This post contains spoilers for Heartstopper season 2 episode 5, "Heat".
Heartstopper season 2 is continuing the fun in Paris on the big trip. In the fourth episode, Nick's trying to get ahold of his father, Tao and Elle end up taking their budding relationship to a new level, and Charlie ends up dealing with a wave of anxiety.
Let's recap Heartstopper season 2 episode 5 and see how Charlie deals with his anxiety, what's happening between Tara and Darcy and whether the Mona Lisa is even all that it's cracked up to be.
- 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
- Heartstopper season 2 episode 4 recap: Welcome to Paris
Love is in the air
It’s a new day in Paris and Nick is patiently waiting to hear back from his father; meanwhile, Charlie is freaking out about the hickey on his neck. He calls out Nick who is surprised to find out he did that to Charlie, before Tao walks in as well and yells at Nick for it.
Charlie worries everyone will see the hickey and speculate on who did it, and of course, that’s what happens. At breakfast, the love bite on Charlie is the talk of the entire class and many believe James to be responsible for it, given he is “the only other gay guy on the trip.” Seeing that Charlie is not eating, Nick decides to pack him up a croissant for later, and they all try to ignore the gossip as best they can.
The students are then off to see the Eiffel Tower and it is the perfect opportunity for Mr. Ajayi and Mr. Farouk to remind them they are also in Paris to study some French. They put them in pairs to complete a vocabulary assignment and Nick has to team up with Ben while Charlie and James work together.
The latter is worried that Isaac might think he gave the hickey to Charlie but he reassures him that Isaac knows the truth. Meanwhile, Tara keeps trying to talk to Darcy about their infamous “I love you” incident but her girlfriend keeps pretending she doesn’t know what Tara is talking about. As Tara grows more and more frustrated about the ordeal, Nick and Ben have a chat during which Ben tells him he wants Charlie back and seems to think he actually has a shot at winning Charlie over.
Up the Tower, down at the Louvre
Climbing up the Eiffel Tower after completing their assignments, the students marvel at the views of Paris that the high structure offers. While Nick and Charlie enjoy the sights, some of their classmates tease Nick about being the one who gave Charlie the hickey. He brushes off their comments and even Harry comes to his and Charlie’s defense. Busy with Charlie, Nick misses a call from his father and tries to phone him back, only to go straight to his voicemail.
After visiting the Eiffel Tower, the students check out the Pont des Arts, a bridge famous for being covered in love locks. Charlie has purchased a lock and is chatting with Tao, who appears to be convinced that even if he and Elle could make a romantic relationship work, he would most likely ruin it because he ruins everything. As Charlie doesn’t understand why his friend would say that, Tao explains that he is responsible for him being outed at school the previous year.
After Charlie told him and Isaac, Tao talked about it with the latter at school and believes someone overheard them and started spreading the news. Tao is convinced he keeps messing up everyone’s life but Charlie reassures him that he doesn’t blame him and that Tao remains one of his favorite people. He insists Tao is a good person who deserves to be loved and to make his point even clearer, he decides to put his and his friend’s names on the love lock, rather than his and Nick.
Next stop on the schedule of this Parisian day: the Louvre! Everyone is excited to visit the famous museum and see the Mona Lisa, except Darcy who finds the portrait rather small and disappointing. They all walk around the museum and after having a quick chat about arts and feelings with Nick, Elle decides to take Tao away so they can explore together.
Sitting by a window overlooking the museum’s glass pyramid, Elle tells Tao how much she loves this trip and how it makes her want to draw. He insists she does so and watches her work before starting to talk about how more movies should use the Louvre as a setting. But before he can finish his thoughts, Elle kisses Tao. He is surprised and his reaction has her worried so she backs away, but Tao is not about to let her go this time and catches her to return her kiss.
Confronting feelings
Tara has had enough of Darcy dodging her talks about the “I love you” incident, so between taking selfies with the Louvre’s many statues, she confronts Darcy about the facts that she’s never met her parents, has not spent any time at her house, and has not said “I love you” back. However, once again, Darcy manages to get out of the conversation.
Meanwhile, Nick is also sharing the truth with Charlie and tells him about Ben still liking him. The news doesn’t make Charlie feel very good and in fact, it appears to trigger his anxiety. As the two of them are walking around the museum, Charlie starts feeling unwell and eventually faints before Nick calls for help. As Mr. Ajayi is making Mr. Farouk pose for a picture in front of a portrait that looks like him, Darcy and co. come rushing in to tell them about Charlie. First aid kit in hand, Mr. Ajayi gets to him as Charlie recovers consciousness and wonders what happened. Sitting at a table shortly after, Charlie gets a sandwich from Mr. Farouk and the two teachers leave him and Nick to chill out for a bit, insisting that he tells them if he needs to go rest.
Concerned, Nick tells Charlie he has noticed that he doesn’t eat much and that it has gotten worse. Charlie confesses that he sometimes feels the need to control what he eats, that it started when he was bullied the previous year and that it makes him feel like it is the only thing he has control over. The issue is obviously stress-related and Nick tells Charlie he wants to help. The two boys get back to exploring the Louvre when Nick finally receives a call from his dad.
Hearing him talk French over the phone, Charlie now discovers that Nick is fluent in French and Nick explains his father wants to meet up and that he wants to introduce him to Charlie. Seeing that talking to his dad has been on Nick’s mind and stressing him out, Charlie makes them both promise to tell each other when they have something going on that weighs on them, and then they decide to take off to go meet Nick’s father.
That’s it for this episode of Heartstopper season 2. What’s next for Tao and Elle? Will Darcy eventually confront her feelings? What will Nick’s dad think of Charlie? To find out, tune in for the next episode of Heartstopper, now available on Netflix.
