You’ve already watched (and re-watched) season two of the hit series… Now what?
By Bianca Guzzo
SPOILER WARNING: This post contains plot points and details from season two of Heartstopper as well as volume four of the graphic novel.
The world fell in love with Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring (played by Kit Connor and Joe Locke) following the premiere of the Heartstopper in the spring of 2022. The first season was based on the first two volumes of the graphic novel series of the same name by author and illustrator Alice Oseman. Fans patiently waited for the return of Nick, Charlie, and the rest of the gang to see how they managed growing up and growing into their queer identities. If you’re anything like me, you watched all eight new episodes in one sitting on release day (and maybe a couple more times after that). When we left Nick and Charlie in the season one finale they had officially become boyfriends (I still well up with tears thinking about it) and Nick opened up about his desire to come out to the people that mattered, starting with his mum (played by the iconic Olivia Colman) in one of the most touching scenes of the series.
Season two put its focus on volume three of the graphic novel where Nick and Charlie navigate being boyfriends, telling their friends about their relationship, the joys of having to come out multiple times, a school trip to Paris, and Nick getting comfortable with his bisexuality. While season one kept it strikingly similar to the source material, season two deviates a bit to add more to the plot in order to give the rest of the gang a storyline, too. We get to see more of Elle and Tao’s budding romance, and Tara and Darcy also get more screen time (a win for the wlw fans). Throughout the season we also see Nick discovering Charlie’s eating disorder which starts to return along with Charlie’s struggles with mental illness. The second series finishes with Nick and Charlie having a heart to heart where Charlie finally begins to open up to Nick about his feelings, but as Charlie feels a little lighter after talking about his own inner struggles, Nick finishes the season filled with immense worry for Charlie.
Season three will likely focus on the fourth (and possibly the upcoming fifth?) volumes of the book. Volume four really dives into Nick and Charlie growing in their relationship while dealing with some of their first big challenges as a couple. Volume five of Heartstopper is set to be released in December of this year, but a good chunk of it can already be read online read online if you just need to know what happens next. What will season three focus on? Here’s what we might see when we finally get new episodes.
Charlie’s mental health
Charlie’s relapse with his eating disorder and mental health become a central theme in the later volumes of the graphic novels and with the show slowly building up that storyline since the first season, it’s clear they’re heading in a direction to get deeper into Charlie’s story. If the script continues to stay as true to the source material as it previously has, we’ll see Charlie open up even more to Nick and his family about his mental health and finally reach out for help which will temporarily separate the two.
Nick and Charlie on their own
Our beloved main characters are delightfully clingy, which is one of the things that makes them so endearing and fun to watch. Since Nick is a year older than Charlie, he’ll be heading off to Uni next year which has both of them anxious and worried. Following Charlie’s relapse Nick is worried and doesn’t want to go too far away from Charlie. Charlie doesn’t want to burden his boyfriend with his mental health being a deciding factor on where Nick ends up but also doesn’t want to be left behind. This becomes a prominent theme in Oseman’s novella Nick and Charlie which takes place after volume four finishes.
More love for the rest of the gang
Tao, Elle, Tara, and Darcy all make small appearances in the graphic novels, but Oseman really elaborated on their stories for the series. We got to see Tao and Elle’s dynamic change when they went from friends to dating, back to friends, and then dating again at the end of season two. Darcy and Tara’s storyline went way deeper than it did in the books during the prom episode where we got some info on Darcy’s home life which is only mentioned for a moment in the books. Isaac’s character was created just for the show but his aromatic and asexual self-discovery beginning this season will probably also be focused on a lot next season.
More cutesy couple moments between Nick and Charlie
A trip to the beach with the gang, saying “I love you” to each other for the first time, and celebrating Nick’s birthday as a couple could all potentially be in season three. Volume four of the graphic novels take place from the summer break (right after the Paris trip) and go all the way to New Years Eve in the winter. Even though the upcoming season will likely have more serious stories to tell there will be no shortage of adorable moments between the main couple, and that’s just how we like it.
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