Heartstopper Forever

It is the end of an era. Heartstopper is over. It's hard to believe, but it is true. After 3 seasons, a movie, and 6 graphic novels, we have reached the end of Nick and Charlie's story. We might get something in the future, but for now, it is done. So, lets talk about the movie that ended an era.

I have to admit that when I first heard that a movie was being made, I said:

"I have to admit to conflicted feelings over the announcement of the Heartstopper movie. I am very grateful that we'll be getting the movie so we can see the end to this part of their story and I know Alice will take care to tell the story [well]. I also know that this is the best option due to Kit and Joe's careers blowing up the way they have.

But, the last time a show I loved (Love, Victor) had a shorter time to tell the end of the story, it was so bad that I haven't been able to rewatch the show since then. So yeah, my feelings are complicated." (Threads, @mychelvandover, April 22, 2025)

I am happy to report that the movie was really, really good. Having watched it, I honestly don't know if a full season would have been better. Yes, it would have given us more time to see the characters, but I wonder if it would have bloated the story. As it stood, the movie was all about Nick and Charlie with no other character getting a main storyline. And that actually felt right. In my season 3 review, I said "Because this season focused so heavily on Charlie's problems and the issues that caused for Nick, everyone else really became secondary characters who didn't get the deeper storylines we've seen in previous seasons." And that is just as true regarding the movie. Only it's not a bad thing, and looking back, I'm not sure it was actually a bad thing in season 3. This means that this review will be a little different in that I will only be focusing on Nick and Charlie with small things about the other characters. So let's get started.

As I said in my season 3 review, a lot of what happened in the movie had to do with Nick dealing with his identity issues that had started to make their presence known. One thing I found interesting about the movie was how Nick and Charlie's roles were reversed, particularly in the first half of the movie. Charlie has become self-confident and open about his feelings and Nick is incredibly closed off and not wanting to "bother" Charlie with his issues. I also found it interesting how often Charlie was shirtless throughout the movie. Given the body issues he has had and how reluctant he had been to be shirtless, that was very notable, particularly when he was in the backyard with Nellie and Henry in only shorts and an unzipped hoodie. I can't imagine the Charlie of the past doing that. I am so proud of him for overcoming all of the issues he's overcome to be able to do things that most people take for granted. And as a corollary to this, Nick rarely has his shirt off in the beginning of the movie, even when it seems natural for him to have it off. For example, when he had that nightmare when he and Charlie were in bed together, Charlie was shirtless and Nick wasn't. Which seems to indicate that their willingness to expose their bodies is related to their willingness to share their emotions.

And now that they've had sex, the two of them really go at it, even in public on that pier. That was surprising and more than a bit funny. I find it interesting that sex seems to have been an indicator of how their relationship is going. When everything is going well, they are having sex all the time and kissing and hugging. But when their relationship starts to go south, all of that just stops. And the first thing they do when they get back together? They have sex again. I found that to be interesting.

I was surprised when Nick and Charlie broke up in the movie for a while because that wasn't in the graphic novels at all. However, it was in Nick and Charlie, a novella that Alice wrote before the graphic novels. The thing that surprised me about it was that I thought I remembered Alice saying that the novella didn't fit in with the way the story developed, so I thought she had ditched it. Instead, she took some of what happened and adapted it to make it fit in with where Nick and Charlie are now. I will admit that it took me until Charlie developed the film and dropped it off at Nick's for me to remember what happened in Nick and Charlie because I hadn't read it in years.

When Nick went out to his car after the fight and we went into how Charlie (and only Charlie) dealt with everything, I was beginning to wonder if we were getting a dream, particularly when we went right back to that same moment with Nick. Once I realized that we were getting everything from his perspective, I realized what was going on. I'm not sure if there was a better way to do it or not. I appreciated what was going on, but I did find that a bit confusing for a bit there.

That being said, I do think the breakup was good for them. Don't get me wrong, it almost sent Charlie back to the place where he was in season 3, but this time he was able to pull out of it thanks to what he has learned, Geoff, and his friends and family. I don't think he self-harmed after he saw Nick and Imogen's friend together in the club, but it did seem to be a close call. And being apart from Charlie seems to be what Nick needed. He was so unsure who he was apart from Charlie that he needed to be on his own to really know himself. As I said in season 3, his coming out and his relationship with Charlie were all tangled up together because they happened at the same time. So he needed that time on his own to really get to know himself as Nick before being a part of Nick&Charlie. And once they got back together, I don't think they're going to be able to be broken up again. They both have developed distinct identities and a shared identity, which is a good thing.

