In the YouTube video “Why we all Love Nick Nelson (too much),” LoopingLuis explains that Heartstopper is a family show, and the two shirtless scenes of Nick in seasons one and two were not necessary or sexual.
Photo by John Fornador from Unsplash
“The key to why we love him is that he’s cute and maintains a sense of innocence that other characters must sacrifice.” This loveable heartthrob is sought after, so where’s the harm?
“Honestly, this is where Heartstopper leaves the teen genre and enters a straight-up fantasy world. We are supposed to believe that the Nick we see has been friends with awful Harry for years and only now sees him as the dickhead he is?
He is blissfully unaware of the severe bullying Charlie is traumatized by, but once he learns of it, he becomes the perfect knight in shining armor. Whatever.
LoopingLuis, Why We All Love Nick Nelson Too Much
I don’t care for the completely different person Nick must’ve been before the cameras were rolling in Truham Grammar School.”
LoopingLuis brings up a good point here. Nick turns straight to shining armor after he realizes his friend group. The saying ignorance is bliss is true sometimes. Before finding a letter in the LGBTQIA community, Nick has internalized homophobia that is shown through what he accepts, not what he gives.
Nick may not be that different before he met Charlie. The show chooses to cast Nick Nelson as a heartthrob, so he’s reduced to having simple shirtless scenes and tight clothes his other male friends aren’t wearing.
Ignorance is Bliss
Ignorance is bliss is the benefit of the doubt given to too many characters that need to educate themselves somewhere else before asking, “When did you know you were gay?” or “Can you walk? What happened to you?” Education is not on the individual all the time.
It feels like a fantasy when Nick is seen as a savior for Charlie, as Nick’s love for Charlie is divorced from anything with his brother and father. “He might struggle with his shitty dad, but it doesn’t have any long-lasting effects on him.
Nick gets angry at his brother and his father, but he seems completely immune to any trauma to work through that characters who lack a respectable father figure normally face.
Heartthrob Love
I argue that this is because his primary purpose in Heartstopper is to love Charlie in a way that we find endearing. A beautiful bisexual Rugby jock who is also literal husband material? Sign me up because I want one.”
White saviors or abled-body saviors play into the narratives that keep minorities in place as serving the majority. Nick is the LGBTQIA+ savior anyone can love with the fawning of popularity structure in school.
Looping Louis says Nick doesn’t even want the popularity, which makes him more wholesome. People inspired by others to discover and come out themselves are essential in the story. It can get lost in looks, and the media must make everyone one note.
Source
LoopingLuis. “Why We All Love Nick Nelson (too much).” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKmptTpBHc&list=LL&index=1&t=575s. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025