Heartstopper Season 3 Review

I watched Heartstopper season 3 last night and it was so wonderful. If I'm being honest, I liked it better than I liked season 2. Season 2 wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but of the three seasons, it is my least favorite.

This review will be structured like the one for season 2. I will be spending most of the review focusing on Nick and Charlie. After them, I'll talk about Tao and Elle, Tara and Darcy, Imogen and Sahar, Isaac, and then Tori. Then I'll give some hopes for season 4.

Before we get to the characters, let's give a basic overview of the season. Season 1 followed Volumes 1 and 2 of the comics, season 2 followed Volume 3, and season 3 followed volumes 4 and 5 as well as the novella This Winter. In terms of time passed, season 1 was from January until May (or so) of Charlie's Year 10/Nick's Year 11. Season 2 covered from then until August of the same year. So, the first 2 seasons covered about 8 months of time. Season 3 covered from when season 2 ended until the end of Charlie's Year 11/Nick's 6th Form. So, this was about 10-11 months which is quite the span of time. This means that if we get a season 4 (which we had better get!), it will be Nick's last year and Charlie's first year of 6th Form. Click here or here to get a basic overview of the system and here for info from the UK government.

After season 2, I was wondering (and I think I wrote this somewhere, but I can't find where) how they were going to do the story of Charlie going into the treatment center for his eating disorder and mental health issues. In the comics, the story jumps from August to December and the story is told through Nick journaling. Then we have Christmas and New Year's and then another jump where Charlie is telling the story through journaling. I was really curious about whether they would do this or try and tell the story as it happened. What they did was absolutely amazing. Episode 4 ("Journey") had a couple of minutes at the beginning and end in the present time, but most of the episode was told through Nick and Charlie narrating via journaling. It was the best way to handle such a time jump.

Let's start talking about the characters now. As always, we start with Nick and Charlie. They are the heart of the show and the reason the Heartstopper comics even exist. And this season, so much of the focus was on them, that there is no better place to start. I do want to state one issue I had with the season right here. Because this season focused so heavily on Charlie's problems and the issues that caused for Nick, everyone else really became secondary characters who didn't get the deeper storylines we've seen in previous seasons. Elle was an exception, but even her storyline wasn't quite as prominent as I would have expected. Everyone else did have stories going, and they were important, but they seemed to fade into the background more than before. I totally get why, because what Nick and Charlie were going through was so massive and so life-changing that it would have been almost impossible to tell it and all the other stories the way they had in the past, but it still was an issue I had.

Charlie was really the main character this season and Joe took full advantage of what he was given. Charlie's eating disorder and mental health issues, which were introduced in season 1 and given more prominence in season 2, really came to a head in the first three episodes and then continued to cause issues for the rest of the season. His journey this season was to accept that he has lifelong mental health problems and then learn how to live with them and how to not let them rule his life. And he really accomplished a lot.

In the first episode, his focus was on telling Nick that he loved him, so much so that he was having stressed induced imaginations about Nick saying that it was too soon to be saying that. Then, when Nick asked him to come into the water, Charlie refused to take off his shirt and got upset when Nick mentioned that he thought the Charlie has an eating disorder. In episode 2, Charlie spends most of the episode in his room in what seems to be a fit of depression between his mental health issues really rearing their head and not having Nick around because he's on vacation. At the end of episode 2, Charlie finally admits that he has an eating disorder and at the end of episode 3, he and Nick go to talk with his parents to ask for help. Then we have episode 4 (described above). In episode 5 (which includes the story from This Winter), he is doing better, but still having trouble with his family (Tori excepted) knowing what to do. After that, in episode 6, we get another jump from January to April and Charlie talks about another self-harm relapse (there was one in October too, which led to him going into a treatment facility faster) and talking with his therapist about wanting to have sex with Nick, which he does in episode 7 (although he insists on keeping his shirt on). Finally, in episode 8, we see Charlie ask Nick to take off his (Charlie's) shirt while they have sex. This last part was really, really important. Charlie is skinny and absolutely gorgeous but has these fears in his head that he is ugly, and that Nick will reject him. But his therapist, Geoff, convinces him to tap into his well of bravery and trust Nick. And when Nick takes off Charlie's shirt, he first looks at Chalie's bare chest with open admiration and then tells Charlie that he is hot. That is quite the journey for Charlie.

