Aahana Swrup
The Netflix show ‘Forever‘ takes the viewers to a nostalgic era of 2018 as it follows the lives of two high schoolers who are on the precipice of something incredible. Justin and Keisha went to the same elementary school before disappearing from each other’s lives. Yet, now during their senior year, the teenagers run into each other again at a fateful New Year’s party. As sparks fly during this party, the two teenagers decide to take a chance at love and at each other. However, the growing complications of teenage life, from overbearing parents to the leftover shadows of past relationships, threaten to sink them before they can even take off. Consequently, as the pair continues to fight for their love and themselves along the way, the fate of their young romance becomes the narrative’s central nucleus. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Forever Season 1 Recap
Despite the initial protests of his overprotective mother, Justin Edwards manages to get out of the house on New Year’s Eve to attend a high school party. Fortunately for him, it’s the same party that Keisha Clark has decided to show up at as her reintroduction to socialization after months of hiding out in her room. Inevitably, the duo ends up spending the party together after the latter recognizes the former as the same boy she once went to kindergarten with. As the night ends on a promising first kiss, the two make plans to meet again on a first date. Nonetheless, Justin’s social anxiety and general awkward nature, paired with Keisha’s baggage from getting burned in a past relationship, led the date toward a disastrous end.
In the aftermath, Justin discovers the reason behind the other teen’s guarded nature. As it turns out, her ex-boyfriend, Christian, a popular high school athlete, leaked a sex tape of them around their school, inviting mass bullying and ostracisation for Keisha. In fact, the aftereffects of it had been so bad that she had to change schools for a new start. Eventually, the boy manages to explain his obliviousness to the event to her, compelling her to give him another chance. Nonetheless, in a feat of spectacularly bad timing, he ends up getting grounded the same day. As a result, Keisha’s many text messages are left unanswered, making her believe she is being ghosted. Still, despite the misunderstanding, they manage to find their way back to each other.
Justin learns how the other teen has kept the reality of Christian’s actions a secret from her mother, Shelly, to spare her the nitty-gritties of her life. Even though Keisha insists it’s for the best, the repercussions of the secret manifest themselves once Christian begins trying to win her back, much to the happiness of her mother. This hurls her into a chaotic love triangle between the two boys, which can only end in heartbreak. Things come to a head when she agrees to go to the prom with the apologetic star basketball player simply to make her mother happier. In light of that decision, Justin ends up breaking up with her for his own good.
Yet, months later, over summer break, Keisha becomes determined to win her ex-boyfriend back. As a result, she hijacks her best friend, Chloe’s vacation, to travel to Martha’s Vineyard in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Edwards family. However, her plan runs into some trouble, namely Dawn, Justin’s mother. Even though she doesn’t want her son to get back together with the other teenager, he ends up following his heart anyway, especially once he decides to listen to the various voicemails Keisha had left him over the years. Thus, the couple ends up back together, this time deciding to take their relationship to the next level by losing their virginity to one another. Afterward, a magical few months follow, as the pair’s relationship deepens.
Nonetheless, as high school ends and college prospects become a real concern, some friction between them arises. Unlike Keisha, who has always been set for a Brown University path, Justin remains lost in what he wants to do with his future. His mother is insistent that an elite college like Northwestern should be his only priority. Furthermore, after months and months of hard work in building his academic and sports record, Justin even managed to get into the prestigious school. Even so, he can’t help but feel a pull toward building a future for himself in music, his true passion. Although Keisha attempts to be supportive during this process, conflict inevitably makes its way between the two as they come face to face with the reality of what a long-distance relationship would look like.
Forever Ending: What Happened Between Justin and Keisha? Do They Get Back Together?
As far as first love goes, Justin and Keisha have a tough run from the beginning. Their personal baggage and complications make it very difficult for them to get on the same page as each other. Additionally, even when the stars align for them, Keisha’s decision to prioritize her mother’s idealized fantasy drives a wedge between the couple that keeps them separated for months. Nonetheless, despite this on-again/off-again start, the two continue to fight for each other until they’re dating for almost a year and a half. During the course of this relationship, they both have had a significant influence on each other’s lives. For instance, Justin and his family help Keisha tell her mother the truth about Christian and the leaked sex tape.
Similarly, Keisha helps Justin through the nerve-wracking process of his college application, encouraging him to pursue his dreams. However, his confusion regarding his future stems from multiple factors, making it impossible to find an easy solution. Firstly, the boy has been chasing after a Northwestern route his entire life to please his mother. As that dream starts to turn into a reality, inviting his parents’ overjoyed reactions, he can’t help but grow inclined toward the idea himself. Yet, simultaneously, Justin is also aware of the level of hard work and effort it takes for him even to just be someone who can get a foot in the Northwestern doors. For the same reason, he can’t help but feel like he wouldn’t fit in at the University, condemning himself to four years of misery.
