Heartstopper season 2 was right to make this change for Darcy
Heartstopper season two spoilers follow.
There's no denying that Hearstopper is the ultimate celebration of queer joy, chock-full of moments that will make your heart flutter or, forgive us, stop. (Cue the cartoon leaves).
But one particular stand-out moment from the heartwarming YA series, which we hailed as "the most important British show since It's a Sin" last year (our point still stands), is when Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) comes out as bisexual to his mum, Sarah (Olivia Colman).
Sarah completely embraces and validates Nick's sexuality during this tender interaction, and the moment had a significant impact on many of the show's viewers. For some, it was even the catalyst for their own coming out.
It wonderfully depicts how a parent should react in this moment, but as the second season of Heartstopper also demonstrates, this, unfortunately, isn't everyone's experience.
In season one, Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) eventually go public with their secret relationship, kissing in a joyous, (literally) rainbow-hued scene on the dancefloor while Nick looks on in admiration.
But Heartstopper is nothing but refreshingly honest about the complexities of being out, and Tara still struggles to shake off other people's opinions while Darcy is unabashedly loud and proud.
"It’s different for me. You came out years ago," Tara tells her girlfriend. "I’m not loud and confident about being a lesbian. I could barely say the word lesbian when we started going out… You’re so confident about your sexuality and I still feel like I know nothing."
While it's true that Darcy is confident in her sexuality at school and is able to help Tara through her journey of self-acceptance, the layers of this confidence and her self-evasive humour are soon peeled back in season two.
In Alice Oseman's graphic novels, we're given a brief glimpse into Darcy's home life when Tara tells Nick that her parents are "homophobic" and "horrible" to her, but this isn't explored further.
In the show, however, we're actually introduced to Darcy's mum during a heart-wrenching sequence encased in looming, purple clouds, when Darcy is trying on her suit for prom.
"Take that off this instant," her mother tells her. "They will laugh."
Although Darcy points out that her friends are "supportive" and "like" her, her mother kicks her out of the house and she's forced to spend the night in the park.
When a worried Tara later heads to Darcy's house after she fails to show up to prom, Darcy's mother informs Tara that she had "another one of her tantrums" over her clothing, which she adds made her "look like a lesbian."
Not only is this a stark reminder that you can never be sure what someone is going through behind closed doors, but we learn that Darcy had been hesitant to say the L-word to Tara because she was afraid how Tara would react if she knew the truth about her home life.
"There’s a paradox and guilt at the heart of Darcy’s sense of self; she can’t be open with Tara because she feels that she’d be letting Tara down by not being this person she seems to be," director Euros Lyn explained to Elle.
Giving further insight into Darcy's arc during an interview with with NBC, executive producer Patrick Walters added: "I think the point of that storyline was to show that when your home life as a young queer person is compromised, that’s a really serious thing and it can totally alter how people act and what they show about themselves to their loved ones."
Although Nick's coming-out scene was monumental and resonated with many, it was also important for season two to explore Darcy's relationship with her mother in order speak to wider experiences within the queer community.
"I have never felt fully represented in queer media until Darcy in season two of Heartstopper," one user tweeted.
Another wrote: "The way Darcy’s story was portrayed was so important to me as someone who relates to her home life and how she feels, like i’m not alone and our real family can be our found family."
"As someone who has went through this exact experience. It was really comforting to see that others go through it too," another added.
Heartstopper seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
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