‘It’s Sad That Happened To Me’: How Season 2 of Netflix’s Most Beloved Series Addresses Its Star’s Painful Experience

‘It’s Sad That Happened To Me’: How Season 2 of Netflix’s Most Beloved Series Addresses Its Star’s Painful Experience

Warning, spoilers. Before continuing reading this article, it is recommended that you watch Heartstopper season 2.

Topping Netflix’s views, Heartstopper is making a strong return to the platform thanks to its much-anticipated Season 2. The series, adapted from Alice Oseman’s British graphic novels, is a true phenomenon and has captured a large audience.

Heartstopper follows the romance between two teenagers, Charlie (Joe Locke), an introvert and dreamer but above all openly gay, and Nick (Keith Connor), a popular rugby player who is still questioning his sexual orientation, even more so when he gets close to Charlie.

This poignant romance made Heartstopper a huge success thanks to its sympathetic representation of the LGBTQIA+ community through its two protagonists, but also a troubling gallery of characters.

The second season of Heartstopper follows the journey of its protagonist Keith Connor

In Heartstopper, Nick realizes he is bisexual by falling in love with Charlie. The young boy has asked himself many questions about his sexuality and continues to grow and accept himself as the episodes progress. The highlight of the first season was this precious conversation between Nick and his mother Sarah, played by Olivia Colman.

A young teenager explains to her that Charlie is her boyfriend and that he is bisexual. This tender and loving scene between a mother and her son evoked many emotions among the fans.

Heartstopper season 2 continues this momentum for Nick, as he also wants to come out as bisexual to friends, relatives, classmates, but also to his father, whom he meets for a while on a school trip to Paris and whom he sees again. At a family dinner where he appears in a moving scene. This process is not easy for him, but he can count on the support of Charlie, his mother and friends.

Despite her disappointment, Nick reveals her relationship with Charlie to everyone, and the two lovers are able to make love to each other in broad daylight. Nick came out with his homosexuality to everyone close to him as he wanted to at the end of season two. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Keith Connor, Nick’s translator.

Because the plot of this Netflix series revolves around the personal life of a young actor who starred in Rocketman and Ready Player One. At the end of the first season of Heartstopper, Keith Connor gained notoriety on social media for the messages of love, but unfortunately hate, that came his way, and he was particularly accused of queerbaiting.

This term refers to a practice used by writers, producers, or heterosexual talent to attract an audience of the LGBTQIA+ community and make people think that they belong to the community, when in fact they do not. This use is often discussed in fan communities and can cause offense by attacking certain talents to force them to share their sexuality, which is intimate.

Keith Connor has been the subject of attacks and inappropriate remarks on social media, prompting him to come out as bisexual on Twitter in an October 2022 post (since unavailable): “I’m back for a bit. I’m bi. Congrats on making 18 come out. I guess some of you didn’t get the point of the show. Bye.”

The actor recently explained Teenage Vogue that it was an action “reflex” and “A Very Human Thing” that he does not regret. With Nick’s story, he finds himself in a sort of parallel process where his character in Heartstopper comes out in his own way, while he felt forced in real life and didn’t have full control. He wished for a private life, as if he was obliged to. something for the community.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to me. I think the reaction I got from just being myself and trying to find myself and set boundaries was a little disappointing. But despite that, I’ve always been happy.”– says Keith Connor.

“I’m really bi”

And some lines from the show’s Season 2 — like Nick’s conversation with Coach Singh, where he tells him that his rugby friends shouldn’t know about his sexuality — can be seen as important messages for all people. A queer who discovers himself. , accept themselves and should be able to come out as they wish, without being forced to share and disclose their intimacy with the rest of the world, but when they want and feel ready.

“There were definitely times when I was shooting the second season and saying certain lines, saying this is good and it should be. That’s the message we want to get across.”Keith Connor explains.

Because Heartstopper fans have particularly pointed out the parts of season 2 where Nick explains to his loved ones that he is not straight or gay, but in the same sentence he is bisexual. “I’m really bi” (“I’m really bi”, VO) said the young boy proudly. A line that must surely ring strongly in Keith Connor’s mind.

Unfortunately, some netizens still reported inappropriate comments about these passages, that they were awkward or that the character didn’t need to do it that many times. In addition, several people in the LGBTQ+ community defended this line, explaining that in real life it is often the case that bisexual people are forced to justify their attraction to people of the same sex and the opposite sex, as if this sexuality is less respected than others. .

Translation: “I guess Nick Nelson saying ‘I’m actually bi’ a dozen times in Heartstopper wasn’t annoying considering I know a lot of bi people and even when they don’t need to constantly remind people that they’re bi and not . Just gay, they love to remind people of this information. I swear I heard so many jokes. You should also understand that every time Nick said “I’m bi” it was either because someone was coming out for the first time or because someone said something like “What do you mean Nick, you’re gay, you don’t like girls?”.

Translation: “People on TikTok who say they’re embarrassed when Nicki says she’s bi are actually…seriously you morons, try to deal with the fact that there are people constantly breaking down your sexuality.”

The messages conveyed through the series are important to Keith Connor and the entire Heartstopper team, and if there’s more they need to clarify, they won’t hesitate to:

“The show that we’re doing is really setting out plans for people to know how to deal with these sticky situations and how to make people feel safe and comfortable. It seems like some people didn’t understand the show and the original message. That’s what we tried to convey in the first season, so , if that’s the case, then we’ll continue to kick it into season two, and I hope people like it. They’ll listen.”

In retrospect, Keith Connor wants to make a positive out of his harrowing experience in hopes that the series and the messages it conveys can help people who need it.

Heartstopper Season 2 is available on Netflix.


Source: Allocine

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