The Ace Representation in Heartstopper S2: Isaac’s Journey

Heartstopper Season 2 is lovely in so many ways. Just like its first season, if you identify as LGBTQ, you have representation in season 2. Those who have read the comics were probably aware that Isaac’s (Tobie Donovan) journey would take a walk down the path of asexuality in season 2, and the on-screen adaptation did not disappoint at all. 

When the season starts, Isaac spends some time examining the relationships growing between his friends around him. He is happy for all his friends, who are now finding love with each other, but he also looks inside himself and asks why this isn’t also happening to him. To be clear, Isaac’s introspection isn’t in the ‘woe is me’ kind of way, he just spends some time looking at himself and asking why he hasn’t ever, or doesn’t now, have those kinds of feelings for someone. 

Then James (Bradley Riches) enters the picture and Isaac begins to wonder if the connection he feels with James could be that of a romantic nature. It was unclear from season 1 exactly what Isaac’s sexuality was, but as we can see through his journey in this season, he is clearly a member of the LGBTQ community, like many of his friends. By the end of season 2, Isaac seems to be claiming the asexual label.

Those who consider themselves part of the asexual community know all too well that ace representation, let alone quality representation, is extremely rare in mainstream media (or any media, for that matter). For many who are tuning in to watch Heartstopper, this may be their first introduction to the label and people who identify as ace. So we’ve decided to take a deeper dive into Isaac’s journey and really get into the intricacies of what asexuality is, and just how it plays out in Isaac’s story. 

Understanding Asexuality

We have written pieces before that dive into understanding the asexual spectrum but in a nutshell, according to the Asexuality Visibility & Education Network (AVEN), the spectrum of asexuality is related to sexual attraction. While the ace label is part of the LGBTQ community, it can also be applied to those who experience heterosexual attraction, making it among the most controversial classifications of the LGBTQ family. 

AVEN is careful to draw a distinction between celibacy and asexuality because asexual people are simply not drawn to others in a sexual manner, whereas those practicing celibacy choose to abstain from engaging in sexual acts, but they can and often do experience sexual attraction. 

Furthermore, to complicate things just a tad more, not all asexual people completely disengage with sex. It’s called a spectrum for a reason, and there are many variations of asexuality that exist. 

In season 2 of Heartstopper it seems that Isaac’s journey finds himself exploring the aroace version of the asexuality community. This is just one version of asexuality, but it does seem to be quite a common variety among the community. 

What it means to be aroace

The term aroace means aromatic and asexual. This means that a person identifying as aroace doesn’t feel romantic attraction or sexual attraction. There are many asexual people around the world that do, in fact, enjoy healthy romantic relationships with their partners, but most aroace people experience little to no romantic attraction to people at all. Does this mean that relationships are not possible for these asexual folks? It most certainly does not, but it does mean that finding a suitable partner becomes nuanced and specific. 

In Isaac’s journey, the audience definitely watches him grapple with both the romantic and the sexual attraction parts of his personality – or rather, his lack thereof – extensively throughout season 2. When he looks around at his friends, who are all falling in love in some way, shape or form, Isaac clearly wonders what that is supposed to feel like. Despite the fact that he gets on very well with James, Isaac just doesn’t feel that way. 

And what we love about the representation of Isaac’s journey is that it’s such a typical, common asexual journey. It’s completely and utterly relatable in every single way. Isaac likes James enough to know that when James kisses him and he feels nothing, it’s not just that he doesn’t like James back in the same way that James like Isaac; it goes much deeper than the idea that James is just not the right person for Isaac. 

Asexual people understand inherently that ‘maybe you just haven’t met the right person’ doesn’t capture the intricacies of their scope of attraction (or lack of). Isaac may be young, but he is smart and socially aware enough, and in tune with himself enough, to understand that he needs to explore this part of himself further. 

And when he does, his storyline becomes completely magical. 

Isaac’s journey into asexual discovery

Despite how well educated about the LGBTQ community he and his young group of friends all are, like most asexual people, when Isaac starts to question his sexuality, he doesn’t know what asexuality is, at least, not really. 

As season 2 progresses, Isaac becomes one of the only single people in his friend group and becomes frustrated at times by all the coupling up. He lashes out here and there, but it’s obvious to viewers (and especially any asexual viewers tuning in) that Isaac isn’t actually mad at his friends, his frustration is clearly aimed at himself and his inability to understand what is happening to him. 

Ace folks in the house, give us a holler if this feels relatable to you!

And then, when he starts to embark on a possibility of a relationship with James (who by the way, we adore), Isaac’s hesitation is written all over his face. If there are viewers tuning in who don’t know much about the ace spectrum, we’re sure that you might be thinking that Isaac just isn’t into guys, or maybe that Isaac just isn’t into James. But the ace folks out there know better. Ask anyone who has claimed the ace community as their own, Isaac’s journey is just so textbook. If Isaac hadn’t been aroace, we’re completely sure that he would have probably had an excellent relationship with James. We hope that in season 3, Isaac gets a chance to explain his asexuality to James.

Probably out most fave part of Isaac’s journey though, is when he is clutching his book about asexuality in episode 8 with a huge smile on his face. The validation Isaac clearly feels from finding his space, from finding a vocabulary word to explain his identity to himself clearly makes him feel liberated and at peace with himself again. 

So for the folks that maybe don’t know what it means to be ace, we hope you take a look at Isaac’s journey and use your love for this character to educate yourself and learn a little more. Like all facets of the LGBTQ community, discovering that one is asexual can be quite an alienating and daunting experience indeed, and we are so proud of creator Alice Oseman’s presentation of this very important queer storyline. Asexual people are everywhere, and we’re here and queer, and just like the rest of the rainbow family, we’re not going anywhere!

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Heartstopper Season 2 is available to stream worldwide on Netflix now. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!