The long-awaited season two of Heartstopper is here! If you haven’t finished watching season two yet, bookmark this article and come back after you finish recovering from four hours of joy and heartache as there will be spoilers ahead.
Praised for centring queer joy and acceptance, Netflix’s Heartstopper is adapted from Alice Oseman’s beloved young adult graphic novel. It follows the adorable relationship between Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) as they navigate school, friendships and queer identities.
Season one concluded with Nick coming out to his supportive mother (Olivia Colman), and then sharing a sweet moment with Charlie when they officially declare, “We’re boyfriends!” on the beach. Fans have been patiently waiting for the next instalment of their love story ever since.
The opening scene picks up on the morning after the beach day. The episode begins with an adorable unending text thread between Nick and Charlie as they head into school where Nick pulls Charlie into a storage room for an affectionate kiss. They’re both adorably head over heels for each other.
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Season two includes eight episodes titled ‘Out’, ‘Family’, ‘Promise’, ‘Challenge’, ‘Heat’, ‘Truth/Dare’, ‘Sorry’ and ‘Perfect’ in which the whole friend group looks forward to a school trip to Paris and their prom.
This season builds on the comfort and emotional intimacy between Nick and Charlie. According to Executive Producer Patrick Walters: “We wanted Nick and Charlie’s relationship to deepen and evolve and everyone to be swept up in the magic of that.”
Charlie confides in Nick about his own painful coming-out experiences and the impact that the stress had on his mental health. Oseman explained: “While season one followed a typical romance story structure, season two takes a deeper look into teen relationships of various stages and sees the characters begin to explore more complex emotional truths about themselves and each other.”
Director Euros Lyn spoke fondly about one particular scene in episode six: “They arrive at the vending machine, and we just hold the shot for ages. You get a sense that they want to kiss, but Charlie wants to talk about what Nick’s just been through, and Nick wants to talk about what Charlie’s just been through.”
Lyn adds: “You get a sense of this physical yearning between the two of them, but also this intellectual and spiritual attraction where they both care for each other so deeply playing alongside that.”
me after watching season 2: pic.twitter.com/1HCSN4Zyxe
— Katie ??|Season 2 SPOILERS !!!! ? (@heartstopper_01) August 4, 2023
Fans are completely invested in all of the teen relationships.
While Charlie and Nick navigate their new relationship, Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) face their own challenges when Darcy feels unsafe coming out to her homophobic mother, Tao and Elle try to decide if they can be more than friends.
In addition to balancing these storylines, Heartstopper season two is getting praise for exploring a range of LGBTQ+ identities. After coming out as transgender, Elle (Yasmin Finney) pursues a relationship with her best friend, and the introverted and studious Isaac (Tobie Donovan) considers that he may be asexual after kissing another student.
This season also delves deeper into bisexuality. After coming as bisexual, Nick encounters biphobia and bi erasure from his peers when he’s presented with the frustratingly painful question that every bi person knows too well: perhaps he just hasn’t figured out that he is gay yet?
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Season two leaves us on yet another cliffhanger, where Nick and Charlie are about to confess their love for each other.
Rebecca Nicholson summed it up best in a review for The Guardian: “I liked season two more than the first run. It is richer, more assured and benefits from throwing its net wider. It is aimed at younger audiences, and that is never forgotten, but it is more subtle than it first appears, while remaining a sweet and lovely thing.”
All episodes of Heartstopper season one and two are now streaming on Netflix. Thankfully, the show has already been renewed for season 3.
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