Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2 On Netflix, Where Charlie Helps Nick Come Out As Their Relationship Grows

Last year, the British series Heartstopper debuted to almost universal acclaim, mainly because the story of the burgeoning romance of high schoolers Nick and Charlie was allowed to play out with the natural drama that came with Nick figuring out just who he is and who he loves. Season 2 sees the couple’s relationship in a mare mature phase, with Nick looking to come out to everyone he knows, and Charlie there to help him.

HEARTSTOPPER SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Two pictures of Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) hang on Charlie’s bedroom wall.

The Gist: Charlie and Nick are deep in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, a big component of which is that Charlie is being very supportive of Nick as he comes out as bisexual at his own pace. For instance, Charlie still doesn’t think that he and Nick should kiss at school. “It’s too risky,” he tells Nick. The last thing he wants to happen is that Nick gets bullied like he did.

One of the people Nick wants to come out to is his ex-girlfriend Imogen (Rhea Norwood), but he seems to constantly chicken out. Imogen is excited to talk to him about the new boy she fancies, and he wants to talk about his new relationship, too, but just can’t bring himself to say anything. Nick is also having issues with Ben (Sebastian Craft), who manipulated Charlie when the two of them had a secret relationship; it doesn’t help that the two of them are sitting next to each other during a two-week study hall for upcoming national exams.

Meanwhile, best friends Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) are still in a bit of limbo; Elle is outwardly expressing her attraction to Tao, but Tao is still grappling with his feelings, which of course are complicated because they were best buds before Elle transitioned.

Charlie plans a sleepover when his parents are out of the house, inviting Nick, Imogen, Tao, Elle, Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and certified solid couple Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell). Nick decides that now is the time to tell Imogen, but she cuts him off by telling her she knew something was up between him and Charlie, and she’s elated he’s found someone new.

After the successful sleepover, Charlie tells his parents about Nick, which prompt them to ban Nick from sleepovers. When Charlie’s sister Tori (Jenny Walser) wonders if him telling people about Nick will lead to problems, Charlie tells her “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Nick doesn’t have to deal with everything I did.”

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? We’re going to stick with our season 1 assessment that Heartstopper is a gentler version of a coming-of-age show like Never Have I Ever.

Our Take: The goal of Season 2 of Heartstopper, created by Alice Oseman based on her graphic novel series of the same name, is to show how the changing relationships in the lives of this friend group have implications that are deeper than just people being in love.

Don’t get us wrong; the show is still as gentle and warm as it was in its first season. But as Nick slowly comes out, things for him aren’t going to go as well as they did with Imogen or even his family. His rugby buddies aren’t going to be quite as forgiving, and their view of Charlie isn’t exactly warm and welcoming. How the couple navigates these rough waters will be a big part of the season.

Another big part of the season will be a school trip to Paris, which Charlie seems to see as a good place for the two of them to go public as a couple. But things never go as smoothly as people plan them to go, and as much as Charlie doesn’t want Nick to get bullied like he was when he was outed against his will, there’s only going to be so much he can do in that regard. When he tells Tori that “everything is going to be perfect,” we viewers know that is more wishful thinking than anything else. Whether Charlie is realistic about that, though, is a whole other matter.

An even more intriguing story is Elle and Tao. We’re not even sure Tao, way in the back of his mind, is completely closed off to a relationship with Elle, but we do get why it’s tough for him to wrap his mind around the idea. Because of Elle’s transition, the nature of their friendship fundamentally changed, including their physical proximity to each other, as Elle had to switch from the boys’ school to the girls’ school after transitioning. Now that Elle is making her feelings apparent, it’s understandable to think Tao wishes things stayed the way they used to be. Whether he comes around or not will be interesting to follow.

What we do appreciate about Oseman’s story, though, is that she’s not trying to give these teen romances big, artificial story arcs, with dramatic breakups and makeups. There’s more than enough drama with everyone exploring who they are and who they want to live to throw artificial obstacles in their way.

Sex and Skin: None, except for some kissing.

Parting Shot: When Charlie tells Tori that “everything is going to be perfect,” we see his determination intercut with shots of Nick smiling as he walks away from Charlie’s house.

Sleeper Star: Let’s hope that Tobie Donovan gets more to do as Isaac this season; so far, he seems to be a fifth or seventh wheel that keeps his nose in a book at all times.

Most Pilot-y Line: Imogen tells Nick that her crush is Ben. That’s definitely more of an artificial plot twist than anything we’ve seen so far on this show, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that Ben and Nick hate each other.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Heartstopper continues to be the sweet story of new love, just expanded to include more members of Nick and Charlie’s friend group.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.