Ron Does Stuff

We’re on the home stretch of this season, and after the gang had a pretty chill New Year’s Eve in the previous episode, I honestly don’t know where the show will be going, since they’ve caught up with the books, I think? Anyway, let’s get into this episode!

The episode starts with Charlie giving his therapist an update, I guess? And the therapist does make a great point that Charlie has made progress. The teachers are supportive, his classmates are supportive, and while there have been relapses, he also acknowledges that it happens. Nobody’s perfect!

And I love that they show Charlie not being perfect, like lashing out at Nick for trying to make him eat. I know I gripe about certain aspects of the show not being for me, but that’s not a point against the show. I can see how portrayals like these can work for younger people, who may be confronting some of these issues just now.

A side effect of Charlie starting to deal with his mental health issues is him having more energy to give to his relationship with Nick. And that energy is showing itself very physically, as the guys are making out more and more. Is sex not far off now?

Over at Elle’s school, she’s getting complimented for her work, and now a local radio station wants to feature her. Her teacher does caution her about the interview, and tells her that the decision is still up to her if she wants to do it. Considering how transphobic the United Kingdom has gotten? I wouldn’t have done it if I was Elle.

Back to Nick and Charlie, Nick’s gotten Charlie tickets to see an ~internet historian~, and this historian must be somebody because Nick gets a hug and an “I love you so much!” for his efforts. AND a birthday kiss that Charlie has to put a stop to because it got more and more heated.

In a debrief with Tao and Isaac, Charlie finally gets told that maybe it’s time for the two of them to have sex. And Tao would know, since he just had sex with Elle in the previous episode! But Charlie, understandably, has a lot of hang-ups about possibly having sex with Nick, from insecurity about his body to insecurity about his sexual knowledge. We even get to see it tastefully visualized in the show, just from Charlie looking at his shirtless body in the mirror, with just the hint of his scars from cutting shown.

Maybe I didn’t catch this or didn’t notice it, but apparently Charlie’s hosting a sleepover at his house. Are we seeing Tara getting too into alcohol? Imogen and Sahar are also having some trouble navigating their new relationship, which must be hard on Imogen, who has always been an ally to queer people.

Tori’s at this party as well, and the new friend Michael also makes an appearance. I don’t expect him to show up a lot since he doesn’t make much of an appearance in the books either. The gang heads out to the house’s yard and get into their designated tents, with Tao and Elle talking about her radio interview in theirs, and Sahar and Imogen being awkward in theirs. Or at least until they finally sorta come out to each other, but also admitting they just wouldn’t work as a couple.

However, as usually happens during parties, the cracks begin to show as it goes on. Tara appears to be anxious about the future, which may be why she keeps on drinking the past few episodes. Being questioned about it during the party leads to her having a panic attack, and it’s a good thing that Charlie is there to impart some knowledge he’s gained from his therapist.

As the night deepens, Charlie finally musters up the courage to ask Nick if he wants to have sex, and to Nick’s eternal credit, he refuses not because he doesn’t want to have sex with Charlie, but because Charlie’s too drunk to give an enthusiastic yes. Consent is sexy, you guys!

Multiple people have hangovers the next day, with Tara heading to the toilet to vomit the next morning and Charlie feeling ill. But we leave all of that behind for the moment as Elle heads on over to her radio interview and Nick and Charlie head over to the internet historian meet-up. Unfortunately, whenever I hear internet historian, what I keep remembering is the Internet Historian that was exposed as a plagiarist. Fortunately, Heartstopper‘s ~internet historian~ is Jonathan Bailey!

While Charlie and Nick are having a better time with their post-sleepover activity, Elle has to contend with the debate about trans-ness and feminism that is still going on in the UK. I feel like the school should have prepped her on this, because when you’re just a teenager, sometimes you don’t want to be talking about the politics of it all. There’s also the fact that she’s a teenager that may not be equipped with the facts and the life experience to deal with all of that.

We wring a little more out of Jonathan Bailey’s appearance on the show, and I gotta say I reacted the same way Nick did when I interviewed a handsome celebrity here in the country when I was a wee little lad writing for a newspaper. Do you young people still know what a newspaper is?

ANYWAYS, they’re back to Charlie’s place and I thought the two of them were finally going to have sex, but they get cockblocked by Charlie’s mom. It was probably a good thing that it happened, because Charlie can finally open up about his insecurities when it comes to his naked body. Nick reassures him, because Nick is a good person.

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