When I first read the scene of Charlie asking Nick to take off his shirt, I was really hoping that would make the show because it is such an important step for Charlie. He showed that he really wants to be with Nick and that he is recovering from his body image issues. I was so proud of him for being able to make that step. So, when they included that in the show, it brought me to tears. I was so, so happy that they made sure that was included because it really showed just how far Charlie had come.

That being said, it was also nice that the show stressed that his journey isn't over and that mental health problems aren't something that simply goes away. They are lifelong problems. People really need to understand that. And this lack of understanding and the not knowing how to help him out drove a lot of the conflict this season. Charlie and his mom had several fights about this. I will say that he was definitely being unfair to her in episode 7 when they had the fight about him having a sleepover at Nick's. He automatically assumed that she was saying no because of his mental health problems. I do think that was a part of it, but she also had a point that he had GCSEs coming up and really needed to be focusing on those. Her misstep here wasn't as bad as last year's with the banning Charlie from seeing Nick over the grade situation, but the reasons behind both was the same and I feel compelled to agree with her. The thing is that it feels like the position she took before Charlie stormed out and the position she took after he came back, and they talked it out felt pretty much the same. She just wanted him to wait a couple of weeks and then have the sleepover after GCSEs. I will also add that I have to wonder how much of his being angry had to do with him really wanting to have sex with Nick. When he came back from Nick's (after they had had sex), he was much more willing to listen. So, was he just anxious to have sex and then, once he had it, willing to wait since he didn't need a sleepover to have sex with Nick anymore? It is entirely possible.

Nick's journey through the season was almost as rough as Charlies, although for very different reasons. In the first few episodes, Nick is shouldering the burden of being the one person Charlie trusts enough to talk with about his troubles and he is clearly stressing out about it. Charlie clearly doesn't want to tell people, not even their friends, and when Tao notices that something off and he presses Nick for information, Nick (rightly) shuts that down quickly. While I wish Nick wouldn't have snapped at Tao, who was concerned about Charlie, it made sense. Nick took on a massive burden and wasn't quite ready to carry it. Let's look at where Nick has been in the past year. He realized that he's bi and was faced first with the burden of accepting that and then the process of coming out. And then he realizes that his boyfriend has serious mental health problems that he doesn't want to talk about, no matter how carefully Nick is about getting him to open up. I am not surprised that Nick is starting to show the stress of the pressures he is under. After Charlie goes away, we see the rest of Nick's storyline develop. And this storyline is a massive problem: Nick doesn't know who he is outside of being Charlie's boyfriend.

Given the fact that Nick and Charlie are each other's first real boyfriend (sorry, Ben doesn't count) and the fact that Nick came out because of this relationship, Nick and Charlie have a particularly intense relationship and one that can turn into something unhealthy. I *AM NOT* saying that this is a toxic relationship, far from it. But the two of them are so reliant on each other for support (although Charlie learns how to not do that over the course of this season) that neither has a particularly strong individual identity at this point. Nick has made being Charlie's boyfriend, support system, and protector into the core of who he is. When he doesn't have Charlie around, he is lost and definitely doesn't really know who he is. And Nick knows that this is a problem, which leads to him initially wanting to stay close to home when he goes to university. However, once he visits Leeds (which is about 5 hours away), he knows that he wants to go there. But he seems to be unsure if this will be a problem for him and Charlie. I don't think it will be, and Nick definitely needs to do what is best for himself here. Elle and Imogen made a good point that Nick is a people pleaser who too often puts other people first and that it is ok to put himself first sometimes. His desire to be there for Charlie is a good thing, but (like Charlie's protecting Nick last season and wanting to ensure that Nick had a problemless coming out) it can be to the detriment of his own mental health sometimes. Take the scene at the Halloween party where he is drinking pretty heavily and then collapses against the wall and cries as Tao hugs him. I will say here that I am so glad Tao saw Nick in trouble and just put an arm around him without asking. That was a great friend move and a far cry from season 1 Tao who thought Nick was just out to hurt Charlie.

