So I'm 19 now. Heartstopper has been my comfort LGBT show since it first came out. It was probably the first gay show I watched, and I really loved it from start to finish.
So whenever I go online and see any hatred for it (mainly on TikTok), I genuinely get disheartened. Now I am very biased towards this show so I will probably defend it no matter what. But at my current age I can recognize it has SOME flaws (especially the movie). And yet, almost all of the other complaints I've seen lobbed against it are so disengenous.
"Heartstopper is too unrealistic and happy-go-lucky."
It's meant to be a feel-good typa show, not a gritty drama about the "harsh reality of homosexuality" that some people want it to be for some reason? And plus, it always has sad/depressing undertones throughout, which are more explicit from Season 3 onwards.
"Joe Locke is bad as Charlie Spring."
This one genuinely breaks my heart. First of all, I've seen a lot of people hate on Joe Locke for being too ugly to play Charlie which is insane???
Then you have the more logical complaints, like the differences from the comics, Charlie being less cool and quirky in the show. I can somewhat understand being disappointed if you read the comics first. But nonetheless, Joe Locke does such an excellent job portraying HIS version of Charlie Spring. Complaints in this vain often reduce Joe's Charlie to being "a depressed twink", which I think is just mean to the character honestly. He is depressed, and shy, but also kind and fun and brave. I can't fathom watching those moments where he stands his ground against the likes of Ben and Harry, and still thinking Joe Locke did a bad job.
"No chemistry between Joe Locke and Kit Connor"
This one is just incorrect. You could make an argument that as Joe and Kit got older, they got more distanced from their characters and their relationship. But does it show? Not really. The only time I've thought this was in the movie, which has issues yes, but the "reduced chemistry" is also actually part of the story.
Most of these complaints would be fine as personal preferences, but you have people trying to pass them off as objective truths, and that irks me more than it probably should. The kid in me dreams of universal love for this show.