to everyone at school, keep England, England rally.
And they're all wearing the flag that we saw on the outside of Sam's house, and Raviya and her friends show up with eggs. You know, know, they had been talking about what they were gonna do, and that's apparently what their plan was in the end. You know, they're teenagers. I'll I'll buy it. And Nazarene says they're not worth it.
Then, like, one of the flags lowers and reveals Sam and her cousin Candice at the rally. And this is again, remember, after Nasreen has, as far as we know, lost her virginity to this person. Yeah. Exactly. And so they're all chanting in the most racist cadence possible, whose streets are streets.
I would like to just give a note. My friend Nikki, who's been on this podcast several times, has turned me on to hating that chant, whose streets are streets, just because often, people end up I mean, like, in a situation like this, that's exactly why they hate the chant. It's that, like, white people saying there are streets when, like, it's like, yeah. They are. Literally.
Like, the whole country is set up around them being your streets. But, also, it's just, like, very redundant, like, in just movements in general, where it's like if you're marching through some streets and you're just saying, we are in the streets, it's like, why don't we say the message that we wanna say and not just like If I can copy and paste your chant into any other protest Right. And it fits, it's not worth saying. Exactly. Yeah.

(04:13):
I just needed to shout that out. Like, one well, I remember one time we were at, like, I think, like a Black Lives Matter protest in, like, 2014 or 2015, and Nikki was like, I hate this chant. I was like, why? And then she, like, told me her whole opinion. I know.
I think it's a good point. Yeah. I never really thought about that. But, yeah, I think people just should be don't have to be super specific. But when you're so generic about it, it's like, it's not really gonna change anything, is it?
Yeah. And I mean, I mean, I think there are certain situations where, like, somewhat where, like, you're actually trying to take something back where, like, the who's school, our school kind of thing totally makes sense. But Yeah. Very context specific for it to be exact. Yeah.
It's it's Yeah. Yeah. So as soon as Nasreen sees Sam and feels, you know, probably the worst betrayal she's ever felt, she grabs an egg, and she's the first one to throw an egg at the the racist. And the rest of them start throwing eggs too. And then they all go running as a few of the, like, white dudes start running after like adult men too.
We're talking like adult men running after teenage girls. Like, terrifying. I think with this whole scenario, this happened in, like, I think 2016, 17 when it was on, which is so familiar with a little bit like Donald Trump's rise as president. So I think that one thing I actually bridged, they're gonna be topical with what they do. Yeah.
Absolutely. Yeah. This all feels so, like, I mean, yeah, only a few years after, like, you know, we saw the the white dudes fucking marching through Charlottesville of the tiki torches, which is where Heather Heyer was murdered. Like so, yeah. This is definitely feels very topical for the time.
So Sam is actually waiting outside Nas's house when she gets home, and she's just like, why did you throw an egg at me? And I'm like, bitch, are you serious? You should be glad that's all she did. Yeah. It should have been something more permanent.
Yeah. And then she's just like, because you're a racist? And she's like, no, I'm not. And I'm just like, girl. No.
And then she said, if I were, we wouldn't have had sex, would we? Which I think, pause, is a very interesting conversation topic. You can have sex with people who have a different race than you and still be racist as fuck. Oftentimes, that's those are the most racist as well. Because you can, like, fetishize a particular group and, like, only feed them as sexual objects.
Like, that's a thing. Yeah. Like and so, yeah. It it definitely race is an interesting conversation about, like also just, like, you know, interracial relationships can be really beautiful, but only when, like, people really see each other in all of their complexity and really, like, just that that's not what this is. That's my point.
Now, Serena kinda shoves past her to try to get in her house, but Sam follows her in. Again, the boundaries here. And she says, I've never been in an Indian house before, which is like she's like, it's a Pakistani house. Yeah. But I I don't understand that.
Yeah. She's like, but I suppose all brown people do look the same to you. Don't they? Just like another one of those Muslims who were shouting to get out of your country. But those things were said initially with how everyone kinda sees all South Asians as part of India.
And then this one line that Sam says that really, she said, it's alright for Muslims to stick together, so why can't whites do it? And I'm like, oh my god. And she said it's a god. Yeah. She said, it's the racist March, Sam.
Both people hate me. Why on earth were you on it? And so then she starts talking about, like, white oppression. And she's like, me mom gets called a slapper when she walks past the moth wearing a skirt. Me grandpa got spat on because he walked down the street where no whites were allowed.
It ain't right. This is our town. And so yeah. And she's like, what happened to your family that's wrong? But any decent person would say that no matter what color they are.
And this is our town too. There are some places you just can't go if you have brown skin. If you're walking past the mosque, they never gonna, like, even call anyone anything. When you're at a mosque, everyone at the mosque focuses on being in the mosque. Like, I my local mosque is literally right next to a pub.
They're literally neighbors, and not once has anyone at the mosque ever, like, said anyone was, like, erased. Like, you you're there for a very specific reason. So I know they wanted to kinda do this thing where they tried to equate the 2 oppression in, like well, obviously, the writers are not they're not trying to equate it. It was a very ignorant example because that's just literally not realistic. Like, you could have just said they walked past, like, a brown family or something.
Right. Specifically, a place of worship. Like, no place of worship. They're ever gonna say that. Like, they're there for 1 they don't they are actively trying to avoid everyone outside because they're all trying to be there.
Like, we're not gonna do that anywhere. Right. It really just would totally reads as a right wing talking point. Like, it doesn't it doesn't read like reality to me. Yeah.
A 100%. Yeah. So, yeah, you just underscored that. And Sam then says, no. You're alright.
You try and fit in. It's just the extremists we want gone, the ones who wanna make everything halal. And she's like, why does it matter if something's halal? And she's like, it funds terrorism. And it's like, okay.

(04:34):
Okay. Let's unpack what terrorism even means and what, you know, the category of terrorist means to you. You know, it's just a good conversation though. Other than the the bad example that they gave, I think this is this part of it is a really good realistic conversation to have. Yeah.
No. Absolutely. I mean, it's very timely for now too with, like, you know, people being, like, there's a certain way that Palestinians are allowed to, you know, like Yeah. Protest for their freedom and other ways that are terrorism and Yeah. Where, you know, there maybe it's all terrorism to Zionists, you know.
Like, so that word is just such a, like, loaded word and especially in this context. 100%. You know, when she says it funds terrorism, Nazarene, it's like, no, it does not. She's like, that's what my grandpa says. And she's like, have you ever thought that your grandpa could be wrong?
And she's like, there's nothing wrong with trying to keep Britain British. And I think very powerfully, Nazarene says, I am British, Sam. Eating something halal does not mean that you hate this country. Wearing a hijab doesn't mean that you hate this country. You can be more than one thing you know.
And then she's, like, just not gay. And she's just like, alright. You need to get out of here. Like and so Sam asked why it's okay for Nas' family to be against gays, but not for her family to be against Muslims, which is like, first of all, who said that was okay? 2nd of all, you don't actually know what her family is for against this.
Yeah. Especially considering Naz is, like, fair, not open, but, like, if she's talking to you about it, surely, you would at least, like, ask. You know? Like, it's just such a weird thing to assume. I love your, like, note in there.
Yeah. I have I have some colorful notes listeners. And so Nas is like like, they kind of are like, so they do know about us. And Nas is like asking the same. Like, she'd love to know what her grandpa would think if she knew if she was sleeping with a dirty patty, which I've definitely heard in other British shows, that's a very common, like, derogatory way to refer to Pakistani folks.
Yeah. It's it's like a it's a whole slur that, like, no one should really like it's like yeah. People like because, like, they've normalized it so much. People just, like, say it because, yeah, it's like a whole slur. Be be aware, listeners.
If you're not in the UK, that's a PSA for you. And so Sam, like, finally gets up to leave. Nazarene is yelling about her very vulnerably to her, about how every time there's one of these anti Islam marches, she's scared for weeks afterwards, thinking, hopefully, I won't get yelled at today or called a terrorist, told to go back to my own country. And that is because of people like you. Why did you ask me out, Sam?
Why did you sleep with me? And she says, because I like you, but I've never felt like this before. I don't know what to do. And Nazarene says, you can't be with me and be in that group. Why were you even walking around in a halal fried chicken costume?
And she's like, it's a job. There's nothing else. And Nazarene says, And she's like, it's a job. There's nothing else. And Nazarene says, if you're the same person that was on that march, I don't want anything to do with you.
And Sam says, fine, get lost, then finally leaves. And, like, the impact of this march continues to be, you know, ripple effects on the school, where the next day, Khloe is saying she won't work with Candi for Sam because they're racists who are at the anti Muslim march. And they say that doesn't mean we're racist, and another Pakistani boy says, like, of course, it does. And then Candi says, if she's a racist, then why did she sleep with one of your lot then? So it's like, fuck.
And Missy immediately, like, is like an Nasreen, like, you know, everyone knows that Sam slept if someone stopped Asian. And Candice is like, tell them who it was to shut them up. But Sam says another thing that I think is meant to make us sympathize with her, which is, like, she doesn't give up Nazarene's name. And it's like, you think I'd throw her under the bus so you can hassle her as much as you hassle me. She don't deserve that.
I mean, I should know that she would do that. This, like, softens Nazarene towards Sam again. And I'm like, eternal eye roll. She's like, thank you for saying it worth it. Me, like, do you understand why I can't be who I am not around here?
And so Sam's like, you can be yourself around me. And it's like, can she, though? It's like, I don't believe that's true. So, yeah, they, like, go off alone together and, like, and she's like, you know, you're the 1st Indian, and then corrects herself to Pakistani people I've ever really spoken to. She does say that she previously, you know, only went to all white schools, which is like, okay, but you don't anymore.
So it's like, I'm sorry. I don't messy as well. Yeah. Right. Exactly.
And that's the reason that it would be easier if I didn't like you. And then she's like, because this can't work. And she says, because I'm white, because I'm Muslim. And when we're on our own and no one else is around, we can pretend that none of that matters, but it does. Doesn't have to.
Sam, your family hate me literally for being who I am. And then Sam's like, maybe if they got to know you, and it's like, no. Don't make your brown partner go hang out with, like, fucking bigots. Like, are you serious? And Nazarene says it's just on to nothing, walks away.
In the next episode, Missy, like, makes it clear that Sam still fancies Nazarene, and they continue to be involved, essentially. It's not as, like, forefront in every other episode if it wasn't that one, but they're still involved. There's also an interesting little plot line of Rivia using skin bleach because Riz didn't want a brown girlfriend is what she says. It's a really good story. I really like this.
So she because I think this is such a like, going back to the some girls conversation, the skin complexion and the hair, it's such a big issue. And I think they it especially with a character like her who just you can tell she's, like, full of insecurity, and she's, like, trying to make up for it. I think it was she was the perfect person to use for it. And they have this really, you know, hard in the right place moment where Hailey, like, tries to, like, be in solidarity with Rivia by, like, basically wearing brown face. And she's like, I'm trying to express that brown is beautiful.
And it's like, no. Not that way. And everyone's, you know, rightfully offended, calling her racist. And I do love this moment where Knieb both tells racism that no boy is worth skin bleaching and also explains kindly to Haley the history of brownface in, like Yeah. You know, society.

