S02.E02: Family

[secnarf]

Quote

With Charlie's grades slipping, his parents tighten the rules; Tao gets jealous when Elle makes new friends; Nick's older brother invades his privacy.

Aug 3 2023

[Bill1978]

I know people should respect the boundaries of someone else's bedroom, but considering Nick wasn't ready to tell his brother he was bisexual, you would think he would have been smarter about hiding that fact. Like removing the photos of him and Charlie from the walls, warning Charlie that his brother had seen the text (and maybe suggesting Charlie use another name if he met the brother).

[lovett1979]

When Elle meets Naomi, Naomi says she's looking forward to going to the art school and no longer being just "the trans girl" and Elle seems to identify with that feeling. But the thing is, we never see her have any issues relating to her trans-ness. In the first season, bullying and non-acceptance when she was transitioning while attending the boys' school is mentioned, but she's been accepted fully at the girls' school like any other girl (were it not for the fact that she had transferred from Truham, would anyone even know she's trans?) and even when she's attended events for both schools (sports day, Paris trip, Prom), no one seems to recognize/remember her or says anything. (granted, we never see the guys who bullied Charlie pre-series either)

Spoiler

When she and Tao start their will-they-won't-they the fact that she is trans is never an issue (not that it needs to be, but I feel like that could be an interesting thing to explore).

It's not that I want to see her having issues, and one of the delightful things about Hearstopper is its ability to tell queer stories without trauma, but that conversation with Naomi just doesn't make sense, giving what we've seen about Elle's life.

[lovett1979]

I love mama bear Olivia Coleman not allowing any of David's shit and reading him the riot act in the kitchen.

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, lovett1979 said:

When Elle meets Naomi, Naomi says she's looking forward to going to the art school and no longer being just "the trans girl" and Elle seems to identify with that feeling. But the thing is, we never see her have any issues relating to her trans-ness. In the first season, bullying and non-acceptance when she was transitioning while attending the boys' school is mentioned, but she's been accepted fully at the girls' school like any other girl (were it not for the fact that she had transferred from Truham, would anyone even know she's trans?) and even when she's attended events for both schools (sports day, Paris trip, Prom), no one seems to recognize/remember her or says anything. (granted, we never see the guys who bullied Charlie pre-series either)

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When she and Tao start their will-they-won't-they the fact that she is trans is never an issue (not that it needs to be, but I feel like that could be an interesting thing to explore).

It's not that I want to see her having issues, and one of the delightful things about Hearstopper is its ability to tell queer stories without trauma, but that conversation with Naomi just doesn't make sense, giving what we've seen about Elle's life.

In my experience as a lesbian, even if nobody is giving me any shit about it, it feels really different to be the only one, vs to be somewhere where there are plenty of us. I took her comment about "being the trans girl" (or not) to be about that feeling of isolation, vs being among others in community.

[lovett1979]

13 minutes ago, possibilities said:

In my experience as a lesbian, even if nobody is giving me any shit about it, it feels really different to be the only one, vs to be somewhere where there are plenty of us. I took her comment about "being the trans girl" (or not) to be about that feeling of isolation, vs being among others in community.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I hadn’t thought about that aspect of Elle’s life and experience.

[JustHereForFood]

It's a sign of good storytelling for me, when I can see both people's perspective. I can totally relate to Tao feeling jealous of Elle's new friends, even though it's completely involuntarily and he probably feels bad about it. At the same time, I am happy for Elle to have new friends who probably share many experiences with her and "get" her without her having to explain anything.

Nick's brother is a total dick. At least with Ben, we can kind of see why he's behaving like he is, but this guy seems to be just a dick for no reason. First he is just a typical dick brother to Nick, then he sneaks into his room and takes his things, then he's a total dick about Nick being bi. I hope Olivia Colman tells him to move to their dad's instead if he can't behave like an adult.