| “ | I realized I still...I still behave like a child most of the time, and I pretend to be so grown-up. | ” |
| — Otis to Jean[src] |
Otis Milburn is one of the main characters in Sex Education. He is portrayed by Asa Butterfield. He's an insecure and awkward son of a sex therapist Jean Milburn, who sets up a sex clinic at the school with Maeve Wiley, who later becomes his girlfriend. Otis is also the best friend of Eric Effiong.
In season 1, Otis is introduced as an awkward teenager who struggles with his mother's occupation and her interference in his personal and sexual life. He's also struggling with being way behind his peers when it comes to sex stuff, as he can't even masturbate, but on the other hand, has quite impressive knowledge about it. This leads him, at the urging of his best friend Eric, to set up a sex clinic with Maeve, to make some money by helping the other students of Moordale Secondary with their problems. He also develops strong feelings for Maeve, who gets into a relationship with Jackson, but eventually develops feelings for Otis too, but it's too late, as Otis decides to give Ola a go, thereby putting Maeve behind, who gets expelled from the school.
Otis keeps dating Ola in season 2, still developing their relationship, but also starts doing the clinic with Maeve again, as she's back on campus. She tells him she loves him and he gets mad at her, as he has a girlfriend and he can't be with Maeve. Despite that, Ola breaks up with him as she realizes he doesn't love her and what's more, she doesn't love him neither, as she finds out she's pansexual and has feelings for her friend, Lily. Otis leaves Maeve a voicemail, telling her he loves her, but the voicemail is deleted by a jealous Isaac. After a party, drunk Otis loses his virginity to Ruby, which later leads them to hook up all over the summer, eventually becoming a couple in season 3.
Otis is also struggling with a new family situation, as Jean and Jakob decide to raise the baby together, and thereby forcing Otis and Ola to be step-siblings. Despite being a couple with Ruby, Otis doesn't have as strong feelings for Ruby as Maeve. This leads to their breakup and to Otis and Maeve's kiss during the school trip. Isaac finds out about it and decides to let Maeve go, which seemingly opens a door for Otis and Maeve to finally be together. Otis is also worrying about his mother, who goes into labor. Despite the complications in childbirth, Jean eventually survives and has a healthy baby girl called Joy. However, Maeve gets into the Study in America program and decides to go. The two say goodbye to one another, officially becoming a couple. To make matters worse, Otis is also forced to find a new school, as Moordale Secondary is permanently closed after headmistress Hope failed her mission to get the school back on track.
In season 4 Otis starts attending Cavendish College, where he sets up his new sex clinic. Hence he starts his rivalry with another therapist on campus, Sarah ''O'' Owen. To beat her, Otis starts his election campaign, and is helped by Ruby, who becomes his campaign manager. Otis is also struggling with a long-distance relationship with Maeve, who's studying at a prestigious university in the USA. After all Maeve comes back to Moordale to bury her mother, and after a while of hesitation decides to move back to the US permanently in order to chase her dreams. Hence she is forced to break up with Otis, as a long-distance relationship didn't work out for them really well. Otis makes up with O and the two in order to end their war, decide to set up a clinic together.
Early Life[]
Otis grew up as the son of two sex and relationship therapists, Remi and Jean, from whom he acquired an extensive knowledge of sex and relationship psychology, placing him well to give advice to his peers.
At some point during Otis' childhood, he witnessed his father having sexual intercourse with one of his clients, which left him confused and scared due to his lack of understanding. Upon asking his mother about the situation, she discovered Remi had cheated on her and, as a self-believed comfort, told Otis what sex involved and added that it could ruin lives as well as bring pleasure to them.
This knowledge gave Otis an undiagnosed form of PTSD which affected him in later life. Jean split with Remi, causing him to move to America, and raised Otis alone. Accordingly, Jean became extremely protective of her son which made her decide to not involve herself in serious relationships, instead opting for a revolving door of one-night stands with clients and strangers alike; something Otis evidently disapproves of.
Throughout the Series[]
Season 1[]
Upon reaching sixth form alongside his best friend, Eric, Otis discovers he had picked up his mother's gift and gives sex therapy and advice to Adam, who was taking Viagra pills to impress his girlfriend, Aimee. Maeve, present at the time, is impressed by Otis' skills and invites him to start a clinic with her in order to make money. Maeve had recently been abandoned by her parents, and later also her brother, and needed to pay rent. Otis is at first reluctant, but he eventually agrees.
