Heartstopper

R1 at least they’re hot. Presuming that’s taken after one of the many scenes they wrote to showcase Kit while joe sits there like furniture.

One of the video reviewers said Charlie has “amazing parents and sister”, so presuming they’re writing out Jane being a bitch? I suppose so the poor nick thing is even more pronounced.

Has the DLer that saw the screeners been the only one to mention the Swift song? Wouldn’t be surprised if that spreads from here.

If we are going feral I assume those lunatic Joe Twitter fans are losing their fucking minds

R3 A couple of the reviews mention that Charlie ends up grounded because his grades slip, I had assumed bitch Jane would make her appearance there.

I think we all knew Charlie would take a backseat this season. it was very obvious

R4

i dont think any of the reviews have mention a TS song yet so if it has spread its definitely from here.

R5

yeah the Joe stans are not happy, if anything they seemed to be more resigned and stating that they new that this would happen and stating that they have a right o be upset that Charlie is being sidelined.

R6 only one review I’ve seen mentioned his parents and called them amazing, so we’ll see.

R5 mostly just upset, nothing crazy. No one shitting on Kit or anything, they all keep the blame to Alice and Netflix. Just seem sad, one or two mentioned having EDs and relating and how they were so excited for s2. I feel bad for them mostly, people are already dismissing them and saying (as here) that it’s fine because s3 will be joe centric, as though people didn’t say that about s2

the latam joe fans are not awake so we won’t truly see unhinged tweets until later in the day

R7 mate read through the threads. Every time people brought it up, many others came pouring it out to call the idea absurd. Now people are still saying it’s absurd or makes more sense to have it in s3.

Every mention of the plot of S2 was about Nick. It wasn't an accident or a spoiler they couldn't mention Charlie.

And critics are not going to suddenly start paying attention to Joe in S3 after two seasons of Kit.

R11 I know, I saw the comments and as a Joe fan I saw the writing on the wall. Jot this down, S3 will be more about Nick being supportive than about Charlie's ED

R12 yeah tbh I’m not shocked. Just frustrated that for months I got ridiculed on these threads for calling this. And now ofc no one who was calling the idea absurd will step up and admit they were wrong and joe is getting fucked over.

R7 No it wasn't obvious. Everyone used to be like Season 2 will be the season Joe will get to stand out but I guess not. Anyways, hope Season 3 is the last season cause not here to watch Charlie get sidelined and treated like a side character.

Feel like Netflix and Patrick probably mandated that the season stay Kit heavy, and instead of admitting defeat that the show wouldn’t be her ensemble jerkoff dream, Alice decided to throw Joe and Charlie out to keep Isaac’s ace adventures.

Some people really used to wonder why Joe took a step back from even mentioning this show. Good for him!

If after sidelining joe this season, they bring him back for s3 and expect him to act out an assault scene with his legit awful ex…

R16 yep. Shows how mature and unselfish he is that he hasn’t let this Impact how much he cares about Kit. I know they won’t do much promo due to the strike but I’m hoping after it Kit just hypes him nonstop, because no one else will.

Look, I’m just trying to remain positive but I was also shouted down for saying Joe would be sidelined (admittedly by people I don’t think post here anymore). I was resigned for this one but holding out hope for S3 but those saying he will be a side character then I see you

Not too promising if you care about this. If you just care about making out you are good to go though.

[quote]However, when those darker moments come, they don’t quite reach the depth they should, and it leaves this season feeling too breezy, too wholesome, and too surface-level. This series has a reputation for depicting queer joy, but even the first season never shied away from homophobia or hatred lingering on the edges of the story. And while it is refreshing to see these heavy topics such as eating disorders, homophobia, and bullying discussed on the show (and especially to see these characters come out the other side of these struggles happier than before), there is still a mishandled weight in those moments.

[quote] Every struggle faced by these characters is resolved with a well-placed line of dialogue that feels like a disjointed cross between clinical and human. An indie guitar riff can solve any issue in this show, and Season 2’s attempts at heavier material are never quite successful. other personal drama gets shunted to the side in favor of more kissing and animated love hearts. And when the idea of sex is brought up, the series flinches away, even relegating its grown adult characters to the coy, virginal tone of the rest of the series.

Noooo the teachers are virginal

At times like this, honestly so glad that Joe has Marvel. Atleast there you know for a fact that Wiccan won't be getting sidelined.

I can’t believe I, saying this but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Maira is right

R19 I mean I already knows the headlines are gonna be "Kit Connor's Nick steps up when Charlie needs him" or something along those lines while mentioning the Olivia scene for S3. Hopefully the darker moments aren't handled so badly in S3 as they seem to be in S2 since they apparently regressed on that

Used to be one of those people campaigning for a Season 4 but now need the third season to be the last. Or atleast let the third season be Joe's last. Cause they as it is do not care about the character he plays so they should let him go and then they can focus on the ones they care about more.

Not going to be watching this crap.

Also idk. I think Kits coming out is going to overshadow that while coming out is personal and up to the individual, being closeted DOES make it harder on the person you’re with. Alice is too judgmental to write that in a two sided way, showing that Charlie supports and loves nick but that it’s hard to be his secret and worries nick is ashamed of him, so it’ll be a Kit opportunity to show off his (considerable) acting skills while Charlie is just sweet and supportive and one note. Jesus fucking Christ I hate these people

R24 Charlie moves to Australia end of S3, Nick realises that actually he wanted Imogen all along and Tao realises that Nick is truly his best friend. S4 Nick and Imogen have straight sex in a graphic scene

R25 that is a legit damning review and I’d love all the people who insisted we were crazy to think Charlie would be made a glorified supporting role to read it

There was a reason why Charlie and his storyline barely got mentioned in any of the previous interviews. And now we know why.

Going to watch RWRB multiple times out of spite. Let Netflix continue sidelining one of their main leads and do whatever they want.

R29 love the optimism of the people insisting it was to not spoil, while the cynical among us looked at Alice and Patrick’s silence, Netflix’s allergy to posting joe instead of or even with Kit, the way they sidelined joe om the float, and joes own decreased enthusiasm, and knew what was up

No wonder bash’s attention whore ass sucked up to Kit. Not only more s1 attention, apparently nick is the only lead in HS

[quote] Nick knows very well what Charlie has been through in a previous secret relationship with Ben Hope and how damaging that was. It doesn't help when fate keeps setting Ben in Nick's orbit, and Ben torments him with that idea.

[quote] With everything being official between Nick and Charlie, Tao is forced to accept and spend time with Nick, and an unlikely friendship might develop.

Charlie doesn't even get to keep his ex or his bestie

R33 Charlie doesn’t get to keep his bestie, and doesn’t get to “own” the trauma of a cold unloving parent or a shitty ex. Both given to nick.

R33 JFC. Just rename the show to the Nick Nelson show at this point. Next we'll be hearing that the therapist storyline is going to be given to Nick as well. Fuck this show.

R31

i knew that it wasn’t just because they wanted to keep Charlie’s plot under wraps. they just didn't have anything substantial for him besides being a supportive boyfriend.

Charlie having ice cream is that scene is a bad sign. Unless he dramatically throws it in the trash.

The sad thing is, there won’t even be backlash for this. No one gaf about joe, they just hate bash more. Since he’s being made into a side character for Kit, their fav, nbd.

So ironic to have that whole “don’t let anyone make you disappear” storyline with Charlie and then Netflix and Alice do their utmost to do exactly that

R37 no nicks love will save him from an ED, dw. Only nick has the enormous struggle of coming out again and again and again in the most boring plot ever

R38 True. If this had been Nick, essays would have been written by now. But as it's Joe/Charlie, who cares is the attitude the fans will go with. Free Joe from this mess is all I'm going to say.

Really hope Kit and the cast step it up and realize this is fucked for joe and have his back, as Alice, Netflix, and even the fans sure won’t

Also prom not being about Nick and Charlie is sad

As Alice takes no criticism at all she will absolutely cry that reviewers are saying Charlie isn’t as important

R43 she’ll prob take it out on joe and reduce his s3 storyline even more. Focus on nick struggling in school away from Charlie and how hard it is to love someone mentally ill. S3 of the Nick Nelson show with guest actor joe Locke.

R20 I hope reviews like these will make them see how they’re fucking up Charlie’s storyline that’s just sitting right there and unloved.

R33 Tbh I don't hate the idea of Ben potentially showing Nick what a piece of shit he was to Charlie during their relationship, it's one of the more grown up aspects of HS and I'd like to see Nick getting genuinely angry on Charlie's behalf. I do hate the development of a Nick/Tao friendship though, it's okay for Nick not to be friendly with everyone ffs!

More generally I do wonder if all this initial focus on Nick/Kit's performance right out of the gate is going to lead to a major fan backlash which Alice and Patrick will be forced to take note of. This isn't S1 where we were able to accept that Nick/Kit's popularity was a moment for the culture, if it happens two seasons in a row while Joe is overlooked for the great work he's doing with Charlie they may actually have to acknowledge their writing/production is part of the problem.

What a load of fucking whiney drama queens you all are. The sheer fucking negativity that seeps outta here is off the scale

One review said Ben won't leave Charlie alone, so maybe he's still around. also Imogen is Nick's new BFF Which makes me think that'll be the storyline with Ben and Imogen, instead of it being Tori's bestie, it's gonna be Nick's (of course) who dates Ben.

R46 tbh I think that’s optimistic. No shade to you but Patrick, Netflix, Alice and the bulk of the fans don’t give a fuck about Joe. Because we are gay men this forum is definitely Joe’s loudest supporters. We will, in this instance, be completely ignored by the Twitter bitches. Bad day to be a Joe fan tbh

Charlie being the supportive boyfriend while Nick has to say his bisexual (apparently a running joke) a hundred times is going to go over well. Most people aren't going to care about say wait for S3.

Idk what comics you all read but this part of the story is about Nick coming out and the beginnings of Charlie's ED. That story doesn't really get going until a little later. Its going to be okay lol.

R49 The Agatha subreddit might match us a run on that.

R51 The comments can run indefinitely though and take its time to develop both characters. S3 might be the last (I do think S4 is likely but it's not guaranteed) so it's more crucial that they treat each character arc equally.

R52

love the Agatha subreddit

R54 same they are full on a Joe defense force.

R51 frankly I barely read them and haven’t read them as the books. The web version read basically as Charlie as the main character throughout (I guess because the volumes are not as clear).

Anyway, love Kit so I’m excited to see what he does with it but I can’t imagine as a Joe fan that I’m going to love it at the levels the critics seem to.

R51 People have a right to be concerned. This show is not running indefinitely for years to come so they can finally get to Charlie's storyline

R53 Im pretty sure Alice mentioned S4 again, there is no way this show catches up to the comics in S3.

R58 Two more seasons maybe, 3 more volumes (last one seems never ending) + added new storylines. Something's gotta get cut. I think she'll want to add in the annoying Nick goes to college and gets stuck in a traffic jam storyline anyway since apparently it's important.. There's some concern Charlie's always going to get sidelined. Though at least Nick has come out to everyone and his dog, so that's done

R59 Other than the Nick college stuff the rest of the story is all Charlie.

Yes, Joe fans can hope all his storyline is shoved into the last season and hopefully Netflix gives another one so things won't be too awful. It's great.

I'm catching up with everything so excuse the long comment. I need to hear more from DLer who saw the show because he's the only one who said Charlie wasn't side-lined. I think Alice is the one who should get the most criticism. I like that review that basically confirmed all our worries: she cannot write convincing darker plotlines and everything has to be resolved in an after-school way. The didactic aspects of the show seem to be more apparent so I'm glad reviewers are not shy at pointing it out. I'm very disappointed with the mention that Nick and Charlie act like perfect virgins after talking about sex. I wished they changed that from the comics, but seems like Alice is adamant about keeping things chaste and 'wholesome' which in her books means gay/bi teenage boys don't want to fuck until almost 2 years of dating.

R62 I read another review that the makeouts are pretty heavy and one almost seems like it might lead to sex, though we still get the conversation which is even more annoying.

And sidelined doesn't mean people think Joe doesn't have screen time or a storyline, it's just his storyline does not have the weight that Nick's has and S2 doesn't seem to do much to fix that.

At this rate season 3 is Nick looking for a cure for Charlie whilst stuck in a traffic jam.

R63 which review was that? I thought I’d read them all

Everything is about Nick in these reviews. I'm tired.

No mention of Charlie fainting. Moved to season 3?

