The long-awaited second season of "The Heartstopper" has arrived on Netflix. Adapted from Alice Osman's graphic novel, this hit LGBTQ+ rom-com follows a group of British teens as they deal with school and family life, explore their identities, and fall in love in a very fun way. After Charlie Spring (Joe Rock) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) fell in love and embarked on a coming-out journey in Season 1, Season 2 saw this couple (and the show's other pairings) get to know each other better while dealing with personal insecurities and trauma in The show depicted. Read our breakdown of where each couple stands heading into the third season (which has already been renewed).

The season two finale begins with an Instagram post that changes everything. After spending the season pondering when to come out in his own words, Nick makes Instagram official with a sweet and simple post with Charlie, announcing that they are boyfriends and that he is bisexual. The reaction in the comments section has been a mix of positive support and trolling, but the bigger concern is that Nick shared the news on the morning of his prom. Still, Nick is a little concerned about the two going public for the first time, especially since Charlie is still reeling from the trauma of past bullying, and imagines attending the dance with her perfect boyfriend and being the cutest couple there, with applause on the dance floor and romantic dips She is elated to be the one.

Prom is a lovely night; the two worry about looks and overhear gossip (as expected in a room full of teenagers), but what matters is the love and support from their friends. Eventually, Charlie offers to cut the dance early and escape the pressure of being a couple in public. He reminds Nick that they went out in public for themselves, not for everyone else. All Charlie and Nick want is a fun night with their friends, so the group of friends head to Nick's house, which is conveniently empty, where they play games and dance the night away.

After all the friends have gone home, Nick asks Charlie about the bullying. Nick has noticed Charlie's disordered eating throughout the season, and Nick worries that Charlie is trying to make everything happy and perfect instead of really processing his feelings. So Charlie opens up: at the time, someone overheard Tao talking about Charlie's coming out, and his reaction surprised him. People would say to my face that I was "weird." I guess it went on for so long that I started to believe what they were saying," Charlie admitted, before revealing that he used to self-harm.

Nick asks Charlie to promise to talk to him if he ever finds himself in that situation again, but Charlie says he doesn't want to be a burden to him. However, this season has shown that Nick has become more courageous because Charlie has been there for him, and now Nick wants to do the same. Charlie promises to be more open about his feelings, but as the last part of the episode showed, that may take some time. After a touching conversation, Nick tells Charlie that he loves her. As they leave Nick's house, Charlie stops in the street and begins to write Nick a text message saying, "I love you. Did he send it?" does he send it."

In another major development the morning before the prom, Tao (William Gao) finally asks Elle (Yasmin Finney) to be his girlfriend. There is also a cute pre-prom ritual where Elle's father jokingly asks Tao his intentions, and when Elle comes downstairs in her gorgeous backless beaded gown, everyone is awestruck.

They had little to worry about in the finale, but Tao and Elle will continue to be tested as a couple after the trials of this season. Elle told Tao at prom that she wanted to attend art school in London, and Tao was supportive, but long-distance relationships are difficult, even when you are not in high school. Tao was supportive, but long-distance relationships are difficult even if you are not yet in high school.

Darcy's (Kizzie Egel) rough home life was one of the focal points of season two. The night before prom, Darcy gets into a huge fight with her mother over her choice of attire, and her mother forbids her from wearing a suit and throws her out when Darcy protests. Darcy ends up sleeping in the park and Tara (Corrina Brown) goes missing, expecting to help her get ready the next morning. Unsure of what's wrong, Tara gathers a group of friends to come save the big night (if you can call Tao and Elle's adorable paint war constructive) and continues trying to reach Darcy, whose cell phone is broken.

Darcy eventually arrives late to the prom and wears the same suit. Tara goes to Darcy's house, where Darcy's mother turns hostile as soon as she identifies herself as a friend. That's how Tara learns about the fight. When they meet later at Nick's house, Darcy admits that she has not yet come out to her parents, but she wanted to appear more confident about her identity to Tara in order to help her come out. She also did not respond to Tara saying "I love you" earlier in the season because she was not sure that Tara would also love the side of herself that she kept hidden. But Tara says that she has seen all of Darcy's life and still loves her, even if Darcy has had her "mishaps." So Darcy finally says those three words, or rather seven words ("I am so in love with you"), and she and Tara practice saying them so Darcy can get used to them. Then they finally dance a romantic dance.

Season 2 also introduces new characters, who begin to discover their own. Queen Bee Imogen (Lea Norwood), who once felt rejected by the popular clique, finds true friendship among the outcasts of Truham and becomes an unexpected member of the friends group. In fact, Imogen's growing understanding of the LGBTQ+ group's various genders and sexual identities may be headed for a romance of her own next season. On prom night, she watches in awe as she watches Sahar (Leila Khan) perform as part of the prom night band. This sweet moment suggests that Imogen, who knows that Sahar is bisexual, may begin to fall in love with her new friend.

Imogen's scene is interspersed with a moment of discovery by Isaac (Toby Donovan), who learns about asexuality earlier in the season and realizes that he is not sexually attracted to James. Isaac leaves the prom and stops by the library, where he picks up Angela Chen's excellent book, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. These two moments are heightened by the show's endearing comic-style doodles as the two characters deepen their exploration of their sexuality.