Heartstopper with Good Omens

 My viewing this week has consisted pretty much of just two binges of Season 2s of shows that I love. There are some spoilers - you can avoid the worst bits where  I have put the text in a different colour.

Heartstopper Season 2

The latest tranche of the Netflix show based on Alice Oseman's graphic novels, the anticipation and expectations were through the roof so it was with a fair bit of trepidation and a lot of snacks that I sat down to watch.  This season picks up the day after the ending of season one, and Nick can't wait to tell Charlie that he came out to his mum.  So, it's all going to be 'perfect'.  And episode one certainly gives us all the feels with a lot of cute scenes between our boys, but we can feel the change coming and it hits pretty early in episode 2.

The story continues to focus on the main characters of Nick and Charlie, Tao, Elle, Tara, Darcy and Isaac (I am pretty invested in those storylines already), but also opens out the story to include some additional friends and in particular, the families of these kids, who turn out to be not perfect, but human, both good and bad.   The tone is different too, less cutesy and dealing more overtly with some more dark themes but still with that intrinsic love and optimism which is the hallmark of Heartstopper overall.  The craft is again evident in every aspect of the production (which has clearly had a fair amount of cash spent on it), from the continuation of the graphic novel sensibility and animation as an integral part of the storytelling to show how characters are feeling (Ben moving away from that rainbow shoreline for example), great writing, dialogue and directorial choices, to the colour palette and lighting again, plus some real locations for the trip to Paris and a note perfect soundtrack.

It turns out it is harder to be 'out' than Nick had anticipated, and we find out that families are not necessarily perfect at all.  There's an ongoing reference to the fact that assumptions are corrosive, and that nobody owes anyone else details of their lives, and so 'coming out' is for the individual not for other people, and that probably landed a bit harder given the experiences Kit Connor had last year.  One of the great things about this show though is that it gives representation and language that wasn't always around for older generations, represented in this series by the teachers in Paris.  And in this series we got to think about bi-erasure ('pick a side') and asexuality, and another layer to the exploration of toxic relationships.  And we finally got to see Charlie's eating disorder being brought to the surface.  

I loved the whole thing again, but episode 8 was titled  'Perfect' and it was; finally opening up the darker stuff going on under the surface but bringing it all together in a satisfying whole which reinforced all of the themes.    This episode was initially centred around  that staple of the high school story, the Prom and the standard trope of the gang needing to get together so that the show can go on.  Tao and Elle get their prom moment with their pitch perfect dance to the Prom band (led stylishly by Baby Queen including a cover of The Cure's This is Heaven) in a call back to those 1990's high school romcoms just to make sure we know what cliché we are playing with here.  

But Tara isn't even there as she is out looking for Darcy who has gone missing after a row with her mum (played implacably by Rachael Stirling).  And Charlie and Nick realise that they don't need the validation of the world with a clichéd prom moment, their relationship is theirs, so they would prefer to leave early to spend time together with their friends instead.  Tara and Darcy's reconciliation followed by a lovely montage of the friends together at Nick's house to the soundtrack of Taylor Swift's seven brings all of those themes of the show together in a moment of joy, setting us up for the final scenes of the show.  But the scene at the end, when Charlie (Joe Locke)  comes out to Nick (Kit Connor) about his mental health issues is a lovely parallel to the end of season one.  Those two young actors deserve all the awards for such a raw emotional and moving scene, as does everyone else involved with this show, done with such sensitivity and love.  

Heartstopper is routinely talked about as a LGBTQ+ teen story, and yes, it definitely is that, giving all sorts of long overdue representation.  But it doesn't deserve to be put in just that box.  Straight and older people should be just as capable of enjoying a great story told through that lense.  It's also a celebration of love, communication and friendship, covering difficult topics in an easily accessible form, and providing the language and contextual framework for so many healthy discussions that everyone should see whatever age, gender or orientation.   In particular, I loved the ways that Charlie's eating disorder and mental health issues are uncovered and addressed with understanding and without painting him as a tragic or broken figure.  I am so much looking forward to season 3 to explore this storyline further.  Having said all of that worthy stuff, season 2 is really just 4 hours of well crafted love and joy - who hasn't got room for that in their lives?

I loved series 2 just as much, if not a bit more than series 1*.  So, go and watch Heartstopper, both series streaming on Netflix

*My ramblings about season one can be found here 

Good Omens 2

The first season of Good Omens was an adaptation of the Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, so was fully expected to be a limited season.  The novel was clearly great, and so no surprises that the tv series absolutely hit the spot too.  What was a bit unexpected was the chemistry between David Tennant and Michael Sheen that exploded all over the screen and continued on with the Staged series during lockdown and beyond.   So, a season 2 wasn't completely unreasonable, but I was certainly concerned that it might turn out to be a self indulgent and pointless bit of nothing given that there was no source material to fall back on.

The  main storyline for series 2 is perhaps a bit light, in that Angel Gabriel (John Hamm) turns up on Aziraphale's  doorstep, completely naked except for a cardboard box and with no memory of who he is or why he is there.  That particular narrative unfolds over the whole series, and the rest of each episode is taken up with a mini adventure, often taken from bible stories with a twist in which I can detect the atheistic cynicism of Pratchett too.  Each of these adventures from back over the millennia feature Crowley (David Tennant) and Aziraphal (Michael Sheen).   And it turns out that they have had each other's back in more than just their attempts to avert the apocalypse in season one.  This format, familiar from Dr Who, with a long story arc interspersed with short ones, comes together beautifully in the final episode where it turns out love can conquer quite a lot of challenges, and however unlikely,  happy endings can be found.

I was a bit worried that Neil Gaiman on his own may have watered down some of Pratchett's sharp humour, but the smart collaboration with John Finnemore kept it crisp and funny whilst retaining the emotional heart of the original, and fully let the Tennant and Sheen (or is it Sheen and Tennant?) double act shine.  The two actors appear to be having a ball in this series, with chemistry that can be seen from heaven or hell I expect.  I loved every minute of it.

I understand that a season 3 is mooted, based on some sequel ideas worked up with Pratchett before his death (oh how I still miss him!).  But all is currently held up by the writer's strike so I am keeping everything crossed.  The final scenes give us an ooooh moment that I assume lots of fan-fics have all been anticipating for some time, and the perfect cliff-hanger for the next series.  I don't want Crowley or us to be left like this!   Both series are streaming on Amazon Prime.