‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Most Uncomfortably Awkward Scenes, Ranked
The Sex Lives of College Girls‘ core four saw a lot of change in Season 3. Bela (Amrit Kaur), Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), and Leighton (Reneé Rapp) gave it their all in their second year of school at Essex, which was a big year of change as Leighton made the major decision to transfer to MIT. Singer Gracie Lawrence joined as the new roommate, Kacey, after Leighton’s big move.
The quirky group’s antics provide constant funny twists to the college lifestyle. Sexual encounters, breakups, makeups, friendships, academic problems, and more — all of these topics have been comedically explored during the 30 episodes that have come out so far. But the show has its serious moments amid all the fun. Part of what makes college so formative are those painfully uncomfortable moments that come from youthful mistakes.
Here, we’ve ranked the show’s most painfully awkward moments from the first three seasons that make us recoil from our TVs.
The Sex Lives of College Girls, Available now, Max
8. Whitney running into Dalton and his wife on the street (Season 1 Episode 1)
Whitney was on a run off-campus when she saw the assistant coach of her soccer team/her secret hookup, Dalton (James Morosini). She made conversation until his wife walked up, leaving us and Whitney confused. Having to pretend to be nice to Dalton’s wife while holding back tears was not an easy job for Whitney, and Dalton shouldn’t have engaged in this inappropriate relationship in the first place. Thankfully, this affair ended and he hasn’t been heard from since.
7. Kimberly getting shut down by Whitney's sorority sisters (Season 3 Episode 1)
At the beginning of Season 3, it was confirmed that Kimberly and Whitney were not friends after Kimberly kissed Canaan (Christopher Meyer) at the end of the previous season. In this episode, Kimberly visited Whitney’s sorority house to ask for forgiveness. The sorority sisters immediately shut Kimberly down, made fun of her outfit, and yelled at her to “get out” with lots of sass and attitude. Nobody wants to be cornered by a bunch of sorority girls. Imagine the awkwardness and hostility Kimberly felt while just trying to apologize to a friend.
6. Kimberly and Nico get caught in Kimberly's professor's office (Season 1 Episode 7)
In an unexpected, shocking moment, Kimberly and Nico (Gavin Leatherwood) got caught attempting to hook up in a professor’s office after Kimberly asked for extra credit. The two were immediately embarrassed as soon as the door opened, rightfully so. Getting caught during any sort of hookup can be extremely embarrassing, but getting caught by your professor is one of the worst, next to your parents.
5. Nico calling Kimberly "man" (Season 1 Episode 5)
In the middle of Season 1, Kimberly and Nico were in an awkward stage where she couldn’t tell if they were more than friends. Kimberly went in for a celebratory hug at a party after Nico did well in a drinking game, and all he says to her was, “Thanks, man.” He followed up with a side hug and a high five. Some may laugh at this interaction, but most clench their teeth and raise their eyebrows with discomfort over the extreme level of cringe. Kimberly was brave as she faced the uncomfortable situation of getting publicly friend-zoned by her crush.
4. Kimberly making Canaan uncomfortable at her first day at work (Season 1 Episode 1)
Kimberly showed us her awkward personality in the very first episode when she spoke to her coworkers at the coffee shop. Canaan was stunned when she bluntly asked if it’s hard being Black at Essex. While seeing that Canaan was clearly uncomfortable, Kimberly continued to say that she was excited to have “a Black friend” nonetheless. This was an early example of Kimberly putting her foot in her mouth through her lack of a filter.
3. Bela pokes herself in the eye while talking to Eric (Season 2 Episode 5)
At a Summer in Winter-themed party, Bela put in blue contacts to make herself look more “exotic” and “hot.” She hoped the contacts would impress her crush, Eric (Mekki Leeper) when she went to talk to him, but instead she poked herself in the eye with her drink straw, irritating her eye and the contact lens. One of the worst things that can happen in front of a crush is embarrassing yourself while trying to impress them.
2. Bela's reaction walking in on a hot guy playing a virtual reality game (Season 3 Episode 10)
In the final episode of Season 3, Bela adds another embarrassing moment to her collection. Bela went to tell one of the residents of the dorm building she supervised to be quieter. When she walked in, she was stunned by the boy’s hotness while he played a virtual reality game in just his underwear. As she sneakily walked around ogling him, she knocked over a lamp, fell to the ground, and sprinted out of the room before the boy had a chance to take the headset off and see her. This scene had viewers cackling with their heads in their hands, but it was also uncomfortable because of the brazenness of Bela’s actions that the guy was not aware of.
1. Kimberly shouting to Jackson as he runs by (Season 2 Episode 5)
The most cringe, embarrassing, hard-to-watch moment in the series goes to Kimberly. In this iconic Season 2 scene, Kimberly attempted to flirt with Jackson (Mitchell Slaggert) as he ran past. She shouted “big boy runs fast!” making us shake our heads and wonder what possessed her say that. The moment gets even more uncomfortable when Jackson turned around to ask her what she said and Kimberly digs her heels in, albeit with a cringed look on her face. She repeated the strange phrase when she could’ve chosen to wave with a smile instead, pretending like she never said anything. But would Kimberly really be Kimberly if she didn’t say something with her full chest?
From TV Guide Magazine
Crime, Comedy & Convenience Stores: Unwrapping Hulu's 'Deli Boys' With the Cast
Cupcakes, corndogs…and cocaine?! Two brothers find themselves in a hilarious pickle when they inherit an unseemly bodega biz in Hulu’s new comedy Deli Boys. Find out how The Sopranos and Real Housewives of Orange County influenced the cast. Read the story now on TV Insider.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services