Heartstopper - Adaptation review

So, over the last few weeks, I’ve gone over Heartstopper as a show, but I’ve hinted a few times I intended to talk about it as an adaptation, so here we are

Before we begin

TRIGGER WARNING: This review will involve discussing a non-consensual kiss, discuss themes of depression, eating disorders, self-harm and other related mental illnesses. If you are uncomfortable with any of these topics, do not read any further.

SPOILER WARNING: I am going to be discussing both the Heartstopper show and the comic, I would highly recommend you read the comic, it’s available for you to read for free on Webtoons, Chapters 1-3 will be the direct comparison, but elements of chapter 4 will also be mentioned. The show is on Netflix if you wish to watch that also. I will also be discussing relevant events from the novels, so spoiler alert in particular for Radio Silence, but also bits of Solitaire, This Winter and Nick and Charlie. Those books are available for purchase, if not in book stores then on Amazon both digitally and physically.

Heartstopper is in a rather unique position as an adaptation. Alice Oseman, who wrote the comics is also the writer for the show. So, she’s adapting her own work to screen, what that means is that the show is, for the most part, a pretty accurate adaptation of the comic. That being said, there are definitely some changes and omissions, some of which I’ll talk about here.

The show adapts 3 chapters from the comic. The first episode is based on the first chapter of the comic, episodes 2 and 3 are based on Chapter 2, and the rest of the show based on chapter 3. This may seem like an odd balance but in terms of page count (counting each post as 5 pages) Chapter 1 is 60 pages long, chapter 2 100 pages and Chapter 3 160 pages. But let’s look at the changes

What was left out:

Starting with some smaller stuff, Charlie has a brother in the comics, named Oliver. He’s a cute 7-year-old with endless joy to counter-balance Charlie and Tori’s more serious natures. He doesn’t do much of consequence over the story. His only major contribution comes much later down the line, and in Solitaire so I do understand his omission here.

Speaking of omissions, Nick’s friends Otis, Christian and Sai are, if not omitted entirely, not mentioned by name. They’re the people who are at least somewhat friendly to Charlie on the rugby team. They’re also the first to catch on that Nick and Charlie might be a thing.

I know there’s another omitted character, and I will get to him, but it’s not a small omission

OK, say let’s take a look a scenes episode by episode now

When Nick’s pen explodes and Charlie takes him to the bathroom to wash it off (nothing sexual yet, the teacher just didn’t want them getting ink all over the doors) one thing that is omitted is Ben texting Charlie, Charlie missed their meetup and Ben’s texts him, calling him useless, it’s the first real sign we get that their relationship was toxic. They replaced it with a few other scenes in the show, Ben standing Charlie up, then pretending not to know him in the corridors repeatedly.

Ben also made another attempt to talk to Charlie in the comic, confronting him at the lockers just before Nick arrived to invite him to the rugby team. The language is dialled down a little. Nick has no problem telling Ben to fuck off in the comic, rather than piss off in the series. He also seems more legitimately angry than in the comic than he does in the show. I guess it’s easier to convey in comic form.

The next big omission is a scene from episode 2, but before we get to that, there’s a scene after Charlie comes home from Nick’s where he confesses to Tori that he’s fallen for a straight boy, which is what the line “I don’t think he’s straight” is supposed to be the payoff for, anyway, the scene in question is at Charlie’s house where the two begin playfighting over Charlie doing homework. It’s a popular scene from the comic but was written out of the show as they didn’t want to rush their relationship. That’s interesting to me for a few reasons, as the scene that takes place with Tao telling Charlie about Nick’s crush on Tara, which in the comic takes place a) After the scene at Charlie’s and b) after the Easter Break, making it around April, in the show takes place before the scene at Charlie’s but after Half Term, making it around February. So, the relationship was actually somewhat further forward than it was in the show.