(04:55):
Well, I appreciated that, like, she's actually, like, kind of, like, called in and, like, corrected in, like, an educational and, like, loving way because the people who are correcting her, like, know her and understand that she isn't racist and that she's just truly it's ignorance. And, like, you know, there are some people who, like, are ignorant and they don't want to know any other way. And there are other people who do, and, like, it's important to show both. Yeah. And you can tell Hailey is the one that genuinely she she honestly thought she came to school, like, yeah.
This is gonna make my best friend feel so good. Yeah. It's so funny. They're introduced kind of more to Naveed's burgeoning comedy career when one of the teachers has been assigned to dress up in orange neon and get all the kids to stay for an extra period. And David asked if he'd always wanted to be a traffic on when he grew up.
And that's how he transitions, sort of telling him that he's on first at the comedy club that night. So then the teachers, both Emma Keen and Will Simpson, come in the audience and they're you know, they're very supportive of him and are like, you did great. And he's like, okay, but my parents want me to do the biochemistry and not performing arts. So, like, no, they don't know about this. And then Will invites Naveed's dad to his next stand up performance anyway, and it's, like, clear that they don't support it.
So then we move to the 9th episode of the season, which is a big Alia episode and big story for her. As we said, she's a daughter of the head teacher, and they live in a really nice big house. They're, like, you know, clearly some of the wealthiest folks in town, which is kind of the vibe. Yeah. And like you noted here, there's a lot of really interesting interactions between, like, father and daughter, which is nice.
Also, with her relationship with the headscarf, it's also nice that when she's got the headscarf off, it's not like a big moment. It's just because she's like like, usually, there's a big moment when she takes off to, like, yam free, but she's just got it off because she's at home. Like, it's normal. And I I don't really see that often. It's usually like I think they tend to avoid having, like, the home life scenes just to avoid that.
But it's nice. Yeah. And without it, and it's not liberating. It's just literally, this is how life is. Yeah.
I actually noticed that too. It's it feels very authentic and lived in. Like, there's no reason to call attention to it. It's just it's the way it is. Yeah.
Yeah. I love that. And, you know, in the same way that, like, Nazarene never wears a headscarf, and that's just the way it is. Like, you know Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And so we actually open on Aliyah walking through the streets of the town, like, to bring food to, like, the food pantry. And, you know, I think her aunt is the one who receives her donations, and she's like, you're a very good Muslim. And we see Corey is in line at the food pantry. And when he gets to the front, we find out he doesn't have a voucher that, like, everyone else waiting in line has.
But they do, like, actually give him food anyway, and Aliyah takes a picture of him with his, like, bag of food pantry food. Naveed and Corey are excited to see Riz. He's not coming back to school after getting injured. Meanwhile, the Corey of it all is that they he's been told he stinks, and he's like, oh, I slept with someone last night. And Alio's like, wow, taking after school activities to another level.
And he's like, what? I was just, you know, doing my biology homework. And so Corey kinda, like, says that she's all theory and no practice and in retaliation, and she she sends the picture she took to her girls, like, just her girl group chat, saying, like, Corey Wilson is a food bank skank, which is like, come on, man. I think she did it more forever though. Yeah.
I'm taking more from her. And so, interestingly, this the whole episode coincides with this, like, public speaking competition. And so, Nesrine, Alia, and a couple of Alia's other friends are, like, getting ready for it. And it's actually interesting that they talk about how charity is vital when, like Mhmm. There is a phrase in movement work that it's solidarity, not charity.
You know, that it's better to be in solidarity with people as they, like, have more ownership of their own liberation than to just, like, you know, be like these poor people who I have to, like, give something to. Mhmm. So it just feels very on point with, like, the more liberal idea of what, like, doing good means. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And after so after Alia embarrasses one of her friends during this competition, she retaliates. A lot of retaliation between girls happen here. She forwards Alia's message to the whole school so that everyone knows that she said that, like, class assassin. All the guys are weird with Corey.
They show him the text. There's this moment where she comes up and she has, like, her trophy. And she's like, aren't you gonna congratulate me? And they're like, congratulate you for what? This?
And then they show the message. And Corey says, all that talk about charity. Look at you. You're just so full of yourself, just a stuck up, spoiled little brat. And Alia says it was meant for a private WhatsApp group, and her friend's like, well, now you know what it's like to be publicly humiliated.
It's about you laughing at people's desperate situations. At least now everyone can see what you are. And everyone is just like they have people really, like, giving their all with giving her, like, these looks of disgust, shame, judgment. Yeah. And everyone claps when she leaves the lounge.
I'm like, wow. They're laying this on thick. I've never seen kids this united in in you know, around, like, you know. I mean, in some way, it's kinda cool. Like, it would it's cool that people are like, it's not okay to make fun of someone for being poor and eating, you know, a food bank.
But it's also just, like, very funny how exaggerated it is. And so Alia comes home and begs her dad to let her go to private school. And he, you know, as a sponsor of the school, it's, like, it's special to me. How's it gonna look if my own daughter doesn't wanna go there? And so she starts crying, and we do see, like, a very tender hug between, you know, daughter and father.
And Alia ends up coming to apologize to Corey. Although, it is kind of like it's after he she finds out the dad tried to kill himself. But, like, still she got there. And there is kind of a weird moment where, like, Sam and her family come in with food for Kory, and Aliyah kinda like shows herself out, which, like, fair enough. Wouldn't wanna be around those people either.
Yeah. And then at the end of the episode, Kory kinda tries to hit on her, and she has a great line, which is like, integration is overrated. Some things just don't go together. That's a really good line. Yeah.

(05:16):
And, like Amber would have said in Hairspray. Meanwhile, the other big thing that happens is that Rivia and Sam get into a fight that's kinda been brewing for episodes now. And Rivia has stolen, you know, some sort of scalpel thing from science class. And in the scuffle of Nazarene trying to stop the fight, she ends up stabbing her sister. So the two families have a meeting about, like, Ravi's bullying and the fighting.
At first, Sam is gonna be transferred to a pupil referral unit, and her grandfather is the one who's there on her behalf. And he says, I knew it was a mistake, you coming to school with that lot. And Sam says, you can't say stuff like that, grandpa, which is the most, like, resistance we've seen her give to her family. Yeah. But it's, again, not that much.
So Yeah. And he says, my granddaughter has been radicalized by you bloody Muslims, which is like, wow. You saying just that was her being radicalized? Yikes. You don't even know what radicalized means.
You're happy to eat our curry or have, you know, like, a South Asian doctor. And then he says he doesn't eat curry, and he would never have a Muslim doctor anywhere near him. And Sam says, grandpa, that's racist. And he's like, you call yourself a Murgatroyd. So, like, their family name means racism, and she better get in line.
And as Reagan ends up speaking up for Sam and actually writing out her sister for being the one that stabbed her, so then Rhea is the one who ends up getting actually put off the pupil referral, and so that's the problem with the 2 of them. Meanwhile, now, Rhea finally confesses back at home with Sam as her girlfriend. Kaniz is not, like, super surprised. And so, Izzy is like, what the fuck? What?
Like and she's like, you're a lesbian? And, like, you know, unfortunately, laughs to find out in this situation. And Missy says, like, that Sam isn't exactly her number one choice for Nathrine either. And and Nathrine says, yeah, you can't help who you fall for, can you? And Rivia's no.
Right? Like, Rivia's like, well, I'm gonna move into my grandmother's room because you're gay. And Nathrine's like, I'm gay. Get over it. So, you know, it's like fairly realistic depiction that, like, different members of her family have different reactions to the news, you know.
And so then in the 10th episode, which is the last episode we're gonna talk about in-depth of Ackley Bridge, is the big Naveed episode, I would say, as far as his coming out. He actually comes out to, like, the world in this episode in a really beautiful way. And so it opens on him performing on stage in a spotlight and heavy makeup. You know, it's kind of like his dream daydream, and he says, I'm in love with my best friend. In love, I am.
No burkas involved if you get my drift, dearie. And then you cut to him spacing out while practicing his comedy with Corey and Riz. Comedy, meanwhile, is framed as a distraction by both Naveed's mom and mister Shah, and, like, they're kinda, like, get back on track. And Naveed's mom has been at school, so she stops in the bathroom on her way out, and she unfortunately finds Nazarene and Sam sneaking into assault to make out. She reports this back to Naveed and is scandalized to find that he's not really acting surprised or upset enough that Nazarene is a lesbian.
And I believe his parents still think they're arranged marriage potentially. So, you know, Nazarene apologizes to Naveen, and she's like, oh, I didn't know. Hopefully, she just thinks it's me, and she doesn't, like, think anything about you. And he's like, okay, but she put 2 and 2 together. Like, she's not them.
And Kaniz really beautifully says, like, you can always come to us for anything, you know, giving him that safe space. And then when Naveed gets home, his mom is going through his computer accusing him of knowing nothing with a lesbian, and she says, you're 1 too, aren't you? And she actually, like, slaps him twice, which is hard to watch, honestly. Yeah. And she says, you're one of them disgusting things.
God can see your sins. He can see what you do. And so poor Naveed storms out of his house. And unfortunately, you know, he goes to where his safe space is, but they're having a party for Hailey's birthday, and so that just leads to him drinking a ton. And Corey is like, oh, we got you a gig, like a proper stand up gig, and he says the only act I've got is me.
One big act. More booze. Sam arrives at the party, and, like, Naveed ends up finding Sam and Nazarene cuddling on a bed together, and he's, you know, drunk. And he's, like, well, well, well, if it isn't Nazarene Paracha, the only lesbian in the ghetto. And she's, like, Naveed, and he's, like, discovered again twice in 1 week.
Not very good at this closet business, are you? And then when Sam tries to fight back, he calls her Fraulein Hitler and is like, how's your uncle Adolf? Which honestly, like, good one. I mean, you're not wrong. And Sam fights back, and Irene's like, stop.
And he also has a slime where he says, 2's company, 3's a sham marriage. And That's insane. Yeah. Yeah. It is.
And then eventually, he's so belligerently drunk that Missy's like, Cory and Ritz, like, get him out of here. And so he throws up in the bin outside, and, like, Cory really, like, is there for him. And he asked him, like, what is going on if they're walking at home? And he says, I'm gay. Parents found out.
And he's like, so? And and then he says, I'm scared. I don't know what to do. It's what I wanted. Now it's changed everything.
I thought once it was out that it would be alright, you know? At least it's out now. He said he felt safe behind the lies originally, pretending he was normal, pretending he'd get married. I'm sick of it. I can't do it anymore.
And Corey says, you've got friends. You've got me. And he says, my mom said I was disgusting. Poor babe. And they hug.
So he does have Corey really there for him Yeah. Through this moment. But, yeah, they end up walking home together. Naveed's like, how bad was I at the party? Corey also asked how he feels about the gig.
And Naveed says, he doesn't feel funny at the moment. He says, I've been made homeless, and he wants me to be funny on Saturday. And so they're like, where are we going? And, basically, Corey has an empty house, so he's, like, come back to mine. And he says, I've never had a mate like you.

