Isaac Henderson

**Isaac Henderson** is a main character in the Netflix series *Heartstopper*. He is portrayed by Tobie Donovan. He is aromantic and asexual, as well as the fourth member of Charlie’s close friend group. He’s always there for his friends and is careful not to take sides when Tao and Charlie butt heads. Affable and a great secret keeper, Isaac can rarely be found without his head in a book.

## Biography

### Early life

At some point, Isaac entered Truham Grammar School for Boys and became close friends with Charlie Spring, Tao Xu, and Elle Argent. Isaac helped Charlie after getting outed and supported Elle through her transition. Isaac, Tao, Elle, and Charlie always sat down together until Elle changed school to Higgs due to transphobia.

### Season 1

In "**Meet**" during lunch, Isaac is seen with Charlie and Tao, after Tao accidentally bought Elle another drink. The trio talked and remembered the time when they were a group of four. That changed after their friend Elle transferred to Higgs Grammar School for Girls after her transition. Isaac and Tao notice Charlie is acting weird and realize he has a crush on Nick Nelson. Isaac watches as Tao tells Charlie to be careful as Nick is friends with the kind of guys who bullied Charlie last year and is worried that Nick might be just like them. Even if he is different around Charlie when he is alone, there is always the chance he could change his tune when his jock friends are around.

In "**Crush**"

In "**Kiss**", Charlie shares the news Nick invited him to Harry's birthday party, while Elle is excited for him, Tao is worried they might hurt Charlie, while Isaac didn't even bother to give an opinion. Isaac, Elle, and Tao were supposed to watch a movie, but at last second Isaac decided not to go, saying he was sick, leaving Tao and Elle alone.

## Personality

Isaac is always in his books, but he's a good friend. Isaac supported Elle through her transition, gave a positive reaction to Charlie's crush, and kept Charlie and Nick's secret relationship a secret after walking on them having a moment.

## Relationships

### Friends

**Charlie Spring** - Charlie is one of Isaac's closest friends, alongside Tao and Elle. Isaac supported Charlie through the phases of his crush on Nick Nelson and kept their secret when he accidentally walked on them having a moment. On sports day, Charlie cheered Isaac when it was his turn.

**Tao Xu** - Tao, Charlie, and Isaac always sit together at lunch and occasionally watch movies together alongside Elle. While Isaac gave positive comments about Charlie's crush on Nick, Tao kept telling him to give up. Tao thinks Isaac shouldn't support Charlie's crushes on straight guys.

**Elle Argent**- Elle and Isaac are very close and have occasional movie nights with Tao and Charlie. When Tao and Charlie were wondering about Tara, Isaac asked Elle to tell them, and when she accepted went and hugged her with Charlie and Tao.

**Nick Nelson** - Isaac kept Nick's secret safe and on Charlie's birthday asked if he could buy him a coke.

### Enemies

**Harry Greene** - Harry is one of the Rugby Lads who keep bothering Charlie and Tao by calling them names.

**Ben Hope** - Ben was Charlie's "ex-boyfriend" who only used Charlie when he wanted to.

## Quotes

*"I want to believe in romance!"*

*''Well, they're in the honeymoon phase''*

*''Erm sorry for... interrupting, but Miss Singh told me to give you some antiseptic wipes''*

## Trivia

* Isaac Henderson isn't from the original Heartstopper comics. He got created to take Aled Last's place in the friend group of Charlie, Elle, and Tao.
	+ Isaac's outfit in the Rugby match in "Secret" makes a reference to Aled because of the ladybug on his sweater.
* Isaac identifies as Aro-ace, as confirmed by Alice Oseman and Isaac's actor Tobie Donovan on Twitter.
	+ Alice has teased they have big "asexual plans" for season 2 of *Heartstopper*.
* In most of the episodes of season 1, Isaac is carrying or reading a book.
	+ In "Meet" Isaac is reading *Dune Messiah* by Frank Herbert.
	+ In "Crush" Isaac is reading *Naruto: Vol. 72* by Masashi Kishimoto.
	+ In "Secret" Isaac is reading *A Good Girl's Guide to Murder* by Holly Jackson and *Proud* by Gareth Thomas.
	+ In "Friend" Isaac is reading *Pride & Prejudice* by Jane Austen and *Radio Silence* by Alice Oseman.
	+ In "Boyfriend" Isaac is reading *Gender Explorers* by Juno Roche and *There is No Planet B* by Mike Berners Lee.
* Similar to the previous season, in Season 2 Isaac is reading various books.
	+ In "Out", Isaac is reading *Ace of Spades* by FARIDAH ÀBÍKÉ-ÍYÍMÍDÉ.
	+ In "Family", Isaac is reading both *We are Okay* by NINA LACOUR & *The Importance of Being Earnest* by OSCAR WILDE.
	+ In "Promise", Isaac is reading *Book Lovers* by EMILY HENRY.
	+ In "Challenge", Isaac is reading *Les Miserables* by VICTOR HUGO, *The Little Prince* by ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY and *The Awakening* by KATE CHOPIN.
	+ In "Heat", Isaac is reading *The Stranger* by ALBERT CAMUS.
	+ In "Truth/Dare", Isaac is reading *Birthday* by MEREDITH RUSSO and *Crush* by RICHARD SIKEN.
	+ In "Sorry", Isaac is reading *Boy Erased* by GARRARD CONLEY, *All Boys Aren't Blue* by GEORGE M. JOHNSON and *We Have Always Been Here* by SAMRA HABIB.
	+ In "Pereading Summers reading *Summer Bird Blue* by AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN and *Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex* by ANGELA CHEN.

## References

1. ↑ Meet the Lovestruck Teens of ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2 - TUDUM
2. ↑ HEARTSTOPPER VLOG 4! Rugby match (attempt 1) & Tao’s room! Netflix Behind the Scenes!! 🍂💜🎬
3. ↑ Alice Oseman Updates (@Alice Oseman) - Twitter
4. ↑ [1]Alice Oseman Updates (@Alice Oseman) - Twitter
5. ↑ EVERY BOOK ISAAC IS SEEN READING IN ‘HEARTSTOPPER’ SEASON 2 - Her Campus

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