Welcome back to Truman & Higgs high. Charlie and Nick are officially a thing now after Season 1 was all about the latter trying to understand what he is feeling about our protagonist. Season 2 of Heartstopper opens with the two of them embracing their love and attraction for one another. However, the new battle now remains about Nick trying to open up and come out to more people other than his mother.
There’s also the confusing state of affairs between Tao and Elle. The will-they-won’t-they becomes an essential part of the dynamics in the new season while Charlie and Nick strive to carve out a ‘perfect love story’ for themselves. Issac gets to know more about his sexuality while Darcy and Tara mend some of the dynamics that have been bothering them off late.
Overall, Heartstopper Season 2 serves another round of sweet, cute, and sensitive representation of queer love. This is a show that understands the need for sensitivity and the art of listening, really listening to one another.
Heartstopper (Season 2) Recap:
Episode 1: Out
Charlie and Nick are now boyfriends, and they are having the best time of their lives. Episode 1 of Heartstopper season 2 begins with a cute montage of kisses and hi’s from our lovers, and there can’t be anything better.
At the school, Nick tells Charlie that he has officially come out to his mum as a bisexual and wishes to come out to some of his friends who might understand.
However, since exams ad coming up, things at Truman High are getting study-e. The GCSC revision, which is headed by Mr. Farook, has Nick paired up with Ben. Also, Farook feels like a really strict character who is upfront about his rules about no chatting and no texting. Talking about texting, Charlie comes up with an idea to help Nick come out. He rejoins the rugby team. However, Nick, who is still a little mad at his teammates for being bad to Charlie, is unable to put his focus on the game.
Meanwhile, Elle’s friends suggest her to flirt with Tao a little and break out of his strong exterior of not letting her in as a romantic partner. Charlie’s real idea, however, was to invite all of his close friends, including Darcy and Tara, to a sleepover at his house. The idea includes bringing Imogen into the situation and breaking the news of Nick’s coming out to her.
On the way to show Imogen to the bathroom, Nick tries again to tell her, but before he can blurt it out, Imogen tells him that he knows about him and Charlie because it’s obvious. He then tells her about his being bisexual. However, when he asks her about his crush, she tells him it’s Ben, and that frustrates him, but he keeps it to himself.
Realizing that he is in a safe space, the next morning, Nick kisses Charlie in front of all their friends. Charlie and Tori discuss his decision to let people know about them and bring in the cavalry of bullies again. Charlie says that he is not afraid, and now that he knows how to deal with all the shame thrown his way, he can protect Nick from it.
Episode 2: Family
Episode 2 of Heartstopper opens with a parents teacher meet where everyone is slightly praised by the teachers except for Charlie, who, in spite of being a top student through has been failing in on his coursework. He has been late in multiple assignments because he has been spending a lot of time with Nick.
On the way back home, Charlie gets into an argument with his parents, who then ban him from seeing Nick until his coursework essay is complete. On the other hand, Nick’s brother David visits back home from uni, and it is clear that he is a bit of a dick.
At school, Nick is still disturbed by Imogen and Ben dating because he is aware of Ben’s real image as a person.
Elle and her friends get excited about Prom and decide on a classic theme as Elle unknowingly blows off Tao, who wants to hang out. At the GCSE revision class, Ben and Nick get into an argument after Charlie visits him just to see him. Mr. Farook detains them in a separate room because they were not paying attention to their studies. They then get into a more heated discussion, which leads Nick to feel that he might not be a good match for Charlie because he fears coming out to people, and in some way, he is just like Ben.
Nick and Charlie sneak out to the park and have a good time with each other.
At the Lambert Art School thingy, Ellie somehow feels at home after meeting Naomi, who also faces the same channel of being ‘the trans girl’ at a normal school.
On the exam day, Nick finally opens up about what’s bothering him about Ben to Imogen, but Imogen doesn’t take it well. This really disturbs Nick, who is unable to focus on his GCSE Maths exam.
Tao and Elle are clearly drifting apart, with Elle making more time for her art school prep and her new friends there. So, he visits her to let her know how things are weird between them and that he is always ready to hang out with her, no matter what. Tao and his mum have a little moment where we can see that she is worried about him, with Elle possibly moving away to art school.
Meanwhile, Charlie sneaks out and visits Nick again, but when he is there, David meets him. An argument erupts, but instead of it being about David being homophobic, Hearstopper chooses to make this a confrontation moment for Nick, who, according to David, is hiding his sexuality by portraying it as him being bisexual when he is clearly gay.