(05:37):
And he's like, who's tried to snog you? And he was like, I was gonna say that makes me laugh, but, well, yeah, that as well. You being my friend means a lot to me. Me too. I'm sorry about that.
You know, I went a bit too far. I shouldn't have. And then you didn't. It made me feel like somebody actually cared, like someone really cared. And and then Naveed stifles laughter, and he's like, why are you laughing?
Nav, come on. I've just sat here and poured my heart out to you, and you're throwing it back in my face. And then he tries to go to bed, and Corey's like, no. You're not. You're apologizing.
That that was a moment then, and they end up, like, wrestling, and Corey is pinning to be down. And, like, we all know where this is going. Yeah. This did not help the shippers in that area on Tumblr. They were everything.
This is like the big, like, gay ship of the show. I'm not surprised to hear that at all. And so the next day, Naveed, like, rides to school on the back of Cory's bike. He is elated. Like, Nazarene pulls Naveed aside of school to tell him she's sorry again, and he's like, oh, I'm fine.
Like, I thought of Corey. Like, he's like, my whole life is great now, which is like, oh, no, baby. He says, one minute my life's falling apart, and next, look at me. And he says he's the happiest he ever felt in ages. And Azrine's like, be careful.
Like, it's Corey. And he's like, can't you just be happy for me? And when he tries returning home to his, like, actual home, there's an imam there to talk to him, trying to, like, you know, talk him out of being gay. And he just packs a suitcase. And it's like, I can't stay here.
And he thinks he can just run excitedly to Corey's. I'm like, you know, life is good now. And he says, I left. I've told them about us. And he's like, that's great.
But then there's, like, very obviously a girl he just slept slept with who walks downstairs scantily clad. So Naveed storms back out, and he ends up in Nazarene's arms crying on her bed. Oh, I really felt for Naveed here. I just feel like every every gay boy's had that relation ship with their, like, straight best friend during secondary school, the homeroomicon where he was like, nothing's ever gonna happen, but then there's something in your head that was like, I know that, but still, you know? So I just like that's why I love Naveed.
He's just so well written. And you can tell that he really thought about this character from multiple lenses. And so, yeah, he's a he's a wonderfully written character. Totally agreed. And, like, I even, like, also think that, like, you know, Corey could just, like, be bisexual, and maybe he, like, likes women more often.
Or Yeah. You know? But like Interesting. Yeah. It just Yeah.
I don't know. I just I like the fluidity of that. Yeah. I agree. And so, yeah, they have it out and, you know, he kind of like the other night, it's like one thing led to another.
You're my mate, and this is stopping us being friends. He's like, then why did you do it? You knew who I felt, and you can't say you didn't. You're my best friend. You're not like the others.
I can talk to you. And the other night, you were upset. And he's like, what's the knot? It was just charity? He's like, this ain't just about you.
How do you think I felt? I thought I knew. Yeah. I wanted to be with you that night. I don't know why.
I just did. It felt right. I'm trying to be honest with you. It didn't mean the same to me as it did to you. I wish I could be what you want me to be, but I can't.
Yeah. That's kind of the end of them romantically as far as I know, unless something happens later in the show. No. That that's very much at the peak of their romantic, quote, unquote, relationship. Right.
But I think it's also just mostly that I don't think he was ever romantic on both ends. I think from Cory, he was just literally just lonely, and Naveed's the first male person in his life to offer comfort of any kind. And then he's just not used to men offering any kind of comfort. And so he's really digging into what Naveed has to offer, even though from his end, it's not sexual. It's not romantic.
He just thinks this is not and and I completely get that. Like, it's it's of course he would, but then he doesn't really understand how it comes across, which I get as well. And so it's it's a really complex story that I was quite surprised came from the show because, like, it, like, it I never thought they'd go this deep. But it it's really open, I think. Totally agreed.
And so there's also a conversation between Naveed's dad and mom. Naveed's dad calls, you know, Naveed his son, and his mom literally said, if you can still call him that now that you know what he is. And his dad is like, yeah, you think that God loves him any less today than the day that he was born? And so then we we cut to Naveed's gig. Corey and his parents actually end up showing and hearing a really important, you know, coming out speech from Naveed, which, you know, comedy routine coming out speech combo.
He starts it off by being like, any Ackley Bridgers in the house, give a cheer. And so, like, everyone cheers. And then he's like, any gay Pakistanis in the house, give us a cheer. And, like, no one cheers. And he's like, woo, just me then.

(05:58):
Those of you that know me might be shocked. Others are probably thinking, oh, who are he kidding anyway? Silly queen. And the rest are selling rocks at the back, ready for the stoning, and people laugh at that too. Yeah.
And he says, no, but it's true. I'm gay. It's official. I am out. You know, it's a big thing coming out of the closet.
That's gay speak. I'm allowed to say that, by the way. I'm allowed to say that. When you come out now, you get a badge and a little phrase book and a little book of gay icons and their sayings. You think that you're gonna move on.
You think you're gonna wake up and the whole world changed, that your world changed, that it's gonna be wall to wall men, grinder hookups, and no racism in the gay world. It isn't. It isn't. Then you realize what is important is the people around you. Take me best friend.
I had no idea how he'd react. He always said it were a big step being friends of a Pakistani. But me mom's curry on top were a big incentive. But me? Okay?
What were he gonna think? This whole time, I was just trying to get him into bed, which I was, I'll be honest. Surely, my Ariana Grande bunny ears were a big giveaway, though they were my dad's. No. He's more Lady Gaga.
And, like, I love that his dad laughs at that. Even though I've moved on a step, changed, he still stayed the same for me, still has me back, still texting me rubbish advice and jokes, still trying to convince me that rugby is an interesting sport. Although now he knows where my enthusiasm for the scrum comes from. Best hookup in the world, a rugby scrum. Talk about rubbing your face in it.
And then he says, I know that no matter what happens, there will always be him, and I love him for that. And there's just like all these cheers and claps for him. Naveen's dad claps. Yeah. But his mom doesn't.
So she does say, I can't say I understand or accept it, but for now, no more lies. And she gives him his keys, and it's like, you forgot your keys. And he also has Nathherine and Riz and Corey and Keneath all come to hug him, you know, all people who really see him for who he really is. And so I think it's beautiful. I I really love love that.
Yeah. I I think in comparison to Nasus coming out, it's really nice that it's, like, they didn't wanna have, like, a ton of sometimes they'd like to ignore. They wanna have, like, a really emotional one and a really, like, easy one. But I like that both of them were hard, but in different ways. Like, he knew this was kind of like life or death in a way, but it was still, like, it wasn't as, like, traumatic as Nas's one, but it was still really big deal.
It was really emotional, and it was just nice to show them on different, like, parts of the journey. Because now this one happened at the beginning of her journey with us, whereas Right. Here, we've known he was going for a much longer period. He didn't have to come out. It was kind of like a part of his journey, and then he had to come out, which is nice, especially when you have to think about the thing of how when you come out, you have to keep coming out to everyone.
And so whilst everyone knows that, which is I think something we'll talk about with sex education, whilst everyone at school knows, they obviously get it. His parents still don't. And he still he has to go on that journey. And, yeah, it was really nice, really well written. I think he's one of my favorite characters.
I think him and Nas, just in general, like in old TV, they're 2 of my favorite characters. They really are it. Yeah. I mean, I think that both of their journeys are I mean, it's just, like, awesome that we get to see, like, both a, you know, gay woman and a gay man and, like, having Yeah. That's fantastic.
Yeah. And, like, having their experiences, like, very much shaped by, like, you know, their gender in different ways. And Yeah. Yeah. Like you said, like, often we get 1.
And in this case, we get 2, and their and their experiences are very different. And, yeah, it's just amazing. So, yeah, we've I think we've talked about Ackley Bridge. I feel that could have been the same episode. I know.
Right? Oh, man. And so we're gonna move into Sex Education, the resident favorite show of the pod. So we're gonna talk about Anwar and Olivia. So maybe we should add Ruby because it was a real to season 4 that Ruby is actually South Asian.
Half Asian. What? No way. Yeah. Okay.
Well, she is in a lot of these scenes we're gonna talk about anyway. So yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. They was really, like, ethnically ambiguous most of the the show, I feel like.
Yeah. Right? I think her surname being Matthews really threw off the scent. Yes. That's true.
I think because Mimi Keane is half South Asian as well. So I think they were like Okay. This is a problem. It's the one, like, thing they wanted to make sure was, like, let's at least include that part of Mimi. Let's not whitewash Mimi.
Right. Which I really appreciate because, like, the first two seasons definitely whitewashed her. Oh, I totally agree. Yeah. That's a good correction that they made there.

(06:19):
I did want, before we get fully into it, to just, you know, obviously, sex education is kind of like a a worldwide phenomenon, but, like, you know, do people love it just as much in England? Like, do you feel like this is, like, our our, like, teen drama of, like, that's made it? I don't know. They're, like, seasons 1 to 3 were huge as I worked in TV development when season 3 came out. And so that which is always a good way to depict how good a show actually is.
Because if it gets brought up in meetings with like execs and everything, you know, it's a good show. And like throughout that period, I May Destroy You, for example, was brought up in every single meeting. They're like, oh, it's gonna be like the this version of I May Destroy You. It's gonna be like, oh, maybe it's a reference to this moment, and I'm gonna show you. And sex ed third season came out during that period, and it was like this was when I was, like, in my deep obsession with the show, and I just felt like it was, like, a big deal for this 1st 1st 2 seasons because we'd never really seen a teen drama in a while that wasn't just aimed at teenagers, and it also took itself very seriously.
Because whilst obviously teens are the, the demographic that it's aimed at, it doesn't kind of have that trip of, oh, it's just a teen drama. We don't have to take it that seriously. Or, oh, they'll forgive this acting because it's a teen drama. Like everyone from the writers to the actors, the casting director to the directors, everyone made sure this was treated like an adult show. And it ended up getting BAFTA nominated.
Amy Lee would won, I think, 2 BAFTAs from the show. Shutee got nominated three times from the show. They won an international Emmy for the show. Like, it was, like, a big deal. And it was, like, when you think of it's, like, peers, I guess, is the right word.
The other teen dramas that happened at the time, it's, like, it feels weird to compare them to those shows. This was treated like that this would be in combination with, like, some of the biggest British comedies for the BAFTAs. Like, they were up against, like, Blacksheut, he was up against, like, David Tennant, for example, from the movies. It's like some of the biggest British actors. Yeah.
And which is insane to think about. Like, this is just a teen drama about teens learning how to have sex. And that's because I think it just kind of comes from the fact that everyone took it seriously and they made sure it had a lot of heart in it. And they kinda made sure that it was a show about a universal experience. Like, they didn't date the show, which is really interesting.
It's a really hard thing to do because there's no specific time period. Like, there's one point where they reference drag race. They have Todrick Hall playing, and there's another moment where they don't have smartphones or they've, like, they, like, listen to they exclusively listen to vinyl, which could be in, like it could be 2024. It could be the eighties. And we actually don't know, which is really nice because it's like, there's no specific time period, which I think really helps.
As yeah. It was a really big show for the first three seasons. And yeah. Yeah. We did it.
And, obviously, it wasn't we're talking about Omar and Olivia. It upset us they were not in season 4. But in the end, season 4 was so bad that maybe good for them that they weren't in season 4. So, like, you know, the for our purposes, season 4 doesn't have to exist today. Yeah.
Actually, there is a there is a South Asian character in, played by Felix Smufti, one of the Coven, that he's a trans man. Oh, yes. You're right. I can't remember his name, but he's South Asian. He's from Yes.
I forgot where he's from. But he, he's from somewhere in South Asia. I'm glad to hear that they at least kept that going, you know, when they were gonna take away South Asian characters. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. But, yeah. So, let's get into it. So the you know, obviously, we both love Sex Education. Sex Education is actually how we, like, met on the Internet.
Yeah. So, that yes. That's how we feel about that. And so our first impressions of Amar, Olivia, and Ruby, who are referred to as the untouchables, is when they pull up in Ruby's car in the first episode and Eric and Otis, who are really introduced to us as, like, big underdogs of the school, are like, oh my god. The Untouchables have a car.
Just when you thought they couldn't get any more elusive, now they have wheels. They also were introduced to the fact that because Anwar is, as far as they know, the only other gay out man at the school, that Eric has, like, this obligatory crush on him, essentially. Anwar says to Eric, like, what are you looking at, Alpervo? And that's, like, our first Anwar line. Yeah.
I was gonna say it's a really good intro because it's, like, it kinda brings back to Akkovich with Aliyah and like the mean girls being brown and Muslim. And here we've got 3 of them who are mean. But then also, there is a slight issue in that they then like Akkabridge, the people they bully are white and very sympathetic because, like, of all characters, Amy is, like, the most sympathetic character. And so it's a bit frustrating that they are, like, the main bullies of, like, the really innocent white girl. And so it's, like, as great as it is to see Brown Mingo representation, it's also frustrating.
It always comes at that cost, which is the same kind of with that key bridge. Oh, that's so true. I mean, I think it, like, definitely speaks to, like I think it's not just in England, like, just in entertainment industry in general and, like, trying to be colorblind sometimes when, like, you can't really do that. Like, it's still, like yeah. There's still, like, real racial implications of and, like, power dynamics at play.
Yeah. I was thinking choice of calling them Ruby and Olivia was interesting because on paper, there's a very white names. Yes. Absolutely. Brought in.
Like, her surname is not really addressed since we're, like, I think season 2 or something. So, like, I wonder when they came up with Hanan as a surname. Obviously, Anwar, like, people obviously written to be Brown, but, like, those 2. I wonder when it was made as a decision to make those 2 Brown. Right.
Was it just like, oh, Simone Ashley is, like, undeniable, so she's she's Olivia. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Could have been.
What if she was Brown? Because, like, when she got any I mean, it doesn't they're not writing like she is at the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah.
No. It's very interesting. It's very interesting. And, yeah, we just basically see that they are the bullies of the school. They they bully Maeve.

