Heartstopper season 3 review: Is this the perfect Sex Education primer?

With this third instalment, creator Alice Oseman might well have crafted the perfect sex education primer – and I mean that in more ways than one. First, the show pokes fun at the frequent inadequacy of school-provided sex ed, which to this day can still breeze past (or completely omit) the possibility that some of the students participating may be LGBTQ+.

This will be painfully familiar to many viewers, no doubt. I can still remember my own experience of these "lessons" at a Roman Catholic secondary school, which caused the sole openly gay student to leave the room in protest. The Religious Studies teacher overseeing the sessions later told me, quite seriously, that he wanted us all to feel "uncomfortable" about sex.

Granted, that was more than a decade ago now, but things don't seem to have progressed in leaps and bounds if Heartstopper season 3's depiction is any indication. Is it any wonder that so many young people are woefully unprepared to navigate these choppy waters? Hopefully, this show can help fill in some of the blanks.

Indeed, not only is Heartstopper season 3 a great tool to supplement actual sex education classes, but secondarily, it also serves as a nice primer for Netflix's own Sex Education series. That earlier show was also praised for its informative content on a variety of issues, but the more graphic depictions of intercourse render it too mature for younger viewers.

Luckily, Heartstopper season 3 introduces similar themes around consent, intimacy and sexuality, but in a manner befitting of the show's wholesome and family-friendly reputation. It does, however, lay the contextual groundwork for viewers to graduate (at the appropriate time) to Sex Education, which takes these ideas and runs with them as only a more adult programme can.

That said, the new episodes aren't only concerned with bedroom antics, which actually don't come to the forefront until well into the second half of the season. Rather, the most prominent theme is Charlie's battle with an eating disorder and the shame he feels over his appearance, which looms over the entire run as the situation spirals out of control.

Locke delivers his best performance since the series began, rising to the challenge of tackling this hard-hitting material, including one particularly moving scene when Charlie is at his lowest point. Oseman's scripts handle the topic with care, providing the helpful messages and advice that the show is known for in a way that feels relatively organic.

Eddie Marsan is a calming presence as Charlie's therapist, Geoff, who is just one of the show's high-profile guest stars this season. Hayley Atwell effectively fills the Olivia Colman-shaped hole in this edition, stepping in as Nick's oh-so-cool Aunt Diane, who offers some sound words of wisdom as well as generally good vibes; she's the kind of relative you don't dread seeing at Christmas.

That said, the most valuable player is Ted Lasso's Annette Badland as the grandmother to Kizzy Edgell's Darcy, which is another delightfully straight-talking role for the veteran character actor; easily the best line delivery of the season.

By contrast, I regret to report that the much-hyped guest role for Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey is pretty underwhelming. I love (and crush upon) the actor as much as the next person, but his appearance is very brief and insubstantial, failing to produce any particularly noteworthy moments. Still, it's nice he made the time to pop by, I guess.

The problems with Heartstopper season 3 are the same that the show has always had; some of which are baked into the design and would be considered strengths by some members of the fanbase.

While Oseman's scripts are improving with each season, there are still occasional moments of unwieldy dialogue to shoe-horn a certain topic wherever it's deemed necessary. These clangers are a little jarring, but there's an argument that they need to be there in order to maintain the edutainment aspect of the show; I just wish some of the commentary could be more natural in its delivery.

The cast also remains a tad inconsistent, with the sheer intensity of Kit Connor's performance proving distracting at times. William Gao and Yasmin Finney are still generally on the weaker end of the spectrum, but the latter does get one moment to shine which powerfully calls attention to the sharp rise in transphobia that has occurred in recent years.

Other cast members suffer from a lack of screen time, with the dynamic between Imogen (Rhea Norwood) and Sahar (Leila Khan) feeling especially rushed. They appear to have become much closer largely off-screen, meaning we're hardly as invested in their relationship as the other characters appear to be.

Lastly, there are still a few too many montages of General Happiness, whether that's frolicking at the beach, dancing at a party, goofing around at the zoo or – of course – smooching your significant other. I understand the need to show queer joy, but it doesn't take long for these sequences to get a bit sickly; your mileage may vary, and that's OK.

Oseman does succeed in counterbalancing these with an acknowledgement that co-dependency is unhealthy, and that your happiness shouldn't rely completely on the presence or approval of a single person.

Meanwhile, the show also makes more room for asexual Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and still-figuring-it-out Tori (Jenny Walser), who were the least fleshed-out characters when the show began, but are starting to feel like real people at last.

Heartstopper season 3 is, in some ways, more of the same. But to the credit of Oseman and the cast, these latest episodes do feel like an evolution of the concept as the cutesy drama wades into deeper waters with its discussions of eating disorders and early sexual experiences.

Of course, it's never going to be quite as provocative as something with an older age rating, but for younger viewers, there's a sense that this season particularly could be a guide through tumultuous times – and that deserves to be celebrated.

Read more:

• Joe Locke on Heartstopper season 3, filming sex scenes and famous fans
• Kit Connor on "sweet and tender" sex scenes in Heartstopper season 3
• Heartstopper's Alice Oseman opens up on tackling sex and mental health in season 3

Heartstopper season 3 is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 3rd October 2024. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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