This story contains major spoilers about Forever, including the ending. On TV, we’re used to seeing high school sweethearts stay together—from Cory and Topanga on Boy Meets World to Julie and Matt on Friday Night Lights to Spencer and Olivia on All American (the list could go on). After season-long will-they-won't-they arcs, there's a comfort and charm to knowing our favorite on-screen 'ships are meant to be and stay together even after a show ends. But in Netflix's latest teen romance, Forever, that's not the case—and it's all the better for it.
By the end of its eight episodes, Forever has a surprising but satisfying conclusion: the all-consuming high school love story between Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.) isn’t their happily ever after. The limited series helmed by Mara Brock Akil of Girlfriends fame traverses the ups and downs of their relationship over senior year as they navigate parents, past romances, and changing identities and desires. They break up, make up, say, “I love you,” and have sex for the first time with each other. But instead of staying together and trying to make a long-distance relationship work after graduation, the couple amicably breaks up in the finale, “Forever…” They leave high school separately to pursue their dreams; Keisha will attend Howard University on a track scholarship, and Justin will take a gap year to explore a career in music production before potentially following in his mother’s footsteps to Northwestern University.