(06:40):
You know, they they say she can't afford deodorant or shampoo. And at lunch, they bully Amy if we were just saying about how she she brought ham, and they've apparently all declared that they're vegan. Olivia, like, slaps the Hamptons out of her hand. You know, we have a handful of episodes we're gonna talk about that really focus on there. They are side characters.
You know? They don't get the level of plot that characters we've talked about before, like Amy and Eric do. We are gonna talk about what we do get. So starting with Olivia. So Olivia is actually one of the clinic's first clients, like Otis and Maeve sex clinic.
So Yeah. Because when they're still sitting in different bathroom stalls and they're, like, shut down bathrooms, and it's weird and awkward. And she's like, can't we just talk face to face? And he's like, no. We shouldn't see each other.
And so her issue is that, as Otis very clumsily says, you encountered some problems during fellatio, which resulted in you experiencing a bout of amesis. Correct? And she's like, what? He's like, vomiting. She's like, yeah.
I puked on his dick. Alright? If I won't go down on him, he won't go down on me. So what do I do? And Otis does terribly.
This is like his first, you know, swing and a miss. And Olivia ends up storming out and doesn't pay. But Eric comes over to Anwar, Olivia, and Ruby later at the party that Amy has thrown. And they're like, oh, you again? He's like, I heard about your problem to Olivia, and says he can help first learn how to suck a dick.
Anwar is like, what would you know about blowjobs, trumpet boy? And he's like, French horn. Listen, I've seen a lot of gay porn. Plus, you're not the only one with a penis, you know. And Anwar is like, this party is a total beige fest while we're waiting for Eric to get his props.
And so then, I think this is actually a scene that we talked about in the on of our Eric episodes too, of course, which is that Anwar films Eric teaching Olivia and Ruby with bananas he found in the kitchen to suck, suck, suck a dick as they chant continually. I think we talked about how this is the kind of thing that, like, an American teen drama would never do, like, ever. Like, I'm just I can't picture it. It's too vulgar for Yeah. Minorities.
They're very satisfying, so I think I think that's what kind of made the show stick out is that there was this picture, British thing. You know, like I love this. It's like it's very skin's esque, you know, that they weren't really afraid to just be vulgar. And, like, it's like teens are vulgar. Like, this is not really a sanitized part of your life.
It's like it was it was, like, just so out there. But, yeah, it was funny. What I love about this show so much is that, like, even though Anwar and Olivia and Ruby are, like, the mean the mean you know, I'm just gonna say mean girls, whatever. Yeah. We could say Anwar is kind of a mean girl too.
But they also, within, like, the second episode, are, like, kinda humiliating themselves in front of everyone. Yeah. I mean, Olivia ends up throwing up again while they're doing this. And, like so, like, no one on this show is ever cool enough to, like, not have their moment of, like, vulnerability and, like, humiliation. That's a really good point.
Yeah. Like yeah. This is the episode 2, and they're ready. It just kind of, like, humanizes them. You know?
It's just, like, at the end of the day, they might be cool. They might have a car, but they're just teenagers trying to figure it out as well. Exactly. And so then I think the meteor story of Olivia's is in the 3rd episode of the second season. Yeah.
I think it's really interesting that she's obviously not, I don't know. Definitely said what her religion was. They did focus on her being Indian and her Indian culture. And obviously, historically, there's a bit of an issue with, like, Indians and, like, not so Indians are, like, in, like, see, Hindus and Muslims. And so I'm I don't know if she's a Hindu, but there's like tensions here in here.
The fact that she's got a Muslim boyfriend, which makes me just wonder was that intentional? But I think it was really nice, because to Olivia and I think Malik, it's them, it means nothing, but you know, if you think Olivia knows her mom should never find out. But then they don't specifically address, is it the fact that he's a Muslim, or is it the fact that he's a boy? That's her boyfriend, which I think it kinda comes down to Olivia just not being an important enough character. And this could have been a really poignant story if they just they didn't have to talk about the religion.
They could spoken about how what the consequences would have been if her mom found out, which she ends up finding out later on in the season. But she's kinda it's kinda like a silly, like, slap on the wrist. So we're really annoyed at you. And then that episode ends up being about Amy anyway, though, which is a really great episode, the boss episode. Oh, yeah.
When they find out it's not we can't just caps it. You know, we stop talking about her situation. But isn't Olivia's part of that plot line too? Yeah. Yeah.
Exactly. This is like something that happens to her and Anwar where they're like, they're at the castle having a really good story, but they're not important enough to be given, like, the bones to really go through with it. And so it's just like, this could have been a really good way to kind of discuss those kinds of topics. Yeah. Absolutely.
I would have loved more specificity with that. Because, basically, what we do see is that it could be episode opens on Olivia, like, you know, in a traditional Indian dress. She's dancing, you know, in actually for her mother. Although it, like, starts with, like, a really cool, like, visual effect where you see, like, multiple versions of her dancing. But then we, like, find out she's in her living room dancing for her mom who, like, heavily critiques her.
She's like, what are they teaching you in that class? Your fingers are all wrong. She's like, you're so picky, mom. And her mom says, if you're gonna do something, do it well. There's a knock at the door, and that's Malek, who she says is her dance partner, and they're rehearsing.
And she's like, don't stop and talk. Remember, she thinks your parents are Indian. And so they go upstairs, and they put on the dance music to hide the fact that they're, like, very obviously having sex. And then we we find out that her big you know, so, actually, she has, like, 2 different specific sex issues that we get to see because we already had her throwing up on somebody, and now we have her having this insecurity about her cum face. So she keeps covering Malek's face up with a pillow in a way that looks like she's trying to smother him.

(07:01):
I think here is, again, the same part with Anwar. I I really liked that they've given very specific sex issues, but again, I feel like they could have gone further with it. Like, what is it about Olivia that makes her so obsessed with her appearance? And I feel like obviously based on her cultural upbringing and how enforced it is that women need to be a certain way, but they don't really address it. Yeah.
Because no one else seems to care about their current face in the show, only Olivia, who in this episode is all about their culture. And so it's like, they never really say it. The same thing kinda happens with Lily where they never really talk. She's obviously autistic, but they never say it. You know?
And so I just like Yeah. I get why they don't, but I would prefer that they did they did do it. Yeah. You know, go all the way with it or not. Yeah.
And so, yeah, it's very funny. This is, like, the the point where Jean has, like, set up shop in the school. So, like, Malik goes to her and, like, tells the whole thing, and she brings, like, maybe it's fetish into the, you know, into the equation, which it's not. They have a funny conversation where he's like, do you wanna fuck a ghost? And she's like, what?
Like, whatever your face covering fetish is, you need to sort it out because it's weird and it's scary, and it's making me feel very unsafe, which is fair. And then Olivia ends up coming up to Otis. So this is an interesting situation where Jean does not help the situation, but Otis does. She's like, thanks to your mom. My boyfriend thinks I want to kill him.
Otis is the one who finds out that the reason she's actually doing this is because she feels that she has an ugly cum face. She says, I've seen it in the mirror before. It's bad. I look up python swallowing an egg, and Malek always looks perfect. And Otis tries to convince her that he probably feels silly sometimes too and that it's a privilege to see your partner like that.
So maybe you and your boyfriend need to focus on trust. And so they end up doing this cute little activity where they tape up their faces so that they look as ugly as possible or whatever. And This is really funny because you could literally not make Simone Ashley ugly. They tried so hard and they cannot Oh my gosh. I mean, they're both beautiful.
Yeah. Yeah. What? Olivia is the one that's supposed to look ugly in this. Yes.
I'm like, she just doesn't. At all. But it is a really sweet moment that, like, you get there. Like, you still wanna have sex with me? And they're both like, yeah.
And then they, like, you know, have sex, and it's it's a cute moment. And, yeah, they worked through their their issue, which is what this show is ultimately about, and it's always a nice, feel good moment. I do think the show does I mean, then obviously, we know the 2, the first few seasons for The Strongest, they really did thrive when they still have the, like, kind of, like, sex issue of the week grounding the episodes like Neil. Yeah. I agree.
And that's, like, that's why it was really frustrating in season 4. It kind of stopped really being about that, and it was kind of like a a homecoming season in a way Right. Where it's trying to round off everyone's stories quickly as possible. But, I think what made that not work is that they had so many other people that it just was like. Totally true.
And so then on the 7th episode of the 2nd season, mister Groff leaks Jean's private notes, which is, you know, deeply fucked up. And as a result, Malek and Olivia's parents and the kids themselves are called into his office. And he's like, were you aware that Malek had received sex advice from miss Millburn? And then quotes her notes that he talked about his girlfriend wanting to incorporate fetish, and then it's revealed that he has lied about his age and that he is not 16, but 15 because he skipped a grade in primary school. The parents are like, wait, Amir isn't an Indian surname.
And they're like, we're Iranian. And they're like, Iranian? Which could have been a great story, but, you know, it stands less as a gag. Right. And then they're like, oh, my god.
He's 15. You could go to jail for statutory rape. They're not gonna press charges. And like you said, that gets pretty much dropped after the scene. Yeah.
It's like a slap on the wrist and then back to the main story. And then, like, also, like, as we'll say when we get to the plotline that kind of, like, is Anwar and Olivia kind of overlapping is that, like, she stays with him too. Like, they don't break up as far as we know because he's her boyfriend later. Yeah. In season 3, I think.
Yeah. So then we're gonna move to focusing a little more on Anwar. We'll come back to Olivia when they overlap. And in the 3rd season, there's, like, one plot line where it's kind of, like, about Anwar and Olivia and their sex issues together. So, Anwar, as you said, I think this is, like yeah.
If you wanna go for it, like, your thesis about how he's openly gay, yet knows nothing about being gay. Yeah. Which I think is so interesting and could have been such a really good story because, obviously, he's literally the only openly gay, literally, as a his introduction is he's the only other openly gay person in the school. He's only friends with girls. Like, he's wearing pink blazers, and yet he thinks he's gonna die from AIDS because the only media he's seen, all the gay people die in the end.
And it just kind of makes you think, what's his life like at home? How does he dress at home? Is his blazer, like, in Ruby's trunk or something? Which makes you realize in season 3, when Ruby gives Otis Unmask clothes, that does make me think that she has his clothes in her trunk because how does she have Unwise clothes on her? Because maybe he, like, comes out in a hoodie, and then he meets Ruby, and then he puts on his real clothes.
And so it just makes you think, what is his family like? And in season 1, episode 6, when Eric punches him, that's the first time he's come up to his mom. And even Eric's taken aback. He's like, I didn't know you were not out. And it's a really sweet moment that I wish we could have seen because when she comes to his defense, she says that he's like, oh, if an Indian mom gives you dirty looks, just because she thinks you're homophobic, which is so sweet because it's not like she's like, oh, it's because you hurt my son.
It's because you're homophobic. And so it's like it's such a sweet moment where, like, obviously, she's culturally strict because otherwise he wouldn't have been as closeted. And so it would have been really nice if that wasn't off screen. I just think there's so much to Anwar's character that really could have been unraveled. And it's partly why I dislike Adam as a character because I feel like that could have easily just been Anwar.
Like, there was no need for 2 of them. I think we could have got rid of Adam, replace him with Anwar, and then replace Michael Groff with Anwar's dad. And it could have been such an interesting dynamic between the 2 because there's now racial dynamics between the 2 of them. And I just think in that one scene in season 3 where he's at the sex clinic, and he's talking to that woman, it's like there's this, like, little teenage boy who thinks he's literally gonna die, but it's just maybe a gag. Like, because, like, they've got I'm more, like, so scared.

