The streaming wars are showing no signs of slowing down, with each service having their own handful of megahits. Heartstopper is in that category for those with a Netflix subscription, and the sweet coming of age romantic comedy has legions of fans. Heartstopper Season 2 recently wrapped, and made the supporting characters into more integral parts of its story. And one of the show’s editors recently spoke to CinemaBlend about bringing Isaac’s story to life with animated sequences.
Since its premiere, Hearstopper has elicited a strong reaction from queer viewers. The show’s visual hook shows like cart leaves when characters are feeling worked up romantically. On top of seeing authentic representation of queer and trans stories, the show’s second season also seemingly revealed that Tobie Donovan’s Isaac is asexual. I had the chance to speak with editor Andonis Trattos about his work on Season 2, where I asked about the way he used animated moments to bring Isaac’s story of self discovery to life. He spoke about his collaboration with series animator Anna Peronetto, saying:
Isaac’s one was a bit more, his journey was kind of obscured with everything going on with the others. But when he and James kiss outside of the party, even when Isaac leaves there’s this leaf that’s on James. Which is underlying how neither of them really know and can really articulate what’s going on. It really helps to just emotionally underscore that. And Isaac coming back into the party and having this one lonely leaf there.
Do you hear that sound? It’s my heart breaking all over again. A few episodes into Heartstopper Season 2, we saw Isaac bonding with a gay student named James. The two eventually kiss on the trip to Paris, but things don't go the way they did with Hearstopper’s constantly kissing Charlie and Nick. And watching one singular animated leaf fall after Isaac’s kiss was a huge hint that something bigger was happening with the character.
Isaac spends a few Heartstopper episodes after this kiss moping around, and seemingly going through a depressive period? Why wasn’t he kiss crazy like the rest of his friends? Was he never going to find someone special?
But some more answers came to Isaac later in the season, and also came to life with those Heartstopper leaves. He learned about the concept of being asexual from a young artist, and later felt the stir of confidence when picking up a book about the subject. In our same conversation, Trattos spoke about using Anna Peronetto's animation to bring that sequence to life, saying:
It accompanies him when he starts to learn a bit more about it and feel a bit more. The conversation with the artist in the gallery, when it comes back and it's there. It's his connection to his journey, the ups and downs of his journey. And milestones along the way to accepting who he is and talking about it with the others.
While Heartstopper’s second season continued the story of Charlie and Nick, I really enjoyed seeing the ensemble fill out and become more integral to the show’s story. We got to see two other couples thanks to Elle/Tao and Darcy/Tara, Ian’s story went down a different path. And it’s sure to be powerful seeing it play out for asexual audience members. And I can’t wait to see how Heartstopper Season 3 continues this narrative.
Heartstopper is currently streaming on Netflix in its entirety. Be sure to check out the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
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