When Charlie returns home, his mother is furious and grounds him for the rest of the time till submissions.
Tao has another nice moment with his mum, who makes him realize that if he fears losing Elle, he must fight to be beside her.
The episode ends with Tao confessing that he like Elle in front of Charlie and Issac and asks them to help him tell her.
Episode 3: Promise
Episode 3 of Heartstopper Season 2 opens with Issac, Charlie, and Tao discussing how he can approach a possible date idea between him and Elle.
At the rugby practice, Nick’s other friends, except Harry, try to be supportive of him by telling him that they aren’t like Harry. He is again unable to confide in them about his being bisexual.
However, when Charlie and Nick are kissing each other in the gym room, Coach Singh sees them and later calls Nick to her office.
She tells him that his situation with Charlie is okay, but he shouldn’t let it bring it into the game. She also turns out to be rather supportive of him by telling him about her wife and how she met her.
Everyone gets ready for their last exam as Charlie helps Nick study for his chemistry test and complete his essay just in time. Everyone rejoices about exams being over and the exciting Paris trip coming up.
There’s a brief moment where Tara confesses that she loves Darcy, but when she doesn’t respond to it the way she anticipated, she is taken a little aback by it. Also, there’s a party that everyone is excited about in the woods, and Nick thinks he might try again to come out to the rugby guys.
At the Paris meeting everyone is asked to get into groups of 4 who they will be sharing a room with. Since boys and girls can’t share a room, Imogen is sort of left out.
Outside the meeting hall, Tao, dressed up and hair intact proposes the idea of a date to Elle with flowers in his hands. Elle says she likes him back, and they decide to go on their first date to the cinemas.
The two of them go to watch Moonrise Kingdom, a film that Elle loves but Tao hates. The rest of the evening is also super awkward, and when they head to the party in the woods, it finally comes out that Tao is just being insecure about losing Elle to her new friends, which has led him to be someone he is not.
Meanwhile, Nick tries really hard to conjure up the courage to come out to hai mates during the bonfire, but he is disturbed by the confusion and consequences of it all. This is when Charlie intervenes and takes him home when he feels ill. Charlie comforts Nick and tells him that he doesn’t necessarily need to come out straight away and rids him of the promise that he made. However, we can see a slight twitch in Charlie’s eye because deep down, his insecurity about being treated as a secret affair like what Ben did to him is still fresh.
Episode 4: Challenge
Heartstopper Season 2 is finally there. The Paris trip begins, and as per the decision in the previous episode, Charlie and Nick try to keep it low-key. Issac is having a bit of a crush of sorts on a boy, Tao and Elle still have an uncomfortable silence between them, and Darcy is still dodging Tara’s confession of saying, ‘I love you.’ Also, Nick is planning to meet up with his dad, who lives in Paris.
Things start getting lighter between Tao and Elle when he sneaks their favorite apple juice to her at breakfast. The rest of the group explores the streets while the two of them decide to visit the famous museum.
Tara and Charlie share their jealousy of each other’s situation. Charlie says that he wants Nick to take his time, but he is also dearly missing out on kissing and being closer to him in public. Tara expresses that she is worried about their relationship because Darcy is not someone who talks about her feelings, and it’s sometimes really hard to understand her stance.
At dinner, Ben and Charlie get seated with each other, and Imogen senses the obsession Ben has for Charlie and calls him out in front of everyone. She also breaks up with him, and the two of them storm out.
Charlie and Nick console her, and the three of them hug in a super cute moment.
Tao and Nick talk heart-to-heart about liking each other as people. Later, Nick and Charlie get really intimate, but they stop because of the fear of getting caught.
The episode ends when Charlie wakes up the next morning and realizes that he has a visible hickey on his neck.
Episode 5: Heat
Episode 5 begins with Nick looking at his phone, having not received a reply from his dad about meeting up. That is when Charlie calls him into the bathroom and shows him the hickey. At breakfast, everyone starts assuming things about Charlie’s hickey and pairing him up with the only other openly gay boy on the trip. Nick finds it difficult to see him take the fall alone when he is also one of the parties involved.
At the Eiffel Tower, the teacher put the pupil into groups of two to translate phrases in French as a part of their reasons for the trip. Nick gets paired up with Ben, who is not too happy about the pairing. Ben again gaslights Nick about how he has messed up everything for him – first with Charlie and then with Imogen. He also says that he wants Charlie back now that he has dealt with the stuff that was bothering him back when he was dick to him. He blames him for stealing Charlie from him and having put him in a situation where everyone is putting him at center stage for a hickey that Nick is not ready to own up.
