We’ve made it to the end, and yet I don’t even know where to begin. For the past five years, Heartstopper has brought to the screen such a beautifully inclusive, transformative, and healing addition to Queer art and storytelling. In a time where we are used to seeing such dark and gritty aesthetics, a return to exploitative media and a messy “do it for the plot mentality,” we see this anti-Euphoria show give us the complete opposite.
Alice Oseman has never been one to shy away from traumatic, heavy, and hard topics, but she approaches them in a way that shows our cast is so full of and surrounded by light, comfort, and love that they will make it to the other end. This IP paves the way for future generations of LGBTQ+ youth, providing positive representation to look forward to and to help guide them.
While for older generations like myself, it gets to heal a part of our inner child that grew up in a time of little to no Queer rep, and with the rep we did have being poorly executed, typically. While we get to bear witness to that excellent rep, it’s not just for queerness but for friendship and communication and mental health, all aspects that can touch and teach anyone regardless of sex or gender. Now it’s time to take all we’ve learned with these characters and this story and to make sure its purpose and legacy stand the test of time, and believe me, I think it will.
After years of webcomics, books, and an Emmy Award-winning Netflix series, we have reached our conclusion and a farewell to Heartstopper, forever. As queers, we are no strangers to beloved series of ours ending early or with little to no justification despite popularity, reviews, and ratings. The glorious silver lining here is that, as with The Owl House, Oseman was given the opportunity to give us one last heartfelt gift with this concluding film.
Heartstopper Forever sees Nick and Charlie as they’re approaching a huge shift in their relationship. Nick is about to go off to Leeds for Uni, while Charlie will be staying at Truham to complete his 6th form. I’m going to interject myself here and say that the only thing that could make this film better for me would be extended time spent on our supporting cast, as they are all entering this same difficult phase in their life.
However, I do understand this was due to the constraints of switching from an 8-episode-per-season series to a film finale. Tara, Darcy, Elle, Tao, Isaac, Imogen, Sahar, Tori, and more still all get their little moments to shine throughout the runtime, and the epilogue provides us with the knowledge and comfort that these characters will live on to lead wonderfully beautiful, tragic, chaotic, happy lives.
I would say Tara is the one I felt the most absence of, with the three strongest supporting moments coming from Elle, Tori, and Sarah Nelson. Elle’s monologue to Charlie about her transness, her fear of the world right now, and why it’s crucial to march at Pride is not only extremely topical but also devastatingly acted, and it continues the interview plotline from season 3. While this series and this movie especially focus on queer love and the relationship between these two boys, this monologue recenters the fact that we don’t just fight and march for our right to love freely but also to simply live and exist freely, and that, as a community, we are always stronger hand in hand.
Getting back on track here, this series has always primarily focused on Charlie and Nick, but our POV typically leans more towards Charlie. While Nick has never lacked depth or substance, he has also always been our golden retriever and protector. The series has always been more of a Charlie storyline with Nick secondary. We’ve gotten to explore his coming to terms with being bi (actually), his family dynamics, and the effects of the pressures of forced masculinity and heteronormativity on young men.
Nick has provided stability and visible strength not only to Char but also to the audience. What we get to see over this series, though, and especially in this film, is that it’s never as simple as that. While Char has put so much work into his mental health, Nick has put all that work into Charlie’s mental health as well, not his own. This film lets us truly explore Nick’s inner workings and childhood trauma that shaped who he is today. While brief, our flashbacks to Nick as a young boy are striking and poignant enough to explain why he’s so reserved and blocked off. His heart-to-heart with his mom towards the end is a conversation that more families and loved ones need to share.
I will not provide specific spoilers, but I can guarantee you that while this film will stop your heart at many points, do not fear, the love displayed will spark it back to life just as many times. We may have reached the end, but just like their scrapbook, the future has room for infinite possibilities.
A few things I want us all to take with us: Queerness and transness are not a choice or a talking point to argue over. LGBTQIA+ individuals are humans just like anyone else, and we are all so deserving and do not need anyone’s permission to be alive. What is a choice, though, is allowing yourself to love and be loved. Please, please always reach out to those in your life; I promise you have loved ones. Whether it’s romantic or platonic, always be someone who leans towards love, because those in your life who care- you look after each other, don’t you?
Heartstopper Forever is now playing on Netflix.