‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Boss on Kacey’s Emotional Performance, Bela’s Revelation & More Finale Moments

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 Episode 10, “Essex Strong”]

The Sex Lives of College Girls ushered in a new chapter as the ladies rang in Sophomore year in Season 3, but the finale ushers in a new era for the students of Essex as they closed out their first semester.

In a season that opened with the departure of fan-favorite, Leighton (Reneé Rapp), The Sex Lives of College Girls managed to settle the audience in with some fresh faces as Kacey (Gracie Lawrence) and Taylor (Mia Rodgers) found themselves woven into the inner circle that still includes Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), and Bela (Amrit Kaur).

In the finale, all of the women experienced their own breakthroughs as Whitney confronted the athletic department at Essex for their poor treatment of students, Kimberly realized she could be the change she wanted to see in the world if she was willing to rebel a bit, Bela discovered her bisexuality, Taylor faced her familial rifts, and Kacey overcame heartbreak to deliver an astounding onstage performance as the lead in Essex’s musical.

Unlike Season 2’s finale though, no real cliffhangers were delivered, so does that mean this is the end for our girls? Not if showrunner Justin Noble has anything to do with it. “We didn’t build it to be the final season,” he promises. “If anything, making these creative decisions made executives involved be like, ‘Wait, don’t you want to have a big cliffhanger here and do this?'”

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Ultimately, the decision to have a tidy finale ending stemmed from Noble wanting an easier way back into the story in a potential fourth season (the series is currently awaiting that green light from Max). “All [a cliffhanger] really does is mean that the first two episodes of the next season, you’re mopping up the mess created by the cliffhanger at the end of the previous season. And most of the time I think the people behind the scenes and the audience are like, ‘Can we just get past this?'”

And it makes sense, considering how Season 3 opened with Whitney and Kimberly’s conflict after the latter was caught smooching Canaan (Christopher Meyer). “Our girls have been put through the wringer this year. This was a year full of a lot of challenges, a lot of existential crisis moments, and it felt like I much rather preferred a version of a four-minute symphony ending of all of our girls getting big wins…  So it was very much more about me choosing joy.”

Part of that joy was Kacey’s triumphant performance which wouldn’t have been possible without some support from her pals. After consummating her relationship with Cooper (Robbie Attal), Kacey’s approach to their relationship ultimately pushes him away, further crushing her already brittle confidence. Breaking up with her hours before the musical, Kacey struggles to pull herself together and turns to her friends who offer their emotional support. “Kacey started as a card tacked to a wall that just said the word ‘Confidence,’ Noble shares. “And I always knew that she was going to be a story about a girl who could tackle the epidemic of confidence issues that young people are dealing with, and particularly young women to make it more interesting.”

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While viewers saw this in her storyline with her mom as well as with her first boyfriend, it was her roommates who managed to help put the pieces back together again. “The heart of our show has always been our girls [being] there for each other… the show is not about these love interests. They’re fun, we have great stories with them, but this is a show about a love story between girls who become friends and find each other in college. So it was only fitting that they would rally around her, giving her the confidence to go up on stage and have a long four-minute win,” Noble continues.

The song in question was “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman, a tune that Noble selected after listening to various playlists online, seeking something that would fit Kacey perfectly as he says the song “felt thematically right for her.” The tune also enthused Noble because he also directed the installment and knew it  “felt cinematic, and I could picture other story moments happening with it.”

Along with Kacey’s triumph, the moment dropped a breadcrumb about a potential future romance as light operator Lars (Jeremy Culhane) cut Cooper’s spotlight, giving Kacey her solo moment in the metaphorical sun. The scene also gave Bela the opportunity to convey to her mother that she’s bisexual as she takes Haley’s (Belle Adams) hand.

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Bela had planned to do an open mic performance at Essex earlier that night, diving into her recent revelation, but when her mother showed up, she stifled that part of her, much to Taylor’s dismay as she’d been rooting for her friend to have that moment. Ultimately, Bela decides being herself is most important while attending Kacey’s show and it more than pays off when her mother smiles upon seeing Bela take Haley’s hand.

In Noble’s eyes, Bela’s confidence at that moment stems from things Taylor says to her. “It’s the lingering voice of Taylor in her head when Taylor is talking to her about her relationship with her mom and how she wishes that there was more of a relationship there and clocking so clearly in a few seconds how much Bela and her mom love each other,” he says. “I think we have seen that on screen for three full seasons at this point. The thing that’s nice about it to me is that Bela has spent the entire season trying to help Taylor as a person, and then it’s Taylor’s turn to try to give her a little advice, and it has a meaningful impact on Bela’s life.”

And fret not regarding Taylor, who had a breakthrough of her own with her mom over the computer, despite her moving off campus with her girlfriend Ash (Ruby Cruz), Taylor would still be part of the ensemble should Season 4 move forward. “Off-campus is right there. You know what I mean?” Noble conveys, gesturing that it’s a short distance from Essex. “It’s just a different set that keeps things interesting.”

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Meanwhile, Kimberly continues to fight the good fight, but her initial dream to become a Supreme Court Justice began to falter in the finale as she saw up close the impact of protesting, even if it landed her in a jail cell briefly. “Her goals haven’t changed. She is the same person she’s always been,” Noble reassures. “She wants to see certain changes in the world. It’s just she’s widening the potential paths to getting there. And in 2025, not to get deeply political, I think it’s okay to show a story where maybe we’re saying that the Supreme Court Justice is no longer the best way to bring about historical change,” Noble adds.

This thought process was raised by activist Noah (Trevor Tordjman), who took a shine to Kimberly. But is Kimberly interested in rekindling things with Eli (Michael Provost)? “I think that what Noah was to Kimberly, Kimberly was to Eli, their paths intersected, and in that breakup outside parents’ weekend, I think those words kind of stuck with Eli,” Noble notes.

When Kimberly is picked up from jail, it’s Eli who comes to her aid, after having apologized for his behavior during their relationship. “He has decided to change a couple of things about himself, and now he sees himself as kind of missing Kimberly, but appreciative of the change that she brought about in his life. So we’re setting up this little triangle of different people who Kimberly has affected and been affected by moving forward,” Noble teases.

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Thankfully, Kimberly’s friendship is all sorted with Whitney who is seemingly full-on with Canaan now but is still working things out with the athletic department as she and her former teammates confronted the school about their unrealistic expectations. “We wanted to tell a story that tackled these things and soccer for the entirety of the three seasons that we’ve seen Whitney so far,” Noble says of himself and co-creator Mindy Kaling.

“Soccer has been a pretty rough go for her in many different ways. And that has made her the person who can stand up and kind of demand change for the people who maybe are a little less strong than she is, and she rallies ’em up and has her big Naomi Osaka moment.” Noble and Kaling traveled to different schools where they spoke with the student-athletes and learned about the anxieties they faced. Using Whitney’s story to convey this onscreen, Noble says, “We’re just telling a story we’re hoping [will] inspire people to bring about change in their own realms because it just doesn’t seem cool what’s happening to them.”

For now, fans can rest assured that all is well for the girls at Essex, but stay tuned for any updates as we keep our fingers crossed for Season 4 at Max.

The Sex Lives of College Girls, Seasons 1-3, Streaming now, Max

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