Early on in my freshman year of college, the first season of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” a series about four freshmen in college, came out. I was instantly hooked, and was glad I found a television series about a group of fun women going through some situations that I was going through and feeling emotions that I was feeling. Now, I’m in my second semester of senior year, and the third season of the series just wrapped up, which saw the girls beginning their sophomore year. I’m not on the same wavelength anymore and my blame for that goes toward the pacing and release schedule of modern television. Nevertheless, I still love watching the hilarious women of this show experience everything that college has to offer them. It does not matter how old I am, these characters and their zaniness have me glued to the screen. From new friends to new hookups to new stresses to new passions, a lot of excitement came their way this season. I will say that the season was a bit all over the place and there were certain plot threads that could have been connected more, but this is not the type of series I think too hard about; it is one for light relaxation watching. I will say that while the first season was the best season, I think that this season was more entertaining than the second season, and I will count that as a win. The third season finished on Max on Jan. 23, so now is the perfect time to binge-watch the season, but not before catching up on the first two, to see the most fun on-screen college students of the moment getting into some wild shenanigans.
As mentioned before, the third season of this series sees our favorite suitemates beginning their sophomore year at Essex College, and they have a lot they need to figure out in this new year. The end of the previous season saw Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) kissing her coworker Canaan (Christopher Meyer), who is also her suitemate Whitney’s (Alyah Chanelle Scott) ex-boyfriend. That led to Whitney moving into her sorority’s house for the sophomore year. After a summer of not talking, these two will have a lot to work through with each other in order to save their friendship. Also (SPOILERS!) they may each meet some other guys that could grab their attention without causing a divide. They also have their own issues going on outside of their dating lives, with Kimberly trying to be on the fast-track to becoming a lawyer with a pristine reputation, and Whitney figuring out how to balance soccer and a biochemistry major. Can they both learn how to handle the stress? Then, there’s Bela (Amrit Kaur), who we last saw revealing that she has a 1.8 GPA. This season, in order to be more responsible, she decides to be a Freshman Advisor and Friend (FAF), Essex’s version of a residential advisor. In this role, she builds up a friendship/mentor-mentee relationship with Taylor (Mia Rodgers), a lesbian British freshman who is also a recovering alcoholic with a strained parental relationship. Bela is happy to look out for her, and the two are able to bond along the way. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Bela we know without some fun sexual exploits and love interests along the way, so get ready for that. There’s also Leighton (Renee Rapp), whose story wrapped up neatly at the end of the previous season, dating Alicia (Midori Francis) and coming out to her parents, and she ends up leaving early on in the season, transferring to MIT to pursue her mathematical passion. Her place in the suite is taken up by Kacey (Gracie Lawrence), a girly-girl transfer from Duke University that came to Essex to be with her boyfriend, with whom she is saving herself for marriage. However, Kacey’s world is rocked when she arrives, leading to a journey of self-discovery. All of these girls have to deal with a lot in college, but there is nothing that they each can not handle with their friends by their sides.
While the actresses may not look that much like college students anymore, they are each definitely able to pull off the college student vibes. They all have a youthful energy about them, combined with a sense of determination that shows, not says, that these characters want to achieve their dream. Each one of the main actresses, as well as some side actors/actresses, make the most out of their characters and stand out to me in a variety of ways. For instance, I have loved Chalamet in this series from day one. She has excellent comedic timing and is able to sell Kimberly’s naivety well. This season was no exception to that fact. She was constantly making me laugh and I found myself always rooting for her to achieve her dreams. She may have some eye-roll clueless moments from time to time, but Chalamet is able to make those moments work and is able to keep making her character feel grounded despite that fact. I have also loved Kaur this season and I think her acting talents were really able to shine this season. Her character was given a lot more depth and while she was still putting her sex-positivity forward in a bold way, we were also able to see more of her desires and some more attempts of her trying to be selfish. Kaur made me laugh at Bela’s antics one moment and then want to cheer her on and support her the next. Kaur made all of the writing line up in her performance, and I really hope she gets more big acting opportunities in the future. Now, in terms of a character I liked even more this season, I was really into Whitney’s journey. Scott always gave a strong performance in the past, but Whitney was not a character I was particularly attached to before, as I felt she was missing a relatability factor. Whitney had to face her anxieties and college difficulties this season, and I was more interested in her life than before. While a lot of that is the writing, I can also appreciate Scott’s acting, as she was able to make Whitney’s decline look natural and even though I may have cringed at some of her choices, Scott’s acting helped me understand why Whitney made some of those cringy choices. She was truly able to embody this character and provide her with more nuance than before. Then there was the newest suitemate, Kacey, and it was Lawrence’s acting that made her a new favorite character of mine. Like other fans of the show, I was bummed to see Rapp depart, but I think Kacey was able to fill that gap quite nicely for me, and Lawrence’s goofy and cutesy portrayal definitely worked for the character. While Kacey is not the type of person I have really known in my time in college, Lawrence is able to pull out relatable traits that allow the character to feel understandable and approachable. She was able to be fully fleshed out in only a few episodes and that is thanks to Lawrence going all in on the part and giving the proper amount of energy. Plus, Lawrence also gets to show off her singing voice in this part, and it is stellar. I also have to shout out some of the best side characters, like the girls’ friend Lila, played by the fantastic Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, who always has the most hilarious lines. Paulino’s natural performance makes everyone want to be best friends with Lila. Newcomer Rodgers also did a terrific job, and even though it took time to warm up to Taylor, Rodgers showcases the tough on the outside, nice on the inside character well. I look forward to seeing where this character can go. What I love about this series is that every actress on this show looks like they are having a lot of fun. That is what makes their acting, and therefore their characters, so enjoyable in every episode.
