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Why A More Mature ‘Heartstopper’ is Important And Realistic

Teguan Harris
heart drawn in the sand

Warning: this article discusses mental health and eating disorders.

Teguan Harris

When many were anticipating Heartstopper’s release, the cast of the show including author Alice Osman warned that the show was “darker” and “hornier” than before. As the characters are still maturing, it was natural for Heartstopper to also mature. Despite a rosy two seasons, the best season is season 3 of Heartstopper.

Season 3 follows the friends as they navigate growing up, relationships, and their identities. The second season ended with Charlie (Joe Locke) opening up to his boyfriend Nick (Kit Connor) about his experiences with bullying and his mental health, which Season 3 explores. Charlie struggles with his eating disorder, and Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) explore their sexuality. Tara (Corinna Brown) struggles with her anxiety, as Elle (Yasmin Finney) wrestles with her gender dysphoria. Heartstopper maturing as a show is important as it realistically depicts mental health experiences, identity exploration, and teen experiments, making the show relatable.

Depiction of Mental Health in ‘Heartstopper’

Charlie’s struggles with his eating disorder and mental health sends a powerful and important message that young gay men suffer too. Locke’s incredible performance in this storyline sheds light on how gay men suffer in silence, as Charlie struggles to talk about his challenges. Charlie’s eating disorder is more than just a body image issue. His struggle with food stemmed from the lack of control he had from his past experiences of bullying. Although Charlie is able to recover, Osman shares an important sentiment about eating disorders and recovery; healing is not linear.

Charlie’s struggle with mental health is not a momentary thing, which is what made the portrayal of his mental health journey realistic. In Hearstopper, shortly after entering recovery, Charlie relapses. This realistically shows that Charlie’s mental health is an ongoing battle, and it does not end with just one therapy session. Heartstopper choosing to explore his challenges shows why maturing for the third season was the best choice. Exploring Charlie’s mental health made the show relatable by highlighting what many teens, especially gay teens, experience.

Portrayal of Sex and Intimacy

Heartstopper‘s sex scenes not only show the realism of experimenting but also the importance of consent and safety. Charlie and Nick’s sex scenes are innocent and delicate, as not only are they expressing their love, but they are checking in on each other. This shows why Heartstopper season 3 was its best, as it depicted realistic sex. Nick and Charlie were safe, consenting, and also a little bit awkward, since it is normal to not get sex right the first time. Even though Nick buying condoms and lube was embarrassing and hilarious, it taught a valuable lesson about safe sex.

“Season 3 is the most important and realistic season for its mature themes”

Although this season was all about sex, one of the most pivotal moments is Charlie being in control of his body by removing his shirt. Most of his sex scenes featured Charlie with his shirt on, showing that although he is willing to experiment with Nick, he is not comfortable with his shirt off due to his eating disorder. It was through his recovery journey that he finally takes it off during sex, which is empowering as Charlie moves into the next phase of his recovery, and is finally learning to love his body.

Other sex scenes in Heartstopper are also incredibly crucial to learn from. Tao (William Gao) and Elle’s intimate scenes show Elle struggling with her dysphoria, which is a mental health issue often downplayed. Although Elle overcomes her dysphoria in the bedroom, her trans experiences should never be ignored. Charlie’s and Nick’s sex scenes display the importance of being comfortable and learning about each other’s bodies. However, Tao and Elle’s scenes are just as important as they discuss gender dysphoria, which is not talked about enough.

Presentation of Identity

Identity has always been at the core of Heartstopper. However, another reason a more mature Heartstopper is realistic and important is that season 3 shows identity is always evolving. Isaac starts to come to terms with being aroace, but that does not mean that he fully accepts it. What Isaac thought he knew about himself changes, which demonstrates that exploring your identity can be uncomfortable.

As Isaac wrestles with his identity, Darcy learns more about themselves. Darcy starts experimenting with they/them pronouns, depicting that Hearstopper‘s more mature season is realistic and important. Although some people are still finding ways to be comfortable with who they truly are, others, like Darcy, are embracing change and exploring identities, which is normal and valid.

The Significance of Heartstopper

Although the first two Heartstopper seasons depict romance and community, season 3 is the most important and realistic season for its mature themes. What other mature teen shows can learn from Heartstopper is to not create an aesthetic around important topics, as it romanticises serious issues without creating a resolution. These themes in Heartstopper also give viewers a safe space, as it lets them know that they not alone and are a part of a community.

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Featured image courtesy of Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.

Writer and journalist. University graduate in English Literature. Book reader, word lover and Notion enthusiast.

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