Over the course of the show, Otis and Maeve become considerably closer, most evidently after Maeve got an abortion after becoming pregnant by Jackson, her boyfriend at the time. Otis waits for her - despite having being told to go home - and walks her back to the caravan site where she lives. Maeve is surprised by Otis' dedication and reliability, and later in the show, is more open with him. But after discovering that Otis told Jackson personal information about her in order to impress her and make her his girlfriend, Maeve feels betrayed and angry, causing her to ignore Otis. In an effort to make up for his actions, Otis steals the Essay Award that Adam had received (for an essay that he paid Maeve to write for him), and sends both the award and an apology letter to her, believing the award belonged to Maeve and not Adam. Maeve visits him only to discover him kissing his new girlfriend, Ola. Maeve then returns home.
Season 2[]
Otis continues to hold his sex clinic at school. However, due to the students' lack of knowledge about sex, Jean visits the school to give talks on the subject, thereby putting Otis' status as the "school sexpert" in danger.
Otis embarrasses Ola and Maeve at a party he hosted, exposing why Ola broke up with him and why he sent Maeve the text, and realizes later that he screwed everything up. In the final episode of season 2, he confronts his dad about leaving him as a child, and leaves Maeve a voicemail confessing his love, but the voicemail gets deleted by Isaac.
Season 3[]
In season 3, Otis is dating Ruby secretly, however word eventually gets out (Otis tells Eric, Eric tells Adam, Adam tells Ola, Ola tells Lily, who eventually told everyone) and they start to date openly in public. After spending some time with Otis, bringing him to her home that she's never brought anyone to, and meeting her father, Ruby tells Otis she loves him and Otis can't say it back because he doesn't feel the same way, as he still has feelings for Maeve. As a result of the kiss with Maeve during the French school trip, they eventually break up.
Otis fights with his mom before she unexpectedly gives birth. In the hospital, she almost dies and Otis is devastated and regretful of all of the harsh words he said before. Jean makes it through and Otis apologizes and promises to be better for her and his new little sister.
At the end of the season, Otis and Maeve finally kiss and make up. After some back and forth and a brief confrontation with Isaac, they decide to make things work. However, Maeve ultimately decides to go to America and tells Otis it's not goodbye, it's "See you soon." Otis seems very sad but is also proud of her. It's implied that he will continue the school sex clinic on his own.
Season 4[]
Otis starts attending Cavendish College and is struggling with a new family set-up. Jakob and Ola moved out, which forced Otis to help his mother with the baby even more. He's also in a long-distance relationship with Maeve, which however, doesn't work out for them properly.
Otis opens a sex clinic at his new school and hence starts rivalry with another sex therapist called O. He is helped by Ruby, who also wants to take revenge on O. She becomes his manager and helps him with making a promotional video for his campaign at her house, where Otis stays over and falls asleep with Ruby. Meanwhile Maeve comes back home to bury her mother. Otis accompanies her and some time later the two finally have sex, but also realize they can't be together, as Maeve wants to keep on developing her talent at Wallace and Otis wants to stay in Moordale. Which is why Maeve leaves and the two are forced to break up. On the other hand, however, Otis makes up with O and they decide to help the Cavendish students together.
Relationships[]
Romances[]
Maeve Wiley (ex-girlfriend; in love with)[]
- Main article: Otis and Maeve
The relationship between Otis and Maeve builds up from the moment Maeve realizes that Otis has an extensive knowledge of sex, which they could use to hold a sex clinic within Moordale Secondary School, although Otis initially refuses. The pair quickly befriend each other, as they efficiently work together and start to build a relationship based on trust and respect for each other's skills, especially after Otis waited for Maeve to go through an abortion and walked her home.
Initially, Otis would not admit that he had begun developing a crush on Maeve, even though this was obvious to his best friend Eric, but quickly had to confess the truth. This put him in a rather awkward situation towards Jackson, who was asking Otis for advice so that Maeve would truly become his girlfriend (which happened even though Otis tried to sabotage the relationship between Maeve and Jackson). Despite this setback, Otis and Maeve remained close and even nearly kissed each other one night right before Otis awkwardly confessed that he was a virgin, ending the moment they were sharing. Still, Maeve soon realized that she harbored feelings for Otis as well, which caused her to break up with Jackson.
