Warning: major spoilers ahead for Heartbreak High season 3.
Every season of Netflix's Heartbreak High is packed with crushes, parties, breakups (it’s in the name), drama, and a fair amount of Australian slang we’re still trying to decode. But alongside all that chaos, each season also centres around a core mystery that unfolds across the episodes before finally being revealed.
In season one, Amerie (Ayesha Madon) — and viewers — were desperate to understand why Harper (Asher Yasbincek) was so furious with her, and what really happened at that music festival. At the same time, the group were navigating a new sex education programme, the Sexual Literacy Tutorial (SLT, promptly nicknamed “SLUTS” by students). The truth eventually comes out: Harper had been kidnapped by Chook’s crew and narrowly escaped, but when she went to Amerie for help, she wasn’t let in, as Amerie was hooking up with Spider (Bryn Chapman-Parish).
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Season two dialled up the tension even further. Amerie finds herself targeted by an anonymous tormentor dubbed “Bird Psycho,” after a dead ibis is left on her school bag. With Quinni (Chloe Hayden) leading the investigation, the group eventually uncovers the culprit: newcomer Rowan (Sam Rechner), who is seeking revenge for a childhood incident.
Now, in season three of the hit Aussie series, the stakes are higher than ever, and the mystery even more dangerous. This time, it all centres on the carnival incident. So… who turned on the ride in Heartbreak High?
What happened with the carnival ride?
In episode one of the new season, the ever-unruly crew set out to get revenge on St. Brunos, their rival school, after their mascot’s head is stolen. It’s eventually returned by Amerie’s boyfriend, Noah, but in a truly grim twist, it’s been defaced and filled with… excrement. Yikes.
In retaliation, Amerie steals a bust of the rival school’s founder, and the group decides to display it somewhere guaranteed to horrify the posh students: the carnival. With Harper working there, they’re able to sneak in unnoticed.
As they begin attaching the bust to one of the rides, things take a sudden turn when the ride unexpectedly switches on. The group narrowly escape serious injury, although Malakai dislocates his shoulder in the chaos. One of the carnival owners, Clancy, isn’t so lucky and is badly hurt.
Later, they learn that Clancy has fallen into a coma as a result of the incident. And just like that, the season’s central mystery is set in motion: who turned on the ride?
Who turned on the carnival ride?
Throughout the season, we’re given a revolving door of potential suspects in the carnival ride incident. Crucially, insurers confirm early on that the ride didn’t malfunction… it was manually switched on. In other words: this wasn’t an accident.
At first, Amerie and the others try to convince themselves that Clancy somehow turned it on himself to scare them, a theory that conveniently absolves them of responsibility. But when he wakes from his coma and confirms that isn’t the case, they’re forced to look elsewhere.
Suspicion quickly turns inward. Amerie and Harper begin to wonder if someone in their own group could be responsible. Spider and Missy had the opportunity to pass the control booth, and Spider unintentionally casts doubt on his own girlfriend by pointing out how strangely she’s been acting since the incident — not realising her behaviour is actually down to her anxiety about their relationship.
Things come to a head at Missy’s birthday party, where the group outright accuses her. Hurt and furious, she cuts them all off.
Next, attention shifts to their rivals at St Brunos. When they discover that Seb was at the carnival — despite previously claiming he’d never set foot there — he becomes the prime suspect. Given his history of tormenting the group, it tracks. But Seb denies any involvement and instead points them toward Noah, Amerie’s boyfriend.
Noah reveals that Seb had been at the carnival with a date and even contacted him after spotting Amerie alone with Malakai. After blackmailing Seb into handing over his dash cam footage, Amerie confirms neither of them could have turned on the ride — they’re visible the entire time. However, the footage reveals a new clue: someone in a creepy rabbit mask fleeing the scene.
Amerie recognises the mask as one worn by Liam earlier that day, when he interrupted her and Malakai. The group take this to the police, and Liam is arrested — awkwardly, right after he and Harper have slept together. Even worse, the police begin treating the case as attempted murder, given Liam’s known hatred of his stepfather, Clancy.
Believing the mystery to be solved, the group head off to Schoolies… until Amerie stumbles across a shocking new clue. While grabbing a bag from Sasha’s house, she’s startled by Sasha’s younger brother… wearing the same rabbit mask. He tells her he found it in Sasha’s room.
Amerie wrestles with whether to confront her, but ultimately does, at a chaotic boat party. Sasha initially tries to deny it, but then confesses. Hurt by discovering the group’s “Not Sasha” chat, she snapped and tried to sabotage their prank by turning on the ride. She admits she considered owning up, but ultimately stayed silent, feeling increasingly isolated from the group.
Obviously, the drama doesn’t end there. Moments after her confession, Sasha attempts to leave and instead drunkenly falls off the boat. Unable to swim, she’s forced to rely on the very people she feels betrayed by, as Amerie and Malakai dive in to rescue her.
Who is arrested for turning on the carnival ride?
In the end, Amerie decides to take the blame for the incident. She can’t bear the idea of Liam being punished for something he didn’t do, and she also recognises her own role in creating the group chat that ultimately pushed Sasha to that breaking point.
Noah tries to stop her, but the disagreement drives a wedge between them, ultimately leading to their breakup.
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At the police station, Amerie is told that someone has already confessed. When she steps outside, she finds Sasha waiting. The two reconcile, and Amerie stands by her as she faces the consequences.
Later, we see Sasha carrying out community service, picking up litter, which suggests she avoided prison time.
And with that, Heartbreak High comes to an end, with a finale where our chaotic teens, at last, learn to take responsibility for their actions. Honestly, a TV show mystery worthy of Agatha Christie herself, but combined with the sexual misadventures of Sex Education.
Heartbreak High season 3 is available to watch on Netflix.
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