Heartstopper Season 2 revealed how Charlie’s sexuality was made public
NetflixSince the first season of Heartstopper, fans were aware that Charlie’s sexuality being made public was not his decision, and Season 2 of the Netflix series briefly addresses how everyone discovered the truth.
At the heart of the LGBTQ+ storyline is Charlie’s history with his sexuality at school. He was outed in the eighth grade and became the only openly gay student. But, it caused an onslaught of bullying from his peers, which led to Charlie’s mental health issues. It only worsened when in the first season, he was in a secret and toxic relationship with Ben Hope (Sebastian Croft).
While Charlie accepts who he is, Heartstopper Season 2 revealed he was shocked by how many people he thought he knew were actually homophobic. But, it still left one question on everyone’s mind: who outed Charlie in the first place?
Netflix’s Heartstopper Season 2 finally answered the question about Charlie’s sexuality scandal and it was someone no one expected.
Heartstopper Season 2 revealed someone close to Charlie outed him
While at a love lock bridge in Paris, Heartstopper Season 2 revealed that Tao (William Gao) was the one who accidentally outed Charlie’s sexuality.
At the bridge, Tao tells Charlie he doesn’t think his relationship with Elle (Yasmin Finney) will work. Tao believes he messes everything up, to which Charlie tries to comfort him by saying it isn’t true. A look of guilt came over Tao’s face. He revealed, “Charlie, I’m basically the reason you got outed last year.”
By the look on Charlie’s face, he didn’t know it was Tao. After Charlie came out to his friends the year prior, Tao talked about it with Isaac and someone overheard them. Sooner rather than later, Charlie was getting bullied for his sexuality.
Tao never told Charlie over the fear that his best friend would hate him. It is safe to say that Tao was carrying extreme guilt, knowing how the bullying affected Charlie. Heartstopper Season 2 also has Nick (Kit Connor) picking up clues about Charlie’s eating disorder. The only one that really knew about his condition was his older sister. The second season also revealed that Charlie self-harmed to deal with the pain of the bullying.
In true Charlie fashion, he forgave Tao and knew it wasn’t his fault. To cement his devotion to his best friend, Charlie writes their names on the lock and fastens in place with the others.
You can read more about what to expect in Heartstopper Season 3 here, and if Charlie and Nick say “I love you” in the finale here.