Heartstopper – Season 2 Episode 2 “Family” Recap & Review

Family

Episode 2 of Heartstopper Season 2 begins with parent-teacher meetings at the school. Nick is doing fairly well but Charlie is running behind on his work. His teachers want him to be more focused. In particular, his History teacher wants him to complete his coursework essay. 

Following the disappointing meeting with the teachers, Charlie’s parents ban him from meeting with Nick after school until his History coursework essay is done. Charlie is angry and feels it is unfair but his parents stand their ground. He texts Nick about the situation and they joke the universe is keeping them apart.

Elsewhere, Nick’s brother is back in town and from the looks of it, they are not close. Nick asks his mom not to tell him about Charlie and she vows not to. 

The next day at school, Tara, Darcy and Elle get excited about prom and start planning their outfits. A girl ropes them in to help organize the prom and they meet after class. Elle seems distracted as Tao texts asking to meet. Darcy advises her to use the chance to make her move. Tara reminds her that she promised to get over Tao and advises her to avoid him in the meantime. In the end, Elle texts him back informing him she has plans for the evening. 

At Truham, Charlie and Nick are having a hard time seeing each other with their different schedules. Charlie lies to Mr Faroouk that he is returning Nick’s pen and they get a chance to chat for a few minutes. Charlie still hates being paired with Ben and they get into a brawl, forcing Mr Farouk to punish them by locking them together in a different room. 

Nick is clear about why he doesn’t like Ben because he assaulted Charlie. Ben claims he was going through some personal things and calls it a misunderstanding. This is when we learn he is Imogen’s new beau. Nick worries that Ben will hurt her just like he hurt Charlie. On the other hand, Ben questions if Nick really wants to come out or is doing the same thing as him. 

Later at home, David comes across Nick’s phone and reads a few of their chats. Nick is furious and demands his phone back. He replies to Charlie’s text and agrees to meet at the park; even though Charlie’s parents banned them from meeting after school till he finishes his coursework.

They have a great time at the park and later Nick posts a sweet picture of Charlie and his dog, Nellie, on Instagram. Charlie is touched when he sees the post and feels like he is on cloud nine. 

Meanwhile, Elle goes to an event at The Lambert School of Art and makes new friends. They share their fears about getting into art school. One of the girls, Naome, connects with Elle over their struggles as a transgender high school students. Tao sees the updates on Elle’s social media page and admits to his mom that he is worried she might be moving away soon. His mom understands how Tao feels and encourages him to spend more time with Elle before she leaves. 

The following morning at school, Nick tries to warn Imogen about Ben but she fails to listen. Nick’s exams don’t go well so Charlies sneaks out after school and visits Nick to cheer him up. It was going well until David rudely introduces himself and accuses Charlie of turning his brother gay. Nick tries his best to handle the situation and his mom comes to his aid. Nick sends off Charlie after apologising for his brother’s behaviour. Meanwhile, David wonders what their dad would say. Begging the question, where is their dad?

Charlie returns home and his parents ground him for the rest of the term. They threaten to pull him out of the Paris trip as well if he doesn’t get it together.  Charlie texts Nick to inform him about his punishment and they discuss David. Charlie feels it’s his fault for showing up uninvited. Nick assures Charlie that David’s reaction to him was not his fault. He promises he can handle it.

On the other side of town, Tao visits Elle and asks to spend time with her but she claims to be busy. She is trying to avoid him since things between them have been weird. Tao is hurt to hear she is going out with Naomi and Felix, the new friends she met at the art event. Later, Tao watches her posts at the party and feels heartbroken. His mom tells him her love story with his dad and encourages him to fight for Elle. 

The episode ends with Tao confessing to Charlie and Isaac that he likes Elle, and asks for their help to win her over.

The Episode Review

Charlie was pushing his limits and he deserves to be grounded. He needs to focus on his homework and get good grades. At this point, he might not make it to Paris, we can’t risk that!

Finally, Tao has accepted the truth about his feelings for Elle. It might have taken him his sweet time but there is no going back now. He has spoken it out to the universe and he is prepared to fight to stay by her side.

Ahh! how romantic! Let us see if Elle says yes and what unfolds after that.