Isaac Goodwin (George Robinson) is one of the most complex and memorable recurring characters in the popular Netflix series Sex Education, which concluded its final tear-jerker season on September 21, 2023. Introduced as the jealous admirer of Maeve (Emma Mackey) who deleted Otis’ famous voicemail in Season 2, Isaac has one of the great character arcs in the entire show. Aside from adding refreshing depth to an already diverse and electric cast of characters, Isaac (played by disability advocate George Robinson) is the only wheelchair user in the main ensemble.
Sex Education is a rare gem in the coming-of-age genre for its abundance of representation of characters with different identities, backgrounds, sexual orientations, and abilities. However, its final fourth season chose to hone in deeper on the issue of accessibility for students with disabilities, making Isaac an agent of change rather than a supporting role whose presence up until Season 4 felt more like the ‘Token Disabled Character’ to prop up the show’s female lead, Maeve. It seems the writers of Sex Education listened to their fans’ dismay about Isaac’s antagonistic role in earlier seasons, allowing him to shine as the sarcastic, big-hearted softie he always was.
Who is George Robinson?
The British actor is mostly known for his role as Isaac on Sex Education and starred in the Dave sitcom pilot, Perfect, which follows a motley disabled trio who meet on a work preparation scheme in Liverpool. Similar to his character Isaac, Robinson suffered a severe spinal neck injury when he was seventeen in South Africa during a rugby game and has used a wheelchair ever since. As Robinson told Teen Vogue, his casting in Sex Education was significant: “There’s been the precedent in the past of having wheelchair characters not being played by people in wheelchairs. I just thought that was such a refreshing thing when I got the call.”
The issue of non-disabled actors playing disabled characters has been a topic of much debate over the years and speaks to a larger discrepancy in the entertainment industry: TV and Film executives often won’t spend money on accessible equipment such as wheelchair ramps, hearing-aid technology, or hire disability officers that can supervise and help integrate better policies behind the scenes. Fortunately, things are starting to shift in a better direction for disabled actors in spite of the industry’s “economic problems.” In December 2021, Robinson was selected as an honoree on the BAFTA Breakthrough list for his role as Isaac on Sex Education.
How Sex Education, Season 4 tackles accessibility
In one of Isaac’s first scenes in Season 4, he meets Maeve’s quirky best friend, Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) in an elevator at their swanky and modern “student-lead” sixth-form school, Cavendish College. The school features high-tech technology such as tablets and Bluetooth whiteboard projectors as well as zen rooms, art studios, and even a beekeeping room. However, Cavendish clearly hasn’t invested in their elevator system, which stalls and breaks frequently—to Isaac’s growing malcontent.
In Season 4 episode 7, Isaac’s patience finally runs out with the faulty elevator, and with Aimee’s help, he stages a sit-in protest where other disabled students air out their grievances with the school: “If this college can afford sound baths and communal harmony bees, they can definitely afford a working lift!” This isn’t the first time a show has capitalized on Gen-Zer’s passion for social justice as a dramatic—or even comedic—storytelling device, but what makes this episode such a triumph is how different characters question and correct their own ingrained ableism during the protest, allowing for deeper understanding and better communication. Sex Education reminds us that real change is never a quick fix or some symbolic figurehead of diversity—it’s an ongoing effort to listen, self-educate, and support one another along the way. And sometimes, it may require a little anarchy.
The importance of Aisha Green
Sex Education introduced another character with a disability who was a stand-out this season. Aisha Green (Alexandra James) is a member of “The Coven” aka the popular crew of trans and gender nonconforming students that run Cavendish College. Aisha is sweet, stylish, Black, queer, and poly, and later develops a deep connection with Cal (played by non-binary actor Dua Saleh). Similar to Robinson, Alexandra James is a deaf actress who plays a deaf character on the show. She wears a hearing aid and reads lips—in addition to reading people’s astrological signs.
Aisha’s character represents an intersection that we often don’t see in media as a Black, queer, disabled person. While many disabled people who have racialized identities deal with multiple levels of discrimination and are often overlooked in the LBGTQ+ community, Aisha’s various identities are what make her one of the most joyous and empathetic characters on the show. She is effervescently queer and has a way of seeing people for who they truly are, which tends to be a common trait among marginalized people who are often forced to imagine and live by social scripts outside the status quo. Prior to her fabulous debut in Sex Education, the actress Alexandra James is known for her role in BBC’s The Break scripted short, “Oh Toni,” which was nominated for a Broadcast Digital Award.
“Let’s Get Physical”
Without veering into *major* spoiler territory, both Isaac and Aisha’s characters have romances on Sex Education, Season 4, and are just as curious and riled up as their able-bodied peers. Showing disabled people as sexual beings is a rare thing on television since most media portrayals desexualize or even infantilize them, erasing the possibility that people with disabilities can have healthy sex lives. While this may seem trivial to non-disabled people, representing disability and sexuality in unison with each other is important for showing the world what the reality of disabilities looks like—crushes, hormones, dark room hookups, and all.
Conclusion
Since its first season, Sex Education has remained true to its commitment toward inclusive, authentic, and diverse storytelling by not only representing different identities both on and off the screen but also delving deeper into disability discourse. By addressing the challenges, triumphs, and everyday realities faced by people with disabilities, the final season contributes to a broader conversation about disability representation in the entertainment industry. It’s clear that some progress has been made with characters like Isaac Goodwin and Aisha Green, but we still have a long way to go… to quote one Cavendish student: “Our problems come from barriers in society, not from our disabilities.”
Sources Cited
Holland, George. Katnoria, Nathan. “Sex Education’s George Robinson: Get to know the actor who plays Isaac Goodwin.” Planet Radio, 17, September 2023.
Khanal, Ina. “Sex Education: Is Alexandra James Deaf In Real Life?” Celeb Critics, 23, September 2023.
Kim, Sarah. “The Importance of Authentic Media Representation of People with Disabilities.” World Institute on Disability, 22, August 2022.
Wilson, Josh. “Disability In Hollywood: The Road Traveled And The Road Ahead.” Forbes, 6, July 2022.