From the cutesy cartoon leaves and hearts dancing around the screen to the realistic depiction of the British secondary school experience, there is something so special and unique about the hit Netflix series Heartstopper.
It has provided young people with vital, relatable representation of growing up LGBTQIA+, all the while giving older LGBTQIA+ viewers the chance to reflect on their own journeys.
With the release of the third season just around the corner, it’s about time we take a trip down memory lane remembering the most heartwarming and bittersweet moments we might have forgotten.
Heartstopper season 1
The first season of Heartstopper introduced us to Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), a shy Year 10 who was recently outed to his whole school. After being assigned a seat next to popular Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), they share the simple word “hi”, and a friendship begins to blossom.
When we first meet Charlie, he is in a secret relationship with Ben Hope (Sebastien Croft), but he soon ends things, and his crush on Nick starts to grow. Charlie turns to his best friends and classmates Tao Xu (Will Gao) and Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan), who try their best to convince him Nick is straight. Unknown to them, Nick’s awareness of his identity is growing. Or, in his own words, he’s having a “full-on gay crisis”. We also meet Tao’s crush Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney), who has just transferred to Higgs Girls School, where she becomes fast friends with the school’s lesbian couple Darcy Olson (Kizzy Edgell) and Tara Jones (Corinna Brown).
It’s hard to look back on season one of Heartstopper, without immediately thinking of episode three, titled ‘Kiss’. As Nick and Charlie’s relationship grows, they find themselves at the 16th birthday party of the less-than-likable Harry Greene. Nick is inspired and determined after seeing Darcy and Tara’s first public kiss, deciding to find Charlie and… finally kiss him! It’s a beautiful moment, the first time the two boys are able to finally express their feelings. However, the night ends with Nick running away when he hears his mates looking for him. When he returns shortly afterwards, Charlie has left.
The situation is quickly resolved when Nick shows up on Charlie’s doorstep the next morning, drenched after running in the rain, ready with a beautiful declaration of his feelings that leads to the pair talking it through.
As season one progresses, Nick and Charlie get closer and their friends gradually find out about their relationship one by one, but that doesn’t mean everything is smooth sailing. Nick and Charlie and Tara and Darcy all face homophobic bullying, an experience that is sadly still far too common for LGBTQIA+ young people. When Nick invites Charlie to the cinema with his friends, the couple is faced with homophobic abuse from Harry and his goons.
Luckily, the season ends on a hopeful note, as the boys embrace each other on the beach after finally establishing that they want to be boyfriends. The final episode also gave us the touching moment that Nick comes out to his mum as bisexual, which even encouraged a few fans to do the same.
Heartstopper season 2
In Heartstopper season two, the gang navigates new challenges, and instead of such a strong focus on Nick and Charlie, we get more screen time with the rest of the cast.
Nick is dealing with the new experience of being out, while at the same time feeling the pressure of GCSE’s and trying to keep Charlie happy. Elle looks beyond Sixth Form for her future and finds Lambert, an art school where she meets new queer friends that she finds really understands her. Tao, after finally realising his feelings for Elle, makes a move and takes her on an awkward cinema date which only ends in heartbreak for the both of them.
Darcy and Tara’s relationship also starts to face difficulties because of Darcy’s home life, and Isaac starts to question his own sexuality after classmate James McEwan (Bradley Riches) starts showing interest in him.
The focal point of this season is a school trip to Paris, which all of the characters use as an opportunity to ignore their problems back at home. The Paris trip treats viewers to so many cute montages, including one where we see Elle and Tao get back into their regular routine and becoming comfortable with one another again. Later, they share a kiss in the Louvre.
Though the Paris trip inspires romance for many characters, it is also revealed that Charlie is struggling with an eating disorder, shocking everyone when he passes out, falling onto Nick.
Back home, Darcy and Tara talk and share “I love you”s in a touching scene, and Nick decides to come out to his father after getting frustrated with his homophobic brother. Isaac realises that he’s asexual, and Elle and Tao officially begin a relationship.
Finally, the entire group ditches prom, and they all go to Nick’s house and have their own joyful party. Once the others leave, Charlie describes his experience of bullying to Nick in a heartbreaking scene, addressing the mental health struggles that he’s been hiding. The final scene sees Charlie deliberating over whether to send a text to Nick that reads: “I love you.”
Our “best mates” return in the third season of Heartstopper, which will be released 3 October 2024 on Netflix. You can watch the trailer here or below!
Melanie is an ambassador for Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity. Just Like Us needs LGBT+ ambassadors aged 18-25 to speak in schools – sign up now.
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