Nevertheless, Maeve and Otis failed to confess their feelings for each other in time, and by the time Maeve was ready for it, she was upset upon finding out that Otis had seemingly moved on and had started a relationship with Ola. However, Otis was never able to truly forget his feelings for Maeve, which eventually prevented him from losing his virginity to Ola after Maeve was reinstated into Moordale and began seeing Otis again by restarting their sex clinic, eventually confessing that she liked him, which deeply upset Otis as he was trying to move on. The relationship between Otis and Maeve became even more strained after Otis publicly insulted her and Ola while he was drunk during a party held at his home, which ended up with him sleeping with Ruby, which left Maeve even more disappointed in him. Otis, however, was determined to seek Maeve's forgiveness and, after a talk with his father, finally found the courage to call Maeve and leave a message on her voicemail where he openly declared his love for her. Unfortunately for him, the recording was deleted by Isaac, thus once again preventing Otis to freely let Maeve know about how he felt about her.
After months of not talking with each other, Otis and Maeve were upset with each other with Otis believing Maeve was ignoring him and Maeve believing he wasn't interested in her as he was dating Ruby, not attempting to contact her. Several weeks later, Isaac admitted to deleting the recording which upset Maeve and caused her to reconsider her feelings for Otis but accepting that he was dating Ruby. She forgave Isaac and continued to date him. However, during the school trip to France after Otis and Ruby broke up, Otis and Maeve were accidentally left at a service station for some hours. During this time, Maeve asked Otis about the voice message, which then he confirmed that he was proud of her and he loved her, which culminated in them kissing just as the coach returned for them.
Back in England, both Maeve and Otis felt awkward about what happened and Maeve continued her relationship with Isaac. However, she realized she still had feelings for Otis. As he came to her house, confirming he loved her, they kissed again and became a couple. However, the next day Jean was rushed to the emergency room due to a complication with her birth. Maeve supported Otis through this. Later, while discussing her study abroad trip to America with Aimee, Maeve put off going to be with Otis. However, Aimee reminded Maeve that it was an amazing opportunity so Maeve decided to go to America, kissing Otis as a goodbye.
When Maeve's in America, they struggle with a long-distance relationship. Otis becomes jealous of a friend Maeve made there called Tyrone, which later leads to their argument. Otis also becomes unsure whether Maeve even comes back to Moordale, as she's having great time in America. She eventually comes back home after getting the information about her mother who overdosed drugs and is in the hospital. Otis goes to Anna's house, where after a couple of months he finally meets Maeve and alongside Aimee, goes to the hospital with her. Maeve's mother dies and Otis and Aimee decide to stay by Maeve's side for a couple of days. Not to think about her mother, Maeve asks Otis out on a first proper date and later the two go to the movie theater. Their date is interrupted by Otis's aunt, Joanna, who was stood up by her boyfriend and decides to join Otis and Maeve. During the movie, Maeve and Joanna get drunk on a previously stolen bottle of tequila. After they all are kicked out of the movies, Otis sends Joanna back home, and Maeve takes him to Moordale Secondary, where they try to have sex but Otis feels bad after he spent a night at Ruby's house and tells Maeve about it. To make matters worse, they are caught by the guards who call Otis's mother to come and pick them up. Maeve finally gets to know Jean.
Maeve's still mad at Otis after he told her about staying the night at Ruby's. Desptie this, before the funeral Maeve asks Otis to pick up flowers as Sean didn't do this. Otis accompanies Maeve and after the funeral the two make up, after Otis promised nothing happened between him and Ruby that night. They try having sex once again, but it doesn't work out. The next day Jean invites both Otis and Maeve for dinner, as she wants to get to know Maeve better. Maeve also decides not to continue her education at Wallace, going to Cavendish to become its student. While sitting there, she realizes that it is not what she wants and leaves. Later Maeve comes to Otis's house but Otis is late and she is forced to sit with Jean, with whom she eventually shares an emotional talk, which helps her to realize what's important to her. After the dinner, Maeve and Otis try to have sex again, this time successfully. The next day Maeve wakes up early as she's going back to America. She once again says goodbye to Otis and eventually leaves. Maeve also puts a farewell letter on Otis' bedside table, which he finds and reads in the final scene of the series.
Ola Nyman (ex-girlfriend; friend)[]
- Main article: Otis and Ola
Otis and Ola met thanks to the frequent visits of the latter's father Jakob to the Milburn residence. They quickly befriended each other and, after Otis decided to move on from his feelings for Maeve, he and Ola started dating, although they were unaware that Jean and Jakob were doing the same. Otis was unaware that his first kiss with Ola had been witnessed by Maeve, who had just come in a failed attempt to confess her feelings towards him. Although Otis and Ola got along very well, their relationship caused a massive surge of sexual desire in Otis, to the point that he began masturbating and could not stop himself from doing so for a time. Unfortunately, their good harmony in day-to-day life was not replicated in their sex life, as Otis found himself unable to please Ola through fingering during their first sexual experience together, which caused Ola to start avoiding him. Maeve's continued presence in Otis' life did not help to fix things, and in the end, Ola realized that Otis was not in love with her and that she did not truly love him either. She thus broke up with Otis. Although their relationship after that was tense for a time, especially after Otis insulted Ola during a party, they were able to repair it and remain friends.
