Heartstopper Season 2 Continues to be a Breezy Comfort Watch

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, then you’re likely familiar with Netflix’s queer hit Heartstopper. Hailed as an LGBTQ+ show for the ages, with wholesome love between two high school boys bolstered by their charmingly diverse friend group, the series remains breezy and comforting in its second season. 

Following the revelation at the end of Season 1 that high schoolers Nick (Kit Conner) and Charlie (Joe Locke) are finally boyfriends, Season 2 picks up the very next day. Still from series creator and writer Alice Oseman, this second season follows Nick and Charlie as they navigate coming out and being a couple, and all the drama, joy, and heartache that comes with it. Surrounded by their friends, including the will-they won’t-they pair Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney), couple Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), and bookworm Isaac (Tobie Donovan), Nick and Charlie must take both the elation and heartbreak in stride in order to make it through the rest of the school year intact. Maintaining the series’ airy and comforting tone, backed by a killer soundtrack and its staple animated leaves and hearts, Heartstopper Season 2 is an enjoyable—if surface-level—binge. 

More than anything, Heartstopper’s second outing is easy viewing, and its short, four-hour runtime leaves behind a warm fuzziness the second the credits roll on its slightly-longer final episode. There’s a palpable joy in the interactions between Nick and Charlie this season; they spend a majority of the season’s opening episodes making out and reveling in the joy that comes with finally allowing themselves to be together, unburdened by their own inner demons. Tao and Elle’s interactions are filled with levity as well, even as they navigate their complicated dynamic. It’s refreshing to see a trans character be portrayed as desirable and strong as well as kind and vulnerable, especially in the midst of the United States’ recent wave of anti-trans legislation; while oftentimes trans stories on screen are reserved for the most heart-wrenching, depressing depictions of the dangers that come alongside being trans, Elle’s freedom to simply be one of Heartstopper’s open hearts (while also not pointedly ignoring the struggles she faces) is one of the series’ biggest successes. While relegated a little more to the sidelines, Tara, Darcy, and Issac also find their own forms of joy this season, and remain as charming as ever. And the addition of Imogen (Rhea Norwood) into the friend group in a more substantial way allows for an elevated hilarity that can only be brought about by everyone’s favorite ally. 

While the first season was hailed as a queer delight, the second season seems to double down on its queerness. Straight characters are few and far between, and the addition of more trans characters like Elle’s friend Naomi (Bel Priestly), more bisexual characters like Sahar (Leila Khan), and more gay characters like James (Bradley Richaes) creates a fuller picture of the inclusive and diverse Gen Z reality. Hell, even all the teachers that surround Nick and Charlie are queer, and characters previously believed to be allies find themselves having realizations. Additionally, Olivia Colman’s iconic role as Nick’s mother is expanded this season, allowing her to bring even more of that supportive mother energy that this show (and likely its audience) desperately needs. It’s simultaneously idealized and strikingly real; Heartstopper presents a loving and accepting world where we can find pieces of queerness and community within everyone around us, and even its darker moments can’t damper the light created by this approach. 

However, when those darker moments come, they don’t quite reach the depth they should, and it leaves this season feeling too breezy, too wholesome, and too surface-level. This series has a reputation for depicting queer joy, but even the first season never shied away from homophobia or hatred lingering on the edges of the story. And while it is refreshing to see these heavy topics such as eating disorders, homophobia, and bullying discussed on the show (and especially to see these characters come out the other side of these struggles happier than before), there is still a mishandled weight in those moments.