Lest you think that I am going all doom & gloom over Nick and Charlie, I am not. I just think that we do need to think about how this relationship, which is healthy and inspirational in so many ways, does have its issues. One thing I loved (and was so waiting for) was the final minute or so of the first episode. It was the iconic shower scene where Nick is in the shower and Charlie tells him (through the door) that he loves him. When Nick doesn't reply, Charlie leaves and is upset. Then Nick rushes out of the shower, starts to go out, realizes he needs to get dressed, puts on shorts and an open zip up sweatshirt and runs out (shoeless) after Charlie. He asks Charlie to tell him again, tells Charlie that he loves him, and then they kiss. It is such a lovely scene and I am so glad they kept that in.

Since we are talking about Nick, I want to briefly digress to discuss his Aunt Diane, played by Hayley Atwell. Aunt Diane was a character in the comics, although she was really only mentioned. In the series, her part was beefed up because Olivia Colman couldn't make it back to be Nick's mom, so they gave Diane the stuff that Sarah would have had. While I definitely missed Sarah and everything Olivia brings to the role, Hayley did an excellent job stepping in to have that very important talk with Nick about how he shouldn't expect himself to be able to shoulder what is going on all alone and how he needs to find other people to help Charlie out as well. That whole conversation was really lovely. Kit knocked the emotions out of the park and Hayley just killed it as a good source of emotional support for Nick.

One other thing I appreciated about the show was that they had Nick and Charlie being incredibly respectful of each other's boundaries and what they did or didn't do physically. And it wasn't just Nick and Charlie, Tao and Elle had the same thing going (more on that later). There was no rush to have sex of any kind, much less penetrative sex. While they didn't have a full-on discussion, there was a line from Charlie about how there are multiple ways to have sex. It modeled respect for each other and made it clear that waiting is something you can do if you want to.

I loved the scene in the final episode where Imogen, Tara, and Elle took Nick to buy condoms and lube after they found out he and Charlie were having sex. It was really, really funny to watch. I actually really enjoyed watching their visits to different unis. You could tell Nick was in love with Leeds and that he really wants to go there. The question is if he will develop enough of a sense of a personal identity before he goes to uni to be able to go so far away. I suspect he will, but that should be an interesting storyline in season 4. 

I also loved seeing Mr. Ajayi nominate Charlie to be Head Boy and for Mr. Farouk to encourage him to run because he will be an inspiration to many students. When Mr. Farouk looked at that desk and saw himself as a sad kid, it was such a heartbreaking moment. The fact that Charlie is completing (or has completed?) the application and is seriously considering running is another big step for him.

The other really fun scene? Nick and Charlie going to see Jack Maddox. I don't know if I've ever read that mini-comic, so I wasn't really familiar with the character. But I really enjoyed watching Nick's face when he was watching Charlie ask Jack a question. And his "Yeah, he's really hot." as they were walking away was just funny.

Now for Tao and Elle. I want to start with Elle because, after Nick and Charlie, her storyline had the most time spent on it. She is going to Lambert for art and becomes somewhat famous online for her art, which leads to her being interviewed on a radio show (supposedly) about her art. When she gets to the interview, it starts out about her art, but the host quickly changes the topic to being about her being trans and the "trans debate". The host mentions having a TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist) on the week before, only calling her a "feminist". That whole thing was just awful and really affected Elle. She could barely make art after that and felt like she couldn't share her feelings with Tao because he wouldn't understand. Then he made that video and assured her that even if he didn't fully understand he would fully support her, which helped her turn that corner.

