S01.E03: Kiss

[secnarf]

Released April 22 2022

[takalotti]

Me starting this episode: Oh! It’s called “Kiss”! So Nick and Charlie are gonna kiss, yay!

Me right after Imogen finagled an “invite” to the party out of Nick and then the title card says “3. Kiss”: Oh crap. Are Nick and Imogen gonna kiss and Charlie’s gonna see/hear about it? Noooo!

Me when Ben bumped into Charlie at the party: Oh nooooo! Charlie’s gonna let Ben kiss him again because he thinks Nick and Tara are hitting it off!

Thank goodness none of that was how it played out!!!

 

The first time I watched the scene where they were changing in the locker room, I assumed the awkwardness was because of the gossiping that was going on about Nick and Tara/Imogen. Like Charlie was awkward because he didn’t want to show he was jealous/bummed, and Nick didn’t want Charlie to believe he was into Tara/Imogen but didn’t know how to make that happen without it being obvious it was REALLY IMPORTANT to him that Charlie didn’t believe those guys. I didn’t even consider it was because they were changing in front of each other while having a crush on each other 😂

 

This isn’t important, but was rugby practice before classes started? Or do they have form/homeroom at the beginning AND end of the day? Or was Rugby at the end of the day and Nick invited Charlie the next morning? I swear my lack of understanding about “form” is messing with me. 

I think it’s most likely that Harry mentioned it to Nick on not a Friday because Harry referred to it as “This Saturday.” The changing room scene was just at some point after that (maybe the same day, maybe not) but not Friday (not just because form is most likely only in the morning, but again, Harry refers to “Saturday night” instead of “tomorrow night”). And then Nick invited Charlie on Friday morning because when Charlie tells his friends, Tao says “Isn’t that tomorrow?” And you know Charlie didn’t wait more than a day to tell them. I’m surprised he didn’t text them right after form on Friday! Or tell Tao and Isaac in person. 
 

And about that invite, Nick. Tacking on the “with me?” 🥰

 

I mentioned this in another Heartstopper space, but I cannot reconcile how much these kids looked for each other without ever even TRYING to find them by text. Like, since Nick ask Charlie to go to the party “with me” and yet didn’t actually have his mom pick them both up or something, then I’d expect Nick to be texting “I’m here! Let me know when you arrive!” But even if not, when Charlie arrived, to a rather intimidating party due to the popularity of the people there, I’d expect him to be like “just got here, where are you?” so that he wouldn’t have to wander alone for long. And then when they were actively looking for each other, I’d expect them to text “where did you go?” At the very least, I’d expect them to at least CONSIDER these texts and maybe not send them because they realized how clingy that could seem. And to be clear, this isn’t a criticism of how it played out. This commentary says more about me than it does about the show. Obviously my way would have been boring. The way it actually played out more fun and dramatic. This is why I don’t write/direct TV shows 🤣

 

Oh Imogen. I don’t dislike her. I can see that really her only fault is that she’s a silly girl. “I asked a boy to invite me and after I implied he was insulting me he invited me, he must like me!” “I asked a boy if he liked my dress and he said yeah and then immediately started scanning the rest of the room, he must like me!” (based on the way she turned to her friends and basically squeed). “I told a boy I really liked him and he didn’t outright reject me, he must like me! Squee!”
 

I think it was so cute how Elle was going to follow Mrs. Xu into the kitchen before Tao turned her. We didn’t see Elle’s history leading up to her changing schools, but I imagine that some friends’ parents acted awkwardly around her. So it’s completely understandable if she wants to hang around a little longer when a grown up is gushing at her and not just indifferently greeting her.

 

I like how Elle just tells Tao the things he’s saying are dramatic. And not just once. Too often it seems like it’s things girls say that get called “dramatic” and that tendency sets girls up for being dismissed more often than boys. Boys can be dramatic, too.

 

I really applaud Nick for saying “That’s homophobic, Harry.” Not only would it have been too easy to get distracted by feeling the need to defend himself or cover his tracks, but he also didn’t say “You’re homophobic” or “You’re being homophobic.” Those two statements would automatically set someone on the defensive. But just calling out what was said as being homophobic, leaving out the intent, setting aside the speaker, is much more effective. 

I liked how subtle Elle and Tao’s conversation about change being a good thing was. Yes, she’s trans. They both know it. It’s part of who she is, but that’s not ALL she is so it’s not like she needed to drop an anvil on the conversation to say “when you complain about how you want things the way they used to be it sounds like you wish *I* were still the way I used to be.”
 

“I’m sorry about what happened” does not count as an apology AT ALL, Ben 🙄 That wording avoids all responsibility and it’s shitty. Here’s the formula for a proper apology: I’m sorry that I … It was wrong because … Next time I will …

 

Tao? All those things you asked Elle to promise? You just described something like a soulmate relationship, not a friendship 🤣 Do you really expect someone to enter a committed romantic relationship and still prioritize their friendship with you OVER that?

 

Man. Nick’s face when Tara and Darcy kiss. It’s not just “I’m happy for them.” It’s also “I want that, too.” 🥰 Followed by “I REALLY need to find Charlie.”

 

Pinky touching/linking is a *thing* for me. I totally get the flutters that can induce 🥰🥰🥰

 

Man. When Nick bolted when Harry ruined the moment I internally wailed “NOOOOO! You KNOW how Ben treated him! You saw it first hand and he told you their history. And you’re gonna run away like you’re ashamed the same way Ben did? NOOOOO! At least say ‘Don’t leave, I’ll be back as soon as I can. It’s just - you know how Harry is. He’d - he’d ruin this.’” But I get it. I really do. It’s just so hard not to be frustrated! Especially when Charlie basically looks like “here I am again, someone’s dirty little secret” after Nick leaves. Gah!

 

And again, jerks who don’t know how to apologize. “It was just a joke” doesn’t count. And Nick going along with “Guess I was just in a mood” because he cared about getting back to Charlie ASAP more than he cared about being right.

 

Mr. Spring is a good dad. It must be so hard to know that your kid has a target on his back, that bullies have aimed at that target already, but you can’t shelter him forever. You have to let him go to rich asshole parties even if you’re scared something bad will happen to him. All you can really do is what Mr. Spring did: Remind him to call if he needs you, and be there for him when he needs you. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Everything’s gonna be okay.” I’m sobbing, more because of all the love pouring out of Mr. Spring than because of Charlie’s sadness.

 

Charlie’s pillow has rainbow stripes on them 🥰🏳️‍🌈 And he still snuggles with a stuffed dog! 

Edited May 23, 2022 by takalotti

[lovett1979]

9 hours ago, takalotti said:

I really applaud Nick for saying “That’s homophobic, Harry.” Not only would it have been too easy to get distracted by feeling the need to defend himself or cover his tracks, but he also didn’t say “You’re homophobic” or “You’re being homophobic.” Those two statements would automatically set someone on the defensive. But just calling out what was said as being homophobic, leaving out the intent, setting aside the speaker, is much more effective. 

Your analysis of this episode is really spot-on, but I wanted to highlight and thank you for this part. That is a really great observation, and great advice for dealing with touchy subjects in a productive way. Thank you.