Heartstopper Season 3 Ending Explained: Nick and Charlie, Do They Overcome Their Problems and Take the Next Step?
Heartstopper Season 3, the teen series inspired by the graphic novel by Alice Oseman, has arrived on Netflix. A new chapter with lots of new features, lots of food for thought, and a pinch more seriousness for a Netflix title that has always managed to speak to the very young and adults with depth but above all lightness. But how does Charlie and Nick end in the finale of Heartstopper Season 3? Let’s find out together but, first, let’s take a look at the plot of the series. After Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) couldn’t bring himself to say, “I Love You” to his boyfriend Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) at the end of the second season of “Heartstopper” the third season begins with the couple trying to talk about this and another even more complicated topic. As they grow closer and closer in every way, they must face the biggest challenge in their relationship. What happened to the protagonists of the Netflix series based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman? Below, I will tell you the most important moments.
During a walk to the beach, Charlie is dying to tell Nick how he feels, and when he finally gets the courage to do so, Nick mentions his concerns about his lack of appetite. Charlie denies having an eating disorder and ends the conversation. Later, at Nick’s house, Charlie expresses his feelings while his boyfriend is in the shower. When he doesn’t hear a response, he decides to leave. However, his partner catches up with him and assures him that he feels the same way too. While on holiday in Menorca for three weeks, Nick is worried about Charlie, who is going through a very difficult time. When he receives an alarming message from Tori Spring (Jenny Walser), he seeks the advice of his aunt Diane (Hayley Atwell), who is a psychologist, and explains to him that he is too young to deal with something like this alone. She also gives him advice on how to best approach the issue upon his return.
Heartstopper Season 3: The Story Plot
Heartstopper sensitively tells Charlie’s struggle with an eating disorder – narrated since the first season – which here becomes even more ruthless. For Charlie everything becomes more complicated, a picnic with friends, someone who offers him chips for lunch, and a day at the beach in a bathing suit; for the boy his body becomes a cage and a protective screen. Locke is sober and nuanced in his portrait of Charlie’s hidden pain and accompanying his interpretation are the animated illustrations of Oseman that help to convey the panic, the pain that takes him, and that inner voice that pushes him to self-destruction. Always following him with love, and respect, silently and even with warm and tender tears, at every moment, there is Nick, support and support for him: he is his anchor, his safe harbor. When Charlie feels lost he runs to Nick, when his house seems like a prison, full of rules and impositions, he escapes to his boyfriend’s house. It tells the complexities of caring for a loved one who is suffering from an eating disorder.
Connor is perfect and can convey Nick’s deep feelings for Charlie but also his deep fear of making a mistake so much so that he seeks help from his aunt, Diane, who takes care of this very thing to behave at her best and be there for him. This new chapter of the series sees Charlie enter the dark vortex of depression and manifest serious symptoms of anorexia that he tries to hide but that will then come to the surface. His boyfriend Nick does not know how to help him, well as his family initially does not realize how bad the boy is and how much he needs help. Thus begins Charlie’s journey towards recovery helped by professionals but also by his friends and his own family to become more self-confident, make peace with food, and understand that, from the disease, one can get over it. Heartstopper with this new season confirms itself as a very well-made teen series, an extremely educational, formative, and emotionally impactful story whose purpose goes beyond entertainment becoming a manual on adolescence for kids and parents.
The new episodes of the Netflix series act as a real help for those who suffer from eating or psychological disorders but also a very useful tool for those who, instead, do not know how to be close to young people who have a bad relationship with their bodies, to kids assailed by intrusive thoughts that cause them panic attacks, to those who do not know how to manage and overcome their insecurities. Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) are in the “honeymoon” phase where they have to always be together, especially now that she has to start art school again; Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) live together after the latter left home, but they have to find another solution from the grandmother of the former (a fantastic new entry). After all, they are still teenagers to face problems that are much bigger than them, like Nick himself. He will have his aunt psychologist Diane (Hayley Atwell) on his side, along with a specialized therapist (Eddie Marsan) and maybe even a professor followed on social media (Jonathan Bailey).
Heartstopper Season 3 Ending Explained: Nick and Charlie, Do They Overcome Their Problems and Take the Next Step?
The finale of Heartstopper Season 3 sees Nick and Charlie dealing with important changes in their lives. Charlie has come out of depression and anorexia thanks to a specific path together with a therapist but also thanks to the help of his loved ones. Now he can eat, he is more self-confident, and has returned to having a peaceful life together with his friends, detaching himself a little from the figure of Nick on whom he was a little too dependent. Between the two, however, the relationship between the two is going swimmingly and Nick and Charlie have also started having sex. While Charlie is better, however, Nick is starting to suffer a little as he has stepped aside to help his boyfriend and now that he has to choose where to go to university, on the one hand, he would like to go to a college near London and dedicate himself to sports, on the other hand, he holds back because he is afraid that by distancing himself from Charlie he could fall back into eating and mental health problems.
His friends, however, encourage him to think about himself for once in his life but he hasn’t found the courage to talk to Charlie about it. So, the series ends with Charlie doing well, having found his balance again and Nick having to start college a year before his boyfriend and having a total crisis with himself. Meanwhile, Tao Xu (William Gao) plans to have a summer full of romance before his girlfriend Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) heads off to art school. With each romantic plan, the couple makes, Isaac starts to feel like he’s out of place, which leads to a minor argument with Tao. Thanks to his friends, they manage to sort it out and enjoy the holiday with Imogen Heaney (Rhea Norwood), Tara Jones (Corinna Brown), and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell), who are all dealing with their own conflicts.
When the Heartstopper stars reunite, all is well, but Nick is still worried about his boyfriend, who admits to having an eating disorder during a phone call. After his birthday party, Nick convinces Charlie to talk to his parents and seek professional help, which begins a long road to recovery. While Charlie is in a care home, Nick starts writing a journal and Tao makes a video to support his friend during his absence. Both Charlie and Nick suffer from being apart, but they reunite for Christmas when therapist Geoff (Eddie Marsan) permits them. His grandparents’ ill-advised comments cause Charlie to have a rough Christmas. Tired of dealing with them, he takes refuge with Nick and his family.
Later, Tori joins the celebration, as she can’t stop worrying about her younger brother. Elsewhere, Elle and Tao discuss sex, and the temperature rises during a New Year’s Eve party. On the other hand, Charlie tells Nick that he is ready to take it to the next level. They try more than once, but they are always interrupted, and Charlie has some insecurities about his body and the injuries he caused himself before. But with the help of his therapist, he manages to overcome his fears and move forward in his relationship with Nick.
What College Will Nick Attend? Will He Split Up With Charlie?
The school year is about to end, and the students start to think about the future. Pressure from their parents and teachers causes Tara to have a panic attack, which she can control thanks to what Charlie learned in therapy. Nick witnesses the scene and understands that his boyfriend is stronger than he thinks, but he can’t help but feel afraid of the idea of breaking up. Nick must decide whether to stay close to Charlie or go far away, so he takes a college tour with Imogen Heaney, Elle, and Tara. After the tour, Nick insists that his first choices are the closest colleges, but Elle makes him think about how important this decision is and that it shouldn’t be based solely on her boyfriend, who will also be going to college next year. The college that captivated Nick is more than four hours away from his home. Will he be able to tell Charlie the truth? Will their relationship withstand the distance? Meanwhile, Nick returns and attends the fair where his boyfriend plays with Sahar’s band. Heartstopper Season 3 ends with the couple enjoying their love and leaving the difficult decisions for later. For a fourth season?