Some time later, after Jean (Otis' mother) finally told Jakob about her pregnancy, Jakob and Ola moved into the Milburn house, forcing Otis and Ola to live like half-siblings. The two often had fights, as Ola was often taking Otis' stuff without asking, and Otis, who wasn't used to share his things with anyone, was easily getting annoyed with Ola. After all, the two noticed their wrongs and apologized to each other. Later, Ola asked Otis to go to talk to Lily, who was having a tough time after she got ashamed by Hope. Otis agreed. After Jean had a baby and there was a possibility that she can die, Otis and Ola were stressed and anxious about what was going to happen to her. They sat together in the hospital all night. Later it turned out that Joy wasn't Jakob's baby, so Ola and Jakob moved out of the Milburn house. It is unknown whether Otis and Ola stayed in touch.
Ruby Matthews (ex-girlfriend; former friend)[]
Otis and Ruby
- Main article: Ruby and Otis
During season 1, Otis and Ruby never interacted except episode 5 during which he and Maeve helped her identify the person who sent the whole school a compromising picture of herself. If their interactions in season 2 were once again almost non-existent, their relationship took a most unexpected turn when, following Otis' destructive house party, After they were seen dancing together, Otis woke up in his bed with a hangover and Ruby by his side. She casually confirmed to him that they had intercourse last night but that she could not find the condom, which worried Otis greatly. She would later admit that she was not sure that their intercourse had been protected. The two then went to a pharmacy to get a morning-after pill. Ruby was reluctant at first to enter it, but Otis' arguments eventually convinced her.
During the questionnaire to obtain the pill, Otis learned from Ruby's own mouth that her father has been suffering for one year from "multiple sclerosis" (MS), a disease affecting the central nervous system and which could lead to permanent physical incapacity in the patient and in the worst case, his death. After getting the pill, Otis worried about whether Ruby was consenting at the time of their intercourse, to which she answered yes, justifying this by her habit of sleeping with "nerdy boys" when she is sad, which gives her for a short time the feeling of being passionately loved. Otis revealed to her that this was his very first sexual intercourse and asked her about the level of his performance. Surprised, she replied that he was not great but not terrible either. Otis asked her if her father's illness was causing her sadness. She answered him yes but immediately diverted the subject of the conversation by accusing a lack of symmetry in her eyebrows after waxing them. Playing the game, Otis replied that he found them very even. Ruby smiled at him and thanked him for accompanying him, adding that most boys are not as considerate as he is. Their arc for this season ended with Otis driving Ruby back on his bike.
Season 3 showed that they slept together and had casual sex many times throughout the summer holidays but Ruby wished to keep it secret. Kyle found out that Otis and Ruby were having sex while in the abandoned toilets and threatened that he would tell the school about their relationship unless he could be the new "Sex King". Ruby was initially bossy with Otis, making him feel uncomfortable as she tried to change his behaviours and fashion sense while Olivia and Anwar remained unfriendly towards him. However, Ruby became kinder later on. The whole school found out when Otis told Eric who then told Adam 'by accident' which ended up with Adam telling Ola who told Lily who then told the whole school. Even though Ruby initially threatened Otis to keep it secret, when the school found out they became closer and started dating officially. One night, Otis comes to Ruby's house and they became closer. Later that night, Ruby called Otis telling him she loved him but with Maeve still on his mind, he didn't say it back, upsetting Ruby and leading to her to break up with him.
During the school trip to France, Otis was put into a group with the Untouchables, making the situation more uncomfortable. Olivia and Anwar remained hostile towards Otis while Ruby admitted that she didn't hate him but she was upset. Later in the trip, Ruby witnessed Otis and Maeve having an intimate moment causing her to visibly distraught in sadness. While Otis and Eric were presenting the school video to the press, Hope tried to stop them but Ruby came to their aid, fighting off Hope, allowing Otis and Eric to continue the video and leading to Hope's resignation from the school.
