Australian teen drama Heartbreak High has garnered praise for its portrayal of adolescence, addiction, and sexuality. Season 2 premiered on Netflix on April 11, with fans across the globe binging all eight episodes.
***TRIGGER WARNING: This article has references to sexual assault.***
In the season finale of the first season, viewers were horrified by Harper McLean’s (Asher Yasbincek) dad Justin’s (Ben Oxenbould) actions, which almost ended in him taking her life. Episode 8, “Three of Swords”, follows Harper and Amerie’s (Ayesha Madon) reconciliation and viewers finally learn about the events that transpired at the music festival. Harper meets up with Amerie, running into Chook (Tom Wilson) and his friends on the way. After the pair splits up at the concert, Harper blacks out in Chook’s car. Fearing sexual assault, Harper is able to escape thanks to Ca$h (Will McDonald) unlocking the car door for her.
Following this debacle, Harper returns home, where her father is going through meth-induced psychosis. He tries to kill her and she stabs him in self-defense. The same morning, he was quite agitated and asked Harper for money for meth. Amerie then apologizes to Harper, and they make up again after being estranged all season. Before the violent incident with Justin, Harper had attempted to crash at Amerie’s, who ignored her knocks at the door.
Heartbreak High is a soft reboot of the 1994 Australian TV show of the same name, which aired on Network Ten. The reboot has had two seasons so far, and considering its popularity amongst youth, it won’t be a surprise if a renewal is announced soon.
(feature image: Netflix)
