The final movie in the After series leaves fans satisfied with the way they left our beloved characters.
This review will contain spoilers!
After Everything came out on September 13, 2023, and was the final movie in the After series. I felt it was a perfect conclusion to this beloved series.
This entire series is based on the book series written by Anna Todd.
The After movies star Hero Fiennes-Tiffin who plays Hardin Scott with Josephine Langford who plays Tessa Young.
In the previous movies, we see Hardin and Tessa meet for the first time and fall in love. However, one big lie puts a rift in their relationship and trust in each other. They went back and forth, not sure whether they should be together or not. Yet, they had a strong pull that couldn’t keep them apart. Hardin had a constant pattern of running away when he hurts someone or before he does. He didn’t know how to communicate, and his trauma held him back from being a good person for not only himself, but Tessa and the ones around him.
In After Everything, Hardin travels to Portugal as a way to heal from his past, make amends and be able to move forward. He seeks out Natalie, a girl from his past who he hurt deeply, and makes it his mission to make amends with her to show he changed. This trip was a way for him to see who he is without Tessa and who he is as a person.
He tries to write another book, but he can’t seem to get a word out without thinking of Tessa. He tries to get out of his comfort zone and hangs out with Natalie, becoming good friends and actually having a good time, not thinking he would.
I feel this was a perfect ending to the After series and gave each character their own version of a happy ending. Hardin is a complex character who had a hard life, not sure how to communicate his feelings. He didn’t open up to people and let them in for fear of getting hurt and them leaving him. He doesn’t like to be alone but did push people away when he felt it was necessary. However, he knew he could never move on from Tessa, but knows she might be happier if he stayed away.
Throughout the movie, we see Hardin slowly evolve from continuously hurting and blaming himself to starting to move on and attain better habits. He dumps all his alcohol and quits drinking. He starts writing about a story of healing, putting Natalie in the story this time. He asks her permission before he sends it to his publisher instead of making the same mistake he did with Tessa in the previous movie.
In After We Fell, Tessa finds the story Hardin has been writing since the first movie, seeing it’s about them and their story. Tessa feels betrayed that he didn’t give it to her first to read and this created the biggest rift in their relationship. Hardin didn’t want to make the same mistake twice and did the right thing in making sure Natalie was okay with her being in the story.
Natalie gives him her blessing to get it published and before he goes home, he buys Natalie’s dream house for her as the final part of his amends. Fixing one of his biggest regrets gave him the courage to move on and better himself, even if Tessa never gave him another chance.
When he goes home, he goes to his stepbrother Landon’s wedding as he was chosen as the best man. There, he sees Tessa for the first time in two years and evidently, they get back together. Hardin tells her everything and he apologized for everything he did and put her through. He unintentionally says how he wants to marry her and then he takes off his ring and goes down on one knee proposing to her. Tessa accepts and we see them on the journey of moving on and healing, as they realize they are truly meant to be.
The movie flash forwards to them living in New York, married with a daughter and a baby on the way. This is a great ending to the series as we see them have their happy ending. It’s especially sweet because in the previous movie, Tessa learned she was unlikely to have children and that devastated her.
I like that this movie had a more uplifting plot, with still the realistic struggles of being held back from the past and being able to move forward. I also like that this was more centered around Hardin and the development of his character. He has always been a favorite despite his flaws throughout the series, I have loved seeing him grow into the person he became by the end. Even though I am saddened that the series is over, I believe they ended in a great place that leaves us all happy.
