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The third and final installment in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series is upon us with Always and Forever. We last saw Lara Jean (Lana Condor) in last year’s P.S. I Still Love You, where she found herself stuck between choosing her first boyfriend, Peter (Noah Centineo), or old crush turned new flame, John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher). Now, with college just around the corner, Lara Jean finds herself having to decide whether she should pursue her college dreams with or without Peter.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was a surprise hit for Netflix. It gathered great traction through social media and quickly became one of their biggest hits, prompting Netflix to announce their intention to adapt the two final novels in Jenny Han’s YA series. The series dipped with the release of P.S. I Still Love You. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t live up to the expectations the first movie set. It’s safe to say that while Always and Forever isn’t as good as the first movie, it does come at a decent second place.
Lana Condor and Noah Centineo continue to have better on-screen chemistry than 99% of the other couples on television, and the twists their relationship takes in this installment makes it all the more believable. Some may tire of the will-they-won’t-they aspect that each film has carried, especially after the second film (where it felt forced), but Always and Forever displays the trope in a very realistic fashion, especially when you consider that most high school relationships don’t last long into college. Condor did a wonderful job at displaying just how torn and undecided Lara Jean has become — should she choose a college to benefit her relationship or should she decide for herself and travel across the country, thus ending her fairytale romance?
As someone who doesn’t particularly care for such movies, I thought Always and Forever was an investing experience because while I was hoping that Lara would stay with Peter, I also wanted her to choose what was best for herself and her life — even if it meant moving on. What she ultimately decides? You’ll have to watch and see for yourself.
Other than Lara’s romantic relationships, her friendships have also played a big part in each film, and that tradition continues. Returning to the fray includes Lara Jean’s best friend Chris (Madeleine Arthur), her boyfriend Trevor (Ross Butler), and Gen (Emilija Baranac), Lara’s former best friend and cousin to Chris. All three play a bigger role than they did in the previous films, as they too start to decide which road to take as they prepare to leave home for the first time and prepare for college. The only friendship I cared about before watching Always and Forever was exclusively focused on Lara and Chris, but that was mainly due to the fact that Chris is given the most attention.
This film does a great job at expanding our view of Lara Jean’s friendship circle and how much they mean to her. By the end of the film, I was just as interested in their decisions as I was Lara Jean’s and her family’s; and speaking of family…
We spend a good deal of time with the Covey family, just as we did in the two movies before, and they continue to be a joy to watch. Lara Jean’s father, Dr. Daniel Covey (John Corbett) has found love again with the next-door neighbour, Trina (Sarayu Blue). Eldest sister Margo (Janel Parrish) still makes fleeting appearances since her character is still studying in Scotland, but we get to see her a lot more than previously, and the youngest daughter, Kitty (Anna Cathcart) might have found someone she might like too. Together, the Coveys remain to be one of my favourite families on film, and the addition of Trina only makes them even more fun to watch, especially how she is not written as a stereotypical “evil stepmother” but rather as a kind and loving woman who cares for her newfound family.
We finally see Peter’s dad introduced and sadly, he’s not played by Mark Ruffalo who will “always and forever” be the obvious choice to play the father (or even an older version) of a Noah Centineo character, but Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House) does a decent enough job as Peter’s estranged father who is trying to make amends. The addition of Peter’s dad is a loose end introduced in the first film, and while the subplot is tied by the end of this film, I found the addition of him to be pretty redundant. With the audience so wrapped-up in Lara Jean’s story paired with Thomas’s abrupt appearance and little screentime, it makes his character seem all the more shoe-horned in. Had he been introduced in the second film, this would have been less of a problem.
And if I’m honest, that’s the only issue I had with the film. It’s a cute little film that’s an extremely easy watch and far superior to the second film, which was quite a disappointment. It gives us a satisfying end for nearly all of the characters while leaving the door open for a potential fourth film, something I actually really want because I don’t feel like the series is really finished.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has come a long way, and even if Always and Forever is the final installment, it’s safe to say that fans should feel great closure as the trilogy comes to a satisfying end that is neatly packaged in a delightful box, ready to be re-opened and re-watched whenever you’re feeling down.
