Heartstopper Forever review: Bucketloads more queer joy from Netflix
Heartstopper Forever review and star rating: ★★★★
“Everyone thinks teenage relationships don’t last,” teases Joe Locke’s Charlie Spring in the feature length finale of Heartstopper. To be fair, they tend not to. But Netflix’s LGBTQ teen romance series has always been dished with a side of fantasy: literal multicoloured sparks fly across the screen when couples kiss.
This pastel-hued utopia has provided vital representation for Gen Z and Millennial LGBTQ people. Locke, who is 22, says middle aged viewers are always thanking him for making the show they never had when they were growing up.
This final instalment, adapted from Alice Oseman’s books, compels as all three series did, and – yes – Nick and Charlie finally do more in the bedroom than sitting and snogging in their plaid shirts.
Heartstopper Forever nails the impossible, head-busting feeling of being young
As well as being a bombastic celebration of queer joy, Heartstopper Forever captures in incredible detail the darkness and mental anguish of being a teenager. There’s nothing like being 15 and feeling different, and doesn’t Oseman know it.
Heartstopper has always nailed the impossible, head-combusting feeling of being young. Following a group of Sixth Form pupils at a fictional British high school, this final edition to the franchise examines the fear and excitement the students feel during their pre-university summer.
The teen ennui is given a glossy Netflix sheen as the group take trips to fairy-lit fairgrounds, hut-lined beaches and house parties in impossibly fancy looking houses.
Kit Connor and Joe Locke – now both A-List Hollywood stars thanks to Heartstopper – relax convincingly back into these 18-year-olds. The supporting cast, which includes Yasmin Finney, have scaled back roles, but fans will be sated that each major former cast member makes an appearance.
Netflix show’s glossy sheen
Locke and Connor’s chemistry is still off the chain. Locke, who applied through an open casting call for this role and hasn’t been to drama school, has the air of someone who finds acting rather straightforward; it’s an interesting counterbalance to Connor, whose staring-into-the-middle-distance style reflects his formal training.
Oseman develops Nick in particular from something fairly linear to a man who wears his childhood trauma imperfectly; this time, the sugary-sweet nice guy has become a saboteur. As he loses himself, wide-eyed Charlie quietly combusts, and it’s compelling as hell.
Scenes examining how queer pupils hide in classrooms to evade bullies feel particularly well observed and are just one example of dozens of ways Heartstopper shows up for the underrepresented.
Oseman’s hilarious turn of phrase
Oseman is also no stranger to a hilarious turn of phrase. “In 30 years we’ll be middle aged, causing a scene at a drag brunch,” blurts Finney’s Elle Argent as the group prepare to head to their various universities.
The finale feels progressive, both in terms of LGBTQ representation and how it engages with conversations about what constitutes modern relationships. Locke and Connor’s megawatt success (Locke recently led West End show Clarkston, which Morning Wire awarded five stars) means this almost certainly is the end of Heartstopper, even if surprisingly it feels like there could be more in the tank.
Heartstopper is one of the most comprehensive and authentic examinations of the LGBTQ experience to have come out of British TV.
Heartstopper Forever preserves these characters forever in aspic. Unbridled queer joy to return to again and again.
Heartstopper Forever is on Netflix from 17 July