Wait, why did DLer give it 2 thumbs up? I guess the chemistry was the main thing, right? Also thank you for your service. It's really appreciated.

R65 Digital Spy

[quote] There's still no swearing or sex to behold (although for a moment it looks like we might come pretty close to the latter), but that just sets it apart from anything else.

Wonder how cringe this part is

[quote] There’s a precious indie soundtrack once again, which, along with the shimmering visuals, particularly during a dreamy trip to Paris, and the emoji-packed Instagram messages that appear on screen, runs the risk of whimsical over-earnestness

They said it wasn't thing because of the type of show it is, though HS never escaping those cheese allegations

[quote] Season 2 predominantly focuses on their new and mostly still secret relationship, alongside Nick's decision to come out to his friends and family. Through Nick's struggle across the season's eight episodes, the show effectively shows that for LGBTQ people, coming out is an ongoing, lifelong process, and different for everyone.

[quote] At one point, when a character says this, the words "GOOD MATES" flash in bright pink font on screen with a flashback to Nick and Charlie furiously making out. It's perfect.

Okay that's funny

[quote] Nick's surrounded by his newfound group of LGBTQ friends, his decision to come out is deterred not only by his fear of ridicule and judgment, but through two deeply toxic characters in his life: Charlie's manipulative ex Ben (Sebastian Croft) and Nick's deeply homophobic brother David (Jack Barton), a new addition.....However, although the series shows Nick's journey is having an impact on his mental health, it's not the only thing his character is given to traverse — he's got GSCE exams, a new relationship, family complications, and more to get through.

So basically the Nick show with some Charlie waxing philosophically about coming out and making out.

People were calling us stingy when we said that Season 2 is mostly going to be a Nick show going by the press snippets from before. But now, we are just getting proven right.

R71 Sorry to spam! that review says Joe is enchanting, does mention he appears more confident but alludes to other issues he'll have, also praises Kit obviously and Will gets a lot of praise too. Interested in him since I didn't really think he was that strong in S1

And yeah they make out a ton

Honestly, I’m glad Joe doesn’t have to get out there and spruik this shit. It would almost be embarrassing for him to be in interviews with Kit when it’s clear he’s not a co-lead anymore.

Thanks to those upthread for talking up the Agatha subreddit. I’ve been having a look at all the cute excited comic nerd gays and it’s soothing my bitterness about Joe’s treatment. Gay nerds are great

R74 If you ever want unmitigated fawning over Joe the Agatha sub is the place to go lol. He's a king there, i don't think people properly understand how big a deal Billy is going to be, Joe is going to be a superstar.

There is a army of gay nerds who have been dying to see Billy on screen for years.

Unrelated but I wonder if the heavy Nick and Charlie make-outs impacted Joe's relationship with Bash. I could see Bash being jealous and taking it out on him.

It’s very funny to see people om twitter insist it’s fine that season 2 is the nick show because season 3 will obviously be Charlie’s, when legit a month or two ago the same people said it’s fine that s1 was pretty focused on big storylines for nick because s2 would be Charlie’s. The goalposts will always move here, next season Nick will have to come out to his mailman or something and that’ll be another justification

R75 I think it says a lot both about joe and about all this that Joe’s enthusiasm didn’t seem to wane after getting cast in marvel, but rather once he actually started working in marvel. Being treated well by showrunners, having a full cast hype him (not talking about Kit or Jenny), and presumably in the future not getting ignored by marvel PR will work wonders to make him what a clusterfuck Netflix is

R77 might have had an influence on Bash chaperoning them around Brazil

R71 Thanks for linking this one, it's a pretty good one.

[quote]Charlie's kindness and compassion toward Nick during this process forms the core of Season 2, taking the pressure off any way he can and insisting Nick does this on his own terms, if he even wants to at all. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Charlie speaks about his own coming out experience being hijacked by school gossips, the abuse he endured at school, and his ensuing depression, self-loathing, and anxiety. "I think it surprised me how homophobic people were," he says. "I thought things were better nowadays."

[quote]Moving our protagonists into first love territory, Nick and Charlie simply can't get enough of each other this season, and Connor and Locke are even better this time around, maturing their characters through their deeply romantic and delightfully hesitant chemistry. Locke is just as enchanting as Charlie this season, allowing his character moments of reluctant vulnerability and unexpected strength. With his support network expanding, Locke's Charlie appears more confident than ever, though the traumatic events of his past manifest in other realms of his health.

R77 You'd think not given that he's an actor who made out on stage, had a girl unzip his hands for a blow job and straddle him, but who knows. Though I do cackle every time I read Charlie (joe's) toxic ex Sebastian Croft

R81 Um, unzip his pants

R80 yeah, nice a reviewer called Joe out specifically.

Kit liked Alice's post about the new pics. Though Joe has not yet, though it's only been 10 minutes. He's online though since you know who got a like. Alice at least knows what the people want since she put up all the nick and charlie stills and nothing else

R84 interesting. Maybe Kit and Joe are sitting out promo in solidarity rather than because they have to. My understanding is liking stuff is basically considered promo… clarity from those who know?

R84 after seeing many many reviews basically concede nick is the main character and more or less say joe does a great job of playing sweet supportive boyfriend without any real plot of his own? Hope Joe ignores this show outside of acting in it for this and s3

R85 I dont think Joe will like anything. He's going to be all in on the strike.

R87 Yeah, same but even if he liked it's not considered promo.

R85 It's 100% because of solidarity and not out of obligation, UK actors under Equity can't legally strike and Heartstopper is an Equity production.

R88 good to know. All in on strike + why would he bother when it’s not a vehicle for him anymore

Trying to keep up, which reviews have I missed that concede that Nick is the main character? I've seen the one that says that Charlie "take[s] the backseat a little," others mention that he's supportive, but nothing calling him anything other than a co-lead or co-protagonist? I'm still operating by the DLer saying explicitly that Charlie isn't sidelined.

R91 A lot of it is the one reviewer that said the “backseat a little” comment, she also tweeted something along the same vein. Hoping DLer comes back and sheds a little more light on this, but I imagine he’s asleep now.

R91 I feel like everyone is nitpicking at joe fans being a little dramatic when they say that. Joe/Charlie fans have consistently said it is not about time onscreen but storylines. Even the DLer said they’d hesitate to say sidelined, but that nick “ does still feels like the focus”; a video reviewer singled Kit out because he has “the bulk of the dramatic storylines” and said joe does a great job playing Charlie as the “sweet emotional support for nick and Tao”,; the above reviewer said both that Charlie takes a backseat and that “ The season comes off as a Nick season”, and most reviews spend several paragraphs waxing rhapsodic about the difficulties of coming out while throwing all Charlie’s struggles into one or two lines. And nick is also now getting scenes with both Charlie’s best friend and Charlie’s ex/assaulter, who gave Charlie the bulk of his dramatic tension last season. Plus the brother and dad and Olivia Colman. A reviewer also explicitly described Charlie’s family as amazing, erasing Jane being a terrible mother in the comic.

At this point, denying Kit once again got the better dramatic storylines, regardless of actual screentime, seems a bit obtuse.

The whole Ben thing is wild since I seriously thought he'd be in S2 to screw around with Charlie's mental health, but seems his point is to make it harder for Nick to come out.

R93 I wasn't nitpicking, I was specifically asking if I had missed reviews indicating that Charlie is no longer a main character because that's what's being said on here and because I'd been away and missed a bunch of new ones, that's it.

R94 DLer mentioned that a Charlie and Ben scene is one of two awards reel scenes for Joe, so something definitely goes down there. Has anyone else mentioned that scene?

R95 sorry, wasn’t trying to single you out. More an overall vibe of people on here for weeks and months saying “you bitches are so dramatic, Joe won’t take a backseat, his ED is huge” and now trying to pretend that that’s not what’s happening. But wasn’t trying to single you out.

Anyway, somehow bash stans are making this about bash

Still think it’s kind of crazy how consistently Will is being cited as a standout from the supporting cast. Good for him, honestly.

R95 The Mashable review above and most reviews go on and on about how S2 is the season of Nick coming out. Charlie is the supportive boyfriend. I don't thin he's now a side character, but plot wise seems he takes a backseat

R96 One review said Ben woudln't leave Charlie alone, but otherwise not much. And why is Joe so cursed that half of his award bait is with his ex.

R98 Not to be a total cunt, but it's funnier that it's happening on the heels of Yaz saying she killed it in that one interview. Apparently not that much.

R99 Geoff will free him from the Ben/Bash bait.

R97 Why are they acting like Bash died when he was online following Walmart Charlie’s brother and shit?

R99 honestly that’s the only thing perking me up. Will be funny to see bash fume over joe getting all the praise for that scene

16k likes, people are going feral over this still. Can’t imagine how all of the gifs are going to do.

Also sahar being bi… Alice is truly incapable of imagining having a straight friend

R103 honestly I’m just pissed twitter doesn’t seem to give a fuck about joes sidelining. Can’t wait for him to be done with this clusterfuck. Do not say yes to s4 joe

R105 With all the shit that's going on with the strikes, Joe would be crazy to leave the show.

R100 yeah, I’m pretty busy being outraged on Joe’s behalf but it is killing me that magical Yaz is getting almost no mention at all. Her character’s arc but not her performance. While Joe clearly has very little to work with at least his performance is getting acknowledged in some of the reviews

R107 given the praise will is getting I’m guessing they said “cut, EXCELLENT,” talking to Will and Yaz being Yaz she assumed it was for her

Are they all watching the trailer together? Is that Cori in the back?

R105 Same. Yes, they are hot and make out but nobody gives a single shit about Joe as long as he keeps pretending to stick his tongue down Kit's throat

Why are they randomly making nicks dad homophobic? He didn’t gaf about nicks sexuality in the comic, he was just an absentee father. What is this victim nick and Charlie is fine bullshit

R111 I thought I misremembered when I read that. Weird that Alice wants to make everyone homophobic. Nick's dad didn't give a shit

On a plus side, one review said Kit picks up Joe easier now.

R112 I actually thought that’s one of the few things Alice did well, exploring how parents can be shit in non homophobic ways. Nick was scared to come out because his dad was so absent he didn’t know if he would be homophobic. Jane isn’t mad Charlie’s gay, just controlling as fuck. But now Jane is lovely and nick is being menaced by a homophobe I guess

R110 My Twitter is full of Joe stans and casual fans being angry about Charlie's storyline. Maybe it's who you're following.

Weird that these people all care more about respecting alice than respecting joe

R115 zero big accounts are upset about it

R116 Same ole shit saying we are wrong even if we've been right about it the whole time. And Joe's not ever getting an Emmy for HS when love can't cure mental illness exists.

[quote]Giving them more screen time does a favor not only to their relationship but to Nick and Charlie as Tara and Charlie trade secrets on maintaining a stable relationship with their partners.

Not sure if this was highlighted already, but I'm looking forward to this.

R117 Because the big accounts hate Joe.

R119 good lord that could be good but knowing Alice will be cringe. They’re 15, why are they trading relationship strength advice

Joe liked Alice's posts.

Actually do expect some slight promo since they can't avoid all of it. Just not as much as they would have done.

R122 he’s better than me, I’ll say that

R121 Pretty sure it's the scene in Paris while Nick goes gets ice cream, which is about Nick and Charlie's worries about him coming out.

This is a good one. Skip to 20:35 if you only want to hear about Charlie and Nick.

Patrick has joined in on whining it seems

R125 Interesting, this one does say that Charlie has an individual character arc and elaborates on that.

R125 Charlie mentions he self harmed, basically struggles with food. Also that person doesn't know Bradley's characters name and called him Harry but wants him back for S3 and say he's sweet. Bradley you found your #1 fan.

R127 I take it with a grain of salt. I’m sure he has some solo scenes but given I’ve seen at least 4 people say this season centers nick more, I’ve just given up on the show. Fuck it, I’ll support Joe in Agatha and Kit in his future projects

R126 the frequency with which I will check Alice’s tumblr tomorrow to see her whine about the handful of hstwt fans who are actually upset Charlie isn’t getting a good arc. Also, music being spoiled and if any negative review drops at all (suspect the 4 star ones are probably triggering).

i kinda want to be a bitch and say shit to her tumblr

I hope the hickey scene is not the one with the T Swift song. I would hate to have to skip that.

R129 I listened to the whole thing about the MC's and it's still mostly the Nick show and I already know the girls are going to fall in love with Kit even more with him speaking French

R132 Oh good, I’m not the only one that hates her music. She apparently has a song named Paris so I think they might use it for a Paris montage.