(07:22):
They've got a sting on his face. And he's literally thinking he's on his deathbed. And I just feel like it could have been so even not not racially. They could they just could have gone into it a bit more because that's such a scary thing to think. Like, he genuinely thinks he's about to die from AIDS.
Oh my god. Yeah. Every gay teen or not just every gay teen, every gay person that is scared of that regardless of, like, the medication we have now. You're still scared to catch it. And he doesn't even know at that point that there's medication for it.
He thinks that's what he's gonna end up like regardless. And so I just wish that, like, they gave him that time to kind of develop that story because there's so much more that they could have gone into. But at least we got to know Lily liked aliens. You know? The shade.
Like, it's interesting how Anwar is so out to, like, the school, at least, where I feel like he really, like is, like, I am, like, the coolest gay teen in this school. You know? It's, like, kind of the vibe. But then, like you said, he doesn't actually know a lot about the mechanics of being gay, and he's actually really, like, you know, just trying his best and, like, kind of flailing when it comes to the actual, like, being gay sex Yeah. Part of it.
Yeah. So this first comes up in the second episode when Maeve challenges Eric to talk to Anwar at Amy's party, and Otis is like, Anwar is his unrequited crush. And Maeve's like, well, I heard a rumor his ex broke up with him because he didn't wanna finger his bum hole. And and then the next day, Anwar actually comes up to Otis in school because now everyone knows he gives sex advice, and he says he's really freaked out by bum holes. Yeah.
And he's like, I hear you can help me out. I can pay. So that's, like, one of the first things we actually learn about him, which is, you know, it's sex education. The second thing that he kinda just pops up behind lockers? Yeah.
Oh, my god. Yes. It's so funny. That happens, I think, at least 2 times with Otis. Yeah.
Where he, like, he closes his locker, and he's just, like, there. Yeah. This show is also just so funny. They have so many good, like, comedic timing kind of funny moments. Yeah.
I just wanna know how they, like, directed him. It's like, okay, now call on the floor and just, like, come up. And so then Anwar has his boyfriend, Nick, who and he's his boyfriend, as far as we know, for the rest of the show. Alright? I don't think we ever hear of them breaking up or anything.
Yeah. They never break up. So in the 6th episode of the second season, we open on them, like, fooling around, and Nick says, we should have sex. And Anwar is like, we are having sex. And then he's like, oh, you mean up the sex sex?
And then he, like, kind of, like, gets ready, but, like, isn't getting ready correctly. It's like he's like, what are you doing? He's like waiting for you to put it in. He's like, oh, did you already douche? Unless you're cool with it maybe being a bit messy.
And he's like, no. Of course, I've already douched. Definitely haven't just heard that word for the first time now. Speaking of clean, I'm gonna go wash my hands because that's how clean I am. And then he, like, texts Olivia code red.
And you see her, like, walking on the treadmill and being like, help. I've been mugged. And he's like, so Olivia's been mugged? Sorry. I've gotta go.
Rain check. Just love the comedy, like the acting between Chanel and Simone there. It's just like it just made love of it the way it's like, so she's been mocked, just casually. Yeah. That's so good.
And I just love that their their friendship is such a casual, like, depiction of what their friendship is like, where they have, like, a code red. She immediately calls. And even though she's kind of annoyed, she's like, this is what I do for my friends. It's also the only time I think we see them being friends without Ruby involved, which is Mhmm. It's not like I don't dislike Ruby's involvement, but it's nice that they also have a friendship that's outside of Ruby.
Totally. Yeah. Because Ruby definitely does feel like the queen bee of that situation. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. It's actually really cute that Nick is like, people think you're mean, but you're actually so sweet because he's like going to this fake mugging. And then Anwar, like, books it the fuck out of there. And this hilarious image of him in his pink jacket, like, running, booking it away from Nick. Yeah.
There's just this tiny little, like, passing running as, like, the camera just, like It's so good. The ratio dynamics here are really good as well because it's like, I'm not like, as you said, it's like the first time you've even heard the word douching. Well, I'm kind of skipping forward a bit. Absolutely. Fully understands this.
And so it's like, and also, it's interesting that every time there's 2 times that we see these 2 having sex, and it's in the same room, which is Nick's room. It's never in Anima's room. And so it just makes you think, okay, clearly one person is more accepted than the other one. So obviously, Amur is like, I'm in trouble. I need to figure out what the hell this shit is.
And so he shows up at Otis's locker. He says, my boyfriend wants to have anal sex. I told him I've done it before, but I haven't, and I'm freaking out. He's like, okay. What are you afraid of?
And he's like, I don't know how to douche. I looked at him online. Everything says something different, which I do think is a really good commentary on, like, how hard it is to sometimes to find, like, credible sex information as a Yeah. Teen. And he's like, listen.

(07:43):
I cannot, under any circumstances, shit myself. Mhmm. And so Otis is like, I'll do some research and get back to you. And we did talk about this a little bit, this plot line, in our sex education episode that was specifically about, like, the comprehensive sex education aspect of the show. But I do think the scene that's very funny is, like, Raheem teaching Otis and Eric about douching on, like, the chalkboard.
So, like, Otis doing research is him coming up to Raheem and Eric and being like, do you know? And then Raheem was just like, I know about this. I will teach you. And so then later, this is the episode where Otis infamously has a party, and he's very drunk trying to give Anwar the douching advice that he has been given, and he ends up literally throwing up into his solo cup. So, obviously, Otis is not gonna be a help to Anwar tonight.
Because he's like, okay, you squat, wretch, and release. And so Anwar just goes straight to the source and talks to Raheem. He's like, I need to know how to douche. And Rahim asks the best question, which is why can't you talk to your boyfriend about this? And he says, I'm ready to lose my virginity, but it's embarrassing.
If you're not ready to talk to your boyfriend about douching, you're definitely not ready to have his cock up your ass. I'm so sorry. Truer words have never been spoken. I really love Rahim. He just says it how it is.
He's just Yeah. Always to the point. And he's always he's never been wrong ever. You know what? You're so right.
I mean, like, obviously, I have said before that I don't necessarily think that Eric and Raheem should have been together or anything. Oh, man. But he was so right about Adam. So every time that he's, like, reading Adam, I'm like, yep. Yeah.
Read him again. Yeah. And so then there's a really nice conversation where Anwar does, like, take Raheem's advice, and he, like, goes to Nick. And Nick is like, hey, I hope I didn't put any pressure on you about having sex. We don't have to do anything you don't wanna do.
And Anwar is like, wait, and says, I wanna have sex with you. I've just never done it before, and I don't know how to douche. And it's really great to see that communication, that vulnerability. And Nick confides that he didn't know how to do any of that stuff either at a certain point, but he'll show him if he wants. And he's like, okay.
And so they go back to, I think, as you said, clearly Nick's house. And Anwar gets to have his first time scene, and it's very cute. And then in the season three opening, the sex montage, they end up having very casual anal sex. So I think it was a nice and that was very well thought out. Like, because I mean, that whole montage is very well thought out.
And so I think it's really nice to see them put so much thought into the characters and what they were specifically doing in that montage because everyone was doing something related to their journey. Even though it was just sex, it was all very specific positions. And like with Anwar here, it was like a very big one, which is something we lose in season 4 where, like, there's so many, like, plot holes that are just, like, unrealistic. So I really appreciate season 3 for, like, even the mind. But they didn't have to do anal sex in that particular montage, but they made sure it was just so we could, like, have a little story about to unwind next journey.
Yeah. I love that too. I think I've said before that, like, sometimes they do sex montages where we're, like, checking in with everyone sexually. It's like how I see it. Yes.
And then it's like the kind of montage you would do on another show with, like, just normal what are they up to. But for sex ed, it, like, has to be what are they up to sexually, and I love it. It was really well done. Like, it's even that just, like, purely from an aesthetic way that it was directed really well with the music and everything. So, yeah, it was a really good set.
Oh, yeah. Music on this show is always so well incorporated. Yeah. So good. Yeah.
Obviously, we love this show, guys. Thanks. And so the last plotline we're gonna talk about for Sex Education today is this plotline on the 3rd episode of the 4th season when both the, you know, males and females as it were, obviously, the slaves are non binary comrades in a tough position. But they split up the kids and teach them SRE according to the new principal's rules, which is, like, you know, old school, terrible sex education. We see both Anwar and Olivia's, like, sex issues kind of through this lens in this episode.
And so Anwar and Nick, we open on them having sex again with this new strawberry flavored condom that Nick has gotten. Meanwhile, we also see Olivia and Malek having sex, and Malek wants to use the pull out method. Yeah. Yeah. Which is like, you know what?
I do appreciate that they, like, both talk about really basic sex issues like that and ones that are way more complex because, like, those are all a thing. Yeah. And so, like, Olivia and Ruby the next day see Anwar, and his face is, like, blown the fuck up. Like, he's clearly had an allergic reaction. You know, to us, it's like, clearly, he had an allergic reaction to the condom, but that's not there's a journey to get there before.
He's like, I know that I was a crazy fucking mofo, and they're like, should you go to hospital? He's like, no. I think it's just stress hives. And Olivia's like, what are you stressed about? And he has this hilarious line where he's like, it's hard beating me, Olivia.
And so then in SRE, the boys, you know, aside are watching a video that says that same sex relations can lead to higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, like herpes, syphilis, HIV, AIDS. And Raheem and Otis are both pointing out, like, this video is, like, fucked up. Like, it's not teaching us about safe sex and also shaming gay people. And so after the the classes, like Olivia, Ruby, and Omar will kinda, like, meet back up, And Olivia is like, sometimes Mal doesn't use a condom. He just pulls out.
I thought that if something went wrong, I could just get the morning after pill. That's okay. Right? That's okay. And Ruby is like, no.
That is not okay. And Anwar comes up to them, and it's like, my rash could be syphilis, herpes, or HIV. I think I'm gonna die. And Ruby and Olivia, like, gasp. Like, they really, like or they believe it too.
Like Yeah. I I mean, it's the comedy is so good here. Like, I know Yeah. I don't like that it's purely comedic, but these 3 are so good at the comedy in this scene. Yeah.

