{"id":9330,"date":"2026-07-18T06:42:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T01:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9330"},"modified":"2026-07-18T06:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T01:42:27","slug":"the-creator-behind-heartstopper-helps-break-down-the-emotional-series-ending-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9330","title":{"rendered":"The Creator Behind Heartstopper Helps Break Down the Emotional Series-Ending Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<section>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/blt79827d599fcafcd5\/6a5a9e8f1046597c03894436\/Heartstopper_Episodic_Image_58.jpg?branch=production\" \/><figcaption>Joe Locke and Kit Connor \u2014Samuel Dore\/Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/collections\/time100-next-2024\/7023644\/alice-oseman\/\" target=\"_self\">Alice Oseman<\/a>\u2019s <em>Heartstopper<\/em> has <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6301556\/heartstopper-netflix-season-2-fans\/\" target=\"_self\">become a beacon of joy<\/a> for queer people of every age. First published as a series of comics, then <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6170853\/best-tv-shows-april-2022\/\" target=\"_self\">adapted into a Netflix show<\/a>, the universe is growing even bigger this summer with the new film <em>Heartstopper Forever.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Oseman has returned to the world of <em>Heartstopper<\/em> in multiple formats and across them all, there remains the same steadfast ethos of love. \u201cNo matter what difficult things you might be going through in your life, there\u2019s always joy, hope, friendship, and love to be found. There\u2019s always light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d says Oseman. <\/p>\n<p><em>Heartstopper Forever <\/em>effectively functions as the show\u2019s series finale, giving a feature length farewell to Nick (Kit Connor), Charlie (Joe Locke) and their group of friends as they get ready for the next phase of life. Nick and Charlie have been at the <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6254600\/best-tv-rom-coms-streaming\/\" target=\"_self\">center of the show\u2019s love story<\/a>, going through the heights and pitfalls of young love over three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is a more mature <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6276424\/best-shows-netflix\/\" target=\"_self\">version of <em>Hearstopper<\/em><\/a> than audiences will be used to. \u201dIt felt like a natural progression for these characters,\u201d says Oseman. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s lost any of the trademark charm or whimsical nature that made it such a hit. We spoke to Oseman about the ending of <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em>, why Nick and Charlie had to go through such turmoil, and if she thinks they\u2019ll really be together\u2014forever.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/blt8d7fe65832f8063d\/6a5aa19d6a33e5d056269d19\/Heartstopper_Episodic_Image_8.jpg?branch=production\" \/><figcaption>Joe Locke and Kit Connor \u2014Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>At the onset of <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em>, things are going great for Nick and Charlie. But the end of the school year looms over them, and as Nick is a year older, it means he\u2019ll be going to university while Charlie remains at school. And Nick is planning to go to University in Leeds, a 4.5 hour drive from where they live. The stress of the upcoming move slowly fractures their relationship, and they break up during a party, where Nick tells Charlie, \u201cI\u2019m only happy when I\u2019m with you,\u201d to which Charlie responds \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s how it\u2019s supposed to be.\u201d With tears in their eyes, they agree to part ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Having Nick and Charlie end their relationship\u2014a relationship genuinely adored by the <em>Heartstopper <\/em>fandom\u2014 was not a decision Oseman made lightly. \u201cNick and Charlie love each other so much, but sometimes they ignore their own issues to try and help each other,\u201d says Oseman. \u201cThere\u2019s a slight feeling of codependence between them, and I think many people will feel that more and more as the story goes on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em>, Nick spends so much time caring for Charlie and helping him through his eating disorder that he loses sight of who he is as an individual, which leads to self-loathing and overwhelming anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor them to really step into their futures together, I felt like they needed to figure that out about their relationship,\u201d says Oseman. \u201cThat comes to a head in this breakup, where they convince themselves that the other person will be better off without them\u2014it\u2019s such a Nick and Charlie way to break up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em> expresses the pair&#8217;s heartbreak over their relationship ending, there\u2019s plenty of good news: they do, in fact, get back together. After some difficult time apart, Nick and Charlie reunite at the beach\u2014the very same one where they first said they loved each other at the end of Season 1.