R133 yeah I’m legit mystified by this thread continuing to insist nick isn’t getting main character treatment. Like let’s leave the denial of how shit joe is treated to twitter

R135 She said Charlie's storyline felt like it was just starting too. Pretty obviously he's not getting much to do in S2

R136 yeah every review I’ve read sounds about the same to me, that joe does a fantastic job with what he’s given but that Kit gets the better more evocative dramatic material, which he also does excellently.

This is terribly written and they spell joes name, one of the easiest possible, wrong. Anyone can request early viewing if they have a blog I guess

Sounds like Joe’s got 2 good scenes, one telling Ben to fuck off and one opening up about his situation to Nick?

[quote]Charlie is on top of the world. His toxic dynamic with Ben is behind him, and he and Nick are completely infatuated with each other. His paradise begins to fray at the edges when it becomes clear that his new relationship is starting to interfere with his schoolwork. His parents aren’t happy and forbid him from seeing Nick until he catches up in his classes. As the season progresses, it is apparent that Charlie’s past trauma has left lasting scars that he must face before moving forward.

[quote]Imogen was Nick’s doomed love interest in the first season; she finds herself in a relationship with Ben during the new season and is puzzled by his behavior toward Charlie and Nick.

At least she isn't totally clueless.

[quote]There’s a big Charlie storyline brewing for the next season. The show has carefully laid the groundwork for this since the debut installment, and it’s stated plainly during this run. Those familiar with the webcomic will know precisely what storyline I’m talking about, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the show addresses it.

R138

[quote] The narrative delves into mature themes, such as the challenges of being bisexual and facing prejudice for not conforming to societal expectations of being either gay or straight.

Truly the greatest struggle of our time. Being straight passing

R140 That review is freaking awful. Also praised everyone but Joe.

Re: Charlie's mental health

[quote] It will also be interesting to see how Nick navigates the situation.

The most important thing!

R140 so “I swear, Joe will actually get material next season even though he’s nominally the main character all along”. Alas

R140 literally no mention of Joe’s performance at all. He may as well not be there, just some character Charlie who will have a go next season (but hopefully we’ll still have more Nick!)

R142 any review that names Yaz as a season MVP I cannot trust, so I’m gonna presume Joe crushed it based on how shit that review was

people are really freaking out over TS ok the soundtrack

R146 The presence of her song alone will probably boost streaming numbers, her fans are fucking insane.

Seriously, fuck this. Joe’s material is so weak more than one reviewer has basically left him out their review. The other one clearly wanted to suck Kit’s dick but still had the excuse to ignore Joe completely. Time to sleep where I am and I’m relieved as I’m raging about this. I hope Joe makes them pay through the nose for S4

R135 Ya, I'm avoiding the impending doom of this thread and I'm gonna trust that DLer.

R149 …I also trust the DLer… who literally said that nick is the main character of the season

R150 He also said Charlie wasn't side-lined and they both had their arcs.

R149

[quote] I wouldn’t say it’s the Nick Nelson show exactly, and Charlie is not sidelined - he has many strong moments that could be used for Joe during awards season. Particularly his interaction with Ben in episode 7 and heart to heart with Nick in episode 8 (Kit is excellent in this one too.) Charlie’s growing confidence is also showcased. But it really only starts to scratch the surface on his ED, seems the heavier stuff that will be in his favor won’t be until season 3. The imagery of the bad thoughts Charlie had from the 1st season mostly happen with Nick. And seeing as he spends most of this season coming out again and again and again, while dealing with his daddy issues, he does still feels like the focus. Now that it’s all out of the way though I do think season 3 will be Charlie-centric.

He said what everyone else is saying. W-wait for S3.

R142 yeah ngl I appreciate Kit speaking to his experience and I think it’s a very valid point. But even as a straight passing gay guy, I roll my eyes at that being the only topic brought up in interviews and the show as the main struggle (which is on Alice and the interviewers). I promise you joes life as someone who doesn’t easily pass, let alone femme gay guys, has not been easier in the slightest.

Just like the comics, after the nick coming out arc, the story becomes all about Charlie.

R154 I have zero faith the focus will not be about how Nick deals with Charlie's issues more than how Charlie deals with his issues.

R151 clearly no one is going to agree here. I am at this point just raising an eyebrow at the moved goalposts. Originally it was joe will be the main s2 storyline, then it was theyll be equal, now it’s — after multiple reviews otherwise — “they both have their arcs and joe isn’t sidelined”. At this point someone could point blank write a review calling out joe as sidelined and some people would insist it isn’t true, so I guess we’ll see.

R152 'and Charlie is not sidelined - he has many strong moments that could be used for Joe during awards season' Are we skipping through this part or?

Here's to Season 2 flopping.

R157 No, but I also didn't skip the other 99% of what the person said

R157 ‘ The imagery of the bad thoughts Charlie had from the 1st season mostly happen with Nick. And seeing as he spends most of this season coming out again and again and again, while dealing with his daddy issues, he does still feels like the focus’ are we skipping through this part or?

R160 Still think we should wait and actually watch the season. But if you just want to be defeatist, go ahead.

RE: Moved goalposts. The original train of thought regarding Charlie's storyline (before Alice got to writing scripts) was that the meatier Charlie stuff would come up in S2 because S1 was 2 volumes. Once it was clear that Alice was limiting S2 to Vol 3 and that Nick's dad stuff was shifted forward, it was clear that they were front-loading the Nick stuff to wrap up his coming out instead of dragging it on for 3 seasons. The bulk of the meaty Charlie stuff is in Vol 4, therefore S3. Not saying to put your trust in Alice, it's always good to be skeptical, but given that reviewers seem to be picking up on the set-up it seems that's where we're going with all of this. S3 will be a role reversal in that Nick will end up being the supportive BF with one or two really good scenes, Charlie the one with the most dramatic material.

R162 exactly.

Also its looks like Joe's Rollacoaster issue is shipping

R162 sure but as I’ve said and others have said, that’s not really how critics or public perception works. Two full seasons of Kit being seen as the powerhouse actor, the main lead, and the award winner because he is getting stronger storylines means joe can get Alice’s finest writing s3 and destroy it and it WONT MATTER. That is the issue. I am fully prepared for joe to body s3 and Kit to still get all the acclaim. And I say this thinking Kit did actually deserve the Emmy s1.

Joe fans are allowed to be pissed, y’all. If you disagree fine but coming on to shit on disappointed fans who’d like to not see a gay character take a backseat is a weird move.

I’m wondering what (if?) Joe and Kit negotiated in terms of the strike. I doubt Netflix is going to let them get away with no promo under Equity, so I wonder if they were able to get away with not boosting promo in exchange for something. A premiere appearance?

R164 No one is not allowing you to be pissed, the last 100 replies are about how pissed people are with the reviews. All I'm saying is to wait and see before jumping the gun.

R164 Oh yeah, I don't begrudge anyone their anger, just elaborating on what some of us have thought is happening and might happen.

R166 ok, I think I don’t disagree with people saying wait and see. What I disagree with — and not saying you made these comments — are people saying there are zero signs joe is sidelined, it sounds equal, etc. if it’s just “could go either way, wait for the season to come out”, then yes, that’s fair.

R167 sorry, not trying to be a dick to you either. Just getting annoyed primarily with twitter acting like this has zero repercussions on joe when IF Charlie is sidelined this season, two seasons of Kit getting all the attention mean joe is fucked for s3 even if he gives the performance of a lifetime.

Jesus lawd what did I wake up to? So many comments so i apologize for not calling out specific replies, just gonna wing it here from what I remember.

Obviously everyone may feel differently, but I stand by Charlie is still a main character and not sidelined. I love Joe (I’m also the DLer that met him at the Emmys) and don’t feel like anything was taken from the show at his expense. It follows the comic so closely, which is still Nicks heavy so he obviously holds the main story still. The end is an obvious shift to focusing on Charlie and Nick becoming the supportive boyfriend.

To anyone upset prom isn’t focused on N&C don’t be. It’s honestly a very tiny part of the story and they have their own moment beforehand, as well as afterward with their emotional heart to heart. Prom helps with focus on TarDarcy specifically learning more about Darcy’s issues. As I mentioned before Kizzy really stepped up - the character has much more depth and did great with larger range of scenes they had this season.

Someone asked if it still had the fainting scene - yes it does. Also the review that said no swearing? Charlie does get cut off mid “fuck” but there’s definitely swearing. Offhand I know Ben throws around a few “shit”s and “bitch”es.

While I did mention Nick and Tao have some bonding moments I’m not sure why some reviews are making it seems like there was a bestie heist by Nick. it is literally just Nick being his usual supportive self.

Also Jane is still sucks, I don’t know what they’re thinking. Maybe just because they expected her to be homophobic.

There was a comment about Ben just being there to make things for Nick more difficult, it is not. Ben’s purpose is for Charlie, leading up to the moment where confronts him and stands up for himself (And slightly Imogen but who cares about that) Joe is incredible in this scene (with Kit in the background, and mostly out of focus might I add) and Bash proves he can’t act.

Ok, let me catch up on all the new replies and see if I can add anything else.

R169 thank you, extremely helpful context.

Also please don’t tell me imogen is queer. I’m go8ng to need to lie down if so.

Going into this second season, Locke has revealed he felt more connected than ever to his character Charlie.

"The biggest difference while filming is that I had some idea of what I was doing and felt more at ease with everything," he told press ahead of the new season.

"It's really nice to carry on getting to know Charlie, growing with him and using the things that I learned from the craziness of last year to put into Charlie as a character. I think I relate to Charlie far more now than I did two years ago."

Locke also touched upon the pressure the cast have been subjected to after bringing Oseman's characters to life in such a beautifully received show.

"With season one, we didn't have any idea a) What we were doing, because for most of us, it was our first jobs, and b) There was no pressure because there was no expectation," he said.

"Coming into season two, there was this quite high pressure and expectation to live up to season one, but I think that we all get along so well as a group, as a cast, that it didn't matter, because as soon as you're all together again, it doesn't matter."

The Charlie actor also explained how he and his castmates managed to block out expectations and tried to stay present to honour the characters.

"We're in this bubble, creating this piece of TV, so I think we've all gotten very good at not thinking about the enormity of the show's scale, of what that actually means. Because if you do that, your brain will combust. We're all very good at not thinking about that," he said.

"As an actor, you just have to do your best with the character and that's all you can do. You're always going to disappoint some people, so you've just got to do your best."

[quote]Joe is incredible in this scene (with Kit in the background, and mostly out of focus might I add) and Bash proves he can’t act.

Dying.

R171 that’s very interesting and honestly pretty sad given Charlie is a mess. Guessing he means some of the body image issues and anxiety,

R173 And the perpetual bullying from his toxic ex...

R170 it’s not explicitly said but it’s hinted at, yes. When Imogen is lamenting about her boy problems to N&C she says something about how it would be easier to be a lesbian, and seems to be eyeing another character by the end.

R165 you’d be surprised at how outdated some contracts are in terms of social media requirements. A lot genuinely are shit at outlining exactly what’s required of the actors, especially as they don’t all have the same social media accounts. My guess is (could be wrong) as a courtesy, joe and Kit won’t post anything else like a personal post etc on the day HS content drops, so as not to distract, and maybe that in exchange for no press, they have to show to a premiere. But social media wise, I think they’re Scot free

R175 why can’t Alice just have imogen be a tone deaf white girl? Istg. If next season we have nick and Charlie, Tao and Elle, Michael and tori as an ace couple, Tara and Darcy, and imogen and sahar, I give up. Plus gay James and ace Isaac. This is too much. She’s making me feel like DeSantis.

not having a single straight character is even more unrealistic than nick and Charlie waiting years to fuck

Oh, someone had also asked specifics about the shirtless scenes. Nick is alone in his room post shower, while texting Charlie. Tao’s is walking into the bathroom while N&C are stressing about the hickey in Paris.

R178 Are we not going to see Nick's laddy friends? The last bit of hope.

R179 oh another question. Do nicks and Charlie share a bed in Paris?

R179 I bet Patrick was up early for that day of shooting.

R180 with our luck two of them will date and the other will become Isaac’s aroace platonic life partner

Not seeing joe shirtless is my thirteenth reason.

R169 How many times does Charlie gotta tell Ben off now

R185 wondering/guessing the Harry apology may have been given to Ben, which would be a better storyline anyway. Also the pettiest part of me wants to see Joe absolutely body bash in a scene acting wise

R185 for every ten people nick comes out to, Charlie tells Ben off once. Balance.