(08:04):
It's It's so funny. Funny. And, like, Ruby is like, okay, we must never have sex again. And then, like, the I forget. What's her name?
This fan? That's her name. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
I love her. She overhears, and she's like, what I just witnessed would make Helen Burke roll over her grave. Please go talk to an actual professional. I figure there's a clinic at Mayfield Road. Like and then she, like, scurries away.
No. Here the fuck is Helen Burke? Yeah. Which is so funny. And then, like, Otis Khan just like pops in and is like an advocate for reproductive rights.
Yeah. It's just all around 10 10 scene. It's like it's, yeah. It's a really well written scene. I just wish it was, you know, taken further.
Yes. No. Totally agree. It's like, I wish that they had it's just plot line. I had, like, a few more scenes so that there would be, like, some more serious ones in the mix too.
Yeah. Also for Olivia, because I think there's such a big pressure on brown girls to do whatever the man says. I think that's what she's feeling here potentially. But why is it like she's so because to anyone like, even like with Ruby, she's making it very clear that he shouldn't be doing that. And like, to anyone else, everyone knows that if it should not do that, but Olivia, she's like, yeah, but I just like, I could have done more with both of these characters in this episode.
But unfortunately in this episode, they kind of prioritized the Ruby Otis story. And so they kind of like lost a lot of their, their, their, their character arc here, unfortunately, so that we could focus on because even like a little bit where in the episode when because Ruby's mad at Otis and then she offers Olivia to hold her bag and then I know I was like, oh, back in the game because now I live with like gladly taken the bag because these 2 also is unrelated to like the sex bit, but these 2 also feeling that Ruby's pushing away from them. And so they're losing that friendship. And there's that little scene there where they have that moment that, oh, finally Ruby. Because then they they turn on Otis.
I mean, they're not turning. They never liked it in the 1st place, but they really don't like Otis because he was giving their friend away. I thought that could have been a really nice story because it's 3 brown people. They're the only, like, South Asians in the show as far as we know. Potentially, they're all friends because of that.
Mhmm. Because of that, they just relate from that, or we don't really know. So it would have been nice to see them bond and why they bond. Because, really, what do they have in common? We don't actually know.
And so it would be nice to kind of dive into that. Yeah. Totally. We never really get, like, the untouchable backstory or anything. Yeah.
There was that nice hug though in the episode the same episode, I think it is. I think so. I think you're right. Yeah. Like after they break up.
Yeah. Yeah. After Ruby breaks up with Otis, and then it's the first time they're at her house ever, which is a little Yeah. I really love that. At her address.
Yeah. Oh, and I think she texts them. Yeah. Yeah. She's like, come here now.
And they're beautiful friends, and they just come. Yeah. Sweet. Yeah. So Anmer, Olivia, and Ruby all go to the clinic together.
They follow miss Fan's advice, and we have each of them going in to talking to the nurse. And so we see Olivia being told that the pullout may method can lead to unwanted pregnancy or puts you at greater risk of getting or transmitting an STI. And she's like, is your boyfriend putting pressure on you not to use a condom? And she says he says, it makes it feel better for him, like, classic. And she's like, how does it feel for you?
And she says, a line that I think is really poor, which is, like, I can't enjoy the sex because I'm scared of getting pregnant. It's a really good find. Yeah. Yeah. So that's like Olivia's experience in the clinic.
Then Anwar comes in and is basically like, I'm gonna die. The nurse is like, well, do you engage unprotected sex? And he's like, every single life scene of a gay person ends with them having sex and dying of AIDS. I don't wanna die. So, yeah, I always use a condom.
I'm like, oh, baby. And she says, so long as you and your partner or partners are practicing safer sex, getting tested regularly, you're very unlikely to contract HIV. And there's a medication now called PrEP that protects people from HIV if they're engaging in frequent casual sex in situations that might put them at a high risk. And for those who do contract the virus, there's medicines now that enable them to live a long and healthy life and can get to the point where the virus is undetectable, which means it can't be passed on to somebody else. And so she's like, in conclusion, I don't think you'll be dying for a while yet.
And then she finally gets to the root of his rash, the strawberry condoms. Duh. And so when they come back out, they kind of regroup. Anwar is like, well, apparently, I'm allergic to strawberry flavored condoms. And Olivia's like, and my boyfriend's a dickhead.
And they're like, are you gonna dump him? And she's like, no. I still love him. And that's the moment when Ruby's like, does he love you? And we, like, find out that that Ruby had said I love you to Otis and not heard it back, which, again, is a big focus of this episode that we aren't gonna touch on as much.

(08:25):
But, yeah, the next time Olivia and Malek are together, she does not let him have sex with her or have had a condom. She's like, do you wanna have a baby with me? And he's like, I mean, not until I've gone to uni and I've got a job. And she's like, great. Put on a condom then.
I think also with the Anwar story, you can kind of tell they cut bits out. Because if you watch it closely, in that one scene where they're outside the classroom, Anwar's kinda giving the evils to Nick because I think he thinks Nick has, like, given him a disease. Oh. And, like, you see, Nick looks so guilty in the background as well. And, like, I think it's just, like, it would have been nice to kinda go into that potentially.
Yeah. I mean, I think that, you know, when I come to the end of our sex education coverage, I just think that, like, my bottom line that I think is both of our bottom line is just that, like, Anwar and Olivia and Ruby. I mean, Ruby wasn't as much underutilized because she was more of a main character. But, like, Anwar and Olivia were and the actors who played them were severely underutilized. Obviously, Simone Ashley breaking out as the Bridgerton season 2 star underscored that fact for her.
But Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know if you have any other final thoughts before we head into our final show. Oh, the one thing that I don't like about sex ed is that all of the gay couples include a white person. And I think with Anwar and Nick, that would have been a really good point to address.
I don't I think Anwar needed a white boyfriend because the story it was a good comparison between the 2 personalized, but they didn't dive into it. So it kinda just felt like they just gave the role to a white person just for sake of it. But there was so much they could have explored. The only non white couple was Eric and Raheem, but everyone else, Lillian Ola, Eric and Adam, Jackson's moms. Like, it's all just at least one white person.
Every single gay couple is just like, I don't think it's that as so. That's so true. Even in the the last season with the coven, the the trans couple, there's a one so though with Cal and I think it's Ayesha. The deaf Oh, yeah. Yeah.
They they did they have 2 black people there. But yeah. From 1 to 3, it's all white. Yep. Yep.
No. It's definitely, like, an issue where I don't know. I don't know if, like, it's, like, the networks aren't gonna let us. Like, oh, no. We can't have 2 people of color together.
I don't know who's making these decisions, but we need enough. Yeah. Like, let's say, I mean, Nick would have been so good if they just dived into why he was white. Like Yeah. But yeah.
Yeah. There's no formal thoughts. Yeah. Okay. Cool.
So we're gonna finish off our conversation with actually a bang, I would say. So Waterloo Road did a revival. Do you wanna maybe walk us through a little bit on what the original context of the show was, and then what series 11, which we're gonna talk about today, like, is in relation to the rest of the show? So Wartley Road was like a phenomenon here. The first 10 c, like, the original Wartley Road, like, it was like the go to show every I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday, whenever it was.
Like, you would race home for no reason. Like, it was on a very reasonable time. You didn't have to race home to get there. But we for some reason, I raced home to get there in time. I could have walked for an hour, and I still would have had, like, an 2 hours before it came on.
Like it was never that serious. It was like it came on at 8 pm. You know, school finished at 3:20. Like it was I had to be home in time. It was a really huge show.
I think for at least for my, like, generation, it was the first show that felt real. Like these were working class students. Obviously there are other shows from British too, like Grangea was a really big show, but that wasn't me from our generation. This one was that the first one where it was like, they weren't doing like drugs, like in the euphoria way or like even skins. We, although we love skins, this one felt more relatable because it was like, they looked to part like they'd, they actually hide out because you were off age and they were doing things that we would see.
But also it was very heightened, so it felt like a drama, you know, like this. There's like so many, like, awful things happening, like people threatening suicide, gang violence. It's not our real life, but it's Alveol Life heightened. And so it was such a big show, though in this context. I don't think there were and there was one South Asian teacher who was very submissive.
She was not very interested in she, again, she ends up having a relationship with student like in attributes. And that was played by Lucien is it La Viscount or La Viscount? The guy from MA Paris. That back when he wasn't as famous. That was just like Okay.
I don't know how to say his name, but I know you're talking about it now. Yeah. Yeah. So she was with him. And then since that in the later seasons, there's potentially South Asian, but I think he might be West Asian or an Arab.
Mhmm. I'm not too sure, but it wasn't until the revival season where there was confirmation that we had a South Asian character, like, a full time South Asian character. So yeah. So I was only able to watch the first episode of series 11. I could not find the rest of it because I did not have access to BBC iplayer.
But I hear that if you're in the UK, you can watch it all on BBC iPlayer. So Yeah. You have the entire everything, like, from season 1 all the way to where we are now. So Yeah. And it's still on.
Right? Yeah. Yeah. Cool. So we're gonna talk with Samia, who I think is a really great place to end because she's kind of the only representation we have of being, like, a protest leader and being, like, the one to, like, really get everyone, like, involved politically.
Not, like, to the level of, like, Sasha, maybe, but, like, kind of Yeah. Kind of, like, in the same family. Yeah. Yeah. And so this first episode of this revival, series 11, really kicks off with a bang when we start with the students just leading a protest.

(08:46):
Yeah. Which is a good, like, story back to the very first episode where I predict a riot by the Kaiser Chiefs plays in the first episode. And then in the revival, the same song plays as is like a big riot. So yeah. Oh, cool.
I I love I love a parallel like that. Yeah. And so at the beginning, we see, like, the main character is sending a text to each other. One of them has spray painted racists on the side of their school and, like, particularly, like, this plaque of, like, the racist namesake of their school, William Beswick. Now, is this a fictional racist person, or is this, like, a real I believe so.
I've never heard that name. Yeah. I've never heard it either. So she paints racists on the side of the school and then, like, texts everyone it's on. And Samia is like, time to make them listen.
Kelly Jo is like, no uniforms. And Kai says, no one tells me what to wear. And Samia says, William Belslek is going down. I feel like Kai and Anwar would be really good friends. Yes.
Oh my god. You're so right. Yeah. Yeah. Kai Kai is Arab, which is why we're not discussing him.
But it's still cool to see Arab and South. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No.
Right? So that's awesome. Great actors who I think his that that his his actor is non binary. I think so. So he refers to just use he refers to them, so you say them pronouns.
Yeah. Cool. But the character is is a boy. Okay. Got it.
So the kids who had been texting all show up to the school of cricket science, and also the principal pleading with the people above her to change the school name. She doesn't know the protest is happening yet, but she does know the students are mad enough that some feel like this will probably happen. Erica? I really cannot know. Erica, I have got graffiti on the front entrance calling the school racist in big red letters.
Oh, god. Look, we've gotta bite the bullet. We've got to get the name changed. I am well aware of your feelings, Ken. Well, for me, the kids are bang on the money.
Who is money? That's one of the issues. Not every parent wants to waste limited funds on a rebrand run but already stretched so thin. It wouldn't be a waste. The principle is relevant.
I know that. But I have to measure against the cost of books, resources, uniforms. Well, in Beswick isn't the only school I have to consider. No. No.
But it's the only school that I have to consider. And believe me, graffiti is the tip of the iceberg. Listen up. We've only got one chance to do this. This is our No.
We're not moving till we're taking that down to here. No. We haven't made our point because you tried and tried and you hate listening to us. Oh, yes. Right?
Come on. Take your time. Let's count. Don't even figure out lies. You're gonna kill me.
Standing up to slavery can't help. They're all lost. Not tonight, girl. Stop this day. Put your lasers over there when you come in.
Alright. After we What do you mean? Why are you trying to be a big man? No. Come on, Jesso.
He is teaching us the thing. What's with the pink? There's blood of slaves in it. Would you get the green slaves? That doesn't mean something.
Our Our uniforms are prophecy. It's our right to protest. This is cancel culture. Some cultures need canceling. That's history, man.
Yeah. Alright. I will. Yeah. Alright.
Alright. The school wasn't informed of any demonstration. It's spontaneous. Pain wasn't part of the original plan, though. A spontaneous plan?

