Heartstopper: Season 3 - Review

This month, the highly anticipated third season of Alice Oseman’s critically acclaimed Heartstopper debuted on Netflix. This season continues to explore the evolving relationship between Charlie and Nick, delving into deeper and more complex themes, such as mental health, sexuality, and personal growth for many of the ensemble cast.

Based on the fourth and fifth volumes of the graphic novels, this season maintains the endearing charm of its predecessors while introducing a more mature and considerably darker tone, offering a more nuanced and emotionally impactful viewing experience for its audience. With that in mind, we truly get to see the characters growing up this season, which is reflected in both the writing and acting.

There’s also swearing allowed in this season – when I read the graphic novels, I did think there was somewhat excessive use of swearing in the dialogue and yet I initially found it odd that a group of teenagers in a British secondary school did hardly swore at all in the television adaptation. I understood the logic (they wanted it to be more markable), but here, Oseman struck the right balance with the dialogue without risking the age rating changing.

What stood out to me was the performances of Kit Connor and Joe Locke, who had much heavier material to deal with. We really got to see how these two young actors have matured as performers, and their chemistry has only strengthened as the seasons have progressed. Nick and Charlie feel much more like a couple. The relationship has developed so organically that this was a perfect time to tackle a much more serious side to their relationship.

Heartstopper’s portrayal and depiction of mental health and self-harm through Charlie’s character has been hinted at throughout the series and delves into these themes with nuance and care throughout this season. Locke gives some of his best performances in this season, but this adaptation also allows the ensemble cast’s emotional journey to be explored alongside Charlie’s. Charlie’s journey to recovery and in therapy wasn’t written to be idealised or a quick fix, which was good to see that representation on screen. While the graphic novels and books are mainly limited to Charlie, Nick and Tori’s perspectives, the TV series takes the opportunity to give a much more layered portrayal of Charlie and Nick’s family, friends and loved ones. Again, these smaller moments feel much more organic and poignant.

Alongside mental health, this season tastefully and realistically tackles sexuality as the couples in the friendship group take their relationships to the next level. I was a bit sceptical about how this season would transition from the darker plot of Volume Four/the novella Winter into the sexual awakening storyline threaded through Volume Five. To my surprise, Oseman achieved this very naturally and the cinematography captured genuinely beautiful moments for these characters. The pacing of this show was one of its stronger points this season; not one scene felt like filler or unnecessary.

Famed for its positive portrayal of LGBTQ youth, we delve deeper into Isaac’s asexuality, see a non-binary storyline introduced for Darcy, Elle’s challenges with her gender dysphoria and transphobia and Imogen begins questioning her sexuality. As much as this show is firmly Nick and Charlie’s love story, Yasmin Finney, William Gao, Tobie Donovan, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Leila Khan, Rhea Norwood, and Jenny Walser all had stellar moments throughout this season.

In addition to the younger cast, the older cast had a lot more screen time, which was great to see. Many of the original cast reprised their roles from the parents to the teachers. However, Olivia Coleman was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts and with a particularly emotional scene in Nick’s storyline coming up, Hayley Atwell (Marvel’s Captain America, Netflix’s Tomb Raider) stepped into the much-needed maternal role as Nick’s Aunt Diane and the scene was rewritten for Connor and Atwell. The result was incredibly moving, and Connor delivered a heartbreaking performance.

Although Coleman was missed, Atwell was brilliantly cast for this role, and I hope she and Coleman can have a scene or two together in a potential fourth season. We also saw Jonathan Bailey take on the absolutely charming role of Charlie’s favourite author, and he, Connor and Locke shared a genuinely funny and sweet scene at a book signing. There was also another debut of a character eager-eyed fans of the books would be happy to see as Charlie’s extended family were also introduced to this season.

The decision to take this show down a slightly more mature and darker route was a good one, as it was depicted with nuance and gave the characters the chance to grow with their actors. This season ended on a very soft cliffhanger, and with no word yet on a fourth season, it has been heavily implied that a fourth season will centre on the sixth and final graphic novel, with a potential adaptation of the Nick and Charlie novella included.

This show has grown from strength to strength and I immensely enjoyed how much this story has developed with its genuine portrayal of young love. I hope this show gets the opportunity to give Charlie, Nick and the Paris Gang the ending they deserve with another season.

My rating for Heartstopper: Series Three - ★★★★★

Heartstopper: Seasons One-Three are exclusively available to stream on Netflix.