Now, here are two things that can be true at the same time: I really enjoyed the different storylines of this season and I felt the writer did not know what to do with these storylines. Starting with the former, I felt there were a lot of fun plots taking place during this season. Many of them were exciting, as they showed the fun of being young and living on your own, and others were enjoyable for the serious topics and emotions that they touched upon. Some stories in particular that I thought were fun included Kimberly buying toys at a sex toy shop to try to be adventurous for the new guy that she is seeing, Bela hooking up with the school mascot, the girls testing their partners with the good partner test and all of the wackiness of Parents’ Weekend. Then there were the more ongoing/serious plots, like Kacey questioning whether she still wants to save herself for marriage, Whitney realizing that she cannot escape her anxiety and stress, and Bela’s will they/won’t they with fellow FAF Arvind (Nabeel Muscatwalla). These were all plots that kept me glued to the screen, as I had to know what would happen next. However, addressing my second point, I think the writing could have been a bit tighter, and the writers had a bit of a follow-through problem. I felt that there were many stories and motivations from previous seasons that were either not properly addressed in this one, and while the new plots themselves were good, they did not seem to line up with the past. Kimberly cares so much about reputation, but what about the time she cheated on a midterm? Bela wanted to improve her grades this season, but we never saw her working on any school assignments? Those are just a couple. To add onto that last question, it kind of felt like the events of the previous season finale did not have much bearing on this season. That might have been because of Rapp leaving the show and stories being moved around, but I kind of wish there was a direct connection to what previously happened, as opposed to essentially starting anew. Then there is also the fact of many storylines feeling rushed. There were times when a new character love interest would be introduced, and they would turn into a villain in a snap and disappear. Granted, sometimes that happens in real life, but it would be better if there was more of a slow decline. I felt that the girls moved on too quickly from certain problems and I would have liked to see them taking the time to deal with certain issues more. If this season was more than 10 episodes, maybe that would have been possible. Nevertheless, I was entertained as always by this show, I just wished it was as tight and connected as the stellar first season.
It is unclear at the moment if “The Sex Live of College Girls” will be renewed for another season. The previous seasons had already been renewed by this point, which does not bode well for a potential season four. Also, this season finale did not have any cliffhangers and wrapped up most of the plotlines of the season, so some people may believe a fourth season is not necessary. Nevertheless, as chaotic as this series may be, I am hoping that a fourth season happens. Obviously, I wouldn’t be a college student anymore when a fourth season would come out, but I would still want to see what this dynamic group is up to and how their college journey pans out. Plus, I am able to relate to some of their college adventures, and I may want to hold out some of those memories by living vicariously through a new season as a post-grad. For the most part, I would say that this season has been realistic in its portrayal of college students. They may be a bit more brazen than some of the average college students and their problems get solved faster than real life, but that’s television. This season may not be as great as the show once was, and a fourth season would probably not be that amazing either, but I am too hooked on this series to give up now. I have to know what happens next. For now, I will just have to stick to rewatching episodes as I await renewal news (episodes 4, 5, 8 and 10 are my favorites of the season). So, if you want to watch a television series about college with relatable characters and is not too serious, or you want to see a group of young women lifting each other up as they each try to achieve their dreams, watch “The Sex Lives of College Girls” today.
