Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) are back for another season of Heartstopper. The acclaimed Netflix adaptation of Alice Osman's graphic novels is still as sweet and charming as ever, but as the kids are growing up, the show must also grow up with them. Season 3 finds itself dealing with delicate ground- body image issues, mental illness and social stigma. 

The boys have grown up

Each of its 8 episodes still has that sweet innocent quality to it, but there are far more important and life-altering issues here- which cannot be resolved so sweetly by the end of the day with a kiss and goodbye. Heartstopper seems averse to let any crisis run its course with a sweet resolution. As a result, its cloying sweetness starts to irritate.

There is no doubt that Nick and Charlie want to be together now. The spark is there; it is the part where the show emerges to keep that spark alive for the entirety of its 8 episodes amid more developments and challenges their way. Season 3 starts off with Charlie deciding that he is ready to say the three magical words to Nick. I love you seems like a much harder emotion to express through just those words.

Nick, on the other hand, is observant of the fact that Charlie has not been eating much, and is constantly feeling tired. He looks up about eating disorders, and realizes that it is far beyond his grasp to help his boyfriend just by confronting him about it. It all comes crashing on a perfectly cheerful summer holiday by the sea, with all their friends- Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao), and Isaac (Tobie Donovan).

What works

The confrontation flows out eventually, with Charlie deciding that he does need external support and proper care to deal with his all-enveloping insecurities. “Love cannot cure mental illness,” is the best advice that arrives Nick's way when he feels worried about his boyfriend. Heartstopper deals with these parts with sincerity, but I found myself grappling with the sure-footedness with which the show chooses to move on from Charlie's insecurities to now focus of Nick. As if the chapter concerning Charlie is over now, so let us not waste more time on him.

The same aloofness is what Isaac feels when he sees that he is constantly third-wheeling amid his friends. Is a relationship to be prioritized over every other connection then? Isaac's presence is somehow a bitter reminder for the show to come out of candy-shaped idea of the world. Everyone is just so tender and helpful and sweet. When there are misunderstandings one of them says sorry and the episode is over. Each character exists as a kind of reservoir of empathy and compassion; so much so that these very notes of goodness tend to become tokenistic. There is no malice that piles up and grows, as Heartstopper remains incredibly resolute to mend things before they hurt the core spell of fantasy that waters the growing love for this show.

Season 3 of Heartstopper works mostly because of its actors who are so attuned to one another's tendencies by now. Otherwise, these characters seem as if they were written with the primary urge to please and comfort. They lack impulsiveness, daring and the very dangerous urge to exist beyond what is given to them. The template of the show itself works against the favour. It is not so much about queer love anymore as much as it is about being a teenager. Yes Nick and Charlie are in love but their love do not feel threatened by their choices as young people slowly trying to find a place in the world. Nick will always be there, no matter what.

So what does the show stand for then? Isaac might not know by the end of the show what he wants, and where he stands in between his friends- all of whom are busy dating other people. By pushing his arc to the sidelines so ruthlessly this season, Heartstopper seems to have pressed the same errors of being left out that it wanted to rectify. This is a show that wants to show that it allows growth, acceptance and hope. But does it really know what it means to be single? Or what it means to be constantly being made to feel that they do not fit the rigid standards of physical beauty for a same-sex relationship? Growing old is one thing, but growing mature is an entirely different game altogether. Heartstopper, in all its honey-dipped sweetness, cannot own up to find that maturity still.

Heartstopper is available to stream on Netflix.

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