’s third season aired, so those who haven’t had time for a rewatch will need a recap before tucking into its fourth and final outing, which dropped on Netflix on Sept. 21. The show has you covered: A Season 3 recap, delivered by Gillian Anderson’s Jean Milburn, is also now available on the streamer. It’s a great catch-up, but even if you don’t need one it’s worth a watch for the charming perspective shift Anderson makes in its final few phrases.
Absent, too, is Jakob’s daughter Ola , her eccentric partner Lily , cool-girl Olivia and her bestie Anwar . Their absences are fulfilled by Cavendish’s new cast of characters, who bring discussions of asexuality, transgenderism and disability to the show’s fore. Unfortunately,’s abandonment of some key players and hasty introduction of new ones results in a final season that lacks the emotional punch of its previous three.
will have a legacy of being much more than the sum of its parts. The show has tackled an unthinkable breadth of issues with matter-of-factness, empathy and good humour, without falling to preachiness or platitudes. It presented its various plotlines and the complex identity politics therein with a genuine, clear-cut earnestness. There’s no cheese, no therapy talk and virtually no talking down to its audience – just an at-times striking representation of humanity and true grace.