Television’s sweetest and most heartwarming show is back, and it’s sweeter and more heartwarming than ever. Netflix’s Heartstopper returns after over a year, bringing the delightfully saccharine relationship of Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) back to our screens. Based on Alice Oseman’s best-selling graphic novel series, Heartstopper is among Netflix’s best and most reliable originals, and the show is still the TV equivalent of a warm hug.

Like all the best teen shows, though, Heartstopper is growing and, most importantly, maturing along with its characters. Indeed, there is a distinct and much-appreciated evolution in this third chapter, and while it maintains its now-famous brand of overwhelming pleasantness, it presents a much more mature and insightful look into youth and the LGBTQ+ community, delivering its most assured and emotionally intelligent entry thus far.

‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 Is All About Growing Pains
Image via Netflix

Heartstopper Season 3 picks up immediately where Season 2 ended. Charlie wants to confess his love to Nick, but the famously shy and self-doubting teen is struggling to find the right words while fighting an internal battle against himself. For his part, Nick has other concerns, noticing Charlie’s eating disorder is worsening and having trouble figuring out how to address the matter. It’s a lot for a fifteen and sixteen-year-old, respectively, to handle, and the show never shies away from their dilemma.

Meanwhile, the large ensemble of colorful characters receive storylines of their own, even if they’re somewhat more diminished than in previous seasons, as the show accommodates its ever-increasing cast. Now in a proper relationship and still in the honeymoon phase, Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) figure out what they want from each other. Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) and Tara (Corinna Brown) navigate their new living situation while attempting to set boundaries. Imogen (Rhea Norwood) is on a self-discovery journey, while Isaac (Toby Donovan), very much feeling like a third wheel around his coupled-up friends, comes to terms with being asexual and romantic. Then there are the ambulatory characters who earn a boost this season, most notably Tori Spring (Jenny Walser), who gets her biggest role so far, including a look at her elusive world.

Sadly, the mighty Olivia Colman is not back as Nick’s supportive mother, Sarah, and her absence is sorely felt. However, Season 3 makes up for that by introducing a few welcome guest stars. The ever-reliable Hayley Atwell makes her debut as Diane, Nick’s aunt, who provides some valuable advice. Underrated character actor Eddie Marsan is also here in a pivotal role in Charlie’s storyline. The delightful Stephen Fry returns as the voice of Headmaster Barnes, while Netflix’s biggest hunk, Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, makes a short but cute cameo.

‘Heartstopper’s Cast Is Still at the Top of Their Game in Season 3

The brilliance of Heartstopper lies in its collection of deeply human, relatable, and fallible characters. The star of Season 3 is undoubtedly Joe Locke, with Charlie taking center stage in all eight episodes. Because of the nature of his character, Locke had been a more passive presence in Seasons 1 and 2, allowing for Connor’s Nick to shine brighter. Season 3 changes that dynamic, with Nick taking something of a backseat as a supporting player in Charlie’s storyline. Locke makes the most of his chance to be the star, showing a new, more challenging side to Charlie.

Season 3 also allows Locke to explore the deepest and darkest parts of Charlie’s psyche, and the young actor does an admirable job. His growth as a performer is quite noticeable, especially because the changes in Charlie’s persona are subtle at first, forcing Locke to portray them solely through his expressions and body language. It’s especially fascinating to see Locke as Charlie while he’s simultaneously tackling such a different character in Disney+’s Agatha All Along. As the mysterious Teen, Locke is sassy and inexperienced but self-assured, witty, and more than a little flamboyant. Compare that with the self-doubting, perpetually shy and introspective Charlie, and you can see the makings of a promising performer becoming more confident in his abilities. Locke is especially good during his scenes with Marsan, with the two creating a great dynamic that feels both natural and unexpectedly familiar.

The focus on Charlie is so strong that most other characters suffer a bit, especially Nick. For most of the season, Nick’s storyline exists solely in service of Charlie. It’s handled quite well, and Connor still gets many opportunities to shine, even if they’re always in the context of Charlie’s character arc. Nick finally receives some progress in his arc during the latter half of the season, hinting at a more evenly distributed Season 4 should the show earn a renewal. Much like Nick, the other characters see their roles a bit reduced; Elle and Tao have the most to do, but there is a feeling of incompleteness with their and everyone else’s stories. While Charlie has a proper arc that sees him ending the season in a completely different place from where he started, the other characters sort of feel the same, an issue not present in previous seasons.

As for the high-profile guest stars, Marsan gets the best material, and it’s always great to see an actor of his caliber doing what he does best. Atwell makes sense in the world of Heartstopper, but she sadly has very little to do, sharing a few sweet but all-too-short scenes with Connor. For his part, Bailey is an effective cameo that can’t help but feel somewhat shameless. Surprisingly, Charlie’s family, especially Tori and his mother, Jane (Georgina Spring), receive the meatiest material this season.

The Journey to Maturity is at the Center of ‘Heartstopper’ Season 3
Image via Netflix

Heartstopper has received its fair share of criticism for being an overly idealized and sentimental take on queer love. The argument is somewhat valid, but it’s also tremendously reductive of the show’s warm and emotionally intelligent message. However, I’ll be the first to admit it: Heartstopper is not a teen drama or a rom-com; it’s a romantic fantasy through and through. It presents an idyllic version of the LGBTQ+ community set in a world where hope is never more than an episode away. The show’s distinctive visual language reinforces this otherworldly element with its now-famous cartoon leaves and warm cinematography, so overwhelming that it actually takes over the scene at numerous points, drowning the actors’ faces in literal rays of sunshine.

That is not to say Hearstopper is unwilling to address the very real issues LGBTQ+ youth face in 2024; quite the opposite, in fact. Season 3 is the show at its darkest and most emotionally resonant, tackling heavy themes like mental health, eating disorders, intimacy, sex, and the dreadful prospect of leaving childhood behind. Season 3 features the characters at their most self-aware and emotionally mature, to the point where they accurately identify and articulate their feelings better than most so-called self-functioning adults. Things that took years for many to accept come extremely easily to these teens now. “I have mental health issues.” “I love you, but I need space from you.” “I am loved by more than one person.”

Heartstopper’s biggest strength has always been its aversion to classic teen and romance tropes. Whereas other shows use elements like mental health, sex, and intimacy as vehicles to fabricate drama, Heartstopper wields them to fully explore a person’s depths and limits. Conflict is resolved by characters actually communicating with each other, showing an emotional conscience far beyond their years, even if they also say all the cringe-worthy things you remember saying at sixteen. Heartstopperfeatures mature teenagers without ever treating them like adults. There’s a lingering sense of innocence to all of them, even while they’re experimenting and pushing their boundaries.

The magic of this fantasy show is how beautifully it depicts everyday life; it has no actual cliffhangers because it understands that, in real life, a cliffhanger is just the end of a day. And yet, it still feels important because that’s how its characters feel things. Heartstopper perfectly depicts how monumental everything seems at sixteen, how life-altering something as innocuous as a kiss or the touch of a hand can feel. Season 3 might be a tad more flawed than previous installments, but these cracks are the price for a more powerful and thought-provoking story that is every bit as uplifting. With its third entry, Heartstopperpushes itself into a new, more exciting chapter, embodying the coming-of-age genre like few other shows on television.

Heartstopper premieres on October 3 on Netflix.

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