(09:07):
You can look up oxymoron in detention. Oh, yeah. Mister Kim just called you a wall, right, Sammy? I do love the moment where they say the school wasn't informed of any demonstration because, like Just like, bruh. Yeah.
Like it's like when people are like, this strike is disrupting the activities of the company. It's like, yes. Yeah. That is the point. And so, also, I just I love these kids, like I mean, it'll come up a little more later, but the fact that we referenced the fact that this is a long fight that we just come into the middle of, kind of.
Yeah. And that these kids have been trying to have this name changed for a really long time and that this protest is, like, an escalation of the tactics they've already tried, which is something we talk about on this show a lot. Having an escalation plan is important for many reasons. One of them being that you can point back to your previous actions and be like, we asked nicely, and you said no. So now here we are with fines and red paint.
A lot of what you hear is Samia talking to the crowd when you hear someone talking. Like, she really is the leader of this protest. And another really interesting thing is the fact that, like, one of the girls decides to bring the red paint to, what's it called, vandalize the uniforms, but Samia was not aware of that being part of the plan. So also the interesting, like, like, how many different people trying to make a protest happen, and we all have different views and, like, what ends up actually happening and yeah. Brings us back to the Heartbreak High protest.
I say like they they did that as well. I think it was just really it's really nice because I think in a post 2020 world, young kids were very, like, very much on the protest side of things. And so but they were very much not aware of exactly how to do that. I think it's really nice how they've done this. They've they've, like, exhibited this really well where their heart's in the right place, but they haven't done, like, the building blocks to really nail down the protest.
Absolutely. And it's like yeah. Like, the the main core cast who we saw in that group chat, they all know what's going down today. But it's clear that most of the other students are just walking up to school and being handed a sign. Yeah.
Because you can't say that. Right. Like, how many of those people are actually, like, I came to school today knowing I was gonna be a part of this protest. I know what it's about. I believe in the cause.
And how many people are actually just like, okay, like, I don't have to go into school. I can be part of this protest. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, they just feel like, if they don't, they're gonna get canceled. Right. Yeah. And that was also like yeah. Cancel.
That was an interesting thing that they have the, like, couple of, like, conservative, of course, white boys being, like, cancel culture. This is cancel culture. It's like you're literally defending, like, I know that you don't care what the name of your school is. Like, I'm sorry. Like, that's Yeah.
It's interesting that these 2, the taller boy, he goes in a really good journey where he actually unlearns a lot of this. Oh, awesome. One, he ends up as a, an incel, and he gets kicked off the show because he tries to attack a woman. So the trajectory of these 2 is really interesting. Right.
There's a different ways that that could end, and that's clearly shown here. I guess. One of the things that we saw toward the end of that clip is that one of those 2 boys, I'm pretty sure, steals a paint canister from the, like, arsenal, and they end up throwing it onto Kai. So I thought that would actually be the next clip we watch is Kai is very effeminate and awesome and basically does a, like, runway walk to enter the protests. And things kind of turn into a riot when the conservative kids, you know, put the paint on him, and the two sides tension spoil over a bit.
James. Go. Come on. What are you doing? Oh, no.
Is there no uniforms? I must have forgot. Or did I? Bye bye, Billy Banks. Those clothes cost money.
Yeah. Yeah. Just save it for drama cost. I see you. I see you.
I see you being rebuffed. Both of you. Get down now. Yeah. So, I mean, obviously, a lot of the rioting is very visual.
I think there was, like, a really interesting sign. They said black lives count. I wonder why they didn't say matter. Yeah. I don't know if they're trying to, like, you know, mix it up or what, but that is actually very interesting.
Yeah. That was weird. Choice. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm sure. This is like somebody, like, literally was like thesaurus.com and, like, put in matter or something. I think it was the case of them not trying to align with a specific movement and, you know Yeah. Not to be caught out, I guess. Right.
Yeah. Totally. Okay. Yeah. So I think we can move into the principal actually, like, seeing what's happening, saying she's gonna call the police, and getting Sammie to actually, like, stop the protest for now.
Okay. This is not the way. Well, I hope you all with a cleaning brush. Joe, what's your role? Joe, get the gate closed.

(09:28):
I need the gate closed. This is not promise. By the way, Joe. Into the car now. There's traffic backing up on the road, Kim.
Apparently, there's been some kind of shunt as well. What? Alright. I see. Call the police.
Javier, what's going on? Well, we told her if the council didn't change her name, then we'd have to make her. I was dealing with it. I was dealing with it. And this this has just just messed everything up.
Well, we're not going inside till you actually listen to us. Okay. So the police have now been called. Right? If one doesn't get back into the school, then I will shut the school, day is at risk.
Samia, stop it now. Alright, everyone. We've made up all it now. Let's call it a day. Yeah?
You won't. Inside. Inside. Come on. I see.
Come on. Stop. Come inside, inside, everyone. Yeah. So it's interesting to see a character who has that much sway, where she's both, like, clearly a popular girl, but also, like, cares about this, like, issue and, like, uses her popularity to, like, organize people.
It's very interesting. Yeah. He's a cheerleader as well, which is interesting because, like, we don't have cheerleaders here. So I'm not sure why they did that. But Oh, really?
You know. Oh, man. That's funny. Yeah. An homage to the American teen drama.
Yeah. I think maybe they wanted to kind of Americanize it a little bit just to get an international audience potentially. Sure. Because it is really popular on TikTok this new season. So maybe that was the attempt.
But, yeah, it seems so wise because it keeps getting renewed. So Yeah. Good for them. So, yeah, she has the power to stop it. I also think that this is an interesting parallel to other protests we've talked about.
At what point do the adults decide to call the police? When there is the threat of arrest used against students? And to be fair, because the paint canister was well, the paint canister being thrown was not the protesters. It was the counter protesters. I think it's important to to note here.
But because of that, somebody does get hit by a car, like, as a, like, result of that. So there is, like while I don't love calling the cops, I do think that this is probably one of the most justified situations in which it happens in one of these because it's like somebody literally got hit by a car. A side note, that was, like, one of the most disliked parts of the show because they literally killed, like, a beloved long term character on the very first episode. Oh, so she's from the previous, like, iteration of it. Yeah.
The very first generation of the show. Oh, how did you do that? It was so it was like, and at least kill her off in the finale, not the first episode. Like, wow. Yeah.
That's gonna leave a bad taste in some people's mouths for sure. Really frustrating. Man, she seems really cute and fun. So I'm not surprised to hear that she was beloved. Yeah.
Yeah. Everyone is instructed to wash off whatever paint is on them and change them to their PE kits since, like, pretty much everybody's uniforms have been vandalized. You know, Sammy is upset the protest didn't end up being peaceful as she intended and that people might get in trouble. We do see the custodian mopping up red red paint, shouts out to the worker who has to clean off after all these people. And Kai complains that he wants to be more fashionable, the fact that he has to wear his, you know, PE clothes.
We also find out, which, I mean, is kinda clear in the protest episode, but maybe you can shed more light on this, that Samia dates this white guy named Preston, and they they seem to be like of a it couple at the beginning of the show. Yeah. Another case of them getting the brown character with a white person. They're interestingly in the next season. He ends up dating Kai.
Oh. Yeah. Which is another, you know, brown with the white. Yeah. It just just keeps coming.
But I just I think it was nice as like a status symbol that like because he's like the employee of the school. She's the girl. And it was nice to have them together in that sense. But it's also like I feel like Samia's so like being progressive. It's like it's not just like a thought.
It's a part of her personality. And in my opinion, I feel like someone like her, she's obviously very online. I feel like she would make it a point not to date white men. Yeah. I can see that.
She say I could never date my oppressors. Like, never. But I feel like it would be really interesting if they didn't do that. But yeah. Yeah.

(09:49):
I can literally see the infographic on her IG story. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we have 2 more scenes I want us to watch.
One is the principal talking to the protest kids because we kinda learn a little bit more about, you know, the campaign that preceded this. And then we'll also watch them winning the assembly too. What are you saying? Right. Sit up and listen.
You have no idea the position that you have put us into this school and yourselves. We campaigned for a whole year, and nothing's changed. So you thought you'd organize a riot to sort it? The red paint was my idea. Okay?
It was supposed to be symbolic. I didn't know cretins like him were going to abuse it. No. Don't even try it, lads. I saw you're hurling projectiles at pupils.
We're through the paint to be symbolic. Don't even know what symbolic means. The David Hughes. Hi. Enough.
Enough. Enough. Ding, do you think do you think hurting people is funny? No. Nah.
It depends on the situation, ain't it? Like, if it's just developing a goonie. There's something properly wrong with you. No. Are you lads gonna pay for the damage to school property or to people's clothes or to to Cassie's hair?
Miss, I'm not even bothered about my hair. What I'm bothered about is the fact we've got a white supremacist name on our blazers. That is not okay. And I understand your frustrations, but taking matters into your own hands like you did this morning not only undermines your position, but it also makes things worse. What happened this morning was really, really dangerous.
And if anybody was seriously hurt some of you here might have been facing some criminal charges. Look, nobody listened to us, miss Campbell. What would you have done in our place? When I was at school When I was at school, challenging the William Beswick's of the world was not even an option. I really love that they made it clear that this was a long fight and that they know this wasn't like an out of nowhere escalation.
And also messaging discipline, that one girl whose hair is like, she's like, I don't care about my hair. I care about the white supremacist who got my uniform. I'm like, okay. She's not really that much. She's really annoying.
Like, she's kind of just there for one liners, but it's not even like a it's not even like funny to one line. She's there to say a line. It's like there. I also think it's interesting how this principle is, like, trying to say that their direct action did nothing when, like, we'll see in the next scene, it literally did what they wanted it to do. Very much yeah.
I think Kim Campbell in general, she's not she's not been my favorite written character. I think even back, like, before she was like, there was literally a scene in the old episodes where a sex worker came to the school as, like, for a career advice thing. And she was, like, shaming her in front of the kids. So it was not sex worker. She did, like like, nude photoshoots on, like, newspapers.
Like sex adjacent? Yeah. Yeah. Like, yeah. Like, glamour model is the term that they used.
Okay. And then she was, like, shaming her in front of the kids, but it was, like, painted as, like, really progressive as she was shaming her. And it was just like Sounds like, like, second wave feminism. Yeah. It was it was just insane.
But Yeah. She definitely seems like very, like, liberal. Like, I was taking care of it. Like, I was clearly like, and it's like and it's like she can't understand why the kids don't trust the system when, like, as they're expressing very clearly, like, we tried to work within the system for a year and no one listened to us. What were we supposed to do?
Yeah. And her answer isn't good. Yeah. That's the answer that I was gonna say. In that scene, I was like, I thought she was gonna have something really prominent to say, but it was like, no.
They were absolutely right. Yeah. And she's like, yeah, you guys couldn't have gotten away with doing protests in my day. And it's like, okay, well, we can now. So Right.
Like, she's basically telling them, be grateful that you can protest. It's like, yeah, that's what they they are. Yeah. So we did. But there is some infighting that's created by this whole red paint situation where Samia says to Shola, like, we blew it because you brought some stupid red paint.
Like, basically, like, thinking if the red paint hadn't been there, then, like, this would have been peaceful and, like, our plan would have gone the way. We wanted it to the principal then talks to the same person we saw her talking to earlier from, like, you know, higher up in the school district, and she's like, most of the protesters are just troublemakers, which is such a typical, like, line from people of power trying to dismiss and, like, belittle and devalue the, you know, power that these kids actually do have. But, you know, it works. So we're gonna watch a final scene. Basically, the principal calls an assembly.
They all get yelled at quite a bit. But by the end, they find out that they finally won their campaign. Amazing. What happened this morning was totally unacceptable. Now I will always back this student body's right to be heard.
Right, and that means everyone not just the loudest voices, and I will always defend our right to exist in a school based on tolerance and inclusivity and respect, but this morning displayed none of that. So let's get something clear. This is not a democracy. It is a hierarchy and if you don't understand what that means, look it up. But the bottom line is, I am in charge.