Being Head Boy was really good for Charlie. Being able to help and protect kids who are being bullied like he was is an important part of his own healing. Watching him threaten the guys bullying Alfie was really cool. He saw a problem and stepped in the way he wished someone had done for him. Also, having the position of Head Boy and being able to start that club for queer students and their allies was something else that was good for him. He is doing what he needs to do and that's it. Which is good.

Nick getting that job at the animal shelter was another good thing. He loves dogs and is able to work with them. That older co-worker was obnoxious. Blaming his assumption that Nick had a girlfriend on not being a part of a "woke" generation was particularly annoying. I was a little annoyed that Nick didn't correct his assumption that he was with a girl earlier, but I do get that it seems that Nick didn't want to cause problems. 

As for the ending, I have seen people say that they wish we had gotten a flashforward and while I sort of agree, I loved that it ended the same way Volume 6 did. Nick and Charlie are together and happy and making memories. Heartstopper was always about them and their life right now. It is a slice of their life, not their whole lives. I wonder if Alice has left the future open just in case she decides to write more about their future lives. So would a flashforward have been nice? Sure, but the ending we got was lovely.

Now onto everyone else.

Let's start with Isaac. Every other time I have written a review, I have left him until the end to avoid getting his story lost in the middle of various couples' stories. In the movie, Isaac is Isaac. He reads, is supportive, and ends up starting a novel of some kind. He's always been a bit more of supportive person rather than a main character and that's ok.

I loved that Tori had her moment to come out as asexual. It was really funny that she said she thought she had already told Charlie when she hadn't. I have to wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that Tori came out on the Ferris wheel in the graphic novels. I do wish they had been a little more specific regarding Michael's sexuality. In the graphic novels, he is pansexual, so having that actually stated would have been nice. Instead we get a reference about Pedro Pascal, but no label. Not a major thing, but it was a bit irritating.

I loved the relationship that has developed between Nick and Tao. The two of them started off antagonistically, but now they are really good friends. I love watching the scenes they have each season to see how the two of them have grown closer.

Elle and Tao are a bit confusing. The two of them love each other, but they keep breaking up and getting back together. I'm not sure if maybe they are that couple who are better off as friends or not. It is obvious that they always love each other deeply, but given everything, I am seriously thinking that maybe they are better off not being in a romantic relationship.

Elle's speech to Charlie about needing him at Pride and her being on that float leading the chant about trans rights was beautiful. We are in a time now when being trans is under attack both in the US and the UK and in other places. Trans people need our allies to stand with us now and to help protect us from the forces being arrayed against us. I have to believe that Yasmine had a hand in writing all of that.

Darcy and Tara are doing what they said they were going to do. They are taking a gap year and going traveling. Good for them. Tara seems to be doing a lot better now that she has taken the weight of academic expectations off of her shoulders.

Imogen has come out as a lesbian. I suspected that might be the case because she talked with Nick about not being sure if she ever actually liked boys, but I was wondering if maybe she was bi or pan. I do wonder if she and Sahar ended up together or not. Seeing as she was backstage visiting Sahar when Sahar was about to go on stage indicates that they are still friends. And there was never anything during the movie to indicate that they were romantically involved, so I doubt it, but inquiring minds do want to know. 

Mr. Ajayi and Mr. Farouk have told the gang that they are dating. That was cute. Admittedly, the gang figured it out last season, but it was still cool of them to tell the group. I hope the two of them remain together and happy.

While I definitely missed Olivia Colman as Sarah, Anna Maxwell Martin did a good job. She didn't have a ton of screentime, but she did a good job what she had. That scene in the kitchen with Nick was such a callback to the scene in season 1 when Nick came out to Sarah. It was beautiful and Anna did a great job stepping into some big shoes.

That's it. I'll have more thoughts on my podcast episode coming out August 13, 2026 about the show and then on August 27, I will have a conversation with 3 fans about the show and novels. Hope you tune in and enjoy them!