R187 Gotta say that school has some of the dumbest people. After the Sports Day thing, no sane person would think Nick and Charlie are platonic BFFs.

R185 Yeah I'm a little confused about the purpose of Charlie standing up to Ben again. I appreciate Ben isn't the sort of character who would necessarily stop hassling Charlie but I'm worried this is just going to feel like a repeat of S1.

I at least have faith that Tobie’s vlogs will be Joe-centered. Can’t wait to see more of his personality

R189 it legit is. Charlie and nick date in secret while nick angsts over coming out and Charlie struggles secretly without telling anyone. Then Charlie dramatically tells off his ex and nick comes out. Roll credits.

R191 That sounds pretty shit and why the fuck does Nick take 8 episodes

R191 Pretty much what happened in the comics so I'm not surprised. Just disappointed.

R191 LOL I did just mean the scene with Charlie confronting Ben would feel like a repeat of the S1 scene but now you've said it, I can't unsee it. They're copied and pasted the entire damn season.

R180 yes the rugby lads return! Part of the Nicks coming out ad nauseam is him wanting to tell them. As in the comics, they show their suspicions about Nick and support him once out.

R181 same as comics, Tao still cockblocks until after the party when he’s busy with Elle.

R185 / r189 the purpose is for Charlie to show off his growth. It also gives some finality to Ben me is hopefully the resolution of Bash. It’s much bigger than the party confrontation in season 1. And again, I think this moment could be an award winner for Joe.

R185 Harry still has his apologies and moments trying to prove he’s a changed man.

R195 you’re a champ for dealing with all the qs. Was Yaz a weak link acting wise?

Obsessed with having a DLer on the inside. Thank you for your service

R195 Did they not mention the Sports Day thing at all? Thanks, that's very promising.

184 Hopefully Marvel will save us there, because Charlie finally took his shirt off for the first time in the comics but we are a ways away from that.

These are not good looking guys

R196 Weak link seems harsh but Yaz was yaz. Status quo from season one. Certainly not the “killed it” she thinks it was. Will outshines her by far in TaoElle scenes.

R201 you’re very diplomatic and kind, genuinely. Any Jenny and joe scenes? (Aside from the dinner)

R198 it is brought up briefly by Imogen

R195 That's good news if Bash is gone now. There's zero need for him to get told off a third time in S3. Video review also made it sound like both Ben and Harry have moments when you think they'll be better people, so really...that's about all we need for both of them.

Joe currently - I'm free!!!worst experience of my fucking life!!.jpg

So what I’m hearing is no Ben is season 3?? Bash unemployed era has already begun??

Fwiw a bunch of the bigger accounts are waking up to how shitty joe treatment has been. Have seen a few comment about how sad the interview saying he relates more to Charlie now is.

Actually the more that I think about it since season 2 and 3 were renewed at the same time I have a hard time believing bash only signed on for season 2. Could see him being there briefly in season 3 but even less screen time than s1

R205 He's got a big project coming up. Steal Twink Charlie from a richer nepo baby than him.

R206 A lot of them were shitting on him hard over the misquote incident so I don't really care what they say now.

Twink Charlie is genuinely beautiful, seems to be talented, and went to NYU so he’s gotta be smart - don’t see him sticking with bash. Hope he knows his worth

R209 I hate the, but anything that makes so,e people wake the fuck up that joe has been treated brutally with minimal support is something

R202 yes :) but considering Tori was a fan fave of season 1 it was disappointed how little she popped up.

R205 / r207 his ending feels pretty final (“if you still hate me you’ll never see me again” or something along those lines) /‘d is not at all necessary to the story line. But honestly could go either way, just depends on how Alice wants to explore it.

R212 I’m so sorry to keep asking follow up qs. Would you still say of the kids joe and Kit were the standouts? I know you say will and kizzy stepped it up to; to that level?

And did Joe have any scenes with Olivia?

Larger Stan accounts (which I hate) definitely starting to rumble about Joe. In particular (because it suits their images) that the ED storyline takes a backseat. Fans who have (or say they have) ED themselves are seem to be managing to flip the larger accounts into having to care. Alice will be devastated (good)

Trailer.

R215 well that is cute as fuck

That trailer was so adorable, and super Joe focused. Everyone needs to calm the fuck down.

R215 main takeaways: as always Kit and joe nail the chemistry and body language. The cheek kissing, snuggling, giggling, and twirling around is almost nauseatingly cute.

R217 seriously stop. I agree people need to chill till the show comes out but stop being a fucking dick in the opposite direction.

Not a single frame of any of Elles new friends oh we won

Joe will never jump into your arms. Why live

YouTube version. I cracked up at the bathroom scene and get why Will’s been singled out.

Kizzy nailed that line.

Im surprised we got the Oh Fuck, even if it was cut off.

Interview with the cast.

Why is Ben all up in their business. Get a job

[quote] Sahar Zahid (Leila Khan) is another blast from the comic’s past this season. But in the series, she and Imogen Heaney (Rhea Norwood) are former friends who grew apart after a miscommunication before the events of Season 1. “They’re at an insecure age,” said Norwood. “And there’s this definite brand of young girls that struggle to maintain female friendships.”

Are they going to end up dating?

Can we save the “why is Ben even here” to the Twitter fraus please. We all knew he was going to be in this season and that obviously his character was there to cause problems there’s no use making it a big deal

Thank god for the trailer I was fighting for my life in here.

Glad it showcased Will and Kizzy, they’re even better in full. But to answer your question r213 no not to Kit / Joe level. They are absolutely still the show stealers.

R219 their appearance is very, very brief and easily forgettable.

Based on all the reviews, including out fabulous inside man, and now seeing the trailer I actually think this season will be great for Joe. S1 was actually more of Charlie’s story and Nick played the super supportive perfect boyfriend. Now Charlie is the super supportive perfect boyfriend and Nick’s showing some flaws. I think Joe will win over a lot of the fangirls this season.

R213 yes! Joe and Olivia have a scene together, aside from family dinner.

R229 yeah this is the swap, its now Charlie's turn to be the perfect boyfriend and have everyone fall in love with him.

R227 I'm not asking why he's in the show, but why that's his storyline. Seems dumb. Though nobody likes thread police

Girls are not going to fall in love with Joe while Kit is shirtless and speaking French. Be for real please.

R215 Joe looks amazing in this lighting. Everyone else kinda looks washed out. I don't know how they're able to kiss like that and not catch feelings but good for them.

R228 oh mate. Some of us intensely identify with Joe (or just want to fuck him - I am both) sorry if felt you were copping heat. I was focused on the reviews, which I’m more thinking might be more fully focussed on Kit for engagement. I’ll give my thorough and completely unsolicited view on release lol

Fuck, Kit and Joe look hot as hell together.

ok so like side bar though, kits ass

Can anyone from the UK provide insight if the trailer or heartstopper is trending there? It’s not trending in the US but that’s to be expected

R236 Like how Joe looked at him. The picking up hugs are great

Big fan of that bit where Charlie pushes Nick against the door.

R236 joe is so tiny. Why can’t I carry him around.

Also a perfect Joe

Will should do comedy since he's funny without trying

R241 the story he told about receiving an orange for Christmas in their Christmas promo is one of the best moments of anything they’ve ever prerecorded. Dude has hilarious timing.

R239 gonna need to see that from many angles

Joe liked both of Netflix UK’s most recent posts, the second one pretty quickly.

R238 that perfec jawline

So I guess he does eat the ice cream? Anyway. Stupidly cute. Of course nick is madly in love

R243 Likes seem all right, though nobody has shared the trailer other than Alice and Patrick

R242 Tao was hilarious in the trailer. I could see Will doing really well in a comedy film/tv show. I can also see him being nominated again for the Emmys.

DJL doing it for the gays. Stunning.

Kit yanks him around so effortlessly.

R245 only enough to get some on his nose, allowing for a ridiculously cute moment to follow

R249 A review mentioned that, which I appreciate

R249 ohhhhh just wait

Sorry y’all, call me deluded but the only thing holding them back feom, fucking s2 was bash and kind of Maia. I was a “they won’t hook up on s3” truther and now I would not be surprised,

R254 You are deluded but you are welcome to be

Another post with Kit as the screenshot

Oh, they were actually standing together this time.

R257 everyone needs to watch this to see bash somehow give the worst teleprompter reading I’ve seen in a long time

R258 The way his eyes track robotically across the teleprompter.

Bash can’t be bothered because he’s not standing next to Kit.

Wish the strike wasn’t going on because I’m interested to know who would be posting about the trailer right now/how personal it would be. I’m sure bradley would have 17 stories up about his one frame in the trailer by now

R260 Plot twist, he's actually jealous Joe gets Kit in the breakup. That's why his sister followed Kit. Though seriously, he probably is mad about that.

Figured I'd throw this out there regarding the Emmys, but I just realized that Heartstopper will probably end up going up against the Percy Jackson show and they'll have recency bias if they release right before the end of the deadline.

R263 would they even qualify now with the raised age range?

Percy Jackson show has an insane budget behind it and seems like it’ll be absolutely massive, don’t think heartstopper would had a chance even if they were released at the same time

R264 It would undergo an eligibility panel review to evaluate the cursing and maybe the drinking (the rules mentioning drug use, but not drinking), then they'd make a decision. It's TV-14 and the Young Teen categories is designed for 11-15, so it could go either way, but I can't see them turning away a previous winner.

[quote]Content that is for older teens, features excessive sex, nudity, foul language, graphic violence, drug use, gore, and/or is rated TV-MA/R is not eligible in the Children’s & Family Emmys and should inquire about entering the Primetime Emmys. If your content formerly entered the Young Adult category in the Daytime Emmys and features one or more of the characteristics above, it should undergo an Eligibility Panel review.

Honestly while I’m still, not a huge optimist about how great joes storyline will be, I have absolute confidence in him and Kit bodying what’s they’re given, as they did s1, and am excited to hear kizzy and will step up in a big way.

R266 interesting. Having read the PJ books as a kid, given the budget, unless the actors are shit I’m guessing lead actor and actress are theirs to lose, and then the best acting shot HS has is ironically Will in supporting. Grover is a good character but Tao could carry off a win

PJ will be bigger in scale, but I’d be surprised if the acting is better than Kit and Joe’s. I won’t know either way because I’m not watching it, though.

Actually, thinking about it more, I think Disney would submit it to Primetime and not CAF because of the tech awards. They did that with Ms. Marvel.

The boy playing Percy Jackson is an incredible young actor, I was impressed with him in the movie with Ryan Reynolds. the show isn’t even out yet and I feel confident in saying he would be most likely to win

R270 Forgot about those, never mind. They'll definitely go Primetime.

I loved the Percy Jackson books when I was younger, but don’t know if they’ll sweep the awards. They’ll definitely get lots of nominations. HS won a lot because a gay love story appropriate for kids is somewhat political and giving it lots of awards makes a statement. It’s not going to be eligible this year so in 2024 HS won’t be the most recent winner.

I could see HS sweeping it again. I also loved the Mysterious Benedict Society books as a kid and last year the MBS show received more nominations than any other show but hardly won anything. I could see Percy Jackson getting lots of nominations but few wins. It’s basically the Greek mythology version of Harry Potter. HP is very popular but not an award winner.

I am actually really excited to watch PJ. the actors look great and the actor that plays percy will look like he will do a fantastic job

Well Heartstopper has certainly gotten the attention of the main stream accounts. A couple of the big film and tv accounts have reposted the trailer.

And Grace Randolph has done a trailer reaction. Turns out shes a big time Joe defender.

R275 grace loves joe and has defended his Wiccan casting nonstop.

R273 I think PJ has some advantages though maybe not in the lead actor category. There was a urge racism controversy when they cast a black girl as the lead and th show stepped up in a big way (fuck you alice re joe and Kit) to defend her and blatantly call people who had issues with her racist, and I also legit think it’s a well written series. We’ll see what happens.

R275

even though i normally cant stand grace, she has been a big supporter of Joe’s casting since it was announced. i give her kuddos for that

Will never forgive Alice for their lack of vocal support for joe and kit. The entire PJ team went above and beyond to justify their casting and basically tell everyone who didn’t like it to fuck off and not watch

R275 Grace has been putting in the work defending Joe forever. She also wants Kit as Teddy

R280 if you can gif nick spinning Charlie I would be grateful

R281

R282 ty. As someone who has nonstop clowned Alice over them and insisted they need to be hornier…I to an extent admit defeat. They’re fucking adorable

[quote]As the two best friends test the limits of their safe, intimate bubble, Locke and Connor’s chemistry, both physical and emotional, has never been stronger. The early days of dating — captured in an accelerated montage that will make you squeal in delight — show regular visits to each other’s houses, passionate kisses, and an exciting string of firsts. In pursuit of unattainable perfection, Charlie remains as sweet, patient, considerate, and selfless as ever. But despite his best efforts, cruel realities of ignorance and homophobia creep in, resurfacing past trauma and insecurities while taking tolls on both him and Nick.

