Hearstopper Season 2 !Spoiler! Review

 Greetings there! I'm back from a very, very long break and today we are going to talk about the hardly waited season 2 of Heartstopper! Before anything, I want to warn you that this review contains spoilers. Now, assuming that you already know what the series is about, as a whole, let's begin. 

      

So, I would say this season is a bit more interesting than the previous one. Yes, the first season was iconic in its own way, but I found myself liking this one more. I loved the fact that the writers decided to evolve the story and to make it more mature, without it feeling out of place for the show. The topics are a bit more serious, like they were in the comic and I'm really glad that they managed to make it work. 

When it comes to the characters, everyone was going through it this season. We got to see a spotlight put on some of the long term effects of severe bullying, by exploring Charlie's eating disorder and self-harming. We didn't get into it too deep though, because I think we will have a closer look at the issue in the next season. 

Unfortunately, no scene made me cry, because I particularly can't really fully relate to Charlie's experiences. Even so, by looking through some objective lens I recognize how well all scenes focusing on Charlie’s struggles were executed and written. Still, it was nice to see how Nick was trying his best to understand what was going on with Charlie and support him. And this while he also had his own issues. Speaking of Nick, his storyline this season explores more the idea of who and when should someone come out to, as well as the struggles that come with that decision. It did a very good job at highlighting the message that coming out is supposed to be done for a person's oneself, not for the people around them. We also got a very interesting conflict between Ben (Charlie’s ex) and Nick. The latter’s views of himself are challenged by Ben’s statement ‘Charlie thinks you’re this perfect boyfriend, but you are just the same as me.’ when talking about Nick’s difficulty to come out. 

Nextly, I want to talk about Tao. He was the character that I related the most to in season 2. I absolutely loooveeeed the way the writers gave him a bit of a character arc and frankly fleshed out and added layers to his personality. We definitely know more about him now and this really helps us figure out the reasoning behind some of his actions from season 1 that made him not that likable of a character. I'm even gonna say Tao has become my favorite character this season. Also, I don't really mind that they changed his haircut. Yeah, he looks a little bit better now, but I don't think that the previous one was that bad. Besides all that, I want to say I found the dynamic between Tao and Nick to be very interesting this season. We got to see them be more warm to each other and even share some personal things (which also illustrates the character growth that Tao has gone through in season 2). 

Moving on, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this much of what was done with Darcy's character and Isaac's self discovery journey.

Like with Tao, we got to see a darker side of Darcy's life, that made her a more complex and interesting character to follow.  I think that the reality of Darcy's family situation will really hit home for a lot of queer people that are in similar circumstances. 

Now, Isaac's storyline took me off guard. The confusion that our quiet bookworm is confronted with when he realizes he doesn't feel any sexual or romantic attraction to James in contrast to social expectations, is a very fascinating way of showing us how hard it may be for some persons to figure out they are aromantic and/or asexual. Also, the fact that he realized what his sexuality is after he was exposed to the right knowledge and met a person that had similar experiences to him, truly exemplifies how crucial this representation can be for some people. 

I think the cinematography was very nice, as per usual. The scenes from Paris really were some eye candies and the animation added a pop both in the look of the show and in the storytelling. I found that the slightly darker and muted color palette and the sometimes more dramatic lighting used, suited the themes explored. 

                                                                                             

I obviously also have some critiques. In my opinion, the first episode was too fast paced and a few scenes from it were shot weirdly. Furthermore, I think some lines of dialogue and performances in that episode were a bit goofy. 

Plus, I wasn’t quite satisfied with Ben’s end of storyline. It left me, personally, wanting to know more about his character, that could explain a bit his previous behavior. However, it seems Alice Oseman wasn’t interested in exploring more his character, but rather getting rid of him forever. She kind of tried to do something by making Ben say that his parents wouldn’t be okay with his sexuality, but I don’t think it explains in any way the fact that he literally controlled and manipulated Charlie. I’m glad Charlie isn’t together with Ben anymore and he is standing up against his aggressor, but I think it would have been an interesting and different kind of character for the show to delve into.

Overall it was a very good season, I had some issues with it here and there, but nothing too serious. I have a lot more to say about it, but the only thing is that I don’t want to make this review a literal novel :)) It already became kind of an essay, so, this is all.