Heartstopper Season 2 Review: The Sweet Show Deepens And Expands In Its Second Season
- The story is as sweet as ever
- It's still the story of Charlie and Nick but it's broadened to include other characters
- The show isn't especially surprising
In Season 1, "Heartstopper" was a sweet and romantic tale of boy meets boy. In the story of Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), the eight episodes dealt with Nick realizing he unexpectedly had feelings for Charlie, after which he came out to himself and then Charlie. While it wasn't the most surprising teen show, given the premise was projected in the first episode, it was one of the more gratifying, and people of all ages fell for Charlie and Nick's sweet love story.
In Season 2, "Heartstopper" tells the next phase of Charlie and Nick's story and opens the show up to further exploration of everyone else's stories too. Creator Alice Oseman continues to adapt her webcomic to the screen, and the show has definitely deepened as Charlie and Nick go from the will-they-or-won't-they phase of their relationship to the definitely-but phase. They are definitely a thing but Nick isn't out yet, and knowing how traumatic it was for him, Charlie is supportive of Nick being in the closet — at least to Nick's friends. Charlie's friends, a more enlightened group of mostly LGBTQ folks, already know about the couple.
The season takes us from the halls of their school, where they keep getting caught kissing by various people, to Paris, where they go on a school trip, spending several episodes there. Throughout, Charlie and Nick's love story continues to deepen and grow as the pair struggles but never breaks in response to the vagaries of a new relationship.
Charlie and Nick continue to grow
The show still revolves around Charlie and Nick, of course, and now that they're a couple, they have more to navigate. Not only is Nick not out to a majority of the people at their school, but Charlie has been trying to help Nick with his school work so much that he's neglected his own studies, a bucket of cold water for him — and especially his parents.
The depiction of Nick's struggle to come out is given the most weight this season. This is reflective of Kit Connor's own struggles of being forced to come out, and he does a great job exploring the difficulties of choosing who to come out to and when. He tries and fails to come out to his friends on the rugby team at a party, while his brother (Jack Barton) forces him out of the closet at home in the most unforgiving way. This is compounded by his being bi, not gay, which many in his life see as a halfway point to coming out as gay, not as a real thing. In fact, the show puts almost too fine a point on Nick being bi, having him write his sexuality out in text messages when he's declaring his love for Charlie. But still, the point is valuable, and the show makes sure the reality of Nick's sexuality is understood.
Throughout, Charlie remains supportive, trying to let Nick decide for himself when is the right time. It's an interesting depiction that shows us how coming out is a continuous process. That said, Charlie is torn: He wants his boyfriend to come out at his own pace, but he also wants someone who he can hold hands with and kiss in public. It's an understandable set of challenges, and while the show spends most of its time on Nick's struggles, we can also feel Charlie's pain too.
That doesn't mean there isn't a significant amount of joy to be had here. Nick and Charlie are as cute as ever and in the throes of young love, so there's more than enough to keep people satisfied with the course of their relationship. But they're both learning things about the other too, making their characters deeper, richer, and more complex. While this means that everything isn't perfect all the time, between the two of them, things get about as close as they can.
The side characters get more spotlight
In addition to Charlie and Nick, the supporting cast has more substantial storylines in Season 2 as well, leading to more screen time for the characters. For example, Tao Xu (William Gao) and Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) are navigating the strange intricacies of falling for your best friend; should they go for it and risk their friendship, or should they hold back and preserve what's worked for them so far? Tao, in his awkward way, tries to woo Elle, but it's when he's being himself that she likes him. The pair pull this dance off well, and while the adults in the audience may get frustrated with their indecisiveness, younger viewers will learn a lot from this scenario.
Meanwhile, lesbian couple Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) confront a more serious threat to their relationship that Darcy refuses to talk about, even when Tara confronts her about it repeatedly. It's a well-done storyline about acceptance and what it takes to let people in, even those who are closest to you.
The only storyline that I felt got short shrift was the one about bookworm Isaac (Tobie Donovan). He's attracted the attention of a boy this year, but what this boy doesn't know is that Isaac may be asexual. This point is made in only the most tacit of ways, and so the storyline gets a little lost amidst the other, more showy stories of love and romance.
Then there are the signature embellishments to the picture. Sparks crackle and fly when Charlie and Nick touch, the whole world lights up when Nick receives Charlie's text message, leaves fall when Isaac's kissed, Darcy's life becomes dark when she enters a particular place, etc. These things aren't a huge help when telling the story, but they add zings of feeling and make the show unique.
"Heartstopper" retains its "aw" factor this season while also deepening and broadening its love story. It doesn't do anything groundbreaking or shocking like many other teen series, but what it does it does very well. It's sweet, earnest, and appealing without being cloying. Best of all, it probably resembles most kids' current struggles — with their sexuality, for some, but also with just figuring out who they are and how they tell people about themselves. During Season 1, Netflix renewed "Heartstopper" for two more seasons, so we get at least one more after this. Here's hoping for more of the same.
All eight episodes of "Heartstopper" Season 2 premiere on August 3 on Netflix.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being reviewed here wouldn't exist.