Despite this, Ruby still has strong feelings for Otis. After the two start attending Cavendish together, Ruby decides to help Otis with becoming the only and the best sex therapist on campus, also wanting to get revenge on her primary school bully, Sarah Owen, who is the other therapist. At first, Otis rejects Ruby's help, but after seeing O's promo video, he decides to take advantage of her offer. The two also decide to film a promo video and meet up at Ruby's house, to do it. After doing it, Ruby reveals to Otis that she actually lost touch with both Olivia and Anwar, as they made lots of new friends at their new school and don't have time to hang out with her anymore. That's why Otis decides to stay a bit longer at Ruby's and hang out with her to watch a movie. Eventually, the two end up sleeping in one bed. After waking up the next morning, Otis quickly leaves Ruby's room and goes home. Despite this, the two carry on with doing a campaign against O and Ruby becomes Otis' kind of manager. Suddenly, Maeve comes back to Moordale, after getting the news about her mother overdosing, which later causes her death. Then, Otis start ignoring Ruby's texts and doesn't go to school, as he wants to by Maeve's side. This makes Ruby mad at Otis, especially that there will be the election soon. Despite this, Ruby starts doing a survey with Cavendish students, asking them whether O treated them badly. She finally gets the information she was looking for from Aisha and PK. Despite this, Otis doesn't do well during a debate, as Sarah's allegations worsens his candidacy. A few days later, Otis meets Ruby in the street and asks her to do some more research to help him out. Ruby agrees, but then gets mad at Otis, as he only approaches her to make sure she won't tell Maeve about the night they spend together. Ruby ends their cooperation, telling Otis they are not friends at all, and starts crying.
A couple of days later, Ruby sees Otis with Maeve at the school, which makes her feel uncomfortable. The same day later, Ruby runs into Maeve in a corridor, and despite being mad at Otis, she doesn't tell her a thing about the other night with Otis. Ruby also starts being Connor's manager, who also wants to become the main sex therapist on campus. After all Ruby and Otis meet at Cavendish fundraiser, during which Otis apologizes to her and shows that he still wants to be friends. Despite this, Ruby informs him that she's got enough friends now and walks away, starting dancing with other students.
Family[]
Jean Milburn (mother)[]
Jean is Otis' outspoken, and occasionally, overbearing mother. While it is clear that she wants the absolute best for her son, she often embarrasses him with her propensity to psychoanalyze, not only her son but everyone she meets. Towards the end of season 1, Jean began dating Jakob, Ola's father, complicating the relationship between Otis and Ola.
Otis frequently felt that his mother was too nosy and was angry when he found out that Jean was writing a book about his sexual development. On another occasion, Jean entered Otis' room after he asked her not to, and then told the clients in her kegel workshop about Otis' first emission.
Otis was the one who discovered his father's infidelity, and revealed it to his mother. This memory is a source of stress and gave him a panic attack the first time he attempted to lose his virginity.
Despite many fights, Otis really loves his mother, as can be seen in the season 3 finale, when he worried sick about her after she had a baby. After Jean turned out to be alright, Otis told her that he loves her, saying that he still needs her, despite acting like a grown-up. After Jakob and Ola moved out of the Milburn house, Otis was helping Jean with taking care of Joy and all the house chores. He wasn't approve of Jean getting a new job, as it was only 8 weeks after Joy was born, and called Jean's sister, Joanna, to come and help them. Later, thanks to Jean's supportive words, Maeve decided to go back to America to chase her dreams, which was disapproved by Otis, who got mad at her for that. Eventually he forgave her, as he realized it all had to be that way, and told her he was proud of her.
Remi Milburn (father)[]
Remi is Otis' absent father, who abandoned the family after Jean discovered his affair. Remi lives in America and has little contact with Otis, other than video calls. We only see them interacting for a short time in season 1 during a video call. Even though he and Otis seem to be on good terms, several details suggest that Remi is a negligent, inconsistent and opportunistic father and husband, which is confirmed during episode 2.5 when Otis then on an excursion with Eric and his father, realized that Remi didn't come to Moordale for him but only to flee the difficulties of his marriage with his second wife Delilah caused by his untimely infidelity.
We learn during a discussion between him and Jean that this situation was nothing new, with Remi being a sex addict. He told her that this time he's going to get help and that he wants to be a good father, which Jean asked him "for which children". He would nonetheless have the opportunity to start to redeem himself in the eyes of Otis in the season 2 finale, admitting his wrongs and having for the first time an open heart discussion with his son about how to avoid repeating the same mistakes as him. Remi explained that he must stay honest towards the people who like him despite his faults and cherish them.
Overall, Otis is shown to have an incredibly tough relationship with his dad, owing to how he never sticks around for him - preferring to go out for his outside ventures than spend time with him. This eventually led him to ask Jakob if he could become his guardian in the case that his mother died.
Joy (younger half-sister)[]
After Joy was born, Otis was doing his best to help his mother with Joy. He also loves Joy so much as he often carries her around and is worried about her.
