by We all knew the third installment of Alice Oseman’s popular LGBT story would be good, but somehow Heartstopper Season 3 has continued to build on its own beacon of representation.
Let’s get the most anticipated news out of the way first… Heartstopper Season 3 is *amazing*. All that cozy, heartwarming atmosphere wrapped in a package of friendship and love are back and more powerful than ever before. Our gang is growing up – and so are their problems – but that core magic remains all the way through.
However, if you think new episodes of the binge-worthy TV show are more of the same, you’re naive. Of course, Heartstopper hasn’t exactly shied away from difficult topics since it first aired, but season 3 takes it a step further. Nick and Charlie get playful (and they’re not the only ones), but they also have a mountain to climb when Charlie is diagnosed with an eating disorder.
It takes special skill to weave sensitive topics into a warm, loving hug, and create a true ensemble piece on top of that. Despite the challenge, creator Alice Oseman pulls it all off with ease, and Netflix is lucky to have them.
“Love cannot cure mental illness”
Heartstopper Season 3 is undoubtedly divided into two halves, except it skipped the annoying trend of the streaming service releasing them in separate batches. Our first half is anchored by Charlie’s journey to get a diagnosis for his eating disorder. While the series arguably sheds a romantic light on love itself (and why wouldn’t it? Teenage love is the most beautiful sticky sensation known to man), it rightly makes mental health uncomfortable.
Nothing about Charlie’s journey is easy, whether it’s his process of realization, acceptance, and progress, or the fact that we’re watching it. We see a meaner side of him that is starved of energy and sustenance, but as we would expect, neither Nick nor his friends waver in their support. Together with the Heartstopper cast and Oseman, a flawless, accessible tapestry is created.
I was particularly struck by a scene where Charlie tells his parents about his eating problems for the first time. He writes down exactly what he wants to say and reads it out loud as they watch, stunned that they have missed something so important in their child. It was then that I realized that this was probably the first time kids would see representation in this way, and Heartstopper excels at making mental health visibility as important as the LGBTQIA+ storylines.
NetflixWe’re very quick to make things unnecessarily difficult for children (and believe me, I’m as guilty as the best of us) and sometimes it takes a balance of sweet and serious to see what’s in front of us. The old saying is right: kids have that these days so much on their shoulders, and Heartstopper makes that hard to miss.
It also teaches us all, regardless of age, a valuable lesson. Everything would be a lot easier if we just talked about it. Watching Charlie tackle his food, Isaac confront his friends about being left out, and Elle explore her persistent body dysmorphia makes the world around them just a little bit smaller and a little bit safer. In any case, we can see Heartstopper as a modern fairy tale – enjoy its quirkiness and draw the lessons you need from it.
Queer sex without the sexualization (finally)
The second half of Heartstopper season 3 is a total tonal change – the gang (except one) gets playful and they all meet for the very first time.
NetflixThere’s a general rule that sex isn’t a topic to be discussed – or watched – with family, but new episodes are best seen as a cultural conversation starter. The cast may have found them intense to film, but sex scenes here don’t exactly last 9 1/2 weeks. Even the hotness of their group is genius… and while you could say it’s a safe and sensible approach, it’s actually refreshing.
When I was 14 and not yet out, my only visual guidance for women sleeping with other women was through The L Word, random YouTube videos, or that one sites. The former is a staunch supporter of the queer genre (and I will celebrate it for years to come), but it has always been incredibly sexually charged in an overly mature way. There is both a need and room for this, but it is not the best starting point.
Here, Heartstopper essentially takes the sexualization out of sex itself, and we’re completely focused on connection and meaning. Indeed, each intimate scene furthers the plot of the story and is as educational as it is endearing.
NetflixIf anything, the show’s new flirtation with sex creates a healthier sense of desire. Maybe it’s because I’m the most single I’ve ever been in the almost 30 years I’ve been alive, but while watching season 3, I missed the boundless love. I missed having someone who thought the world of me despite everything, and having a world of options at my fingertips.
We’re grateful that we get to experience this fictional kind… and maybe it’s also the hope we need.
Heartstopper Season 3 Review Score: 4/5
Love may not cure mental illness, but it will always prevail. Living up to the expectations we had – and then some – Heartstopper Season 3 easily matches, if not exceeds, its previous outings with a touch of seriousness.
Why am I an almost thirty year old woman crying because two teenage boys tell the other they love them? Because that is the magic of Alice Oseman’s stories. Everyone feels so wonderfully comfortable in their role, at the helm of something much bigger than the individual.
This effortlessness allows the show to continue to inspire, grow and love louder than ever before.
Heartstopper Season 3 will be available on Netflix from October 3. In the meantime, check out the scenes we’re most looking forward to, why Ben isn’t in new episodes, and more TV shows streaming this month.
