Do you remember where you were the day you realized that Hannah Waddingham was the "shame" woman from Game of Thrones? Thanks to her Emmy-nominated turn in Ted Lasso, Waddingham is known for more than being the heartless septa who made Cersei Lannister march down the streets of King's Landing naked. But still, even knowing all of her other screen and stage credits, I couldn't help but make the connection to Septa Unella when Waddingham's Sex Education character in Season 3 said the word "shame." Spoilers ahead for Sex Education Season 3.
I fully acknowledge I'm a bit of a trash person since the moment where Sofia Marchetti says "shame" in Sex Education is actually a very tender moment between mother and son. (Do I now have to be marched down the streets with Waddingham walking behind me ringing a bell and chanting "shame"? Cause, if so, I'll take it.) But I also know that I won't be alone in seeing this and immediately thinking of the "Walk of Atonement" from the Season 5 finale, "Mother's Mercy." Right, Game of Thrones fans? Right?!
Waddingham has less than 2 minutes of screentime in Sex Education Season 3, not popping up until the season finale. (She told Collider it was because she was busy filming Ted Lasso.) And within a few precious seconds of her appearing on camera, Waddingham has to utter the word "shame," like some cruel cosmic joke.
As Jackson's considering if he's comfortable being in a queer relationship with new nonbinary character Cal Bowman (Dua Saleh), he asks his mum when she knew she was gay. "Well, I think I was in denial for a long time," Waddingham's character Sofia says. "I had a lot of shame." This echoes back to the previous episode where Jackson and the other students of Moordale made a video presentation of how they shouldn't have to feel shame about sex. As Jackson says in the video, "The opposite of shame is pride."
Despite the Game of Thrones episode airing in 2015, Waddingham has graciously continued to talk about her time as the bell-ringing septa in 2021 (like here, here, here, and here). So she had to be in on the meta-ness of it all when Sofia simply shrugs to her son saying, "Sorry you felt shame, Mum."
As for me taking this sweet moment of a mother and child openly discussing sexuality and comparing it to this Game of Thrones moment? Well, in the words of Hannah Waddingham...
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Images: Macall B. Polay/HBO, Netflix