Harry’s party was big enough that everyone was invited, he didn’t insist his guests bring along cool people. Darcy gets a glimpse of Nick at Harry’s party, the moment he gives both barrels to Harry, and she draws a liking to him immediately. In episode 4, after Nick admits his feelings for Charlie, in the comic, they have a conversation in Charlie’s conservatory. It’s where Charlie first brings up the idea that Nick might be bisexual. Most of what happens in this scene is moved to other scenes in the show.

The confrontation between Charlie and Tao in the bowling alley bathroom in the comic had different connotations than in the show. Tao had nothing concrete to pin on Nick in the comic, only that he was worried if Nick found out that Charlie liked him and that reached his rugby friends it would be hell all over again for Charlie and he doesn’t want to see him hurt like that again. Charlie has to calm him down without saying that he's dating Nick by this point.

After the game as Nick and Charlie talk, when Nick mentions he wishes he knew Charlie earlier, knowing what he does not, it’s more explicit in the comics that he wishes he could’ve helped Charlie against the bullies. They also move the mention of Nick being worried about treating him the same way Ben was to an earlier scene.

The maths homework debate from the first episode of the show is from the music rehearsal scene in the comic. We miss Harry seeing Nick with Tara and Darcy and congratulating him, possibly because of Imogen but we’ll get to her later. Later when Nick tells Charlie he realises he hadn’t actually asked Charlie if it was ok to tell them? The end result is more or less the same though.

It’s at this point in the comic Tori walks in on them doing what they do and that’s how she finds out rather than Charlie telling her in confidence, which may have been better, as by this point, Charlie still hasn't told anyone. I don’t know whether it’s the writing, the direction or the acting but the way Charlie responds to Harry asking if he has a crush on Nick feels different between comic and screen, though it’s much the same words. In the comic, the way it’s framed makes it seem like he’s doing it with a wink and a nod aimed at Nick, in the series it’s much more defensive, as if he’s deliberately trying to dissuade them of the notion for Nick’s sake, not sure which angle I prefer. The fight between Nick and Harry doesn’t quite go the same way in the comic, Nick punches Harry but then, realises what he’s doing and freezes, allowing Harry to get in a retaliatory strike. I’ll save Charlie’s reaction for the next section.

Nick’s dog Nellie is someone Charlie adores, and she accompanies them on the trip to the beach in the comics, though what she’s doing when they were in the photo booth is anyone’s guess.

OK, that’s the stuff from the comic they left out, what about what they added in

What they added in

Most of the stuff that was added was to extend and expand on the story that already exists. But we’d better start with Isaac. In the comics, Charlie’s other friend was named Aled, he was usually quite quiet but if they ever wanted to explore his character it would inevitably come into the territory of Radio Silence, one of Oseman’s novels. I suspect given the nature of his characterisation in that book, exploring his character would lead into some rather dark territories that would mess with the tonal balance of the show, not to mention require more time than his status as a side-character would allow. It’s a good book, though

So they replaced him with Isaac, a guy who spends most of his time on screen reading a book and contributes almost nothing to the overall story. It’s a pity but there is some ground to expand on his story in future seasons, should it be renewed [Future note, it has been, for 2 whole seasons no less].

Tao gets an expanded role, his relationship with Elle is the central focus of his character arc, as well as overcoming his fear of things changing. He begins the season still barely able to accept that Elle has gone to a different school. And spends most of the season trying to restore the status quo of their friendship, which he believes is falling apart as Charlie spends more time with Nick. I feel his character in the comic is more sympathetic if rather shallow.

He suggests in the series that Charlie might be afraid of him accidentally outing Nick, what they don’t mention is that in the comics, he did that to Charlie. If that’s the case in the series universe, then he has no right to be offended by that. His relationship with Elle is hinted at during the chapters they’re adapting to the series but it wasn’t until chapter 4 it got any real development in the comics.

Elle also gets an expanded role, her being a new student at Higgs she has a harder time making friends, eventually getting to know Tara and Darcy and hanging out with them. I don’t remember them sharing panel-space till chapter 4 of the comic. I love their relationship.

