In Sex Education season 4, Thomas Molloy is an author who teaches Maeve at Wallace University in the United States of America. Dan Levy plays Mr. Molloy.
Thomas Molloy is the author of Blood On A Rainbow Maze and Night Tales. Blood On A Rainbow Maze is the most popular one among them. Molloy wrote it when he was just 25.
Molloy is regarded as a genius and visionary by all of his students. However, since Blood On A Rainbow Maze has become successful, he is sick of people telling him about it and wanting him to write something similar. Molloy likes to think a writer should be allowed to evolve.
Every year, Molloy chooses someone to be his intern. He mentors them, and they always almost get published. His last intern was selected for the Growcott Prize.
Every student in Maeve’s class at Wallace University dreams of becoming an author, and starting off as an intern to Molloy is the first step to it. He teaches the prestigious course that Maeve has applied to.
Molloy scars Maeve
Naturewise, Molloy is pretty upfront, honest, and strict. Hence, his students try to be careful around him. Maeve leaves an impression on Molloy by not being a teacher’s pet.
Maeve openly chooses Night Tales over Blood On A Rainbow Maze, and Molloy agrees that the former, which is his first novel, is a better book. Unfortunately, Maeve quickly loses her momentum when her phone rings in the middle of the class, leading Molloy to throw it out of the window.
Molloy continues to be mean toward Maeve and heavily criticizes whatever she writes. During a class, Maeve presents what she has written and what she is aiming for in her first chapter. Molloy claims that it has no pulse. It is an imitation, and it doesn’t have her in it.
Hence, Maeve rewrites an idea for a new book, which she believes has her in it. Maeve is told by Tyrone, one of her classmates, that this new piece will increase her chances of getting Molloy’s internship, but another one of her classmates, Ellen, ends up getting it, most probably because she comes from a rich family.
A disappointed Maeve knows her piece is better, and when she confronts Molloy about it, he criticizes her piece again and says Ellen showed more potential. Molloy claims writing is a tough business, and maybe Maeve isn’t cut out to be a writer.
Maeve teaches Molloy a lesson
Molloy’s words scar Maeve. She comes back home for her mother and decides to never go back to America, convinced that she is not meant to be a writer.
It’s a conversation with Otis’ mother, Jean, that changes everything. Jean assures Maeve that if she is good enough to get into that course, then she is worthy of succeeding just as much as anybody else at Wallace.
It’s just Maeve has raised herself on her own, and a lack of secure parenting has resulted in her suffering from low self-esteem. She has taken a knock after that rejection.
She just needed someone in her corner who would tell her to pick herself up and not to stop believing in herself. One teacher should not dictate her future. Jean’s words encourage Maeve to go back to America.
Maeve’s classmate, Ellen, reads Maeve’s piece and recommends it to Goodhart Books. Maeve is approached by Caitlin Reed from Goodhart Books. She is interested in Maeve’s piece.
Maeve realizes that her piece isn’t bad after all. She meets Molloy, who congratulates her and also apologizes for his harsh words. Maeve disagrees when he says he was trying to push her to be better.
Maeve reminds Molloy of the weight his words as a teacher hold and how they can impact a student. Molloy accepts the criticism, and they both move on.
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