Heartstopper Season Two reviewed

 Can the second season of Heartstopper match the joy of it's first?

When a character in this second season is trying to find out about something, while he initially searches on Google he ends up sourcing a physical book. It’s an indication that Heartstopper is sometimes more nuanced than it seems. While it paints brightly on a wide canvas contained within it are truths that everyone can recognise, perhaps the reason why the first season appealed way beyond it’s target young audience. It was one of last year’s must-see shows but like all surprise hits it now faces the dilemma of how it can sustain that momentum especially as it's central will they / won’t they storyline was essentially resolved. So if the series has lost a little of its innocence then so have the characters which means things develop. Its never going to be a gritty portrayal of LGBTQA+ issues but some of the edges this season are sharper, some of the problems more serious and with the wider cast getting more material its also a more varied narrative. Chuck in three episodes set in Paris and you have a winner!

Look over current and recent series about teenagers, young love or even LGBTQA+ characters and Heartstopper seems like an outlier. The chase to be darker, grittier and generally unpleasant remains a draw and it is this show’s lightness of touch which gave it such impact last year because its different. Yes, it could be harder edged, it could be vulgar, full of swearing and sex but there are surely enough of those shows to go round? Especially in dark times- and one way or another times have been dark in recent years- is a little optimism really wrong? It also makes a refreshing change from the fact that every drama including a gay character seems to give them a tragic, sad edge. That said there are a couple of occasions when I felt this second season pulled its punches when it needn’t. Kids are more capable of accepting things than we think- isn’t that one of the messages of the show anyway? 

We launch into the action almost right away from the last episode of season one though oddly nobody seems to remember what happened at the end of the rugby match in plain sight. Outside the immediate friendship group people are still unaware of Nick’s sexuality, indeed his difficulty in finding a way and a time to come out to them forms a large part of the plot. Didn’t anyone pay attention at that match?! I suppose we can put it down to dramatic licence. This slip aside, the opening episode bathes in the same beatific glow as the first season though there are noticeably less animated shapes floating about. This may be deliberate, hard to say. Replacing Charlie and Nick’s tentative first steps at a romance, this year we follow Tao and Elle’s similar journey albeit in different circumstances. Nick and Charlie meanwhile are still conducting a largely secret relationship which is constantly hindered by school work while dealing with their own issues including Nick’s boorish older brother (the only character who is  confined by cliché) and absentee father. Charlie’s mental issues simmer in the background perhaps waiting for a more detailed exploration in season three.

The Paris episodes are a joy as Euros Lynn’s always inventive direction really brings the city to life and oversees several developments. Confining the usual vista shots that might be on a travel show save for an initial establishing sequence Lynn takes us into the heart and streets of the French capital. We  visit small cafes, narrow side streets, the Louvre in far more detail than dramas usually do and delightfully the steps of the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes the cameras are so close in it feels like you are on a school trip yourself while the hotel is one of those characterful places that may have narrow corridors but has somewhat overly grand bedrooms. The buzz of the trip and the things that happen really do evoke those early trips away kids have, ones that stay with you forever.

One of the problems any ongoing drama has is when an initial potential relationship is confirmed. Drama does not like happy couples because essentially nothing happens so this season sees Nick and Charlie having to overcome a number of obstacles that stand in the way of them being together. School, exams and family issues all come into play. To be fair none of these are much different from what you may have seen in any teen drama but it’s the spin that Alice Oseman adds and the fact that the writing remains optimistic that makes it work. 

You can see though there are ways in which a different drama might have gone further and sometimes it is a little irritating that they don’t. This is particularly the case with the powder keg that is Ben Hope, Charlie’s conflicted tormentor in season one, here a brooding presence. There is a final confrontation, well penned, eloquently acted but I felt like I wanted a little more. Ben is the anti – Nick in a way, the way he has reacted could have been how Nick did. Sebastian Croft has done a great job of breathing life into the show’s most complicated character and if, as it looks, he won’t be in the third season it will be a shame.

The relationship between Nick and Charlie may seem idealised to anyone over the age of twenty but it rings true if we all remember the first time we fell in love. Its about every moment, worrying over things that in years to come will seem petty and this is why YA dramas play well for those they are not intended for. They bring back warm memories- or sometimes horrific ones- but it is all part of life’s experiences. Joe Locke brings an instinctual feeling to his portrayal of Charlie, almost the personification of a teenager in love yet the actor is equally good at expressing the mental health issues that linger in Charlie’s head. He and Kit Connor have developed a natural chemistry on screen so you believe in the storyline especially now that the writing allows Connor to show his more relaxed side. Connor’s experience also enables him to make Nick accessible. 

The character’s coming out dilemma makes the point that it shouldn’t really be necessary to declare your sexuality unless you are happy to do so. You don’t owe people that and they should not assume. An important point to make especially for younger viewers. Oseman also acknowledges the sometimes overly sunny aspect of the story in a late scene between Nick and Charlie at the end in which it is acknowledged that love and happiness can’t solve everything but it can provide someone to help you deal with problems. We see Charlie spend the whole season telling people “I’m fine” whereas this scene reveals he’s not and that with Nick he doesn’t need to put up such a front.

Tao and Elle’s storyline unfurls with an arty touch you might expect (as he likes films and she likes art) and blossoms at the Louvre (bien sur). William Gao is clearly an entertainer and this season does find a place for some of Tao’s interpretive dance. Yasmin Finney rises to the occasion having more to do this time and I like that Elle retains an enigmatic quality. Another great performance comes from Kizzy Edgell as Darcy. She and Tara are a couple at a later stage in their relationship yet that doesn’t come without problems. Darcy’s home life, never mentioned before, comes into focus and how the series shows this is in a great montage of her arguing with her mother while purple clouds bubble around them. Edgell was a force of nature last year and this time we get to see other sides of the character which she handles so well.

It is interesting that while most of the characters are bubbly and inquisitive, sometimes the series scores with the less showy ones. Isaac, forever tagging along with a book in hand, is given more screen time this time with the apparent revelation of his asexuality something which again may be further explored in the third series. By the way every book he is seen with in the series apparently has some significance to the story.  I really like the character of Charlie’s sister Jane whose poker faced observations yet staunch support of her brother are a real highlight thanks to Georgina Rich’s performance. She has a rival in the deadpan stakes this year though in the addition of Nima Taleghani who plays a serious buttoned up teacher Mr Farouk. He is a real comedic presence with his facial expressions and the way he gets the rowdy pupils to be quiet only later revealing a more personal side to fellow teacher Nathan Ajayi. In their different ways these characters get to comment from an older perspective on the lives of their young charges and Farouk gets the most heartfelt line of the whole season with one of those observations which is a real choker for some older viewers. 

Like cake, Heartstopper is not for everyone, you may find it too sweet and sickly, lacking in that `gritty BAFTAness` we for some reason solely associate with quality but that’s fine. There’s plenty of those other series about but it is much rarer and more precious I feel to find a show with life affirming optimism however rosily it may be painted.