Tamal Kundu
With the release of ‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever,’’ the cinematic adaptation of Jenny Han’s 2017 novel ‘Always and Forever, Lara Jean,’ Netflix’s highly successful teen romance saga comes to a memorable and heart-warming conclusion. The film revolves around the ever-changing relationship between Lara Jean “LJ” Song Covey (Lana Condor) and her boyfriend, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), as they maneuver through the last year of high school together.
These three films’ primary demographic have grown up with the characters and will likely watch on with a bittersweet feeling as Lara Jean and Peter resolutely try their best to ensure that their relationship will become something more worthwhile than a high-school romance. But adulting is a complicated process, and you don’t always end up where you initially wanted because what you want is also rapidly evolving. Here is everything you need to know about the movie’s ending. SPOILERS AHEAD.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever Plot Synopsis
Lara Jean and Peter seem to have all figured out. They have been dating for most of their high-school years and are now ready to take it to the next stage: attending college together. But when Peter gets accepted into Stanford through a lacrosse scholarship and Lara Jean reads dreaded phrases like “regret to inform you” and “cannot offer you admission” in the university’s response e-mail, the latter starts worrying that their relationship will soon end.
Luckily, Lara Jean has also applied to other undergraduate programs and receives a positive answer from UC Berkeley before she can break the bad news about Stanford to Peter. They develop new plans, which involve Lara Jean attending Berkeley for a year before transferring to Stanford. They tell themselves that they have gone through a lot together and can definitely survive a year studying at two different universities. They promise that they will see each other every weekend in San Francisco.
With the prospect of a future together back on track, the couple visits New York with other students from their school, and something unexpected happens: Lara Jean falls in love with the city. She also becomes interested in the English literature program at NYU. So, when she is ultimately accepted at that university, it creates a dilemma in her mind. She genuinely wants to go to New York but not at the expense of losing Peter.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever Ending: What Does Lara Jean Choose?
From the moment they started fake dating (as shown in ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’), the connection between Lara Jean and Peter has been electrifying. After Kitty’s (Anna Cathcart) meddling, the two began an actual relationship. A lot has happened since then. They have survived their insecurities and attraction to other people. When the film begins, they seem to be on solid ground. Lara Jean is visiting her late mother’s side of the family in Seoul, South Korea. Even the short time apart is making her and Peter deeply miss one another.
When Lara Jean learns that Stanford has rejected her application, she starts panicking, believing that the relationship will now die a gradual death. It takes Kitty’s admonishment to pull Lara Jean out of her typical sensationalism and rationally approach the issue. When Lara Jean gets into Berkeley, the problem appears to have solved itself. After all, Stanford and Berkeley are only an hour apart by car.
Lara Jean and Peter sincerely believe that they can make it work. But then New York throws a wrench into all their carefully-crafted plans. Until she discovers that pamphlet on her family’s kitchen counter, NYU is a wistful dream. But when she does, it becomes a reality that she just can’t ignore. Her father (John Corbett) tells her that she can’t “save this relationship by not growing.” And that is what she initially decides to do. She fears that the relationship will not survive the 3,000 miles of distance and attempts to forget everything about New York, even though trying to do so makes her quite miserable.
Ultimately, Lara Jean decides that New York and her relationship with Peter are equally important to her and refuses to give up on either of them. Driven by her inherent optimism and heeding her stepmother’s advice (Sarayu Blue), she chooses to enjoy the final few weeks of her high-school life.
When Lara Jean tells Peter about her decision to attend NYU, he outwardly takes it well. Ever the supportive boyfriend, he accepts that as he can’t let go of Stanford, she shouldn’t have to let go of NYU. But deep inside, he believes that this adds to the tally of people not choosing him over other things. Peter’s father (Henry Thomas) left him and his mother when Peter was still a child and married another woman and had children.
Since then, Peter has harbored a sense of resentment towards his father. And some of this anger gets directed towards Lara Jean after her revelation. On the prom night, he misconstrues her gift and her decision to sleep with him for the first time as her ways of saying goodbye to him, completely forgetting that romance for Lara Jean has always been about grand gestures. She hasn’t been seeking to add a note of finality to their whirlwind romance when she invites him to her bedroom; she does so because she feels that the moment is perfect for it.
During a candid conversation with his father in which the older man says he should have tried harder to be a part of Peter’s life, Peter realizes that he should do the same for Lara Jean. Love is not just about respecting each other’s wishes. It also encompasses the willingness to work towards a mutually satisfying goal. Peter and Lara Jean shouldn’t give up on their love fearing what might happen in the future. As their feelings for each other are demonstrably real, they can potentially make the physical distance between them immaterial. Lara Jean has understood this for a while, but it finally takes Peter some time to comprehend it.
What Is the Significance of the Contract?
Their fake relationship started with a contract. It’s only appropriate that they would begin the latest chapter of their lives with another contract. This time around, the role reverses, and Peter is the instigator. In the contract letter, he recalls their first meeting, something that Lara Jean has forgotten, revealing that they too have their “meet-cute” moment.
The contract reinforces their commitment to each other, regardless of their physical distance. As long as both are on the same page about their relationship and prepared to do the hard work, nothing will break them apart. Lara hears a song called “Beginning Middle End” at an NYU party while visiting New York. She wants it to be her’s and Peter’s song, but the latter is reluctant, as to him, it represents her inevitable departure. Later, however, Peter comes to share Lara Jean’s view on the song. For them, it serves as a promise that they will be together, always, forever.
Before they part ways, Lara Jean and Peter spend the night together. He takes the gift box she gave him with him to Stanford, except for the pictures they took at the photo booth, which go to New York with her. The film acknowledges that the audience might feel skeptical about the relationship’s survival but then declares its two lead characters to be unique. It circles back to the beginning of the trilogy to reference the love letters, which now will serve as one of the modes of communication between Lara Jean and Peter.
Read More: Where Was To All the Boys: Always and Forever Filmed?