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the film, friends constantly remind Nick and Charlie that they\u2019re soulmates. But as the pair learn, love is a lot more complicated than that. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in the concept of soulmates,\u201d says Oseman. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting contradiction, because Nick and Charlie do feel like soulmates. But I think the conversation Nick has with his mum towards the end is so important.\u201d In that conversation, Nick\u2019s mother (Anna Maxwell Martin) tells him, \u201cLove isn\u2019t some cosmic force. It\u2019s a choice. It\u2019s a choice you make every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so important because it expresses the idea that they are choosing to love each other. To commit and move forward together, despite their issues and anxieties. They\u2019re not perfect, and they don\u2019t have everything figured out. But they choose to go into life together, and I think there\u2019s something beautiful about that. It\u2019s something they both want, and they\u2019re doing that together,\u201d says Oseman. \u201cThe fact that they\u2019re able to work through those issues and get back together, it lets us know by the end of the film that they are now so strong together that they could be okay for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/blt9fa7876b310335ad\/6a5aa14212737ebb24df6219\/Heartstopper_Episodic_Image_29.jpg?branch=production\" \/><figcaption>Kit Connor and Joe Locke \u2014Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>In the film\u2019s epilogue, <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em> gives us quick snippets of everyone\u2019s futures. Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) head off on their interrailing trip, and Imogen (Rhea Norwood) surprises Sahar (Leila Khan) at a gig to see her perform. Isaac (Tobie Donovan) starts writing his first novel, and Tao (William Gao) goes to Berlin to surprise Elle (Yasmin Finney) at art school, reigniting their romance. In <em>Hearstopper Forever<\/em>, nobody\u2019s story is completely finished, and Oseman has a reason for not providing definitive conclusions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLife doesn\u2019t end when you turn 18\u2014there\u2019s a whole rest of your life to live. I didn\u2019t want to jump too far into the future because I think that would leave people frustrated. If we jumped to when they were all 30, people would feel like \u2018Oh, we\u2019ve missed 12 years of story.\u2019 I think it\u2019s nicer to leave them at the moment when they\u2019ve become adults, and we can imagine for ourselves what might happen. You feel content to let them go and live their lives,\u201d says Oseman.<\/p>\n<p>In the final scene, Charlie gets on the train to visit Nick in Leeds. Nick excitedly waits for him at the train station, and takes him to meet his new friends. That evening they dance the night away at a gay bar. The next morning, the two cuddle in bed, and Charlie presents Nick with a gift: a scrapbook full of their memories, with plenty of blank pages for a lifetime of memories to come. They head off to breakfast, and the film ends.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to end with them together on an ordinary morning,\u201d Oseman says of the final scene. \u201cIt\u2019s not a particularly special day. It\u2019s just Nick and Charlie being themselves, and there\u2019s something I think that is so true to the essence of what <em>Heartstopper <\/em>is, which is just ordinary people living ordinary lives. Yet there\u2019s so much love there, and so much sweetness, that it felt like a natural place to end things.\u201d As Nick and Charlie head off to have breakfast, it\u2019s a moment that feels like an ending, but a brand new beginning for them, too.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s just one question that will likely linger for <em>Heartstopper Forever<\/em> fans: Do Nick and Charlie stay together forever?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople can imagine whatever they want,\u201d says Oseman. \u201cBut in my opinion? Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Locke and Kit Connor \u2014Samuel Dore\/Netflix Alice Oseman\u2019s Heartstopper has become a beacon of joy for queer people of every age. First published as a series of comics, then adapted into a Netflix show, the universe is growing even bigger this summer with the new film Heartstopper Forever.\u00a0 Oseman has returned to the world&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.time.com\/v3\/assets\/bltea6093859af6183b\/blt79827d599fcafcd5\/6a5a9e8f1046597c03894436\/Heartstopper_Episodic_Image_58.jpg?branch=production","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}