Elliot Hilden, managing editor

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*

“Heartbreak High” is a masterclass in perfect Gen Z television. It manages to load love, heartbreak, drama, mystery and humor into two jam-packed seasons with eight episodes each. Recently, the second season was released on Netflix and with it came a whole new mystery to Hartley High. 

For some background, during season one, Amerie had to rebuild her reputation post-mega-public-friendship-break-up with her ex-best friend Harper and her being outed as the creator of the “Incest Map,” a secret web of sexual activity in their grade. Throughout the episodes, we learned more about what led to the destruction of her friendship and followed the ensemble cast through their own romantic, platonic and familial endeavors. The season culminated in touching heart-to-hearts and a reconciliation between Amerie and Harper. 

Going into season two, Amerie is hoping her life can go back to normal, with positive additions in the form of new friends Darren, Quinni and love interest Malakai. Furthermore, the race for student captain is underway and Amerie decides to run as a way to apologize to her peers and plant herself as the “lesser of three evils.” She does this while also facing an intriguing mystery that seems to revolve around Harper.

After watching season two, I am further convinced of this show’s greatness, holding so much heart within it. To start, it is one of the queerest shows being made in this era. I can count on one hand the amount of large characters that never have any semblance of queer identity shown, which feels crazy for a show featuring 20 plus main and recurring characters. Even then, most of these characters have moments that could be read as queer and they could easily have a queer identity explored more in later seasons.

Another aspect of the show that I find amazing is how real the characters are. No one is perfect and this is represented beautifully. Even my favorite characters have done things they shouldn’t have and have suffered the consequences for those actions. They have managed to create nuanced characters you can love and hate at the same time. 

Out of everything I loved about this season, my favorite part — and this is true for the show as a whole — is how they treat autism. Quinni (one of the main characters) is autistic, but she isn’t stuck as the stereotypical autistic genius. She gets to love, make mistakes, feel joy and experience everything that other teenage characters experience without being forced into the background as the token autistic character. Especially in season two, she gets a large plot with an entire episode about the exhaustion she faces from masking for others’ sakes and it is so beautiful. As a victim of Autistic Burnout™ myself, seeing that shown so proudly is so cathartic and heartwarming. 

I could go on and on about this show because it means that much to me. Overall, I am constantly impressed by how far this show is able to go and how well it handles the topics shown. Every episode feels complete, and despite the seasons ending on cliffhangers, they don’t feel rushed and unfinished. Future TV writers, take note. “Heartbreak High” is pure gold.