After Everything (2023) Review: Is This ‘Final Chapter’ Worth the Hype?
The "After" cinematic universe, born from a Wattpad fanfiction that swelled into a global phenomenon, has always thrived on the tumultuous, often toxic, dance between Tessa Young and Hardin Scott. Their relationship, a magnetic pull toward chaos and passion, has captivated millions, fostering a loyal fanbase that has ridden every emotional rollercoaster with them. Now, with After Everything (2023), marketed as the definitive "final chapter," the question arises: does this concluding act offer a satisfying denouement, or is it merely an exhausted whisper at the end of a protracted scream? Is the hype, however diminished after four previous installments, truly warranted?
To understand After Everything's place, one must first acknowledge the legacy it inherits. The series, which began with After in 2019, tapped into a fervent desire for angsty, forbidden romance, a dark hero archetype, and the raw, often messy, intensity of first love. Critics might have balked at the glorification of unhealthy relationship dynamics, but fans found an intoxicating escapism in Hardin's brooding vulnerability and Tessa's transformative, if at times self-sacrificing, devotion. Each subsequent film – After We Collided, After We Fell, After Ever Happy – peeled back another layer of their shared trauma and individual struggles, promising growth while often delivering familiar cycles of heartbreak and reconciliation.
After Everything deviates from its predecessors in a significant way: it largely shifts focus. While Tessa (Josephine Langford) remains a spectral presence, the narrative lens zooms almost entirely onto Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) in the aftermath of their most devastating split. He is a man adrift, grappling with writer's block, the public fallout of his memoir, and a crushing loneliness that even his familial relationships struggle to penetrate. The film finds him holed up in Portugal, a desperate pilgrimage to confront a past mistake – his betrayal of Natalie Vance (Mimi Keene), a girl he once hurt in a cruel dare. This journey is presented as Hardin's last, best hope for redemption, not just with Natalie, but with himself, and by extension, with Tessa.
The "hype" surrounding After Everything is a peculiar beast. For the uninitiated, or even the casually acquainted, there is likely no hype at all. The series, for all its success, has remained largely confined to its niche, a guilty pleasure for some, a perplexing cultural phenomenon for others. But for the devoted "Hessa" shippers, the "Afternators," the release of After Everything carries the weight of a narrative pilgrimage. They seek closure, not just for the characters, but for their own emotional investment. They want to see Hardin finally heal, to earn the peace and maturity that has eluded him for so long, and to either reunite with Tessa on stable ground or find a way to move forward with a semblance of peace.
And it is here that After Everything attempts to deliver. The film is noticeably slower, more introspective, and less reliant on the explosive drama that defined earlier installments. It tries to portray a Hardin who is genuinely attempting to evolve, to atone, to understand the roots of his self-destructive behavior. Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who has embodied Hardin through five films, brings a weary sincerity to this iteration of the character, a man weighed down by his past, desperate for a clean slate. The interactions with Natalie are key; they are not about rekindling romance, but about accountability, forgiveness, and the painful process of confronting one's younger, crueler self.
However, the question of "worth" is always subjective. For those who found the repetitive toxic cycles of Hardin and Tessa exhausting even in the earlier films, After Everything offers little to convert them. The emotional stakes, while deeply personal for Hardin, lack the epic, all-consuming passion that initially drew audiences in. The absence of Tessa for much of the film, while narratively justified for Hardin’s individual journey, might leave some fans feeling shortchanged, longing for more of the central dynamic. The resolution, when it finally arrives, feels earned for Hardin's character arc, but perhaps less viscerally satisfying for those who craved one last grand, dramatic gesture.
Ultimately, After Everything is less a roaring final chapter and more a quiet, contemplative epilogue. It prioritizes Hardin’s individual growth over the couple’s volatile romance, shifting the series from a story about passionate entanglement to one about personal redemption. For the loyal fanbase who have seen Hardin at his worst and yearned for him to find his best, this final installment serves as a necessary, if not spectacular, bookmark. It provides a measure of peace and a hint of a healthier future, finally allowing the characters – and by extension, the audience – to exhale. Is it worth the hype? For the dedicated, it’s a required viewing, a final, gentle push towards the closure they’ve patiently awaited. For everyone else, it’s a quiet farewell to a tumultuous love story that, for better or worse, left an indelible mark on a generation of romance enthusiasts.