R284 Spending 8 episodes coming out is still too damn much even if we got over our dramatic phase atm

This review confirms that Tao’s dad died, and it says that Tara has homophobic parents that commit “barbarically evil acts,” assuming the reviewer got confused and it’s still Darcy. This is probably the most lukewarm review I’ve read so far, specifically calls out the Isaac and Darcy plots for being rushed and not having the foundation to be convincing.

Great gif, masterful acting.

R285 low key as a joe Stan I’m still not over being dramatic about nicks coming out for 4 more hours trumping Charlie’s mental health issues, but this thread and twitter are all shrilly insisting it’s over dramatic in an ironically dramatic manner so whatever

R286 I know I sound like a dick but reviews like that that clearly project way too much of the authors own experience make me Eyeroll. I have no doubt Kit killed it, but his explanation of why Kit is “once again the best actor” (dickish statement but ok) is 2 sentences on kits acting and 5 of him ranting about pressures he felt as an LGBT teen. Chill.

R288 Oh I'm not over it either, since even if there's a S4 there Joe's never gonna get 8 whole episodes dedicated to his solo storyline, but just reading the mood of the thread I'm gonna be quiet for now

R287 Idk about Tattoo Tal or Bash but I would not let this man go if I were them.

R289 There was another that was so long winded and personal I just stopped reading since they barely talked about the show

One thing inam looking forward to seeing is how Charlie and Tao became friends, i think that would be cute

Tobie gets it

This is a great summery of the season. Charlie's story is being handled more carefully which takes time.

R294 he’s stunning

Love joe liking this within 15 min

[quote]Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) struggles with opening up generally, but especially with his mental health, even with Nick. Connor and Locke confidently manage to amp up their emotional performances as young lovers with many a tender and intimate moment between the two.

R296 Lego, you are NOTHING!

R296 He's probably familiar with that decor and feels nostalgic.

R299 OF Nick moved to a new place after Joe left, maybe Joe wants to visit and see the new place more thoroughly.

Was wondering if he'd like it since he didn't like the last three posts

R290 He's in LA, some random twink's house

R294 Tobie, love the effort but please post a flattering angle next time.

Surprised Radiotimes disliked HS so much the first time around, though they say S2 is better than S1 though still don't seem to like it or most of the actors. Joe, Kit, Olivia and randomly Bash get a pass. Tobie, Cormac, Will and Yaz not so much.

R303 I don’t remember what they said about s1 when it first came out. It was clearly positive enough to keep the 100% RT score. This s2 review is honestly one of my favorites, because it admits the show is good but not perfect. It’s very cutesy and intended for a young audience. Them saying s2 is more nuanced and a step up from s1 gives me far more hope than people who loved s1 saying s2 matches the comics perfectly.

Love this for the girls (and Kizzy) but ridiculous we have this as promo and no Kit and Joe.

R304 He gave it 3/5 stars and said he can't imagine many over 16 wanting to watch it. It's not negative though, just mostly true. I'm not watching for the plot.

Whoever did the hair on that shoot deserves the electric chair.

Looks like Charlie rejoins rugby

R308 Poor Joe. Didn't he dislike those scenes

Joe is giving major top vibes in the first one.

Lily Drew, who is some below d-list director and friend of Dylan Mulvaney (currently in the UK) followed both Joe and our least favorite guy tonight sometime, though Joe didn't follow her back. Anyway, slightly annoying tea that might be nothing.

R310 Stop lying to yourself

Ugh would do anything to bring OF Nick back

R311 Joe and Bash back together? I would hate that but rings true to the pattern of going back with your ex. And I need to fuel my Kit as a bottom fantasy somehow.

Pretty sure our least favorite guy is Lego not bash

R313 Tal, Is bash more disliked than him? Need a poll. And no I don't see that at all anymore. A month ago I was thinking of an S3 filming hookup, but he might not be back and just seems like too much bad shit has gone on.

Bash is probably still in France trying to get in Charlie's pants

R314 Why does that sound worst to me? Alas.

Didn’t realize that Wasia Project got a Rolling Stone UK feature, that’s pretty cool.

I hope Joe doesn’t get back with bash. Tal is annoying, but he hasn’t been actively toxic that we’ve seen. His ex seems fine with him.

Joe seeing both tobie and tal today does make me think he did go away for a few days.

R309 yeah he said they made him viscerally uncomfortable and he had to take breaks from the laddish locker room setting. Predictably fans ignored it

R315 I think it depends on the scenario, like if that director had followed Joe and Bash because they were all at the same industry event I would take it over her following Joe and Lego because they're together.

Sorry, but Joe and Tal sound pretty official to me. Not in a getting married and super exclusive way but dating for sure. Oh well.

I hate that Lego has the satisfaction of knowing he’s hooking up with the hottest eligible twink- the only way I would find it acceptable is if he was one of many on a roster but I have a feeling Joe is a one guy at a time type of guy

Joe’s friends don’t seem to be bothering with him yet so I’ll just hope whatever it is runs its course quickly and that Joe doesn’t waste a ton of time on a short, untalented tattoo artist. And “artist” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

R322 Other than Lucy and I don't think she got a tattoo since he follows most people he gives tattoos to

R320 Yeah, guessing casually dating. Lego's seems to be used to long distance relationships and works all day, so it's not the worst thing in the world

Lucy and sam aren’t showing up in Joe’s following tan for me? Am I dumb or is that new?

R324 I have no idea what you are saying

Lucy's following Joe

R323 Apart from Lucy, no one on Joe's end that was at the Gay Times party, or Alicia when she was in London, or anyone else from his London circle have. On Lego's end, his bff Ashley never followed Joe back, either.

R326 Idk about BFF, I think his bestie is that Sofi guy. Whatever they obviously aren't introducing each other much to friends.

I think people are also forgetting joes social circle isn’t huge right now. I never thought Tal was a pure booty call, but I think it’s very casual

I guess for the people who give a fuck about Taylor Swift, the music supervisor is going around denying songs. He said it’s not Paris or You Need To Calm Down.

Super unpopular opinion, but I don’t completely hate Tal. I definitely think it’s casual and won’t last beyond this summer. But constantly hooking up with lots of different strangers would probably be very stressful for Joe, just fear of people leaking nudes and shit like that. Having a non-famous and doting companion to help boost his self-esteem is exactly what I hoped Joe would find in a rebound. And Tal hasn’t done any clout chasing and handled people asking him about Joe really well. He seems like a trustworthy person who has a semi-famous brother which gives him some insight into what Joe’s dealing with. But Tal himself is more of just a normal guy, not another egotistical celebrity.

Joes out liking pics of OF Nick shirtless legs spread in a bed. Don’t think we need to book a chapel for him and tattoo tal yet

I’m a hater to my core, you will not make me like Lego though I appreciate the sentiment

Joe can do better, end of.

R330 yeah I don’t love tal or anything and I think he’s shit at his job. But as someone who shamefully watched his brothers season of love island at the time, I’m going to push back a bit on people saying he was clout chasing from his brother by doing interviews about him. Eyal was getting shit on and judged a lot for some of the couplings up he did in the show. Having read all of one of Tal’s interviews, it seemed much more like a brother defending his sibling and saying he was actually a good warm-hearted guy.

R329 I'm trying to think of the corniest possible option, especially since it's apparently a montage song. New Romantics?

That’s nice, still don’t like him.

R331 After skipping liking his nipples, , though Of Nick is hot. Though a lot of guys don't care about that shit. Not everyone is Bash thankfully. Though no chapel anytime soon.

R331 That's not a convincing argument. Joe was liking thirst traps when he was with Bash. And it's not that Tal is a bad person. He seems nice. But nowhere near the level of Joe.

Kit Connor is a lot taller than I would have expected at 6'1".

Is he really that much taller than Joe Locke at 5'9" - he doesn't tower over him in their scenes.

I’m also partial to believe that no good comes from being with a man a decade older than you at 19 years, at least not for me. I find the pattern of Lego’s dating history age a little icky so fingers crossed this doesn’t become anything serious

R330 I don't mind him either. As long as Joe doesn't start shilling his brother's curl cream all is good. Joe's 19 and got out of a LTR with someone who seems like a jealous cunt in hindsight. Something fun and casual is fine.

R329 I’m skimming the comments of that post and don’t see the song that’s used mentioned yet. It’s not an obvious choice.

Same.

R338 he hadn’t fucked his thirst traps. Bit different. To be clear none of this is pro Tal. I don’t like him. But I just don’t think Joe is anything more than casually seeing him so I don’t really care

If you're super into the idea of Lego and Joe save it for the doodles in your notebook.

R329 wouldn’t be shocked at august as their end of summer, Charlie wants to say I love you and Nick wants to discuss his ED song.

R339 He's not all that much taller. Joe's just smaller, also tends to have kinda bad posture so he looks shorter.

R345 Some of you are annoying as fuck seriously. They are fucking and it's gossip. nobody tells you to save your Joe and Kit dreams for your notebook

Kit and joe had a 2 inch height difference last season (so Kit claims), think Kit grew about an inch or a lot more and joe didn’t so now it looks bigger. Plus joe is one of the cuddliest people ever and tucks himself against people so he looks tiny

R344 This is where I’m at. Guy isn’t even worth arguing about yet.

R342 I would love to try and guess but I know maybe 3 of her songs.

Tal is looking for other people to tattoo/mutilate this weekend. I consider those who go get tattoos from him and thus keep him away from joe in the daytime to be heroes, like those who donate their bodies to science.

Also for the curious I looked at the IGs for other artists at his shop and none of them follow Joe, so Joe isn’t dropping by for midday visits. Seems like a very off hours and evening engagement.

Part of my Tal dislike is also me refusing to believe that Bash is hooking with the hotter rebound right now. In my eyes Charlie is hot as fuck - especially his tiktok

R352 Charlie is hotter than tal but not as hot or talented as joe. but to me the bigger thing is bash will never ever do better than joe, and joe can and will do a lot better than bash. So I don’t care about current hookups. Give bash and his creepy family 3-4 weeks to scare off twink Charlie.

R352 Oh god I find him annoying as hell. He's beautiful, but fucking obnoxious on tiktok and twitter.

This is cute

R353 Charlie's boyfriend is still liking everything about him, even his dumb wordle tweets so I still don't see it for Bash

R355 Random, but Nick looks more in love now. Think this thread might spontaneously combust when the show comes out

I wonder how strange it is for Cormac that he was supposed to be the antagonist that sticks around to get a redemption arc and Bash was supposed to fuck off into the sunset and now it's Bash in the trailer instead of him and Ben being given layers or whatever the fuck that one review said.

R354 dear god, you’re not kidding. This is the brother bash followed? With full disrespect, I’m not surprised they got along. Just as cringe as bash.

These are probably their prom outfits, right? Charlie's shirt and Nick's pants don't look like they're uniform colors.

R360 so jealous of Kit getting to do that. But yeah good catch

R361 I reckon that a lot of things Kit gets to do cause jealousy.

This is legit very cute, especially Charlie’s smile after

R362 I’m in public, I can’t start thinking about joes lips

R364 Sorry!

R360 yes that’s after prom

R359 That's him. He's only a couple years older than Charlie though looks like he's pushing 40.

Kit got his boyfriend pics of Joe inspiration from nick

"Working with Jack, who plays David, was a really great experience. Jack's an absolute angel and a really great actor as well," Connor said. "He's just a great human being, so it was a lot of fun. Looking at him, I felt very, very flattered that anyone would suggest that we are related.

"Working out the dynamic between the characters was really interesting. We had a couple of rehearsals with Euros Lyn, our director. We were really trying to get into why that relationship was the way that it was."

While Nick and his brother David don't have the closest relationship, Kit has encouraged viewers not to jump to conclusions about why that's the case.

"I felt like it would be a bit boring and a bit lazy for us to go, 'Well, David's just a homophobe, and that's why he reacts in the way that he does'," the actor said.

