Heartstopper: Episode 5

5. Friend

Charlie invites Nick to his birthday weekend hangout at the bowling alley despite Tao not totally approving the idea. Nick is welcomed at the venue without issues by Elle and Isaac, but he later overhears Tao arguing with Charlie in the bathroom about his being friends with him. He also tells his friend about Nick agreeing to go out on a date with Imogen. Nick comes clean to Charlie about it, tells him how Imogen’s dog died and how he feels bad for her as well as his inability to say no. He gives Charlie a handmade frame with a photo of their snowy day on it, which Charlie adores. Initially hesitant because they are in public, the pair share a kiss and spend the rest of the night having a good time at the arcade. Nick apologizes to Imogen for not going to their date but meets her the next day to explain. He ends up with an explanation that gets close to a revelation of his sexual orientation. Though confused, Imogen seems to take the hint and accepts her newfound fate at the friendzone. She defends Nick from all the teasing of his rugby bros the following day.

I’m living for Tao Xu’s witty comebacks. Hahahaha, I guess whenever there’s a high school drama like this you always tend to see yourself in some of the characters. While I wasn’t really the combative type, I do find myself relating more to the I-can-slice-you-in-half-with-my-words crowd. So far, they are building up his subplot to intertwine with Elle’s, which means there is room for the character to progress in the story. It is Isaac that I am worried about because it has been five episodes so far and he has never had that much significance in the grand scheme of things. I mean, he is just there, existing without much bearing on the storyline. Olivia Colman makes another short appearance. This isn’t really just a cameo; she is actually part of the cast. It makes you wonder how they got an A-Lister for such a small role, but I believe it reflects the kind of person that she is. She was probably impressed by the script as well as the impact this could have on the community, so she agreed to be in it in the end. Admirable. She just gained a new fan.

“Life must be really hard when your only personality trait is rich bellend.” –Tao Xu

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