This post contains spoilers for Heartstopper season 2 episode 4, “Challenge”.
It’s time for the Paris trip everyone has been waiting for in Heartstopper season 2. While Tao and Elle try to reboot their relationship, Nick and Charlie crave spending some time alone and Tara hopes to have an open-hearted conversation with Darcy.
Let’s see how this new episode of Heartstopper unfolded for these different pairings.
- Heartstopper season 2 episode 1 recap: Coming out is hard
- Heartstopper season 2 episode 2 recap: Family trouble
- Heartstopper season 2 episode 3 recap: Tao and Elle's first date
Off to France
As they prepare to board their coach to Paris, Nick asks Charlie if he is sure about keeping their interactions low-key during the trip. Charlie swallows his feelings and tells Nick it will be fun to “be a secret again” although he wishes they could be out together in the City of Love. He teases Nick about not being able to last two days without kissing him and his boyfriend accepts the challenge before they go on the bus, where they decide not to sit next to each other.
On the ride to France, lots of things are going on, from Isaac questioning Charlie about how he knew he wanted to be with Nick in a romantic way before glancing at James, to Imogen catching Ben looking at Charlie. Sitting next to Tao, Nick phones his father, talking to him in French, and Tao is surprised to learn that Nick’s dad is French and that Nick speaks the language fluently. Meanwhile, Darcy is excited to spend time in Paris with Tara, but the latter is worried about having told her she loved her and Darcy not saying it back.
When they all arrive at their Parisian hotel, and their chaperones Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi (who might have a little something blooming between them as well) send them to their respective rooms, Nick and Charlie realize they will not be sharing the same bed. Indeed, they are sharing a room with Isaac and Tao who each picked a spot on the two available double beds.
A day in Montmartre
Things are still off between Elle and Tao. They’ve barely spoken since their disastrous date and Tao is doing his best to reach out to her. At breakfast the next morning, he brings Elle a bottle of apple juice as a peace offering and later on, their friends push them to spend the day together as they are off to visit Montmartre and both Elle and Tao are keen to check out the local art museum.
When they get there, Tao apologizes for their bad date and for getting mad at Elle for wanting to spend time with her new friends Naomi and Felix. He admits he is happy she is making new friends but insecure about being left out and alone. The two of them agree they are better off as friends and enjoy their time together at the museum. At the end of the visit, they both feel like things are back to normal between them and insist that they are just friends when asked about the day by the others, but it is clear that sparks are still flying between them.
While these two are off at the museum, Nick, Charlie and the others are exploring Montmartre. Isaac spends more time with James, and Tara and Darcy are having a blast being together in Paris. Charlie confesses to Tara that he feels a bit jealous of them, of their ability to be out and happy together in public while he and Nick have to hide. However, Tara points out that it took a long time for them to get to this point and that she is sure he and Nick will have the same freedom eventually.
In fact, she is a bit jealous of Charlie herself, because she wishes she and Darcy shared their feelings as openly as Nick and Charlie do. She tells him about the “I love you” incident and how Darcy refuses to talk about her feelings, but as Charlie points out, what better place to talk about love than Paris?
Clearing the air
During their time in Montmartre, Nick, Charlie and co. are eventually joined by Imogen, who grew tired of Ben skulking around and refusing to do anything but stare at Nick and Charlie. She complains about her relationship with him and it boils up to the point that at dinner that evening, she blows up when Ben inquires about Charlie’s day instead of talking to her. In front of everyone, she confronts Ben about his obsession with Charlie and decides to break up with him on the spot, saying she is better off focusing on herself. Wanting to save face, Ben calls her a “bitch” but that does nothing to earn him brownie points with anybody. Imogen leaves the table and Charlie and Nick follow her to check up on her. She asks Charlie if anything ever happened between him and Ben and while he doesn’t answer, his face says it all.
Back at the hotel, Nick asks Tao how things went on with Elle and the two boys have an honest conversation during which Tao realizes that Nick actually likes him. He keeps painting himself as an unlikeable character while in fact many people, Nick included, find him pretty cool. After their chat, Nick posts a new picture of Charlie on Instagram, which makes his boyfriend happy. The two of them are alone in the room, at last, and start making out, which leads Charlie to point out that Nick lost their bet. The following morning, we find Charlie brushing his teeth in the bathroom and suddenly noticing that Nick gave him a love bite. Well, that surely will lead to some gossip amongst their fellow students…
How long will Tao and Elle manage to bury their feelings for the sake of their friendship? Will Charlie have to thwart questions about the love bite? Find out more in the next episode of Heartstopper, now available on Netflix.
