WARNING: This review contains spoilers
I counted down the days until August 2023, when season two of “Heartstopper,” a Netflix series, was released. As a die-hard “Heartstopper” fan, how does the new season compare, not only to the first season of the show, but the four books the series was based on?
In the eight episodes of season two, the third book of “Heartstopper” is covered, along with some ideas from book four. There is a controversy within the “Heartstopper” community over if the addition of new characters (who weren’t in the books) was amazing or terrible. I think that these characters added even more to the already spectacular series.
One new character, Isaac (Tobie Donovan) replaces Aled, a loveable friend with an obsession with books who was present in the original novels. Isaac takes on the personality of Aled, but in addition Isaac explores his asexuality, a term used to describe someone who does not experience sexual attraction (regardless of gender). It was refreshing to see asexuality explored as it is not commonly represented in media.
Along with the addition of new characters in the show, there was also a major addition to the plot. Instead of only the beautiful love story between Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor), the show focuses on other relationships such as the one between Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) and Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney). Of course, the show doesn’t leave out anything from the original books regarding Nick and Charlie, but the addition of these new scenes makes the fandom even more enjoyable.
Many people agree that most movies and TV shows based off of books don’t turn out nearly as good as the original books, but “Heartstopper” gave me a new outlook on this scenario. Although the plot isn’t the exact same as the books, it’s just as good, if not better! There is no doubt that this is the work of Alice Oseman, the original author and illustrator of “Heartstopper.” Along with many other novels exploring sexuality and romance and her world famous “Heartstopper” series, Oseman wrote the script of the show with her team of script writers and editors. According to the New York Times, she helped in the casting decisions and was on set for many of the filming days. You can even spot her in the last episode of season one as a passenger drawing on the train.
Of course it wasn’t just the amazing writing of Alice Oseman that made the show amazing, but the acting. The two main characters, Nick and Charlie, are played by actors who demonstrate their superb acting skills in both seasons of the show, but especially in season two when many emotions had to be portrayed.
“Heartstopper” is an amazing series with a season three on its way. With the fifth “Heartstopper” book released on December 18, many Oseman fans are busy reading her new book. I would recommend the “Heartstopper” series to anyone and everyone!
