Heartstopper Season 2 Review: The young adult Netflix series stars Joe Locke as Charlie Spring and Kit Connor as Nick Nelson in lead roles. It is based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name. The second season directed by Euros Lyn, also stars William Gao as Tao, Yasmin Finney as Elle, Corinna Brown as Tara Jones and Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson in supporting roles.
The second season consists of eight episodes of thirty-five minutes each. The show is written and created by Alice Oseman. Diana Olifirova has done the cinematography on the series, and Zorana Piggott serves as the producer.
– Heartstopper Season 2 Review Contains No Spoilers –
It’s a rarity to find shows or movies that warm your heart in a way that Heartstopper this. While the first season of the show made us ship for Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) as a couple, the second season makes you root for them harder as they officially embark on a relationship. What’s more endearing about this show, though, is that it knows exactly what its intent is. Rarely do we get to see LGBTQ+ teen romances that are as natural and consist of just enough depth to make an impact. Heartstopper Season 2 goes beyond the first one in many ways, including how well it fleshes out the peripheral characters more.
The second season takes off right from where we left last. Charlie and Nick’s blossoming romance has now turned into a full-blown relationship, although they are yet to make it official to the world, particularly their classmates. Amid the couple’s smooth-sailing romance, there are some challenges that they must deal with, including some typical adolescent stuff such as school work. This season the focus remains on Nick’s coming out journey.
Despite touching on some difficult themes this season, it’s admirable how creator Alice Oseman and director Euros Lyn make sure to keep the simple queer joy to be the central theme all through. There are moments when you may even catch yourself grinning with joy, and it’s probably because of a cute text exchange that happened between Nick and Charlie. Creating these heart-fluttering moments that take you straight back to your high-school romance has been, and still remains, the speciality of the show.
The ‘will they won’t they’ end up together push and pull between Tao and Elle’s characters also feels refreshing as the two characters try to find the middle ground between being friends and exploring something more. When the show takes off its rose-tinted glasses to take a look at real relationship problems while dealing with characters such as Tara and Darcy, it becomes more wholesome.
The school trip to Paris covers the main chunk of the story this season, and it’s a treat to see the European city through Diana Olifirova’s lens. As for the writing, the nuance with which Oseman handles themes of coming out, friendship and the teenage ideas of ideal love is what makes the show special. Each character gets their own space despite the show’s snappy storytelling. Lyn and Oseman’s combo make sure to pack every thirty-minute episode with enough emotional depth that could have been missed in a preachy one-hour bit. Teen dramas are incomplete without a prom sequence, and Heartstopper fans will be delighted to find one this season.
Kit Connor’s performance stands out in the show as he expresses Nick’s internal struggle of dealing with his brother’s homophobic behaviour and the weight of coming out with impressive maturity. Locke also manages to move smoothly between being the sunshine boyfriend and also someone still dealing with the scars of his past trauma.
In the supporting cast, Nima Taleghani, who plays the role of Mr Farouk, a school teacher who seems the muggle version of Severus Snape in class but brings another level of vulnerability in a key scene, is a revelation. Olivia Colman, who plays Nick’s mom, brings a beautiful warmth in every scene she is in and much like last season, she has some big moments.
The need for shows like Heartstopper Season 2 is even more today, considering the challenges that are being faced by the queer community amid the introduction of legislation such as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida, US or the general threat towards LGBTQ+ rights in several nations. It’s important that young queer people feel included and find a reflection of their experiences in films and TV shows.
Heartstopper Season 2 Review: Final Thoughts
Heartstopper Season 2 is easy on the eyes; it heartwarmingly celebrates queer romance and every element of it. The soundtrack of the second season is a treat, too, as hits of Conan Grey’s Crush Culture, Baby Queen’s We Can Be Anything and also Taylor Swift’s Seven feature during perfect moments. The show once again delivers its promise from the first season to be an uplifting queer romance drama. Celebrating the joys of adolescence, the British teen series possibly feels most authentic because it sticks to being honest without any pomp and show to make a statement about anything, not even LGBTQ+ rights.
Heartstopper Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Review: A Poignant Story of Despair, Betrayal and Hope