(Credits: Netflix)

Right… so Heartstopper Forever has finally, finally got a release date. It’s this July, so fasten your seatbelts for one last ride with this beloved Netflix masterpiece. On paper, that’s brilliant news, isn’t it? After all this waiting, wondering, speculating, going a bit spare, we have actually got something concrete: a date. July 17th it is.

But here is the thing: you don’t really get to just enjoy the news, because you do really realise what it means, right? This isn’t just a release date; it’s the end. The end of the road. Curtains. Fin. Nick and Charlie, done and dusted.

The reason why it is sticking so much is that Heartstopper was never one of those shows you just binge once and then forget about by the next weekend. Nah. It got under people’s skin more than they imagined it would. It’s the old OG Netflix shows people will talk about for years. The reason behind that is that what happened in the show never felt like it was for the camera. The moments felt real and carved a space for themselves in our hearts.

It’s a story of two guys, the first being Charlie, who is muddling through school. He is anxious but still holding himself together. And then we have Nick, taking his time. Not rushing headfirst into labels. Just figuring things out at his own pace. Which, honestly, you don’t see all that often.

In the first, you are watching Nick and Charlie go from sitting next to each other in form to becoming close friends, then figuring out their feelings. In short, the first season is them both exploring themselves and each other and their feelings. At the same time, Charlie’s dealing with being openly gay at school after being outed, and the sad, sad bullying that comes with it.

By the second season, their relationship is established, but it’s not suddenly perfect. You see Nick navigating coming out to his mum and his mates, while Charlie’s mental health starts to take more focus, especially around food and control.

By the time you reach the third season, Charlie’s struggles become more serious, and he ends up getting professional help, while Nick is trying to support him without losing himself in the process. There’s also the looming question of the future with uni, distance, and what happens next for them as a couple.

And this is where Heartstopper Forever will pick things up, because the third season left everything uncertain. Nick is off to university soon; Charlie is finally finding his footing, but the saddest part is that the relationship has to deal with distance. And go on, be honest, that’s where things usually get tested, isn’t it? It’s easy when you’re seeing each other every day, when everything fits into a routine. Take that away, throw in new people and new spaces, and you start to test the waters.

Heartstopper Forever will completely focus on the survival dynamics of the relationship between these two. Will they last or will they drift apart? That is the question the movie will be answering, and the makers know that all of us are seated.

And as much as it hurts knowing that the film will conclude everything, we have to give it to the makers for wrapping it up at the right times. So far, we have seen some exceptional cases of Netflix series getting dragged for multiple seasons, and in that world, Heartstopper is giving you a concluding film that will mark the perfect ending. Still doesn’t make it easy, though!