The triple date with milkshakes was unique to the series and I have a small issue with it. Charlie should have not have gone through two milkshakes. We do get hints at his eating disorder this season, I don’t think Charlie from the comics could’ve stomached 2 milkshakes, he’d barely stomach one.

Tara gets a minor subplot in episode 5 having to deal with the reaction to her coming out, with Darcy having to support her, it was an important moment for them to have together, even if the stupid music room closet was stupid, they never specified that the door was broken like they did in the mini-comic, but you argue it was implied.

Mr Ajayi didn’t really appear in the comics until Chapter 4, in the series he’s placed as Charlie’s confident, letting him use the art classroom and it’s a major change from the source material. It was Mr Ajayi who ultimately helped stop the bullying of Charlie after he was outed. In the comics, it was some 6^th Form students of unknown identity. Mr Ajayi was also a teacher at Higgs, the girl’s school, at this point in the comic.

It’s not really said one way or the other in the series, but Higgs and Truham are both combined secondary and 6^th form schools in the comics, allowing for Nick and Charlie to continue their relationship being in the same school a little longer.

Imogen is a show-original character whose purpose is to stir up trouble for Nick’s romantic life. Nick never really feels anything for her so it’s a foregone conclusion that she’s gonna be disappointed by the end, and it’s sad that she just disappears in the last few episodes, I hope she finds out and becomes somewhat of a confident to Nick, lord knows if the next few chapters of the comic are anything to go by, he might need it.

OK, everything from when Nick comes home from the cinema to the train trip with Nick and Charlie is series original material. I get the feeling they decided they needed to have a lowest moment point just as the climax begins, and I get it, but… it feels so forced, there’s the bit with Tao which had some build-up with his fears of being alone. Unfortunately, they put the onus on Charlie to fix this which is the wrong because it was always Tao’s hang-up. They partially justify it by having Charlie miss an evening with them to go to Harry’s party but they were hanging out playing monopoly together in the next episode, so it falls a bit flat.

In the comics, Tao didn’t even find out till chapter 4, he was upset certainly and it made Charlie feel pretty crap for a day, but Tao understood and eventually made up with him. Of particular note here is that whilst Charlie felt guilty over the whole affair, it was Tao who made the first move and apologised, this is something that should have been replicated in the show, especially since this was before Nick was comfortable with everyone knowing. Elle didn’t find out from Nick either, she and Aled just kinda worked it out. The school sports day and the speech Nick gave to Charlie in the comics were a continuation of his speech at the car park after the cinema fiasco.

Charlie’s reaction to Nick’s fight is quite different, in the series it sends him spiralling, making him think he and Nick being together is ruining Nick’s relationship with his friends. In the comic, he actually thinks Harry had it coming, which he did. He doesn’t dwell on it in quite the same way, and Nick assures him later that night that he values his relationship with Charlie more than his friends, again, this moment was saved until after the sports day.

Oh yeah, and they bring in Ben again. I think they just liked his actor too much because he really doesn’t need to be in any scene past episode 3, he just hovers around like being in the crowd at the rugby match and with the group at the cinema, which is odd seeing as I’m pretty sure Nick wanted nothing to do with him after the whole forced kiss fiasco. He doesn’t appear after chapter 2 of the comic, and his only other appearance is in the novel Solitaire, where’s he’s still a dick of the highest order, though the events of that story’s plot may have pacified him somewhat.

But when I talk about the last couple of episodes being forced, it’s Ben I think of most. His scenes did not need to be there, Charlie had already jumped through the Ben hoop in episode 3, his story is over, and it makes it feel like Charlie’s attempt after the race to get Ben to leave him alone feel a bit hollow, even more so given that he’s likely have an expanded role in season 2 [expanded from nothing in the comics]. Even Nick’s declaration to Charlie of this arc feels somewhat hollow, I know it’s an attempt to mirror the scene after the kiss but it doesn’t work for me.

So, for it being a very solid adaptation of the source material, it gave me a decent amount to talk about. Let me know if you want me to do more of these in the comments and I’ll see you after the summer. Tata for now.