"He's a bully to Nick, and especially when the question of Nick's sexuality comes into play, that's the fuel to the fire of his bullying. We wanted to take that and go, 'Yeah, but why is he like that?' David is homophobic, but the idea he was just born a homophobe or something is just not true."

Connor continued: "They're competitive siblings and they had a father who wasn't very loving, who wasn't really there for them. You look at that and look into the background of their upbringing. That was really important for us, to find the dynamic between the characters."

His Stans must be having a bad day

R370 The way Nick could knock his ass into the next century with one punch.

I know, I know — people looking like their characters is nothing new. But this one is great. And joe has a genuinely stunning face.

Very random nitpicky q for the DLer who saw the show. And thanks so much for answering these, fine if this is a spoiler snd you can’t say. But does Charlie actually eat the ice cream or throw it out

R373 see my answer at r250

374 hero, thank you

Have to rep for the Kit stans, jealous that Joe gets to make out with and get thrown around by him.

R376 fair point tbh

R376 very real. I’m a Joe guy but they are both fucking gorgeous

Kit and Tobie left sweet comments on Will’s most recent post.

R379 that’s really cute. Between that, pride, the tobie pic today, and Kit and joe obviously hanging out, I’m very hopeful the Kit will tobie friend group take joe in.

Off topic but hilarious will promoted his band the day the trailer came out

Just watched the trailer now and I can genuinely say I am excited. Looks like a lot of sweet moments between Nick and Charlie. Also wanted to thank our DL insider. Your review came in clutch and I appreciate you answering so many questions!

As a former Lana gay, this really hit.

I of course lost the tweet but some of the Polaroids recreated on the wall are ones from the comic. That is cute

R383 Found this one in Alice's likes.

R382 yeah, mid-teens when this came out and i loved it (because lonely gay kid). Would have killed for this kind of thing then. Reminded me why I loved the show on first watch.

Someone edited the music out of the trailer if anyone is interested.

I’m dying, JBC is trying to get us in trouble with Patrick. She’s so fucking stupid, Patrick’s not going to give a fuck.

Someone tell her she’s spreading the spoilers by mentioning it on Twitter.

Hey JBC, keep at it and I'll start sending some of your comments to your job over at the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

That’s actually hilarious. I like that she seems to think she can shut down the entirety of DL for spoilers. And actually the DL insider has been extremely artful and hasn’t spoiled any more than most reviews have

R387 don’t come here then. Lol. It was made very clear that there would be a spoiler review. The Twitter lurkers had been fucking warned. It’s like their eyeballs don’t belong to them.

Also, Patrick, if you do come here, you guys sleeping on Joe is beyond fucked up. Glad to see you care more about a side character played by white girl than one of the two OUT gay guys in the cast. Guess you’re only important to you if you’re a teen heartthrob that you want to fuck…

(Team pls don’t come for me saying he won’t look here - it’s a cathartic joke)

This is cute. It’s also straight out of the Joe playbook

Thank you r390. My posts were tailored to a specific audience but many of the proper reviews and the trailer itself revealed far more than I did. Fuck off JBC.

R393 the specific audience being gays that are horned up for the two leads and run more Joe focused… and we thank you for that

R393 the fact that you didn’t go on and on about how ace rep is beautiful and cut to the chase — amazing chemistry, will and kizzy stepped up, bash is useless — is perfect.

R384 thanks, you helped me find the two pics. Blurry but I can tell Joe looks adorable.

R393 also, I remember your main guy is Kit but you didn’t dickride him at all in your assessment. Feel like some of the reviewers are in the middle of full on confirmation bias when they’re talking about him, because of life = art.

R392 That is obviously an overall Joe thing, but that part and other parts of the trailer made me realize that a bunch of the behaviours we've seen between Joe and Kit are basically carried over from their acting (clothes sharing, Kit lifting Joe, the cheek kiss thing, the specific kind of picture-taking, Kit/Nick's concern for Joe/Charlie).

R393 Oh, I forgot you're a Kit fan! What did you think of his acting overall, and about his family stuff in particular? Also, about how many scenes do you remember him having with Olivia and the actor playing his dad? Thanks x

R397 agreed. I don’t doubt Kit absolutely killed it this season but every review I’ve seen mention him specifically standing out (as opposed to noting he and joe carried it) either mentioned how important the storyline was and how it reflected his life, or said he was the best because he had a bigger storyline which is weirdly circular. When the former, they often also singled out Yaz and said she was amazing because trans rep is important. Trans rep IS important but I have my doubts on if Yaz was amazing. I would bet money that kit was absolutely phenomenal this season but if feel like as you say a lot of reviewers are either talking ad nauseam about their own homophobic relatives or weeping over kits irl coming out.

R398 yeah not to get too cheesy but even joes quotes pre Kit coming out (when he obviously knew Kit was queer) were genuinely moving and I hope integrated into the season to some extent. I’m sure they were better than anything Alice would write

I know they obviously rehearsed and had an intimacy coordinator but Joe is always so ready to get picked up. Kit is blessed. Bash fumbled

Hopefully Alice sees this one:

[quote]Besides the coming-out worries, Nick also has to deal with Ben (Sebastian Croft) popping up in the picture repeatedly, wanting to talk to Charlie about what happened between them in Season 1. Ben is very persistent, so much so that you kind of want him to buzz off after a certain point. He's a popular character, but he began to grate on my nerves with his sullen staring at Charlie and endless texting. However, there is finally closure to that storyline in Season 2, for better or for worse.

R403 weird wording to say nick has to deal with Ben talking to Charlie but glad they kept Ben as a Charlie antagonist. Hopefully he ducks off after this season and no more bash.

R403 That's honestly funny that's what Ben does. I figured he'd want to get back with Charlie, because obviously.

And why does that sound like something Bash would do post-breakup. Not saying he's Ben but he's like a fly, he won't go away. Be surprised if he hasn't sent Joe a pissy text or 12

God, that face. He’s so stunning.

R405 I honestly can’t decide if I think bash has blocked joe or sent him bitchy texts

R387 It's honestly sending me that this is the woman who talked about Joe and Bash's sex life in vivid details on main on an app Bash's mom is on and had twink Charlie as a pinned tweet saying Bash did a good job, all of that is fine, but calling Bash assless, annoying and not talented is apparently a step too far so she's gonna tell on everyone.

R406 Going with both, depending on the day.

R407 if she’d really like a forensic breakdown I can do it helpfully for her to screenshot as though that will do anything. But much as I don’t like bash, her dumb ass would prob post it on twitter and tag him about how @sebastiancroft deserves the world, and I don’t think he needs the heartbreak of knowing he’s assless, lipless, lacks a jawline, has a nasal voice, and much more.

So interesting to me that most of the cast are still losing followers hand over fist on Insta - Joe still mostly making moderate gains and Kit is killing it. Be very interested to know how they go tomorrow when the reviews/trailer influence drops. Obviously Kit’s will go through the roof (he’ll definitely be over 5M actually in a couple days), Joe’s will be significant (half to 1/3rd of Kit’s) but I think Will might be the biggest winner in terms of come back. His stuff in the trailer is hilarious and he’s getting singled out as the stand out in the supporting cast.

Alright all. Time to take DL back to its roots. A deep dive on bash’s potential hookup. Firstly, given both the insane south of France house they were staying in, and given that Charlie seems to be a full time “artist” and his brother a musician, guessing like bash and his unemployed sister they are extremely wealthy and bankrolled by mom and dad. Secondly, seems to be a little bit of a starfucker. And let’s take star with a grain of salt. Pre bash and sally field’s son, it was Christian Weissman.

But more importantly. While looking at twinks Charlie’s profile, I was intrigued by the fact that despite posting a lot of pictures of just him looking twinky and hot, mostly shirtless, I could not find a single ass pic. I searched low, I searched high. I looked at tagged pics. This already seemed foreboding given he was happy to post from any other angle. Finally I found one. Sadly, not much to write home about. Certainly not joes miracle of nature. And it confirms once more that while Charlie is still out of bash’s league, bash will truly never do better than joe.

R397 good memory! to be fair, Joe is a VERY close second. Of course, if we want to talk literal dickriding, more than happy to. (Or however your perfect ass prefers, Kit)

R399 biased I’m sure, but incredible. He didn’t have any stand out scenes to me though other than the one with Joe at the end. Iconic moments? yes, Including the family scene. But Emmy award winning? Just the one. His strength really lies when he gets to show off his emotional depth. In addition to the family dinner, I only recall one other scene with Nick’s father. He has a few more scenes with Olivia but they just move the story along, nothing groundbreaking.

For the curious, after almost 12 hours up the trailer is at 1 million views

R410 I would also like to offer up a reply to OF Nick’s recent tweet for a fun return to roots. Made me laugh like crazy - it will be all the more hilarious if said in the show (it better fucking be).

R413 that’s fucking hilarious. Also kind of confirms that while I do think he’s vers, he has a preference for twinks. Joe must’ve been catnip

R413 did NOT realize Nick liked it. That’s hilarious. Wonder if he got the reference? Probably yes

R414 that he liked it is just beautiful. I know we are all impressed with his lack of clout chasing and that really can be just shrugged off as the meme has a life of its own in all kinds of contexts but iykyk. I suspect he did not

It's an obscure comic reference. Doubt he realized. Funny though.

R410 HIs mom is pretty accomplished. Private equity/CFA. They are loaded

R413 could you imagine Aubrey Plaza shouting that line at Joe. That would literally make the show worth it alone lol.

R417 tbh I only know because people were talking about it here when Joe got cast. The dude who wrote the reply almost definitely knows, it’s too fucking spot on. OF Nick almost definitely doesn’t because, as you say, obscure as fuck and it’s a meme from before the line, which is a reference to it.

R410 Another funny thing about him is his boyfriend said he looked like Timmy, which he sort of does obviously. Honestly I find the whole thing kinda gross on Bash's behalf for various reasons. At least Joe is not looking for a clone of his ex for his hookups and seems like he met OF Nick and Lego kinda naturally and just hit it off. Bash seemed to search IG for a guy who looked a certain way to be in his assembly line of twinks he'll love bomb and fuck around with until he gets bored and then move on to the next one. Joe deserved better than that shit.

R412 thats much better than The Witcher trailer so Id say things are good.

R410 appreciate your research on this. Hope deficiency means Bash leaves him alone soon. Only context in which a flat arse is a blessing

Well, what a trailer! Still can't help but notice the visual look of the show feels more...glossy? Like, the first season had that slight indie movie vibe meets ever so-slightly stylized to match the comic kind of look. Now, it looks like they leaned way more into the latter. Also, the lighting feels artificial now. And the costumes seem brighter. I don't know, probably just me...

Not too keen all these side characters getting more screentime. It's sweet, but sadly I could care less. It's the Nick and Charlie show, don't fuck it up when you barely give your audience 20 min episodes.

Also can't help but notice how much different Kit looks, and his voice is so much deeper. Not sure I like the hair this season though. I miss the fullness of it from S1. Joe's hair looks way, way better though. His curls really pop this time.

R423 Kit’s hair is awful tbh. It’s like they accidentally went too short and then just had to keep it like that. He looks incredible otherwise but the difference between 16 and 18 was significant for him (hilarious that people talk about him looking too old when he literally only a year older than the character at time of filming).

This is cute. I don't think Joe's Marvel casting announcement will bring in a load of new viewers for the show but it's a possibility it will bring in some.

R425 having been introduced to the Agatha subreddit literally yesterday can say there are quite a few American gay geeks that started HS because Joe was cast. They are now super fans - it’s cute as hell

Heartstopper trailer bump finally pushed Kit to 5 million on Instagram.

R425 which subreddit is this? Don’t mind the occasional palate cleanser.

The desperation, but you can read a little of Joe's interview here. He was regularly getting off work on Agatha at 4am apparently. And says he feels like he's slept enough but isn't rested.

R429 Still can't comprehend that he was working THAT hard relentlessly for months on end but still made it a priority to go and see Bash's play, only to get treated like shit. I would never stop being angry about it. Joe's a bigger person than me.

R428 r/agathacovenofchaos

R430 I'd be seething for awhile. . Also makes some of the things Bash stans have said about Joe not respecting Bash's busy community theater schedule funnier though

R432 they seem actually convinced that joe was filming some rinky dink student film and interrupted bash’s broadway starring role to cheat on and dump him.

This theory makes sense to me. Would also explain why we see Elle and Nick talking with no one else around

Bash or as they call him “Seb” Stan’s have moved onto making full time joe hate accounts. (I reported, would welcome others to do the same)

R411 Thank you for answering! Yeah, a lot of reviews mention Kit as the acting MVP of the season, so I was curious about that. Guessing the two dad scenes are the dinner and the meet-up in Paris.

