One of the Cheekiest Heartstopper Scenes Was Cut From Netflix's Version

Teen romance writers walk on thin ice. And Alice Oseman knows this better than anyone. As the creator of the Heartstopper webcomic and graphic novel series and the hit Netflix show, she uses her stories to address important coming-of-age issues such as diversity, acceptance, friendship, love, and finding one's self-worth regardless of age, gender, or orientation.

But she has to constantly balance the dramatic with the lighthearted, the sensual with the comedic. Even more so when writing a show. Things hit differently in print than in live action, and not every moment from the graphic novels will look good on screen.

The ice cream scene

The best example of this is a playful encounter between Charlie and Nick on a trip to Paris that was cut from the show.

While reading the comic books, many fans would chuckle at this almost X-rated joke. In the show, however, the scene was changed and the joke - never told.

Instead of getting an ice cream just for himself and then offering to share it in that awkward way, in the show Nick buys an ice cream for himself and Charlie and surprises his boyfriend by choosing the chocolate flavor, a reference to the milkshake scene created specifically for the show.

The joke wouldn't fit in the show

While the ice cream line was funny in the comics because of the way the faces of the characters are drawn, it is a good thing that it was not adapted for the screen. Considering that sex was never a part of Charlie and Nick's relationship, and was only briefly and tentatively mentioned in one scene, an adult joke like that would seem a little strange coming from Kit Connor's mouth.

While the writer tries to be as faithful to her own source material as possible, and even has some shots mirror the comics, Oseman said in the New York Times interview that she realizes that not everything translates neatly from the page to the screen. Some lines from the comics just don't work when people say them out loud.

In the long run, it's really a great thing that allows us to enjoy Nick and Charlie's story in two different formats and catch little hilarious details like this little ice cream mischief.

Source: The New York Times.