Film Review: Heartstopper Forever

Heartstopper Forever
Director: Wash Westmoreland
See-Saw Films, Netflix
Released: 07.17.2026

Heartstopper, both the comic and the Netflix series, is known for tenderly displaying queer joy, friendship and romance, and thus is an extremely important and groundbreaking piece of media. The recent US release of Heartstopper: Volume 6, the final installment of creator Alice Oseman’s beloved comic, brought a bittersweet end to fans.

Only 10 days later, Heartstopper Forever was released on Netflix. It’s the adaptation of the final graphic novel and the feature-film conclusion to the three preceding seasons of the Heartstopper show. If you haven’t read or seen the Heartstopper series, don’t watch this film yet. You need the full experience of the story in order to appreciate this conclusion.

Charlie Spring (Joe Locke, Agatha All Along, Kevin) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor, The Wild Robot, Warfare) are meant to be. They’ve been through many struggles together and are deeply in love. But what will happen to Nick and Charlie now that university approaches? It turns out, a lot of stress — more stress than I experienced while reading the corresponding Heartstopper: Volume 6. The camera work and lighting during the most intense scenes exuded uncertainty; cloying party crowds, suffocating colorful lights and disorienting movement all surrounded the rising distress between Nick and Charlie.

Heartstopper has been critiqued for being too optimistic, too wholesome, too perfect — even though it has always navigated deeper themes such as trauma and mental health. If Nick and Charlie’s relationship wasn’t “realistic” enough for you before, it’s officially complicated now. Heartstopper Forever brings Nick’s struggles to the forefront. After trying so hard to be the perfect boyfriend to Charlie, Nick has no idea who he is. This causes strife that Nick and Charlie aren’t used to dealing with, adding more layers to their story as they navigate new challenges.

Charlie and Nick aren’t the only characters whose bond has grown more complicated. Two of their friends, Tao Xu (William Gao, Breakwater, Sunrise) and Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney, Doctor Who, Life Hack), are also navigating relationship difficulties as Elle prepares to move abroad for art school. Their struggles cause even more uncertainty for Nick and Charlie, who wonder if all teen relationships are doomed.

One of the highlights of Heartstopper is the friend group and all of the side characters: Tao, Elle, Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan, Lynley), Tara Jones (Corinna Brown, Essex Girls, Supacell), Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell, Dead Red Kite), Imogen Heaney (Rhea Norwood, Consent), Sahar Zahid (Leila Khan, Crookhaven) and so many more. Heartstopper Forever continues the Heartstopper theme of friendship being as valuable as romance. The friendships do not detract from the romances; they strengthen and ground them. Every character is interconnected, creating a web of warmth and acceptance that anchors the whole story as the characters go through their journeys.

In the comic, there’s a scene where Charlie and his sister Tori (Jenny Walser, Star City, The Next Level) are on a ferris wheel and Tori tells Charlie she’s asexual. The dialogue of this scene was altered in the finale of the third season of Heartstopper. I was worried the original dialogue would never appear, so I was anxious to see it in Heartstopper Forever. And (spoiler alert) it did. Tori’s relationship with Michael Holden (Darragh Hand, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast) confuses the other characters because it doesn’t line up with their assumptions. Even Charlie is confused before Tori tells him she’s asexual. There is hardly any ace representation on screen — this is a big deal to show an ace character in a relationship that makes both partners happy. The prior seasons of Heartstopper told Isaac’s story of being aromantic and asexual, so once again Alice Oseman has created a monumental ace moment.

One of the most emotional moments of Heartstopper Forever happens before the Pride parade. Because of his relationship struggles, Charlie isn’t feeling up to going to the parade, and Elle gently but firmly tells him that she needs him there with her, because she is a trans girl in the present-day UK and is absolutely terrified. Her human rights are being taken away and she needs all her friends to show up and march at her side, including Charlie. Finney’s performance in this scene is so raw. She remains calm, her voice carefully level, but her expressions carry all the weight of her words as she holds back tears. This scene made me cry because it is reality. We later see Elle on a butterfly float in the parade, leading a chant for trans rights with a megaphone as all her friends march and chant with her. Heartstopper Forever is saying it out loud for all to hear: trans rights must be defended and trans people protected, especially now.

Heartstopper Forever is a phenomenal conclusion to this beautiful series. It’s so well done that it feels like the story isn’t really over — us viewers just won’t be there to see it continue. The characters are continually loveable and relatable as they reach the end of their arcs. Oseman’s iconic hand-drawn leaves flutter through the scenes, and there are so many flashbacks to the series that add to the emotion of the film and make Nick and Charlie’s story feel full-circle. It’s so complete and satisfying that I want to watch everything again from the beginning. Heartstopper Forever, indeed. —Rebekah Bowman

Read more film reviews from SLUG:
Film Review: Her Private Hell
Film Review: Motor City

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