R423 It's definitely more polished and you can tell they put more money into the show.

R434 I had assumed that Charlie got paired off with James or someone else, but I'm also half blind or maybe he was able to switch away from Ben.

R435 Laughed hysterically at this. He's not matching either Joe or Kit in any of those departments, nice try.

R430 I said this half jokingly (but also seriously because I’m a joe guy) on the last thread, but you’d think after he got exactly one full week off and used half of it to go see a Boyfriend who voluntarily spent all of only 2 weeks with him despite being fully unemployed in the 4.5 months prior, he’d be spoiled and treated like a total princess while there. Even putting aside how horny I am for joe specifically, any SO making that much effort deserves nothing but gratitude and adoration. And yet he went back to the States single and upset. What a lovely guy bash is.

R434 I guess they have to contrive some ways to get Ben alone with Nick and/or Charlie. He seems to be in detention with Nick at another point in the trailer, when he talks about Nick not coming out. Can't help thinking of the review saying he's just really persistent. It makes sense for his character but I suspect it's going to get annoying fast!

R435 Ugh probably the same weirdo who was creating all those disgusting change.org petitions about Joe a while ago. Just gives that same obsessive vibe.

R436 a lot of the reviews I’ve seen mentioning Kit have basically said he had to shoulder most of the dramatic storylines and/or mentioned his own coming out so I’m sure he did absolutely destroy it and wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was the strongest, but think there’s also a level of SOME confirmation bias there.

R439 There definitely is in some of them, I was mostly thinking less about the ones like the Awards Watch review and more about the matter-of-fact reviews that mentioned it in passing and don't make it a big thing, like the Attitude one.

[quote]Kit Connor – who gives a strong performance this season

R435 Went through and reported all of the tweets calling Joe ugly, hopefully it works but it feels like a lot of these troll accounts get away with everything. The tweet you linked is crazy though, how are you going to say that about someone who straight up auditioned and didn’t get the part? He clearly sucked.

R440 oh as I said, wouldn’t be surprised at all if Kit destroyed this season, especially since he was given the biggest storyline. I came in expecting him and joe (with Olivia ofc) to carry it anyway, and he was amazing jn s1. Just think some of them I’d read “Kit Connor was the standout in a performance about how coming out is never done” and think “that makes sense”, then read the reviewers self insert monologue about their own lives for 2 paragraphs and suspect some projection

R439 to clarify I’m the person who first mentioned confirmation bias. I absolutely think Kit killed it and nothing takes from that at all. I’m more talking about the reviews talking about it mirroring his own experience or reflecting on the reviewers experiences etc. etc. It’s an obvious parallel but it’s making the reviewers sound a little unable to seperate Kit and Nick (like a classic fan). This is entirely seperate from his performance which is clearly great and I’m looking forward to. Joe guy but Kit is a fucking star and he will be amazing with the material. The Attitude article is a great example of a normal review where he’s mentioned to be great

R435 They are seriously fucking stupid trying to throw in the Seb to act like they aren't in the fandom. And find the German Bash stan on main and you'll find out who that is since they follow German Netflix.

R442 “thankfully” an easy to report account since about a third use fag so hate speech, a third say they hope he does of an ED so self harm, and a third say he has aids so again slur. Bash fans are as always charming

R443 as I said I’m not doubting Kit killed it or even gave the strongest performance. Just that any review where the author goes off on a tangent about their own life or about kits life I take with a grain of salt, not even about Kit but about everything. Not to sound like a republican here but for instance a few also mentioned Yaz as a standout because a trans storyline is important and I was sort of like well… it is but that doesn’t mean she was amazing

R443 I'm sure Kit killed it, but some of the reviews are so over the top it makes me laugh. Patrick really likes this one. No wonder alice is so fucking annoying when she gets told shit like this

[quote] Season two is just further proof that in years to come, when the world is more accepting and empathetic than it is today, we’ll look back and thank Heartstopper for being one of the key ingredients shaping the trailblazers of the future.

R444 oh funny, didn’t realize that. This one is German I think.

R445 Wait, which account? I can’t find those tweets to report on the German one.

R437 Makes me more glad that his mom was able to pop in a couple of times, plus Lucy and the other girl friends she went with, plus the bit of time he got with Kit.

R446 mate, we’re in furious agreement…

R448 that review is hilarious. I do wonder if casual viewers are going to be confused if they’ve read something like this. It’s a lovely queer teen romance with amazing representation bffr

R450 I think the other woman Lucy was with was actually her mum which is really cute. They’ve been friends since they were little so he probably knows her family quite well and maybe their mums are friends. Also makes me glad the cast clesrly loved him.

R449

R452 I did some low-level snooping at the time and two other IOM friends of Joe's and Lucy's were with them in Atlanta.

R453 Thanks, I didn’t even think to replace the a with a 4 in my search.

R454 that’s really nice. Two more people we can affirmatively say made a bigger effort than bash.

Old pictures, but the photographer just reposted them and they’re probably my favorites of the main 4 cast members.

R457 they all looked so good. One of joes hottest outfits ever. Related gif of Kit being relatable

R429 Daily Joe Locke was a real one and typed it out

Joe followed that Lily Drew person, so yeah he met her last night with Lego.

People were really desperate for Tao to get a haircut, this TikTok has over a million views and almost half a million likes.

R460 looks like she went to see cabaret, which is right up theatre kid joes alley so maybe they met there.

R461 Will might blow up a bit since Tao is apparently great this season and now he's hot.

R462 That's what I figured too

R463 Would love if he put more distance between himself and Bash with Instagram followers.

R464 The problem with that is that Will's insta is just a bit dull for the thirsty girlies. He needs to get better at posting decent pictures of his hot self. Then I think he'd blow up a bit.

While we're at it can some of you report this person too? I don't know why the Kit haters are always obsessed losers.

R430 The only thing that made me dislike Bash was his antics online and his pettiness. I had no problem with the breakup because I know how hard it is to maintain a long-distance relationship. If Joe was working til 4 am most days, I can't fault Bash for finding it difficult to connect with his boyfriend.

R466 as the person who asked for the joe person to be reported, I’ve reported that before. She’s been suspended once, so guessing next one would be a permanent ban.

Tbh Kit and joe both have pretty obsessive haters, it’s not just the Kit ones that are obsessed. But the ones that gross me out the most are how many casual transphobic comments Yaz gets on EVERYTHING. she has a strong backbone to brush it off

R465 That person has been banned multiple times.

R467 all due respect, I think I’d have nothing but sympathy for bash if he’d tried even a little harder and it didn’t work because I agree that schedule sucks. But he literally spent a handful of days in the US twice after January while unemployed the whole time. That’s extremely shitty. If he had gone for 3-4 weeks total and realized it wasn’t working I’d fully get it

And another joe one. Again, the ones for him are nonstop obsessive too. No clue what he and Kit, two of the most mild mannered chill young celebrities, do to invoke this rage

R470 I mean, we don't know if he tried or not. We actually know nothing about his schedule or what he was really doing during that time. All I know is LDR are hard as fuck. I don't blame either for ending the relationship. But there's no reason to act like a petty bitch online.

R472 He did that horrible photoshoot. That's about it. We'd know if he were very busy in that time by now

And I always wondered why he didn't go stay with Connor for awhile. Both unemployed besties and the flight is only a couple hours to Atlanta. Could go to LA or NY too on the weekdays. The effort was not there after a few months simple as that.

R472 I mean… I doubt he was employed. I’m just saying, I think when Joe spent a year and half constantly flying and making all the effort to see bash, asking him to put in a little more effort for a 2 year relationship before throwing in the towel would be nice. He had what, 2 weeks to go see monks? Clesrly wasn’t just working nonstop.

Is he about to lick the chocolate off his thumb or wipe it on a napkin like a COWARD

R473 yeah I’ve said this before but no reason he couldn’t have flown out on a Thursday, spent Friday evening through Sunday with joe, met Connor in NY or Toronto Monday through Friday, and then another weekend with joe before flying back. Overall joes weekdays seemed insane but his Saturdays and sundays seemed pretty well protected. Again, if he’d actually tried and the time and distance was too hard, totally fair. But when you put no effort in at all when your boyfriend has spent 2 years putting in all the effort, you have both the money and the time to try to make it work, and THEN you’re a petty dick about it? No benefit of the doubt.

R476 We still don't know what happened. Maybe he suggested staying and Joe said no because he didn't want Bash mopping around in Atlanta. I could see Joe being worried Bash would have nothing to do while he was at work. I had no problem with the breakup initially, my problem is with Bash's actions post-breakup.

R477 Yeah, you are right. The breakup was not the problem. Surprised at Joe's schedule though since didn't realize he was working so late.

R477 ok but bash’s actions POST breakup have pretty clearly shown he’s a callous dick, so why give him any benefit of the doubt PRE breakup. Joe did not say to him “my random IOM friends can come for 10 days but I forbid you to, go to the monks”. Come on now

R479 Joe seems the all in type of guy, so I'm assuming he didn't forbid him to come visit him. And kinda curious how Bash's friends who used to be Joe's friends are mostly rich and unemployed but he couldn't manage to bring a couple to hang out in the states and go see Joe on the weekends for a few weeks. Oh well, don't mean to have this discussion again just seems like more and more points towards Joe working an insane schedule

Bash was shitty about the little things (where’s the DLer with the video compilation?), wouldn’t be surprised if he was also shitty about the big things.

R66 R71 why are you giving them oxygen? Unless you’re chronically on Twitter too?

R466 R471

R482 presuming you can’t type and missed a 4 in both. The more people who report accounts the more likely they are to be banned. Sorry we’re not ok with hate against 19 year olds for existing and being queer, will do our best to rein in those urges.

I never link twitter stuff and don't follow anyone on twitter related to HS other than DJL though if you name search Joe it comes up which is annoying.

Speaking of name searching Joe, it's fucking annoying everyone finds it funny Joe hated the rugby scenes and now he has to do them again

R480 I don't think he 'forbid' Bash to visit, c'mon. Joe seems to be a really compassionate person so I can see him encourage Bash to do other things than stay in Atlanta, doing nothing.

repeated many times, but ATL is a hub city and there are millions of things to do in the US

R484 I made a mistake in a rush smart-ass, read my next comment. Well if you insist on obsessively name searching someone on Twitter, no need for the faux virtue

Name searching is half of how this thread stays active and is usually first with new stuff about Kit and Joe.

R488 Anyways, I don't really care about all that. I mostly care about how they've been acting post-breakup and Bash isn't 'winning' the breakup or whatever that means. Glad that he's nowhere to be seen tbh.

R491 I don't either, but I think the point is that given his behavior after the breakup it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt on anything.

And yes, I think we all glad. I look forward to seeing how final the scene is with Ben in S2 since it doesn't seem like there's a need for him to return

R489 then shut up and contribute your own content. Not sure how looking at joes name on twitter is more loser behaviour than you whining in a thread about having to scroll by two whole tweets trying to get unhinged homophobic and biphobic losers banned.

R487 yes and if bash really cared, he would’ve made the effort anyway. When my brother lived in a more boring place than Atlanta for a year I visited him multiple times despite him saying I didn’t have to and he didn’t want to put me out because I felt he was worth visiting anyway. If a boyfriend of close to two years just goes “ok you’re right Atlanta sucks, sitting in silence with monks for two weeks sounds better” that’s a red flag

Love how defensive DL gets when you question it. Keep up the good work guys

10 minutes is actually mad. That's like half the time of an episode.

R496 that’ll be the high point of the entire show

R494 I think it was longer than 2 weeks

R496 Yeah, apparently the episode starts with them dating and kissing for 10 minutes

R496 Sounds inspired, they should start off every episode that way.

If it’s actually 10 minutes, this may be the greatest episode of tv ever made lol

New promo pic. I would say kits workout on set was just lifting joe but considering joe weighs all of 20 lbs, he probably had to hit the gym too

The one thing every single review mentioned was the chemistry between Joe and Kit, a 10 minute montage would absolutely hammer that in.

The only decent Netflix account

Hey DL reviewer? Is the 10 minute montage real, or an exaggeration?

Joe interview

R505 re Kit:

How has it been working with Kit for Season 2 since you had the whole first season to get to know each other?

