The YA utopian fantasy that is Heartstopper has returned to Netflix for its third season. Much of the pre-release marketing has tried to emphasise the developing maturity of the teenage characters, and to set expectations for the content and themes of this new set of eight episodes.
We open some four weeks or so after season two’s moderate cliffhanger, with Charlie Spring (Joe Locke: Agatha All Along; Sweeney Todd) trying to tell their boyfriend Nick Nelson (Kit Connor: The Wild Robot; His Dark Materials), that he loves him.
The opening episode establishes that the pace of the season is going to be breakneck. Whereas Season Two covered around 6 weeks or so of in-world time, readers of creator Alice Oseman’s original comics will be aware that this season attempts to cover a very long ten months. In those original comics, Oseman has established that we only see Nick and Charlie at points when important things are happening in their lives, so it makes sense that this has been carried over into this different medium.
Previous seasons have faced some criticism for their timelines being occasionally unclear. Here, a great deal of help is provided with the use of the cartoon-esque animations indicating the timeline, and how we are progressing. This helps to make the overall story clearer for the more casual viewer, as well as the considerable audience who may not be familiar with the British cultural iconography that establishes and marks shifts in the calendar.
Whilst the kids remain, overall, OK, the major plotline of the first half of the series concerns Charlie’s struggles with eating and related mental health concerns: this specific kid is very far from OK. Oseman, who also acts as the main writer for the TV series, has sensibly chosen to expand the circle of people who notice that Charlie is struggling. Whereas in the comics, Nick bears the burden of being the only person to realise that Charlie has an eating disorder, here Charlie’s sister Tori (Jenny Walser), and best friend Tao (Will Gao: Sunrise) are also aware that there’s something very wrong, even if they can’t be precisely sure what that something is.
Other friends of the main couple are also given expanded storylines. In particular, bookish Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan) comes into his own this season, being given a greatly expanded role as Charlie’s confidant and shoulder to lean on. Donovan has also been trusted to continue Isaac’s exploration of his asexuality and aromaticism. This small but significant plotline gives these often misunderstood identities representation that has been all but ignored in television dramas to date.
Also highlighted is Darcy’s (Kizzy Edgell) journey into exploring their gender while dealing with a mother whose negative reaction to Darcy’s sexuality, gender expression and general existence leads to a demonstration of firmly establishing boundaries that many older generations could learn from.
One of the chief criticisms of Heartstopper’s previous seasons has been that, whilst the comics balance the experiences of both Nick and Charlie, the two previous seasons of the TV series seem to have favoured a focus on Nick, to the detriment of Charlie’s story. Much of this criticism has ignored Locke’s non-verbal acting, which has been carefully setting up the plot that erupts in this third season.
It does, however initially seem as if this tilt towards Nick’s point of view is going to continue. Having followed Nick on holiday with his Aunt Diane (Hayley Atwell: Agent Carter), and then having seen him celebrate his 17th birthday, we seem to once again be following Nick much more than Charlie.
This continues in episode four, ‘Journey’, which relates the several months when Charlie is an inpatient at a clinic for teenagers with mental health issues. The first half of this episode is told, mostly in voiceover, by Nick, setting up his understanding of what’s happened to Charlie. It’s possible to believe that we’re going to hear from everyone around Charlie, and not the young man himself.
This turns out to be a very clever device to lead us into the second half of the episode, which does relate Charlie’s view of the same time period. His view is, naturally, darker as we are offered an insight into his experiences as an inpatient. Locke’s quiet acting provides a gently devastating journey into Charlie’s declining mental health and slow and often painful recovery.
However, this is still Heartstopper, so while Charlie’s account makes it clear that he was in pain, nothing graphic is shown. This episode is superbly constructed, scripted and especially acted, and should find itself in contention for recognition in the next awards season. Locke’s acting is devastatingly compelling, portraying Charlie as still able to hide the truth from his friends, even when he knows he doesn’t need to.
As the season enters its second half, the timeline enters a new year, with it, the much-promoted ‘raunchiness’ as Charlie has his 16th birthday. There is a definite shift in the enthusiasm of the kissing all of the various couples engage in, and we’re shown montages underneath voiceovers from different characters, in a method of storytelling that means an incredible amount of story is crammed into this half of the season.
The overall focus remains on Nick and Charlie though, and a very healthy exploration of two teenage boys embarking on sexual intimacy. Locke and Connor have incredible chemistry, which makes Nick and Charlie’s relationship highly watchable. In a manner which is a refreshing departure from how many teenagers are shown engaging in sex, Nick and Charlie actually talk to each other, and take their time to become sexually active. When they finally get to that moment, everything is shot in a very careful, very respectful manner. There’s more overt smuttiness and exposed skin in the average seventies Carry On film than is on display here.
Also exploring their burgeoning desires are Tao and Elle (Yasmin Finney: Doctor Who). In another storyline that shouldn’t be groundbreaking, but is, Elle, a trans woman, is given space to explain her dysphoria, and again, this couple’s intimacy is filmed respectfully, and in a non-exploitative manner.
This third series demonstrates a real development in Oseman’s storytelling. The various plotlines – and there are many of them – are carefully and deftly woven, giving all of the leading couples, and many of the supporting characters, room to shine, and to reach a point of some satisfaction within each of their personal and combined narrative arcs.
If you have younger teenagers in your family, you may want to watch this season with them, or at least be on hand to discuss any issues that arise that warrant discussion. This season does also model different behavioural attitudes of parents, guardians and other responsible adults, and we could all stand to learn from how best to discuss these and other often tricky topics by the examples shown here.
Even with the evolution of characters and storylines contained within this season, Heartstopper continues to inhabit a world that is generally warm and loving. Even the darkest moments have a positive outcome. This continues to be a warm hug of a show, which challenges the previously established norm that queer media must depict trauma as its main focus, and in a sensational manner, which appears to punish its protagonists for daring to be queer. Heartstopper’s winning formula is to show that, even if trauma is a part of the story being told, characters do not have to be punished or thrown under a metaphorical bus.
Whether Oseman and production company See-Saw (Slow Horses) will be commissioned for their much-desired fourth and final season remains to be seen, but on the evidence of this season, Netflix should allow the creatives and the ever-enthusiastic audience to attain the resolution they seek and show us the, as yet unpublished, conclusion to Oseman’s comic on screen.
Heartstopper Series three is an entertaining and important addition to the YA canon, with superb performances from the entire cast. Highly recommended, but be prepared for some challenging moments.
Heartstopper series 1 – 3 are now available to stream on Netflix.