Joanna Franklin (maternal aunt)[]
Otis is Joanna's nephew. The two have a good relationship, as after Jean stopped getting by after having Joy, Otis called his aunt to come and help his mother out with everything. Once, when Otis and Maeve went out for a movie date, Joanna decided to join them as she was stood up by Dan, who had an accident. Joanna ended up getting drunk with Maeve, ruining Otis and Maeve's date.
Jakob Nyman (paternal figure)[]
Otis was indifferent to Jakob until he and Ola moved into Milburn house, due to Jean's pregnancy. Since then, Otis started to perceive him as some kind of paternal figure, as Jakob often advises him and cheers him up. Jakob was also the one who helped Otis with understanding some life principles. In the season 3 finale, when Jean's fate was still unknown, Otis asked Jakob if he could become his guardian in the case that his mother died. Then, Jakob told him that he would always be there for him.
Friends[]
Eric Effiong (best friend)[]
Eric is Otis' best friend. They have been friends since they were 9. They turn to each other for advice on most matters. Despite having a brief fallout after ditching Eric on his birthday, their friendship remains strong.
Otis was trying to convince Eric that he shouldn't date Adam, because of the fact that Adam was bullying Eric in the past. With time, Otis finally accepts Adam as Eric's boyfriend.
Eric supported Otis after he was worrying about Jean after she had a baby. Some time later both of them started attending Cavendish College and kind of drifted apart, as Eric started spending more and more time with his new friends and left Otis behind, who was busy with setting up his new clinic. The two had an argument over it, during which Eric reminded Otis about all the times he stood him up for Maeve. Eventually the two made up and Otis was the first person to know that Eric wanted to become a pastor. They later go to Eric's house and play Smash Bros, like they used to.
Lily Iglehart (close friend; attempted sexual encounter)[]
Despite the fact that Otis and Lily seldom talk or hang out, he has helped her significantly with some of her issues. The first being her vaginimus as well as her fear of being left behind sex-wise and becoming old and dying alone. Another time being when she doubted herself as an artist and her viewing her obsessions with aliens as childish. In the first season, the pair nearly had a sexual encounter until Otis had a panic attack and passed out. Despite all of this, Lily viewed Otis as 'just alright'. Some time later, Otis helped Lily out with her vaginismus problem.
Lily befriended Ola, who was then Otis' girlfriend. Ola complained to Lily about Otis' bad fingering, despite Ola asked Lily not to tell Otis about that, Lily, wanting him to know about that, decides to tell him anyway. Lily was also the one who was originally invited to Otis' small gathering, which later turned out to be a huge party.
After Lily got ashamed in front of the whole school, Ola asked Otis to talk to Lily, Otis came to Lily's house and talks to her, apologizing for being a bad friend and then comforting and supporting her, saying that she shouldn't ever give anyone power to humiliate herself and that she's great the way she is.
Aimee Gibbs (friend)[]
In season 1, Aimee goes to Otis to talk about her bed problems with Steve; the other day Steve asked Aimee what she liked and she didn't know, as nobody had ever asked her about that. Hence Otis prescribes her a wank, so she can figure it out. Aimee is also a huge supporter of Otis and Maeve's relationship, hoping them to finally get together in seasons 2 & 3.
After the closure of Moordale Secondary and starting attending Cavendish, Otis and Aimee become closer together, as Aimee feels a bit lonely without Maeve around. After Maeve comes back to Moordale to bury her late mother, Otis and Aimee are very supportive of her and are by her side all the time. While waiting for Maeve in front of the hospital, Otis therapizes Aimee, helping her realize she actually likes Isaac. The three (Maeve, Otis and Aimee) have a sleepover at Anna's house and the next morning Otis and Aimee are not going to school, wanting to be beside Maeve. Both Otis and Aimee are also involved in organizing a funeral for Maeve's mother, still being beside her during and after the ceremony.
Adam Groff (friend; former enemy)[]
In the beginning, Otis and Adam had no interactions with each other as Otis was afraid of him since he constantly bullied Eric. Eventually, they were both assigned to carry out a project at Otis' house. Adam acted confused at first, not recognizing Otis after many years of shared education, calling him a "New Kid", which will eventually stick on him.
Once Adam arrived at his house, Otis was extremely fraught in his presence, having a fear that his home, in particular, his mother's decorations or gadgetry from work that depicts sex or human genitalia would make him another target of harassment as Otis was trying to hide from his peers the fact that his mother is a sex therapist. Everything went normal except Adam being visibly annoyed with Otis' tense behavior and his negative reaction to him smoking weed with Jean, even asking Otis how it is that he doesn't act like his mother at all.
