Heartstopper fans are obsessed with Imogen’s sapphic character development: ‘Besties to lovers’
Is Heartstopper’s Imogen a sapphic icon? Fans think so. (Netflix)
The second season of Heartstopper has given fans a lot of character arcs to enjoy, but the possible sapphic awakening of Imogen Heaney has proved to be a firm favourite.
While Alice Oseman’s queer hit predominantly focuses on the love story between Nick and Charlie, season two has given space to the other characters in the queer clan, too.
Nick and Charlie tackle the former’s coming out to their friendship group, while Elle and Tao finally decide to give their relationship a go. Meanwhile, Tara tries to work out why her girlfriend Darcy won’t say “I love you” back, Isaac begins to look into his asexuality, and Mr Ajayi and Mr Farouk prove why having queer teachers on TV matters.
Basically, season two gives the Heartstopper fandom a lot to unpack, but for one character the journey has seemingly only just begun.
Imogen, played by Rhea Norwood, has spent most of her time just doing her very best. In season one, she admitted to having a crush on Nick, not realising that his attention had been drawn elsewhere.
In season two, she falls for closeted bully Ben, blissfully unaware of his apathy towards her – until that showdown in Paris.
Thanks to her hopeless romanticism, along with her frequent proclamations that she is an “ally” of her queer friends, fans have gravitated towards her.
But one particular scene at the end of season two’s final episode has sent fans into a frenzy.
It starts with an awkward encounter in which Imogen wrongly assumes that Sahar is straight, with her childhood friend immediately correcting her by stating: “I’m bisexual.”
Then, at the school prom, while Sahar is on stage rocking out with her band, Imogen, who has previously never indicated that she is anything other than heterosexual, gives her a suspiciously loving glance.
The chemistry between the two is palpable, and it seems pretty certain that Sahar has given Imogen her sapphic awakening.
Fans have reacted with joy at the scene, with Imogen and Sahar fan cams already doing the rounds on social media.
“Imogen and Sahar getting their childhood best friends to lovers arc is something I want to see,” one fan wrote.
“Imogen stopped replying to her and hanging out with her when she wanted to be around the boys and impress them. Now she’s starting to work out where she belongs and who with.”
In a slightly simpler analysis, another fan declared: “Can’t wait for Imogen’s gay storyline in season three.”
While some fans are excited by Imogen’s potential queerness, others believe they’d already cracked the code before the season finale.
In a detailed Twitter thread that’s been seen more than two million times, one fan laid out all the reasons why they think Imogen is a lesbian.
“I believed Imogen was a lesbian since season one,” the fan wrote, before explaining that they think her crush on Nick in the first season was ‘written differently’ to the other crushes.
“Then there’s Sahar. We learn that they used to be friends, but then Imogen got a boyfriend and suddenly stopped texting Sahar. A gay story as old as time, if you ask me.
“Imogen and her relationships with boys have always been written in a way that feels a lot like [compulsory heterosexuality] and there are many parallels between her and Nick that suggest they might be experiencing a similar journey of discovery.”
Other fans have pointed out that, in the scene where Imogen stares at Sahar, the background colours are reminiscent of the lesbian Pride flag.
In addition, when Imogen follows Sahar after thinking she upset her by erasing her bisexuality, Tara, who is a lesbian, simply responds: “Interesting”.
We’ve probably got a long wait for season three, but it seems like the guessing games and theories are plentiful enough to keep fans busy for a while.
Heartstopper season two is streaming on Netflix now.
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