‘Heartstopper’s Cringe Moments Are What Makes It So Good

Heartstopper’s second season dropped on Netflix last week (August 3) and while I’ve been obsessing over it, as have many people, there have been some who have called it “cringe.” I see where those people are coming from, but I also question if there are a few things at play as to why they believe this.

The most prominent reason why this may be is that people watching it are not part of its target audience. Nick and Charlie are 16 and 15 years old, respectively. They are silly little teenagers, not in their 30’s. Being cringe as a teen is a right of passage—especially when it comes to relationships and crushes.

I have seen people say that the way they shyly say “hi” to each other is annoying or the way that Nick corrects people who call him gay (he’s bi, actually). I’ll give it to those who say some lines like “why are we like this?” are a bit uncomfortable, but that’s what makes it realistic. Not only is being young cringe, but it is unbearably uncomfortable.

But when it comes to Nick pointing out that he’s bi, that irritation smells of biphobia, whether it’s internalized or not, because Nick, along with real people who identify as such, is well within his rights to correct people about his sexuality. Not to mention that the fact it’s become Nick’s little catchphrase in the show is actually quite funny and has become somewhat of a gag. I hope that in season three and beyond, he never stops correcting people.

Okay, maybe it’s unrealistic that not everyone has relationships as a teen—I certainly didn’t—but as a few people have said, seeing young, queer people be out and happy is a rare occurrence in the media. So many movies or shows with gay characters usually focus on the sad and horrific aspects of sexual and gender identity, like homophobia and struggling to come out without a balance. That’s something that I think Heartstopper is really good at. We see Nick’s brother and friends being pricks, we see Nick, as he puts it in the first season, in “a full-on gay crisis,” but then we see them both happy. We see their queer joy with their friends and the aspects of themselves that aren’t centred around their queernmess, like Nick’s love of rugby or Charlie’s love of music and playing drums.

The show will help so many young people who identify as LGBTQ+ realize their sexuality or help them come to terms with their gender, and ultimately that’s part of what Alice Oseman, the show’s creator, was trying to do.

She told the BBC, “It can be really disheartening and scary, particularly for young people. And so to have Heartstopper there is just something they can turn to that makes them feel that hope and feel that joy. I think it’s important to have all kinds of stories but joyful stories and the hope that they give us are essential.”

And people on social media have pointed this out in droves.

As with the person who posted the TikTok above, the thing that really gets me is that half of the people saying that it’s cringe are most likely fans of shows that have some of the worst dialogue and performances of all time, or those that watch a show just because it’s a ‘love to hate’ type of situation. This then leads to those shows being renewed for more seasons and the good, more ‘obscure’ ones being canceled.

There seems to be this idea that anything that pulls away from the ‘norm’—in this case, a show about two boys in love—needs to be absolutely perfect; a show that could score 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (which the first series did). Otherwise, it’s shit, it’s cringe, it’s unwatchable, and “ooh I’m quirky because I don’t it!” Like, sure, have your opinion but we won’t give you a 10-minute standing ovation for that statement.

Those people may be upset to learn that Heartstopper‘s second series debuted at number two on the streaming service and has had over 6.1 million viewers, not to mention a third series has already been greenlit. So whether you like it or not, Nick and Charlie will continue to be ‘cringe’ for at least one more series and I will be bingeing it with the cheesiest grin you ever did see.

(featured image: Netflix)