Adam discovered hidden dildos on one of the restroom's drawers, he decided to steal one of Jean's video guides on how to perform a handjob on a courgette. The next day, he sent it to all students at school to humiliate him, causing Otis to have a panic attack. Mainly thanks to Maeve who was forced to check on him, they both helped Adam, who "overdosed" on Viagra, marking their beginning as a sex therapy duo.
They eventually forgave each other, as shown when Adam later apologized to Otis for what he had done, which was accepted but still not fully repaired in case of their relationship as Adam was still targeting Eric, even though it was for different reasons. Eventually, Otis began to accept Adam after he learnt about his soft side during their interactions with each other for Eric, when Adam began dating Eric. The duo gave each other perceptive advice, as shown when Otis helped Adam learn how to communicate his feelings to others, while Adam helped Otis accept Ola and Jakob as family, telling him that he isn't the only one struggling, which Otis greatly appreciated.
Ruthie (friend)[]
Otis was helping Ruthie and her girlfriend, Tanya with their relationship problems. At first, Ruthie didn't believe that Otis could fix their problems, as she was treating Otis with condemn and was mean to him. After Otis saw Ruthie making out with another girl, cheating on Tanya, Otis and Ruthie had a talk during which Ruthie told him that things were easier between her and Tanya when they were friends and everything messed up when they began dating. Otis encourages Ruthie to tell Tanya the truth and how she feels about their relationship, to which Ruthie agrees.
In season 2, Otis came to Ruthie to get a piece of advice from her. He didn't know much about fingering, and Ola (his girlfriend) didn't enjoy the way he was doing it. Ruthie advised Otis to simply ask his girlfriend what she liked, as every vagina is different.
Sarah Owen (friend; former sex therapy rival)[]
Otis and Sarah met after Otis started attending Cavendish College and wanted to set up his sex clinic there. He didn't know that Cavendish students already had a therapist who happened to be Sarah. The two started their rivalry, which led to the elections during which the students were supposed to vote for one of them. Eventually, both of them lost support from the students as their competition became irritating and childish. In the end they made up and decided to join forces and to help others together.
Rivals[]
Jackson Marchetti (former rival)[]
Jackson is the first rival that Otis encountered for Maeve's affection. While Otis liked and had feelings for Maeve, Jackson paid him £50 to tell him what Maeve liked. In an attempt to sabotage the relationship, Otis told Jackson that Maeve liked big, public displays (despite the fact she doesn't). This plan however, completely backfired as Maeve and Jackson began dating so Jackson never discovered Otis trying to sabotage him and the two remained friends.
The following term after breaking up with Maeve, Jackson became somewhat cold and indifferent to Otis. This because he knew Otis loved Maeve and vice-versa. Otis however, still wasn't seeing Maeve and hadn't confessed how he felt, much to Jackson's annoyance. By the latest term however, Jackson appeared to have forgiven Otis for his inaction seeing as he asked him to operate the projector during the parents evening and even did so in a polite way but did say he 'seems nerdy' yet this wasn't in malice.
A couple months later, this time at Cavendish, Jackson approached Otis at the gym, helped him and asked Otis for a piece of advice, as he started suspecting that he may be queer, hoping to rebuild his bond with Cal. Jackson told Otis that he doesn't like him, but the two kept on talking and Otis helped him out. Jackson also mentioned Maeve, saying that 'she was always looking for something better', referring to their relationship. Later, Jackson came to Otis once again, and the latter assured him that having a lump on a ball is completely normal for some men.
Isaac Goodwin (former rival)[]
Otis first met Isaac at his party in episode 2.6, he is the second rival that Otis encountered for Maeve's affection. Despite the fact the pair only interact four or five times throughout the series, Issac was a big rival to Otis as he sabotaged him a couple of times, including deleting Otis' voicemail at the end of season 2 and intellectually trying to battle Otis in-front of Maeve despite the fact Maeve's sister Elsie has been kidnapped by her mother and the police were trying to gather information at that moment. The two never reconciled and despite the fact they are no longer competing for Maeve's love, they are still enemies thanks to the past. The two never reconciled and despite the fact they are no longer competing for Maeve's love, they are still enemies thanks to the past; it is shown in episode 4.1, when the two meet in the corridor at Cavendish College despising each other, or when Isaac laughs at Otis when he accidentally shows his nudes in front of the whole school.