(10:10):
Now I have spoken to all of those involved this morning, and they are all facing lengthy detentions. The lack of discipline and and the the fragrant, dangerous disregard for others has actually shown me that we do need to fast track an on-site behavioral unit as soon as possible. Because by going off all half cocked, you nearly scuppered everything. Yeah. You heard right.
Nearly. Because as of now, this school is no longer known as William Beswick High. We've taken the first available name on the county's list. It belonged to a school that was demolished some 10 years ago, and I happen to remember it very well. So let's have a big shout out for your new school, Waterloo Road.
Okay. Imagine being racist enough that you're actually booing at that. I know. I just find it weird. It's kind of the point you made.
It's like that she's acting like they didn't do anything. It was like this literally happened because of them. I know. It's like, don't do that again. Also, you won based on your direct action.
Yeah. She tries really hard to, like, go so hard on the, like, being angry at the beginning that it will somehow maybe, like, sweep under the rug that it was a successful tactic. But I don't think it No. To the point. She's like, we're gonna have more discipline, you know, even though yeah.
In many ways, you're rewarding and validating that direct action gets the goods, and collective action is always gonna move people more than just a single person trying to, you know, change something. And then I also thought that knowing what I now know about the history of Waterloo Road, that is a really cute thing that they had to be, like, a school that was demolished 10 years ago. Because that was about how long it is between the Yeah. Revival. Right?
And, like Yeah. So I did think that was kind of a cute way for them to, like, be like, and here we are. We're Waterloo Road now. Yeah. I think it I think most people were a bit annoyed with it because they were like, oh, it's a bit let me knew the ending, but I thought it was nice.
They're like because obviously, we knew it was gonna be called Waterloo Road because that's literally the premise that is about Yeah. I I thought it was a nice way to kinda show us where because it it went from Manchester to Scotland, and then Scotland, it got demolished. And then now we're back in Manchester. Ah, okay. Yeah.
I thought it was nice. Cool. And then also at the end of the episode, we see that the previously graffitied racist portrait now says Waterloo Road, which also completes that. And so before we close out completely, I know we had a couple of notes. I didn't get the chance to watch the rest of the episodes from the 11th series, but I know we had a couple other notes about things that happened during it that are worth mentioning.
Oh, yes. So this was, like, the first time we see South Asians on the screen, and it's literally there's a whole scenario in the first season where they create houses, kinda like like the Hogwarts house kind of vibe. But it's like Mhmm. No actual houses. It's just kind of put into a group.
And so they're all competing, and the heads of those houses are trying to get the most points by doing homework and getting all the acura homework, whatever it is. And then they end up getting 2 South Asian characters. 1 of them gets Shanziah. 1 of them gets Abdul. And Abdul gets, like, bullied by Lewis Seddon, who is, like, this guy that we're looking at right now, the one with the love, he's, like, the original version of him.
Ah. And he's, like, you know, terrible. Or like he's the the Jordan from Attleebridge kind of vibe. And so, yeah, so he was like terrible to him and then he threatens to beat him up. And so he does it until it gets too much.
And then when he tells miss Campbell about it, she then tells Lewis off and then Lewis threatens to beat him up again and he just runs away and we never see him again. And even during the scenes, when he speaks, like his last scene is him running away. And then Shazia pretty much the same, except she doesn't even get, like, a full story. It's, like, 1 or 2 scenes where she's doing homework, and then nothing really happens. And so that's why I think it's really important that Samya is a character.
Regardless of the opinion of her as a character, I think it's really great that she's so prominent in the show. But then, I think, unfortunately, with Samya, she kind of falls in the next season as, like, a support for everyone else. Her boyfriend ends up dying, and she ends up kind of that kind of ends up being her story, which is nice until it stops being a story. Yeah. And she, like, she, like, kinda gives up.
And then her story just falters. And nothing there's no real ending to her other than her just, like, leaving. And so she's no longer in the show. And so it's just a bit weird. I feel like she had such a strong start, and then they just kinda, like, slowly got rid of it, which I usually do in these shows.
They like to slowly filter them out. Mhmm. So it's not such a harsh change in the following season. Right. But I think it would have been nice for her to at least get a complete story before they did that.
Absolutely. Yeah. It sounded like from both your notes and the recaps I read also that there were a couple more, like, in the first 11th series. So there were a couple more moments where, like, her being, like, kind of this, like, leader of the school is represented. Yeah.
Where, like, she Yes. And she runs for year 11 representative, it sounds like. Yeah. I saw that from your notes that in the 6th episode of the 11th series that basically it's found out there's a hot or not group chat that the boys have been using. Very typical teenager on the plot line to, like, comment on the girls and that she starts some sort of cheerleader protest against this.
Yeah. It's I mean, I think it's really weird. I'm just I think that like, we don't have cheerleaders here. I just feel like I've never seen a British cheerleader ever, except for Halloween. You know, like, we just Sure.
Like, I know why they did it because he's, like, canceling the basketball team, Preston. And so they kind of want to ask to be like the woman equivalent. And so obviously, the woman equivalent is not like volleyball or football. It's cheerleading, obviously. Obviously.
You know, she couldn't she couldn't possibly be into another school. It had to be cheerleading, which is a hard sport. Don't get me wrong. I just don't think it's a British one. You know, it could have been anything.

(10:31):
But also, I think even if she were to be a footballer or something, cheering, I think I wanted them to do a cheer because after this, it's never mentioned again. There's, like, no mention of that being a cheerleading squad. I think I just wanted this cheer moment. So I guess we can forgive them for that. I can forgive.
I I mean, if we're gonna be cheerleading for the purpose of a collective action, I can excuse it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Yeah. Any more final thoughts on Samia? Just sounds like we wish we had more of her and more than anything else is what it sounds like before she made her exit. Yeah. What I noticed is when we were watching those clips, we kinda comment on everyone else because I don't think she's super important.
Like, I feel like the most important people in those scenes are not her. She's just kind of there to drive the protest. Mhmm. But she's not really, like, integral to the the movement of the story, like the narrative. Sure.
Yeah. As like, she's the loud voice. But the people who matter in this are Kim Campbell, for example. This is all about her taking charge as head teacher because she's never been head teacher before. Yeah.
This is the first time she's head teacher, and so this is all about her. Or it's about introducing the the racists of the group. Whereas, Samya, I just feel like she even in this where she's supposed to say prominent, she's not that important at the same time, which is really weird. Yeah. I mean, I think it shows, like we were saying that, like, in some ways, we've come very far, and we're seeing, like, so many different types of, like, characters be South Asian, whether they're religious or not, whether they're queer or straight, etcetera, etcetera.
But then also, that doesn't mean that, like, every depiction now is, like, as great as, like, Nafarina and Naveed. Like, we still have a way to go too. Yeah. Exactly. But then if you heard of the British soap Doctors No.
That was, like, a very long running story, but that's just recent accounts. So it ends, like, pretty much every South Asian actor got their start on Doctors like Simone Ashley, for example, she was on Doctors Once Upon a Time, and now that show's gone. So it's like a really big gap in like, South Asia representation, because it was always a good way to get that first credit. Actually, which is also a really good way of doing that, and that got canceled. And so, yeah, I thought it would be nice if Boilera just had, like, a really prominent South Asian character, where we could see her family get more actors on that.
So this has been a really, really great conversation. Maybe we can finish off by just saying, like, what from these depictions do we wanna see more of, and what do we wanna, like, leave behind and not have any more of? Well, I think I don't want any, like, brown characters made to support white characters. Kind of Ruby in sex ed isn't a 100% white, but she is half white. And at least for the 1st 3 seasons, we see her as white and Olivia and Anwar kind of like pushed us, like they used to push her out.
I would just like to see them dive into their backgrounds the way that like, like Adam from sex ed, he had such a good background. It was explored so well that people went from hating him to loving him within episodes. And people, people would hate Anwar, for example, who is not nearly as horrible as Adam was. I feel like we need the brown bullies could get more of that background so that people could like them more. Cause you know, there's, there's always a reason someone bullies.
Yes. Also just less like, like I like Samia, but I don't like the fact that she's kind of just there to support white characters after her initial thing is done. Like, just like have more long term ideas for these characters because like these 2 on the scope, the 2 white guys, they both had like a really big story in every season that they're in. Of photos. Basically more Naveeds and Nazarenes, basically.
Yeah. I want way more of those. What do you what would you like to say? Yeah. No.
I feel the same way. I wanna I wanna see more. Did we get to see any, like, just like 2 South Asian queer people together in any of these? No. It literally I can in every Oh, right.
Fitting soaps. I think there's one there's one couple in Hollyoaks that were 2 South Asian lesbians. But other than that, they were always, like, South Asian. I think Hollywood's, they have they've had a one brown and black couple. So Hollywood's are pretty good with it, but everything else, it's always, like, brown with white or black with white.
Right. Yeah. Like, I would love to see an interracial couple where it is, like, oh, no. Like, a a black person and, and, you know, like, Jorge and Eric. Like, that kind of vibe.
Or just yeah. It would it's always, like, something that I think a lot of communities wanna see more of, which is just, like, yeah. Like, you are gay, and you can find love in the cultural community that you're in Yes. And be Yeah. All of who you are because of that Yeah.
Together. And, like, I think that's something we haven't gotten to see enough of, and so I think that's probably the top of my wish list. This really beautiful play called The P Word by Waleed Akhtar. You can read it. I don't know if you could watch it, but you can read it.
It's, like, a really wonderful play about 2 Pakistani gay men who are on 2 different sides of the spectrum. 1 is, like, fleeing from Pakistan because he like, I think he's, like, gonna get murdered for being gay. But if the other girl is like super whitewashed and that he only has sex with white men and he's white passing and they kind of like, they go on this journey where they kind of bump into each other and then he, the whitewash one learns so much about his own culture and learning to love himself whilst the other guy learns about queerness. And it's just such a wonderful play. That sounds amazing.
Yeah. It's like, yeah, it's a great that's the kind of story that I would love to see more of on screen. I feel like theater is so much more daring with this story than screen is because I think there's only more people we have to answer to on screen than theater. That's so true. So many more people who, like, don't actually care about the art of it all and care more about the money.
Yeah. It's a reoccurring problem that we talk about on this podcast all the time. We need you to write write us out of this situation of beer where we're counting on you. I'm sitting on a play about 2 brown teenagers next month. They've been awful.
They're not gay, unfortunately. That's okay. It deals with a lot of like trauma about masculinity and Islam and but like, it doesn't portray Islam in a bad way. Just, you know, that cultural, like, trauma. But yeah.

(10:52):
By the time, this is how tickets would be out. So Amazing. Okay. Well, definitely send me the info for that. I can put it in the in the show notes if you want, once you have it.
Cool. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on again, I'm Deere. It's always an amazing time.
I love, having you across the ocean to help us dissect the British teen dramas. I'm not really Australian ones to me. Yeah. In Australia. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, I'll I'll unpack any teen drama with you. It's just always really cool to get your perspective because, like, obviously, I wasn't in the society that was seeing a lot of these shows mainstream to us. So Do you know what? Thank you for having me.
So it's so fun to talk to someone that actually loves teen drama the way I do. Like, people like them. They don't say they love teen drama, but it's, like, it's nice to talk to someone who actually exclusively loves this genre. Yeah. Absolutely.
Thanks for listening to leftist teen drama. Follow us on social media for updates. Links to our Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and TikTok are in the show notes, along with links to suggested additional reading on the topics discussed. And don't forget to read us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Solidarity forever, free Palestine, and abolish the PIC.
Signing off, Maria.

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