The <i>Forever</i> Finale Is a Bittersweet Tribute to First Love
Spoilers below.
The final episode of Netflix’s Forever begins exactly how the season started—at a swanky New Year’s Eve party. Only this time, Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.) aren’t on the best of terms. They’re still in the middle of an argument that began at the end of the last episode, but, like many of their fights, they quickly resolve things after the party, and all is forgiven.
We then speed through their final semester of senior year in an extended montage that shows the progression of their relationship until we get to prom night. After a long night of partying, Justin mentions to Keisha that he’s considering going to Howard University with her so that they can keep spending time together. However, she’s not feeling it. Their original plan was that they’d go to separate schools and have their own experiences, and then come back together on breaks and during the summer to discuss their respective lives. But this conversation illustrates that their wants are vastly different—she desires independence, and he wouldn’t mind a little codependence. Thus, another little fight ensues.
Later, Justin attends a Northwestern University event with his mom, where he meets the dean of his prospective school. She’s so excited that he’s going to attend her alma mater, but he couldn’t be less interested. He’s feeling a little lost because he has no interest in attending that school, or any school for that matter. He also struggles with the thought of attending another PWI (predominantly white institution) that his parents have chosen for him. We then learn that he’s clinging to Keisha so much because he doesn’t know what he wants outside of their relationship. So, he decides to break up with her in order to figure that out.
She doesn’t take it well. She doesn’t understand why he needs to break up with her so that he can “level up.” But he responds that he’s doing this so that they can both level up, and he also fears that he may hold her back from achieving her dreams. After hearing him out, she agrees, but on one condition. She tells him that he needs to make their breakup worth it. If he’s not going to fight for their relationship, the least he can do is fight for himself.
We then cut to a scene where Justin confronts his parents to tell them that he doesn’t want to go to Northwestern because he wants to become a music producer instead. He proposes that he defer his acceptance for a year to pursue music, and if it doesn’t pan out, then he’ll go to school. Both of his parents look at him in disbelief and walk away from him without saying a word.
Two months go by, and Keisha and Justin randomly run into each other and provide updates on their lives. Keisha is heading to Howard next week. Justin is taking a music production and engineering course while working at CVS to pay for it. She tells him she’s proud of him, and they make plans to get dinner that night as a final goodbye.
They meet for ramen, a callback to what he suggested for their first date in episode one. He also gives her a graduation gift, a HUF duffle bag that he bought for her when they first met. He hopes it’ll be good for her to use for track. When she says that she should’ve given him a gift, he says she already has. He tells her that if it wasn’t for her, he’d still be living a life that wasn’t his.
After dinner, they ponder whether or not they’ll be ready for each other in 10 years. They then share a long hug, and he gives her a sweet forehead kiss. As they begin walking away from each other, Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River” begins playing.
In an interview with ELLE.com, Simone said she thinks Keisha and Justin do eventually “rekindle” their relationship in the future. “I don’t know what it looks like or what moment brings them together, but I do think they see each other again, and feelings pop back up.” But for now, they are two drifters off to see the world.
elle