And before that she and Tao were having trouble being intimate with each other because her dysphoria was flaring up when they would start to get physical with each other. That was another story that felt masterfully handled, and I have no doubt that Yaz was a major part in crafting how that all worked. I love how much Tao has grown since the beginning of the series. He has (for the most part) become much less self-involved and much more tuned into what other people are feeling. The one exception was Isaac, but we'll talk about that when it we talk about Isaac later.

The only real problem they had was the newness of their relationship, which caused 2 issues. The first was that Tao was (once again) trying too hard to be the perfect boyfriend for Elle. You'd think that, after the debacle that was their first date, he would know better. But he didn't. To her immense credit, Elle forcefully (and lovingly) set him straight by assuring him that she wouldn't be breaking up with him, even if she was going to Lambert. The other issue was that, for a while, they were ignoring their friends. The main issue here was Isaac, but that is also part of a larger story for him that I want to discuss in full later on.

Then there is Tara and Darcy. Darcy has moved out of their mother's house and was initially staying with Tara until they finally moved in with their very cool grandma. And was they so much better off because of this. They got to explore their gender identity and started using they/them pronouns. I also loved their haircut, which seems closer to the one Kizzy has. I liked the fact that Darcy questioning their gender identity was hinted at early in the first episode when they were talking about not liking the idea of gender and wanting to wear more masculine type clothing. If you go back to season 2, just think about the prom outfit they bought. It was an incredible purple suit that they looked damn hot in. I don't think Darcy would have been able to do any of this if they had still been living at their mother's house.

And Tara was definitely showing signs of stress. She is a high achiever and from what I saw of her GCSE scores, she seemed to do a good job. I didn't get a super close look, but it looked like a few 6s and 7s with a bunch of 8s and 9s (9s are the highest score you can get). Her stress levels went into overload at Charlie's birthday party and he managed to use some of the skills he had learned to help her come down from a panic attack (which really impressed Nick). And it appears she won't be going to Oxford. I do wonder if, like Darcy, she's going to take a gap year. My main reason for thinking about this is that the show stressed so heavily that her parents are excited about her going to uni and she has been trying hard to do well academically so she can go to one. It would be interesting if she ended up waiting a year before going.

Other than this, her main purpose was to be a sounding board for Nick when he couldn't talk to Charlie. And she did a really good job with this. When he was worried about Charlie coming back, she was the one who encouraged him to journal (and therefore gave us the first part of episode 4). She also was the comforting voice on their drive back from the uni visits.

Tara and Darcy were definitely on better footing than they were last season. Now that Darcy is out of that toxic house, they are flourishing (as I talked about above). Tara and Darcy aren't perfect, but they are definitely a solid couple, and I don't see much shaking them any time soon.

Now Imogen and Sahar. These two had an....interesting....journey. Sahar admitted to Imogen that Imogen is the reason she realized she was bi. And I don't think Imogen is straight. Given the fact that she kissed Sahar at least twice, and that conversation she had with Nick, she is definitely questioning her own sexuality and identity at this point. Imogen and Sahar are definitely not a couple, in fact they stated they want to just be friends, but I have to wonder if they will become more during season 4. I will also say that I think Imogen suffered the most by Nick and Charlie's stories being so prominent. She was definitely shoved into the background, more so than she was in season 1. I hope she gets more screentime next year.

Isaac. Like last year, I am placing him here because I don't want his story (which is after Nick/Charlie and Elle) easily the most important storyline of the season. At the end of last season, Isaac had come to the realization that he was asexual. This realization spurred his story in the first couple of episodes. In the first episode, he told Charlie that he was asexual and probably aromantic. Then he told the rest of the group in episode 3, when they were at the zoo for Nick's birthday. The biggest problem he had was that he was feeling very much like a third wheel. He is surrounded by happy couples who often don't think as much about him. Tao and Elle are in their honeymoon phase and even made out when they were at a movie night with Isaac. And when Nick was gone on vacation and Charlie was in his room, he also ignored Isaac. I don't think any of this was on purpose, but it hurt Isaac tremendously. When he and Tao snapped at each other at the zoo, I was completely on his side. Well, almost completely. I do wish he had explained to people that being the third wheel was hurting him, but he didn't. Tao, however, was definitively in the wrong here, as Elle managed to masterfully point out to him. I am glad he told everyone he was aro/ace because they needed to hear it.