God, it was just really awful. He’s such an awful person. [Laughs] I’m joking. He’s the easiest person to work with. We have this level of comfortability with each other that I’m not sure I could ever have with anyone else. He’s the best scene partner you could ever ask for and especially when you have to kiss this person time and time and time and time and time and time and time again, which never are fun scenes to film. They’re always awkward. But working with Kit makes them the least awkward as possible because we’ll just have fun and laugh and try and make it less awkward.

He also says tobie is “An amazing actor and deserves the limelight” which I have doubts about but is very sweet, and praises Tao and Elle storyline

[quote]We have this level of comfortability with each other that I’m not sure I could ever have with anyone else.

Sounds like a pretty good foundation for other things.

From the same interview:

[quote]Charlie has been bullied badly, which you didn’t see [on the show]. He has had a hard time adjusting and giving Charlie the freedom that every teenager wants. In the comics, it’s dealt with more, and I don’t know if in Season 3 that will be explored further, but Charlie and his mom have an interesting relationship that’s very, very classic teenage child and parent. But it was really fun to play a bit of a brat in some of the scenes and arguing with the parents. That was really fun.

Think this is the scene DLer said was an awards scene for both Joe and Kit?

[quote]The final scene of the show is gorgeous. It’s my favorite scene of the show but also was definitely the hardest scene to do as an actor. Without giving too much away, it’s just a very emotionally raw scene and it’s also the most grownup scene in the show. It shows the real maturity of Nick and Charlie as characters. I’m very excited for people to see it, but also it was hard and really tested the craft.

R504 Not DLer, but this review mentioned it:

[quote]Season two takes place immediately after and while it took an entire season for our duo to lock in that moment, the first 10 minutes is a glorious montage of nonstop summer kissing bliss.

That one YouTube content person who was in season 1 is still making being on screen for 5 minutes his entire personality, brought it up for half of his season 2 trailer reaction

R505 I love the subtle shades to Alice in that interview. You can tell him and Yaz know deep down she's not the best writer.

R507 I have some actor friends and they told me kissing scenes are the worst. Even if you find the other person attractive. They said it makes them feel self-conscious with everyone looking at you and it can sometimes break a friendship between actors. I guess we're lucky they get along so well when they're not on set.

Coincidentally, Aubrey is in Eric Kuhn’s next production.

London DLer, Joe’s Rollacoaster issue is on newsstands. Also, someone ran into him and got him to sign it.

R515 such a weird coincidence. Useless to not get a pic though.

Someone shared the marvel part of the review on the Agatha subreddit.

Not to be a total whiner but I’m annoyed Joe saying he related more to Charlie than before, and the negative implications of that, have received zero traction. It is really shit and I wish the fandom cared even a little about his feelings

R517 Not See Saw not being able to afford protein bars

R517 See-saw is a small production. Nothing like Marvel lol. I'm happy for Joe. He's really living the dream of any young actor right now.

Joe calling Kathryn Hahn, Patti, Aubrey etc sisters and mums, and being adored by Kit while bash has… Connor and rhea.

R518 I've seen people talk about it but I think the news of the trailer flowed over. That fake lesbian posted about it.

R522 uh yeah. I guess bad timing played into it. I more noticed because I saw weeping and wailing for days over kits vogue interview and legit nothing about joes, but yeah the trailer timing is a good point

R517 Bless him. Go for the unhealthy snacks once in a while, Joe!

Joe is a healthy King. Pretty sure one of the only cast members who doesn't smoke too

Joe please never cut your hair again.

R526 wow I didnt notice that, he needs to keep his hair that long it looks incredible.

R526 I noticed that it got all puffy, presumably after he puts Nick's sweater on, hopefully Kit ran his hands through his hair a lot to keep puffing it out through the season.

R526 he seems allergic to keeping his hair long. He’s still gorgeous regardless but long hair is so hot on him. At least he’s stopped with the super short, cropped on the sides look. I hope Wiccan in the films has longer hair so he has to keep it like that for a while.

R529 Wiccan has the dreaded shaved sides, though long on top

R517 “I feel like i've learned everything anyone could ever learn at drama school from watching them work and the way that they embody their character and treat people on set.”

Choosing to interpret this as shade to Rhea, who went to drama school for years and has no talent to show for it, and also is treating joe shittily at bash’s behest

Connor continues to bring authenticity and warmth to Nick – a character endlessly charismatic and likable — while also rising to the occasion in the more dramatically demanding scenes he is given this season.

Joe Locke should also be praised for his sensitive portrayal of Charlie’s mental health struggles, which play a more pertinent role this season in line with the comic volumes. It’s clear Netflix learned its lesson after Thirteen Reasons Why, as Heartstopper proves that sometimes, telling can be a lot more powerful than showing.

In tender scenes where Charlie talks to Nick about his past, we’re spared unnecessarily graphic and triggering portrayals of self-harm and eating disorders. And by doing this, Hearstopper strikes the right balance between being candid about mental health and the importance of opening up while avoiding the descent into trauma porn.

R532 Seen several reviews with complaints that Jenny is underused. A shame.

R532 that’s a good review but this:

“ The love story between Nick and Charlie continues to be the core focus of the Netflix series, but this time round, it’s anchored around Nick Nelson’s coming out journey as he continues to come to terms with being bisexual.” …literally just sounds like the plot of S1. Alice knows how to write one storyline I guess.

R532 nice to see a review recognize joes acting too, as opposed to just “Kit is amazing and idk if you all remember HE was forced to come out. Joe is also there.”

And great to see kizzy and will get recognized, and calls for more tori. If Michael Holden is added, I’m hoping Jenny will be increased

R535 Patrick said that they'd be doing more with Tori in season 3 a couple of months ago, at a panel event IIRC.

Just wish that reviewer hadn’t misgendered Kizzy.

R537 ugh didn’t see that. I do hope Netflix at a minimum provides a pronoun guide for their actors to reviewers when they send out these very queer projects.

Having to rely on fans for marketing even more since the actors aren’t posting, have to laugh

It's so funny seeing how active DJL is and then comparing it to JBU, who supposedly care about Joe equally as they do about Bash and are barely posting anything.

R540 lbr, if they could keep their following by just going to bash updates, they would. They don’t like joe, they just know he’s way more popular than their flop fav

R540 Those Joe and Bash accounts are as weird as he is about not letting go of Joe while also treating him like shit. If you got time to follow twink Charlie's brother you got time to purge your IG of the Joe pics already Bash.

R542 much like their fav, using joe for clout

Hilarious that they think 10 mins of Nick and Charlie making out (which let's be honest Joe was exaggerating) would be a waste of time and not all the extra sub-plots added by Alice.

Also laughing at all the poor sexless fans who won’t stop saying ten minutes of making out is so long. Poor poor things.

R544 multiple reviews have mentioned it, I don’t think it’s exaggerated. But I think it’s a mix of them hanging out, going on dates, and kissing.

I’d watch a whole season them just making out lol

I can't stop laughing. Do they know what show they're watching?

R546 From what I've read it's a montage of them dating, so yes it shows them as a happy couple. It's a hardly a waste of time, but a smart way to just get to the point that they are in a loving relationship now.

Obvious horny reasons why 10 minutes of them making out wouldn't be a waste of time, two of the biggest strengths this show has are Kit/Joe's non-verbal acting and their chemistry. A 10 minute montage of them dating and making out would combine those.

I will say amongst the genuinely awful, shitty, toxic anti joe and Kit trolls, I love this random deluded pro bash troll. Their misplaced confidence is genuinely funny if you all want a good laugh

R551

[quote]btw, he was the OG Charlie Spring just saying.

Footage not found.

R552 Well, he wanted to be and lost the role. And two pro-Bash troll accounts popping up in a matter of days. Seems unlikely they are different people.

R551 that lunatic posted something unhinged about Joe calling the Agatha casts sisters and moms but not treating Bash the same but they deleted it.

Bradley is employed

The 10 minute kissing montage tweet is popping off, Heartstopper giving the people what they want.

R556 I want to hear from DLer who saw that montage. I hope we hear them kiss and it's not drawn by some Taylor Swift music.

R556 It's funny because that 10-minute montage, with Kit and Joe's chemistry, will make Alice's storyline of them not being ready for sex even more hilarious.

This is...a really random collab.

R559

i am a skin care person too and i’ve never even heard of that brand

I'm so excited to see these kisses in action.

I'm excited for the hickey scene

I can't believe no one uploaded the full Rollacoster interview. What the hell are Joe stans doing?

I like that JBC got exactly one part of the whole speculation wright — imogen with Ben, which DL a called literally right after s2 and before even the cast pic dropped much less anything else — and she’s celebrating the rest of her incorrect theory

R563 I’ve seen a few England joe stans say they didn’t realise it would be on sale on newsstands but they already ordered it. So guessing her next day or two.

Patrick liked this, lmao.

I just thought of this...

If there's a 10 minute montage right away of kisses, does this mean there are fewer *actual* kiss scenes throughout the episode minus the hickey scene??

*episodes overall

R566 I don't think so, especially since Joe said it's "very, very apt for the season." Seems like it sets the tone.

R566 idk, I would expect that there’ll still be some. But given the central plot of the season is apparemtly nick coming out separately to eat member of his family, teacher, friend, schoolmate, and postal service worker, I can imagine there’s a fair bit of them in public trying to not look like a couple. I’m sure their private scenes are full of them kissing though.

There are also some other kisses we already know about. Nick pulling Charlie out of the classroom to kiss, getting caught by the coach after rugby practice, stuff like that.

R566 They spent time apart sinec Charlie gets grounded. Also read a review that suggested that too. Though they kiss a lot

R571 Charlie getting grounded is so random. R569 I know this is sarcastic but coming out literally feels like this.

R572 Im gay, I know what coming out feels like. Just think ironically Alice handled it better in the comics. Shitty homophobic brother, dad who doesn’t actually care but Nick wouldn’t know either way because he’s such an absentee parent, mostly accepting classmates who ask some dumb ignorant questions. I just think it’s stupid it’s a main plot line for 8 full episodes.

Why would they get in trouble?

R574 They wouldn't, they're just being dumb. We have the worst luck with these magazines between this and the other girl that has a copy being the same one that didn't post the new picture of Kit in British Vogue after she got it.

Trailer at 1.7 million views

Spoilers.

R504 exaggeration I’m afraid. but it’s pretty much all kissing.

R509 yes!!!

R528 there’s a scene you’ll love then

R557 no worries, the kissing montage is not to t swift

R566 absolutely not - they only get better

R577 LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO.

R577 you are this threads MVP

Joe posted about Aubrey’s play. He should take a trip to NY to see it and bring Kit. They can fuck there.

Honestly Joe do it for the gays, network and fuck Joe in NYC

We need to send a fruit basket to the LA DLer

It starts end of Oct. doubt he can go. Though he's nice enough to fly across the world and go on his only days off to see plays and all.

Good ol' OF Nick liked one of the season 2 trailer posts.

R584 Ngl OF Nick is the real winner of this breakup. He was a fan of the show before and got to hook up with Joe. And now, seems like they are good friends. The dream.

Speaking of likes, David Furnish liked one of the HS posts from Attitude, need him (and Elton) to host another dinner and for Kit to bring Joe along.

R586 I can see him bringing joe and tobie this time since Joe couldn’t make it last time and tobie didn’t go either. Also makes not inviting bash easier if he can say “oh I’m just bringing the people who didn’t go before”

They both have such good legs

Joe is the bigger person to an insane degree. He followed Bash on Threads.

R589 makes bash look even more pathetic. Hopefully now that he’s fucked chsrlie he moves on

R590 Bold of you to think he managed to fuck Charlie.

R591 think he’d be too petulant to follow the brother if he hadn’t managed

R589 Joe is truly an A+ ex

Joe liked Hunter Doohan’s calvin klein post. Hunter looks hot

Joe is better than me, i wouldn’t interact with a shitty ex like that more than i have too

R594 shame hunter is married. He’d be a fun successful older hookup for joe

You could not pay me to follow that idiot, his friends, and all of their pickle memes even if I had previously fucked him.

I think joe is just really sweet and professional and doesn’t hold grudges. Bash, none of the three. Also not hot or talented. That said, I do wonder if there’s a setting of some kind for him to automatically follow Everyone verified that he follows on Instagram. Because he followed about 20 accounts, not just bash, and one of them was a random influencer, who went to the season one premiere, but he hasn’t really interacted with since, while he’s still missing kizzy and Leila who he is obviously closer to than that influencer, but who are not verified.

Anyway new thread

Yeah!! More of these threads please!!!

Full stop