While Imogen Heaney’s early storylines inHeartstoppercentered on her romantic involvement with boys, a season 3 interaction with Sahar left Imogen’s sexuality less clear. Based on the beloved webcomic series by Alice Oseman,Heartstopperis a beloved coming-of-ageBritish Netflix seriescentered around the romance between schoolmates Charlie and Nick. Supporting them intheHeartstoppercastis an ensemble of LGBTQ+ teen characters.
Imogen stands out as being one of the only “straight” charactersamongst the core teens. Much of season 1 revolves around her crush on Nick, though she is understanding when he breaks the news that he isn’t attracted to her. The beginning ofHeartstopperseason 2 sees Imogen dating Ben, which everyone knows is a bad idea after his toxic behavior toward Charlie. Imogen eventually breaks up with him, leaving her storyline up in the air — until an interaction with Sahar changes everything, particularly the romantic trajectory forHeartstopper’s self-described “ally.”
Imogen & Sahar Share A Kiss In Heartstopper Season 3
They Eventually Agree To Remain Friends
InHeartstopperseason 3, episode 4, “Journey,“the teens are having a raging Halloween party where Imogen and Sahar are seen passionately making out. This is a big surprise considering Imogen has never given indication that she’s attracted to girls. But when others at the party call attention to their kiss, Imogen plays it off like it’s nothing. Sahar is, understandably, upset and storms off.
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Later, from the toilet bowl where she’s vomiting up the massive amount of wine she’s consumed at the party, Imogen defends her actions to Nick. “Everyone kisses everyone when they’re drunk… I’m allowed to experiment. This is like when I got a boyfriend, and she got mad at me for no reason,” she says. Drunk or not, Imogen is being completely inconsiderate of Sahar’s feelings.Sahar is bisexual, so a kiss with another girl to her is more than just a bit of intoxicated fun at a party. What’s more is that Imogen has yet again missed the point that Sahar’s being mad about the boyfriend hints at deeper feelings for her.
But beneath Imogen’s hurtful behavior are sympathetic reasons. She clearly feels the need to present as straight, as symbolized by her dressing as Barbie, the quintessential symbol of the heterosexual woman, at the party. She may have made light of the kiss, but as seen later in the season,these are feelings that Imogen has been struggling with for a while, and at the time, liquid courage was the only way she was going to act on them.
Imogen actress Rhea Norwood originally auditioned to play Darcy inHeartstopper.
Unsurprisingly, things are awkward between Imogen and Sahar after the kiss. But two episodes later, Imogen does the brave thing and talks to Sahar about the rift between them. Imogen maturely takes accountability for her actions and Sahar forgives her.As the girls acknowledge, it’s through their relationship that they’ve both learned a lot about who they are— for Sahar, it’s that she’s bisexual, and for Imogen, it’s that sexually, she’s not sure who she is right now. They also recognize there’s an attraction to each other, but agree the best thing is for them to be friends.
Imogen’s Sexuality Has Not Been Totally Defined In Heartstopper
She Confesses To Nick That She’s Never Really Liked A Boy
It would have been easy for Imogen to apologize to Sahar while ignoring her internal questions about her sexuality. But even though she feels a bit lost, Imogen knows that repressing her feelings isn’t the answer. In theHeartstopperseason 3 finale, she and Nick are sharing a room on a road trip, and Imogen asks Nick if that’s weird. His answer that “boys and girls can be just friends” encourages her to come clean about her former crush on him.
Imogen confesses that the crush was less about truly liking Nick and more about the pressure to like boys and find a boyfriend. While she didn’t get any romantic or sexual satisfaction from pursuing Nick or having a relationship with Ben,Imogen shares that it’s the attention from boys that made her “feel important.“This leads to her breaking down and crying to Nick that she doesn’t know who she is.
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Nick Nelson
One-sided crush
Nick tells Imogen he doesn’t share her feelings. They stay friends.
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Kiss at a party
They stay friends.
This is such an important scene because, while it’s a wonderful thing that society has become more open and accepting of people’s varying sexualities, not everyone fully knows their identity.Imogen felt what she thought was real comfort in living in a heteronormative society, where presenting straight meant she was “doing life right.”
Even though this came at the cost of denying herself who she truly is, it was easier and less scary than admitting that she hasn’t fully figured it out yet. And even if she doesn’t, that’s okay. Labels, like sexual orientation, are meant to help, not hurt. As long as Imogen is being Imogen, that’s all that matters. Nick acknowledges as much when he puts his arm around Imogen and tells her, “You’re my friend.”
What’s Next For Imogen In Heartstopper Season 4
She Will Likely Continue To Explore Her Sexual Identity
As theHeartstopperseason 3 finale showed, the teens are thinking about university and their overall post-secondary school future. It’s a big step toward freedom and adulthood, andas Imogen contemplates the path she’ll walk after graduation, this will likely lead to a greater contemplation about her sexuality. Her confession scene to Nick was a big, brave step, and theupcomingHeartstopperseason 4will likely show Imogen continuing to explore who she is, with friends like Nick and Sahar firmly in her corner.
Heartstopper
Cast
Heartstopper is an LGBTQ+ coming-of-age teen romantic comedy based on the webcomic/graphic novel created by Alice Oseman. The show is viewed through the eyes of a young gay British teen named Charlie Spring, whose crush on a classmate grows into something more meaningful as they slowly get closer throughout the series. The show navigates the challenges of LGBTQ+ youth during tumultuous adolescent years.
