Heartstopper season three confirms a major development for Darcy

Heartstopper favourite Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) embarks on an important journey in a powerful season three storyline.

Warning: spoilers for Heartstopper season three follow)

The character, one of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring’s (Kit Connor and Joe Locke) closest friends, is known for storylines including their tumultuous relationship with their mother, and their relationship with fellow student Tara Jones (Corinna Brown).

Yet season three of the queer Netflix hit sees them in arguably their most important plot yet, as they slowly discover that they are non-binary.

Fans first saw hints that Darcy would explore their gender identity in season three when Netflix dropped the first behind-the-scenes look at the new season in March.

Edgell was seen in character with a new shaggy mullet hairstyle and wearing a chest binder; binders are typically worn by trans or gender-diverse people in order to create a more masculine or gender neutral appearance.

Last month, Locke appeared on Heartstopper: The Official Podcast and referred to Darcy using they/them pronouns, all but confirming the character’s season three storyline.

Season three sees Darcy slowly but surely exploring their gender identity, with some big hints from the off that somewhere in the season they would reveal that they fall outside of the male and female gender binary.

In episode one, while playing sports on the beach, the friend group splits into male and female teams but Darcy opts to fill a space on the boy’s team, saying that they “don’t care” as they “hate gender”.

Following scenes see them binning their skirts, cutting their hair and using they/them pronouns.

In a sweet scene in episode seven, Darcy appears at one of Tara’s dance classes and the pair share a heart-to-heart.

“I just dont think I would’ve had the courage to explore being non-binary if it weren’t for you. I mean I probably would’ve got round to it eventually but you made it feel so easy and joyful,” Darcy tells Tara.

After expressing that they were worried about telling their girlfriend, Tara poignantly responds: “It’s not a huge deal. It’s just you.”

Considering Heartstopper’s huge popularity – 55 million hours of the show’s second season were watched by viewers in just three weeks, following its release last August – Darcy Olsson instantly becomes one of TV’s best known non-binary characters.

Darcy’s gender exploration doesn’t appear in Alice Oseman’s original graphic novels, but it’s possible the decision was made to include the plot due to Edgell’s own gender transition.

Edgell previously came out as non-binary and used they/them pronouns, but in 2023, the star shared that they are transmasculine, using both they/them and he/him pronouns.

Heartstopper season three is streaming on Netflix now.

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