Additionally, a place at Northwestern would mean hours and hours of distance between Justin and Keisha, who has never once second-guessed her choice to attend Howard. Therefore, since she can’t change her school, the other teen can’t shake off the idea that perhaps he should consider a different University option to be closer to his girlfriend. Nonetheless, this only creates even more problems since it makes Keisha feel like she’s being used as a tether to cling onto in the face of a real problem. In the end, the couple comes to the realization that their bigger-than-life relationship is holding both of them back at this transitional period of their life.
They both love each other, but the gravity of their feelings for one another is beginning to weigh down their focus on their own future. Instead of being excited about finally attending her dream University, Keisha has to deal with the reality of juggling a long-distance relationship. Similarly, even though their relationship gives Justin a sense of identity and purpose, he realizes it can’t be his only passion in life. Both teenagers have learnt a lot from their time together, most notably the ability to love someone and dedicate themselves to building something together. Yet, they are simply not equipped to deal with molding their futures around this one thing.
For the same reason, right before Keisha is set to leave for a vacation to Jamaica with her mother, the couple end up breaking up, this time for the better. Months down the line, their paths cross again, outside a music studio where Justin is currently working. They decide to grab dinner together, inadvertently re-creating their first date. Even though the spark is still there, their situation remains unchanged. Keisha must leave for Howard in a week, and Justin has yet to blaze his own path forward. Ultimately, the two part ways on an amicable note, knowing they can’t be together for now, but still hopeful that maybe one day they will find their way back to each other. Even though this is little more than wishful thinking, the fact remains that their relationship inextricably changed the two teenagers’ lives, allowing them to find themselves in the process of finding a short-lived true love.
Does Justin Go to Northwestern? Does He Follow Keisha to Howard?
Unlike Keisha, Justin’s future remains much more uncertain and ambiguous, especially in terms of higher education. His ADHD condition, paired with his love for basketball, has previously hindered his academic career, casting his potential to get into an elite University into a dubious light. Nonetheless, his relationship with Keisha helps him achieve the drive and the dedication to take risks and overperform in his senior year. As a result, he manages to snag an invite to Northwestern, his mother’s dream school for him. Therefore, for some time, there has been no argument about whether or not Justin will attend the prestigious University. In fact, even the teenager begins to get swayed by the idea of attending Northwestern.
Nonetheless, it isn’t long before Justin realizes that he simply doesn’t have the desire to put himself through such rigorous academics for four more years of his life. For a moment, he tries to find an escape from Northwestern by pitching the idea of following Keisha to Howard. Nevertheless, it’s only a distraction and an easy getaway to cling to. At the end of the day, the teenager knows where his true passion lies. During the past few months of his senior year, he managed to strike up an acquaintanceship with Rodeny, a man who pursued music professionally. As it turns out, Rodney likes some of his beats and seems interested in their future partnership. However, Justin remains reluctant to agree with the idea because of the precarious nature of the music industry.
Even so, the teen eventually realizes he’s simply making excuses to stop himself from going after something that scares him, but also excites him. It takes his breakup with Keisha for Justin to finally stand up for himself and fight for his own future. In the end, he sits down with his parents for the difficult conversation of turning down Northwestern in favor of pursuing his dream of being a music producer. Even though it’s a tense conversation, his parents come out of it in support of his decision. Ultimately, Justin decides to take a break year, during which he works with Rodney to create a portfolio, and even manages to sell a tune to a buyer.
Why Did Keisha Not Want Justin to Apply to Howard?
Even before Keisha and Justin discuss the possibility of a breakup, a notable problem arises between them. Initially, in an effort to cling to their relationship, the latter airs the idea of following his girlfriend to Howard. In turn, the former remains visibly unenthused with the idea. Initially, Justin takes this to mean she simply doesn’t want her boyfriend at the same university as her. He isn’t very far off from the truth. Keisha has been preparing for Howard all her life, and in the year and a half that she has been with Justin, she creates a daydream of what university life will be like for her. This includes adventures with her friends, which he would regale her boyfriend with, before planning visiting trips between them.
In her imagination, Justin is never a part of Howard, but rather something to look forward to outside of her college life. Therefore, the idea of mixing these two worlds is daunting and hard to digest. It would require her to entirely rethink her future, in a way she never has. More importantly, she knows that if Justin follows her to Howard, she would become a distraction and a consolation prize for him. He needs to sort out his actual passions and follow after them instead of mindlessly devoting himself to Keisha to his own detriment. In the end, she ends up being right, as proven by their ultimate decision to break up.
Read More: Is Forever a True Story? Are Justin and Keisha Based on Real People?