Personality[]
Otis is a smart, well-mannered, 'nerdy' teenager. He is a sweet, introverted, anxious and socially awkward individual who sticks up for everyone who he cares about, along with everything that he stands for, as shown when he goes above and beyond in his attempts to care for others. Unlike most other people who are quite often judgmental of others and insulting them behind their back, Otis isn't a judgmental person at all, as he is always looking out for those who are struggling.
When Otis witnessed his father having sexual intercourse with one of his clients, it had left him confused and scared due to his lack of understanding, leaving him traumatized for eternity. When he asked his mother about the situation, where she discovered Remi had cheated on her and, as a self-believed comfort, told Otis what sex involved and added that it could ruin lives as well as bring pleasure to them, which eventually led to Otis gaining a form of PTSD that affected his sexual development for a while.
Being the son of one of the most renowned sex therapists, Otis is known to be quite a perceptive person who listens out for everybody without passing on any judgements, always attempting to make them feel comfortable, arguably being Otis' greatest trait. Otis is a great sex/emotion therapist who always sticks his eyes out for his patients, being able to tap into the root cause of somebody's anxiety and pain, due to having gone through a lot of it himself.
Due to his sensitive nature, Otis is prone to high outbursts of anger, becoming quite mean in occasion, as shown when he called Eric an attention seeker in response to him saying he can never get Maeve due to his fear of women. Despite this, Otis is a great friend who always has his back out for everyone he cares about, as shown by his repeated true attempts to apologize to Eric for his actions until he eventually succeeded, even deciding to end things up with Maeve at a point when he sees how their relationship is affecting his friend and his overall life. Otis cares a lot about his friends, going above and beyond to help them whenever possible, as shown how he stuck his neck outside for Eric in front of Adam, after learning how the former bully tried to date the person he bullied, his best friend.
Despite his extremely positive nature, Otis can be quite deceitful on occasion: in season 1 episode 4, he told Jackson to do a grand gesture to ask Maeve out, knowing that she disliked gestures like that, although this backfired and Jackson and Maeve started to date, and when he stole his mother's therapy notebook to merely find out why Ola broke up with him, the latter of which resulted in a disaster for the school.
Appearances[]
| Episodes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | |
| One | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | 8 | |
| Two | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | 8 | |
| Three | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | 8 | |
| Four | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | 8 | |
| Total | 32 | |||||||||
| Books | ||||||||||
| Sex Education: The Road Trip | Sex Education: A Guide to Life | |||||||||
| ✔ | M | |||||||||
| ✔ = Appeared | M = Mentioned | |||||||||
| - = Did not appear | P = Pictured | |||||||||
Memorable Quotes[]
| “ | She, uh...She touched my eyebrows and now I have an erection | ” |
| — Otis to Eric about Maeve[src] |
| “ | Love isn't about grand gestures, or the moon and the stars. It's just dumb luck. And sometimes, you meet someone who feels the same way. And then, sometimes, you're unlucky. But one day, you're gonna meet someone who appreciates you for who you are. I mean, there's seven billion people on the planet. I know one of them is gonna climb up on a moon for you | ” |
| — Otis to Liam[src] |
| “ | Of course I did | ” |
| — Otis confirming his feelings for Maeve[src] |
| “ | I also want you to know if you are pregnant and chose to keep the baby, I'll quit school, get a job and provide for you both | ” |
| — Otis to Ruby[src] |
| “ | Hand jobs is sex. Virginity is a construct | ” |
| — Otis to Eric[src] |
| “ | Of course I meant it | ” |
| — Otis to Maeve[src] |
| “ | It was never about the clinic. I did the clinic to be close to you. And then you made me realize I'm good at something, and I like helping people. And I thought you ignored my message, and it crushed my heart. I stopped doing the clinic because it reminded me of you. It sucked. Because I wanna help people. And I know this is only about money for you, but let's just be a team again, please? Because if I can't be with you romantically, I still wanna see you every day. Nothing feels right when you're not around | ” |
| — Otis to Maeve[src] |
Trivia[]
- Otis lives on 43 Ashford Street in Moordale.
- Otis used to have asthma. He stopped carrying his inhaler with him from episode 2, which strangely coincides with the start of his connivance with Maeve. He also pointed out to his mother that he had not had an attack in six years.
- He lost his virginity to Ruby.[9]
- Otis' number is 07700 900538 as revealed in season 3.
- Ruby was listed as X-Tina on his phone.[3]
- He does not like simulated danger.
- Otis' locker number in Moordale Secondary was 199, where he regularly kept sweets.
- Otis is left-handed.
- Otis has a funky-looking toe, which looks like a thumb.
Gallery[]
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Sex Education Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Otis Milburn. |
Promotional Images[]
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Episodic[]
References[]
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