Darcy and Tara have another awkward moment when Darcy avoids talking about not saying I love You back.
On the top of the Effiel tower, Nick stands up for Charlie when one of the rugby boys tries to bully him.
At the bridge, Charlie and Tao discuss about him messing things up with Elle. This is where Tao also confesses that he might be the reason Charlie was forced to come out the previous year because someone overheard him talking about it to Issac. Charlie tells him how he has always be a sweet and kind friend who has always been there for him, and he should not feel bad about an accidental happening. He then ties a lock with Charlie and Tao written on it.
At the Louver Museum, Elle gets inspired by all the art on display. A conversation with Nick about not understanding art but feeling it makes her understand what he has for Tao to be real.
Nick also talks to Charlie about Ben, telling him that he still likes him. Charlie says that he doesn’t, but for a second or two, he blanks out, possibly re-living that toxicity he had to endure when he was with him.
Charlie gets uneasy and faints, with Nick holding him just in time before he falls.
Elle and Tao share their first kiss and their second and third; that too in the Louver.
Charlie and Nick discuss his eating habit, and Charlie confesses that ever since his bullying last year, he has often been controlling his eating habits because that is the only thing that he feels he can control. Nick says that he understands whatever he is saying.
They then have a nice little moment when Charlie hears Nick speaking in French to his dad, who wants to meet up the same day. The two of them then rush to the subway to go meet him.
Episode 6: Truth/Dare
Charlie and Nick meet up with Stephane, Nick’s father, but he has to rush somewhere, so he asks for leave.
He, however, promises to meet Nick when he comes to England for a small business trip. Nick gets a little riled up because his father just assumes that he likes girls, and he is unable to tell him that Charlie is not just a friend.
Tao and Elle share their kiss with the boys and the girls, and the two groups decide to sneak out and check out the hotel late at night.
Nick and Charlie are caught by Mr. Farook and Mr. Ajayi, who then talk about beautiful gay moments when they were teenagers. For the first time, we see Mr. Farook put his guard down when Ajayi insinuates to flirt with him.
The next day they celebrate Tara’s birthday and have a great fun day out. Late at night, Darcy organizes a party for Tara, but she feels a little out of place and worried about something.
Issac shares a kiss with James, but for some reason, he is unable to really get on with it, so he rushes off.
Harry and the other homophobic boys try to crash in on the party, but Charlie tells them that they can’t join, in spite of their half-assed apology.
After a few slew remarks at the truth and dare game, Nick finally accepts to the small gathering that it was he who gave Charlie that hickey and that he is bi-sexual. They share a nice little moment with the group before Darcy, who has had little much alcohol, gets sick, and the party ends.
Back in the room, Nick and Charlie are alone, so they get into the same bed, but Nick accepts that he is not ready to go all the way just yet. Charlie understands.
Back at the girl’s room, Darcy says I love you back. We also see Issac sitting in the balcony all alone, isolating himself.
Also, since Darcy vomited in Mr. Ajayi’s bed, Farook speculates that he can sleep in his. They share a kiss.
The episode ends with the trip ending and Charlie reading a comment on one of Nick’s photos that is about them saying and anticipating what’s in store for Nick next.
Episode 7: Sorry
The episode opens with everyone back home.
Nick looks at a photo of their trip in Paris and notices again how Charlie never really eats his food, making him feel worried again. Charlie gets a DM from Ben, who wants to talk about Nick’s new photo of them together. Elle gets into Lambart Academy. Tao tells her mother about Elle, who is super excited about it.
Nick asks his mother if he can invite Charlie’s family for dinner when his dad visits next week, and his mother agrees. Charlie gets a few other messages from Ben, but he tries to avoid it.
The Paris squad, which is now officially a group on Instagram, talks about visiting Elle’s art exhibition. Tao worries about Elle going away but tries to be supportive of it.
While they are out shopping for prom things, Issac, who is the only one in the group without a partner, cuts off, saying that he is going to go meet James.
Ben keeps bothering Charlie on DM as he hides it from Nick, in spite of promising to keep nothing away from each other. Nick asks him out to be his date at prom, Charlie is really happy to hear it and accepts.
Darcy gets into one of the suits at the store and looks amazing in it. The group pitch in to get her the suit when she says she hasn’t got enough money to get it.
Issac goes to meet James at the bookstore he works in and confesses that he is unable to understand how he should feel if and when he likes someone. This is a great moment in the show because, through Issac, we are also looking at the cluelessness of being young with no specific reason for being clueless. Issac then lashes out at the group for sort of cornering and forcing him to have a romantic entanglement.
