When Heartstopper season 3 episode 4 “Journey” started, I will admit I was thrown off. Episode 3 ended with Charlie asking his parents for help and Nick silently supporting him. Any other show would have continued with this thread in a manner that saw Charlie actively getting treatment and breaking things down from here on out on screen. But Heartstopper didn’t do that. Instead it went down an unexpected route that I’m still trying to figure out if I liked. This episode also offered different character pairings, showing that even if the romantic leads are separated, the heart of the show is friendship.
So without further ado, let’s dive into Heartstopper season 3 episode 4 “Journey.”
Nick on his own. Or more accurately, without Charlie.
Finding out that a time jump had happened between episode 3 and 4 was especially jarring because we found out about this time jump through Nick’s eyes. There’s nothing wrong necessarily with experiencing the time jump through him. But I thought the show was going to give us more of Charlie’s POV. And I thought this was the show’s clever way of making time for Joe Locke to film Marvel’s Agatha All Along. It took me until Charlie appeared on screen to realize that Heartstopper was giving the viewer an opportunity to think about the secondary victims or the loved ones that remain behind or around when someone is getting treatment.
Nick and Charlie’s pain are on two completely different paths. But I do like that Heartstopper season 3 episode 4 took time, once again, to acknowledge Nick’s reality. He wanted to help, he couldn’t in the way that Charlie needed, and it hurts being away from his boyfriend. He knows that it’s good for Charlie and a part of him probably feels guilty for feeling this loneliness and pain. And you see it in Nick’s face and his mannerisms that he is portrayed as someone who stands strong and tall. He doesn’t falter. When he does, his friends notice. And that scene in the hallway between Nick and Tao was two people who have not necessarily gotten along all the time, putting their stuff to the side because one of them is in pain. It’s support.
Every episode of Heartstopper is a lesson and one that I didn’t think that I needed or that I thought that I would catch on a little sooner. And I did catch myself during “Journey” feeling a little bit disrespected on Charlie’s behalf because we left off on his problems. But this episode reminded me that this is an ensemble cast. No one gets left behind and there is always an opportunity to explore the complex emotions of characters, even if they are not currently with their romantic partner. Now if only the teen dramas that I grew up watching, knew this. It would be revolutionary.
What Charlie was going through.
Charlie entering the scene in this episode delighted me, especially after I was so sure that he wasn’t going to be in the episode at all. And when we did see him, we got to see a young man who’s healing wasn’t linear. That makes his journey a thousand times more realistic than anything I’ve seen on a teen drama. Just because you speak truth to the problem on hand and tell others, doesn’t mean that the issue disappears. Heartstopper understands that like life, you can’t just drop a mental illness reveal and then be done with it. That pain carries forth with you and your progress is told in waves.
I will say that a part of me wanted to see more of Charlie in the treatment center. But I think that would have turned this show into something it’s not. And while watching the scenes of him being in treatment, I did notice how the color palette of the show didn’t steer too far off from what we’re used to on Heartstopper. A lot of times when treatment centers are shown on TV or film, they are stripped of life and color. That gives everyone watching a perception that treatment centers are places you go to disappear and not get better. But Charlie did. Or he’s on his journey to getting better.
Being as we’re halfway through season 3, I’m a little concerned. Again I feel like Heartstopper is just surprising me over and over with the way that it hits specific strides and markers. Any other show would have made Charlie’s eating disorder the main driving force of the entire season. We’re in episode 4 of season 3 and already Charlie is facing his problems in a way that feels like progress. I’m not used to that. So what comes next? He had the amazing reunion with Nick and he has a plan on how he’s going to navigate life from here on out. But what’s the drama? Is there going to be drama? Oh my God, what if there isn’t drama and we just see these young people continue to navigate life together? Now that would be amazing.
The other characters on a Heartstopper.
Even though Heartstopper season 3 episode 4 “Journey” focused more on Nick and Charlie, the show made sure to still give us time with the rest of the cast of characters. All this does is enrich the show and make it a more well-rounded concept of what it is to be a teenager. Isaac once again stood up for himself in that video that they were sending to Charlie. Then we have Tara, who is now a prefect at school. Darcy is testing out they/them pronouns. And we even saw a moment of Imogen and Sahar testing some boundaries during the Halloween party. No matter how much the show changes, everyone’s journey matters. And if I understand this from the show on Netflix, I wonder how the books fair comparison.
Heartstopper season 3 is now available on Netflix.
I think it is the worst EP of all 3 seasons. Too many useless flashbacks and no explanation about Charlie’s illness and treatment.
What about them teasing farouk and Ajai I think you missed that it was really cute I loved it 🥺