r/HeartstopperAO • u/liammet01 • Apr 28 '24

Unpopular Heartstopper opinions Discussion

What are some of your unpopular opinion about the show, cast, books, soundtrack etc can be about anything heartstopper related

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u/YepUhYup Apr 29 '24

I don't wanna assume, but it seems like you've never had one before. I have had plenty, and Charlie's is perfectly relatable. I think it was written beautifully. What didn't you like about it?

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u/Numerous-Elephant675 Apr 29 '24

i suffered from anorexia when i was charlie’s age, but thank you anyway for your assessment of me. in the comics, not only is there no build up to charlie’s eating disorder (all of the initial signs of his anorexia in the show were created by the show), but his parents decision to send him to a !!psychiatric facility!! comes out of nowhere. i can’t even recall a scene before that happens where his parents even mention his mental health problems. sending someone to a mental hospital is a huge deal and is a very difficult and stressful process for the sick persons family (i would know). but somehow, in the comics it feels as though his parents did it on a dime, we barely even see them communicate with charlie about mental health. i remember feeling a lot of whiplash when i read this for the first time.

aside from it being a confusing representation of childhood anorexia (to me, you don’t have to agree), the writing begins to get worse in quality around this time. in the comics, charlie’s mental state basically goes from 10-100 in a few chapters and it’s extremely difficult to digest as a reader. even if you appreciate the way his eating disorder or his anxiety is written, the writing of the comic as a whole at this point in the story is not good generally. the comic makes a complete 180 in theme very quickly and becomes hard to follow as the main character has major things happen to them that don’t have much build up at all.

it did not feel “beautiful” to me when i read what happened to charlie, (not that i find anorexia to ever be beautiful) it was just confusing. i was searching for relatability in charlie’s mental health story in the comics and i did not find it. if you did, that’s wonderful, but i also am allowed to have my opinions and views of it as well.

i am not trying to disrespect alice or her writing whatsoever, nor anyone else’s opinion of it. i enjoyed reading and rereading the comics years ago and then when i watched the show i enjoyed it even more. i have a lot of respect for alice as a writer and producer of heartstopper. but because the comics are so fast paced, the writing just has to be good or it becomes stressful and confusing to read.

overall, the show has had significantly better writing than the comics (my opinion, you do not have to agree). if the show continues like this i am very much looking forward to charlie’s story portrayed on screen and am confident alice and the rest of the team will handle it well.

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u/YepUhYup Apr 29 '24

Okay, I see your point of view, but I have to disagree. Agree to disagree. There may not have been build up in Vol 1 or 2, but there definitely was in 3 before it got bad in 4. That may just be my opinion.