At the exhibition, it gets revealed to Tao that Elle has gotten into the Lambert. As expected, we see Issac slowly realizing that he is, in fact, asexual. He gets to understand this when one of the pieces at the art exhibit and the one who made it talks about his experience as an aromantic.
They finally reveal Elle’s artwork, titled ‘Safe Place,’ a painting of the four mates who she signifies as her home in spite of the dark things that happened to her through the years.
After the exhibition, Ben approaches Charlie to tell him that he has been bothering him now and again because he is leaving Truham High for the sixth form, and he wants to ask for forgiveness. He tells him that he had a messed up house where his parents did not accept him, and that invertedly came out on Charlie.
Charlie, however, stands up for himself yet again. He makes Ben aware of the fact that he basically kissed him without his consent and then sort of rewired his being by constantly controllig the way their relationship would go. He tells him that his behavior has forever altered his existence because he now always had a voice in his head that tells him that he does not deserve good things because that is what Ben’s toxic behavior towards him made him feel. He does not forgive him and leaves.
At the dinner table, on being constantly coerced by David, Nick comes out to his dad and also stands up to him by saying that he hasn’t been a good parent to him; after the dinner, when everyone, along with Stephane, leaves, Sarah also notices that Charlie doesn’t eat enough. A worried Nick googles about eating disorders.
We also see Darcy’s reasons for not being too open about things as she fights with her unsupportive mother, who controls what she does. She gets angry and runs away from her home in the middle of the night.
Episode 8: Perfect
The 8th and final episode of Heartstopper Season 2 opens with Nick coming out to everyone by posting a photo with Charlie on Instagram. He cutely captions it ‘Boyfriends <3 (I’m Bisexual, actually!).
Tao and Elle also officially accept that they are boyfriend and girlfriend.
At the prom, prep Tara is unable to get things up in time because Darcy is absent from all the action. So, she calls in the gang for help.
Nick talks to Tao about how the bullying that happened to Charlie had left a permanent hole in his life. He says that it has affected him so much that even now, he feels affected by all the attention that he is getting, and it’s especially hard for him because Charlie doesn’t express those things to him. Tao tells him that Charlie never ever told about his bullying experience to him as well, and since he has been carrying all of it in his heart, it is slowly affecting him.
Everyone reaches prom except Darcy. Nick and Charlie go in together, and as expected, they see a mixed reaction from people. After Toa and Elle break the dance floor, we see the group spread out. Tara is worried about Darcy and decides to go find her. So, when Darcy arrives fashionably late and the group decides to leave, she gets to know that Tara is not at the prom but has gone to Darcy’s home. When she reaches her house, she realizes the reason why Darcy acts the way she does. She understands that her mother comes from a rather regressive mindset and doesn’t accept her daughter for who she is.
Nick then calls Tara to his house, where the entire group is, along with Darcy. They all share a hug, and then Darcy and Tara discuss why she has not been telling Tara about what is going on with her at the house with her mum.
She confesses that she has been hiding who she is, even from her parents, and that has been really tough for her. Both of them say I Love You a million times after they resolve the fact that they can’t be perfect, but I guess that’s perfection in itself.
After having a nice time hanging out, all of them leave except Charlie.
Heartstopper (Season 2 Finale), Episode 8 Ending Explained:
What does Charlie tell Nick about the time he was bullied?
Charlie and Nick get into bed and kiss each other before Nick tries to bring him to a point where he opens up. He is sensitive towards Charlie’s stand but also wants to know how he feels because his obsession with being ‘perfect’ is slowly affecting him.
Charlie opens up. He tells him that after someone overheard Tao speaking about Charlie being gay, he realized how homophobic people were, even in modern society. He says that people would call him disgusting to his face, and because it was so relentless for so long that he started believing in what they were saying. He confesses that this bullying made him hate himself so much that he would often cut himself.
The confession makes Nick emotional, and he cries while hugging him. He makes him aware of the fact that he will be there by his side and not feel burdened if it ever gets bad for him again.
Season 2 of Heartstopper ends with Nick about to say ‘I love you’ to Charlie before his mother returns home and Charlie has to leave. As Charlie walks back home, we see him type ‘I Love You’ to Nick, but the episode ends before he can send it.
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Heartstopper (Season 2) Netflix Trailer
Heartstopper (Season 2) Netflix Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Heartstopper (Season 2) Netflix Cast: Joe Locke, Kit Connor, William Gao, Yashmin Finney, Tobie Donovan, Rhea Norwood, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell
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