How Heartstopper's Ben dodged the redemption arc pitfall
Heartstopper season 2 spoilers follow.
Ben Hope (Sebastian Croft) is dirt.
That's pretty much how he's been characterised throughout his entire Heartstopper story arc.
He's the scumbag who used Charlie (Joe Locke), the guy who made the newly outed, vulnerable gay boy feel cheap. The one whose internalised homophobia caused him to belittle, ignore and pretend not to even know the person whose mouth he'd frequently jam his tongue down whenever "[he felt] like kissing a boy."
Ben's desperate attempts to claw Charlie's attention back from his romance with Nick (Kit Connor) have crashed and burned on every front, much to our satisfaction.
So when he finally had his moment of clarity – an epiphany that caused him to see the damage he'd done and what he'd lost in the process – the compassion evoked was strange and unexpected. Even so, it exists, like a foreign object lodged in one's heart, you can't help but feel… sorry for him.
In season two's penultimate episode Ben bares his soul to Charlie in one of the most heartfelt apologies in teen TV history.
Charlie, who had been dodging any interaction with Ben, was all but cornered with Ben's pleas to be heard backing him into a corner, giving him very little choice but to listen.
Ben was desperate for Charlie to understand that his feelings for him were true.
"I know I was a piece of shit," he explained, "but I really liked you."
He contextualised his behaviour by opening up about how desperately he wants to be like Nick and Charlie, but that his parents would never accept who he is.
This, of course, strikes a chord with the running theme of season two: the exploration of coming out through the lens of acceptance. The desire to be lovingly received as your whole self, (queer and all) rubs up against the fear, and sometimes the reality, that not everyone will embrace your sexuality.
Through Darcy's complicated relationship with her mother and Nick's with his brother we see those struggles and issues being worked out from within the loving, protective circle of their friendship group, something Ben has never had but also something he has rejected out of fear and shame.
"I'm sorry for everything," he told Charlie. "I just wanted something good. You were something good," and, whether it's Croft's impeccable delivery or the sincerity of the words, we feel that longing.
For the first time the show really delves into the most vulnerable aspects of this villainous character and we sympathise with his complicated journey.
Everything about this moment is leaning towards Charlie receiving Ben's olive branch in a way that would help heal the broken parts of him… until it doesn't.
Instead, Charlie reminds Ben of the first time he kissed him.
"You didn't even ask. You didn't pause to wonder whether it was what I wanted."
That memory, which had initially elicited a smile on Ben's face, saw that smile wiped clean when Charlie went on to summarise how Ben's behaviour made him feel controlled and like nothing, leading him to believe that he deserved that treatment.
"Now, whenever anything good happens in my life, there's a little voice in the back of my mind telling me I'm worthless," he confessed.
It's a surprising moment from Charlie, one that shows real character growth.
His season-one tendency to be quick to an apology, to say sorry for the most inconsequential things is untraceable here.
In the most courageous way, he stays true to his feelings and his experience by refusing to accept Ben's apology, leaving us, the viewers, with a dichotomy of feelings.
Ben's penance feels true and is rooted in his own pain, which we had previously never considered.
His humanising is designed to make us understand him better and so against our instincts we yearn for him to be forgiven.
In the same breath Charlie's pain at Ben's hands is also valid, if not more so, lest we forget the indefensible moment he forced a kiss on Charlie against his will.
No amount of 'sorry' will ever make that right and it is that reason that highlights why this quite apt interaction couldn't have gone any other way.
Ben is right to apologise. He is right to want to be a better person, to seek change by initially making amends with the one person he's hurt the most but Charlie does not owe him his forgiveness.
These two truths can exist at the same time and be absolutely valid reactions to the same experience and in recognising this, Heartstopper avoids what would otherwise have been a flawed redemption arc.
The show's creators should be applauded for how this extremely delicate, nuanced moment is tackled. For reframing the expectation of the apology as something that is not a given and for forcing Ben to understand that some hurts can't be erased with an apology.
"I'm glad you realised what you did was wrong," Charlie told him, "but you don't get to ambush me into forgiving you."
"I really hope you become a better person, so you don't hurt anyone else," he continued before finishing this bitter sting of a moment by adding, "but I don't want to be there to see that happen. I don't want to see you ever again."
His bluntness sums up the point perfectly. Charlie, the victim, the hurt, the rejected is not responsible for Ben's absolution. That burden is too heavy to carry for anyone who has been hurt this way.
Though Ben may feel shocked and wounded in this moment, it's only right that Charlie gets to snatch back what he can of the power that was stolen from him.
The scene finishes with Nick leading Charlie away, leaving Ben alone to reflect on this rebuffing. It's a tough lesson to learn and not often one that is touched upon in YA shows that lean towards more amicable resolutions, but like Charlie, we really hope this moment marks a change for the better.
Heartstopper seasons one and two are available to stream now on Netflix.
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