Isaac's story is particularly important because by having an asexual in the show, they force us to consider the importance of nonsexual and nonromantic love. Isaac loves his friends and gives them hugs and support, but there is nothing romantic about these relationships. It's like when Tao hugged Nick to comfort him or Tara hugged Elle or Tara hugged Nick, etc. These are really showing the importance of these relationships. That is one thing that Charlie definitely learned. His relationship with Nick is vitally important to him, but he also needs to make sure he is maintaining his friendships with everyone else and he needs to care for his relationships with his family. Nick definitely needs to learn this, and I hope that Charlie can help him learn it.

Speaking of Isaac, I do have to talk briefly about James. The two of them appear to remain friends, and James has figured out that Isaac is asexual. But James more or less disappeared from the show. I really wish they had him in longer. There may have been a reason for why he wasn't in as much, but I definitely felt the lack of his presence.

On a last Isaac note, I was a little distressed that they are apparently taking away the storyline of Tori being aro/ace. In the comics, she tells Charlie this while they are on the ferris wheel. It is possible that she will turn out to be aro/ace in season 4, but I was looking forward to that part of their talk on the ferris wheel and we didn't get it.

Speaking of Tori, I thought she did a lot this season. Her concern for Charlie was omnipresent and she and Nick were working well together to help Charlie as much as possible. I appreciated that she messaged Nick while he was on vacation, which is what led to him calling Charlie and Charlie admitting to having an eating disorder. And then there was here and Michael Holden. He was just hilarious because he had a very monotone, matter-of-fact voice and would just randomly walk up and say stuff. You didn't get a lot of the two of them together, but what we did get was amusing.

And now for the rest of the characters.

Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi were so cute together. They are dating and trying (and completely failing!) to hide it from the students. And as I said above, I loved the scene where Mr. Farouk said that students would be inspired by Charlie running and saw his younger self. As I said in the first season, I really feel for Mr. Farouk. Like him, I came out really late in life, so I missed out on all the queer teen experiences. I also grew up in a conservative family, so that had something to do with it as well. And I know there are other adults who feel the same way. It also mirrors the way we feel about the show itself. I really wish this show (or one like it) could have been out when I was younger. It would have really helped me out.

Mr. and Mrs. Spring are the well-meaning parents, who don't always get it right. Charlie and his mom butt heads a lot. As I said before, I think he is sometimes unduly suspicious of her motives. That being said, she doesn't help matters by being the parent who comes down way too hard when she doesn't know what else to do. I hope she keeps on doing better.

I also loved the fact that they had Oliver on the show, even if it was as a younger cousin rather than a brother. I get the change, since it would be a lot to have to deal with a 7- or 8-year-old on set, but I still sort of wish he was there. So, getting to see him, even if it was in a limited capacity, was quite fun.

Geoff was quite good. I loved the rapport he and Charlie had. He helped Charlie to open up and to be able to take some quite large personal steps. I wonder if Charlie will keep on seeing him.

Now about season 4. As of this writing, we do not know that there will be one for sure. I really hope that there is one so that Alice has a chance to wrap up Nick and Charlie's story (as well as everyone else's). If it comes out, I am suspecting the very end of 2025 or (more likely) early 2026. But we'll have to see. I know the few pages Alice has drawn and released so far from Volume 6, but I don't have a sense of the overarching story yet. Assuming season 4 is created, it should include volume 6 and the novella Nick & Charlie, which covers the tail end of Nick's time at Truham. So I can't say what I hope to see from the comics, because it isn't out yet. But here is what I think we'll be seeing:

[1] Charlie and the Head Boy race

[2] Nick developing his own identity apart from his relationship with Charlie.

[3] Elle, Imogen, Nick, and Tara deciding what to do after they finish 6th form

[4] Imogen figuring out who she is (in a relationship or out of one)

That's all I can think of at the moment. I am hoping to hear soon about season 4.