Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘My Life With the Walter Boys‘ begins with Jackie Howard’s arrival in Silver Falls, where she starts living with the Walter family after losing her own. In the first season, we see her fall for brothers Cole and Alex, but while her romance with Alex runs its course in Season 2, her feelings for Alex remain. Finally, they get together after experiencing an intense love triangle and other domestic troubles in the Walter household. But while it seems like the beginning of their happily ever after, things turn out to be much more complicated than that. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Cole Breaks Up With Jackie For Her Own Good
When Cole and Jackie get together, they become so engrossed in their romance that it starts to affect other things in their lives. They both find it difficult to focus on tasks that otherwise come much more easily to them. It doesn’t take them long to realize that they are each other’s distraction, so they decide to flip the script and help each other focus better. The plan works, and they both seem right back on track. Or at least, Cole does. While he discovers his love for drag racing and seems to be doing better at school than before, Jackie seems to be getting overwhelmed with everything. It is likely because she has her fingers in too many pies. She has her studies, her track practice, her new relationship with Cole, and, on top of that, she takes on the project of creating a community space.
At first, this pressure is limited to her, but then Grace’s party goes awry with Cole, Alex, and Jackie ending up in the back of a police car. This is when Richard reaches the limit of his frustration. He starts to worry that Jackie’s time with the Walters, particularly Cole, is pushing her on the wrong path. Or rather, it is pulling her away from the right one. When he shares this feeling with Jackie, she feels even more overwhelmed by the pressure others are now putting on her. As Richard points out her one failure after another, she starts to suffocate with the burden of being perfect. Cole notices she is struggling, but it isn’t until Richard talks to him that he connects her failures to himself.
Richard doesn’t mince his words when he says that Cole is a bad influence on Jackie. He reminds her of how well she had been doing before she got caught up with him. Then Eliot repeats it, which makes Cole feel worse. And then, Jackie misses her test because she prefers to spend time with him, and later, she reveals she is not going to Greece over the summer, which is what she had always wanted. Cole starts to see Richard and Eliot’s point of view, realizing how much Jackie’s previous plans have been influenced by him. He doesn’t want to be the one to hold her back, so he decides to get out of her life for good. Of course, he doesn’t share the real reason with her. Instead, he says some cruel things and breaks things off, leaving Jackie sad and confused.
A Tragedy Prevents Cole From Reuniting With Jackie
Even though he broke up with Jackie, Cole still feels just as heartbroken. He reverts to his sulky, brooding self again and even returns to self-sabotage. This includes getting into dangerous street races while completely ignoring the drag racing Mac had introduced him to. He also tries to keep his distance from Jackie, even moving out to Dylan’s house, but at the same time, he keeps tabs on her. His feelings are not hidden from anyone, which is why all his friends and loved ones are confused to learn he was the one who broke things off. Slowly, he starts to open up about his own inadequacies, and every single person tells him how wrong he has been in perceiving the whole situation.
It starts with Dylan, who decides to show Cole some tough love and face the consequences of his actions. Then Alex talks to him about how wrong it was for him to throw something so special away so easily. In the end, Cole even talks with his parents, and both George and Katherine agree that neither Richard nor Eliot is the authority on what’s right or wrong for Jackie. All these things, including the fact that he gets into university, give him the confidence to patch things up with Jackie. He even drops his race against Danvers at the last minute because being with the girl he loves is more important to him. Things probably would have mended between them the same night, but then something awful happens.
Danvers is angry with Cole for abandoning the race and leaving him in the lurch about the prize money he would’ve received for winning. His anger leads him to confront Cole on the road, and the encounter ends with Cole’s car getting flipped. At the same time, Eliot kisses Jackie, confirming his true feelings for her. This is where Season 3 ends, but despite everything, it is clear that Cole and Jackie are each other’s endgame. His accident will be a major setback to their reconciliation, but in the end, they will find their way back to each other. It remains to be seen how long that will take.
Read More: What Happened to Zach? Did Carson MacCormac Leave My Life With the Walter Boys?
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