To All the Boys: Always and Forever

To All the Boys: Always and Forever

Phoebe Lee, Writer

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead!*

To all the Boys: Always and Forever (2021) is the third movie of the To All the Boys series. Written by Jenny Han, a New York Times best-selling author, and directed by Susan Johnson (1st movie) and Michael Fimognari (2nd/3rd movie), this series has become a Netflix favorite. Lana Condor, who plays Lara Jean Song Covey, and Noah Centineo, who plays Peter Kavinsky, have amazing chemistry both in the films and outside them, which has made fans very invested in their relationships throughout the years.

The series is about a smart, romantic teenager named Lara-Jean (LJ). LJ’s love letters are sent out by her little sister which sparks a relationship with one of the boys to whom she’s written letters: Peter Kavinsky, a jock. The two start fake dating to make both LJ’s crush, her older sister’s boyfriend, and Peter’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, Gen (LJ’s ex-best friend), jealous. Eventually, they become official. The movies reveal the ups and downs of their relationships. In the second movie, one of LJ’s other crushes who received the letter appears and confesses his love for her. Although they only went to Model UN together, they end up working at the same volunteering home and a love-triangle begins.

In the third movie, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” things get even more intense. The movie starts off with LJ and her older sister Margot (Janel Parrish), little sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart), father Dr. Covey (John Corbett), and their neighbor/new stepmom Trina (Sarayu Rao) in South Korea for spring break. They explore the country, specifically Seoul, and the film accumulates many scenes at fun tourist spots and delicious restaurants! 

When LJ comes back home, she waits to hear from Stanford, the school she and Peter both plan to go to. Peter was accepted through a lacrosse scholarship, while Lara Jean hopes to study English Literature there. They are both seniors thinking about their future together at college, only to find out LJ gets denied. She gets accepted into Berkley though, and the two plan to spend weekends together before LJ’s intended transfer as a sophomore. Things are going great until their senior trip to New York City. Lara Jean applied to NYU because her older sister said she might like it due to their nice library. Lara Jean and Peter hang around the city at night. The next day, LJ and her best friend Chris (Madeleine Arthur) explore the city and LJ absolutely falls in love with it. Until they saw the NYU flags, Lara Jean didn’t know Manhattan was the school’s campus. LJ goes to an NYU party and realizes this is where she belongs. When everyone returns home, LJ finds out she got into NYU! Peter is excited for her until Lara Jean breaks the news to him that she won’t transfer to Stanford. He’s extremely upset but to cheer him up, LJ gets him a gift box full of memories of their relationship. LJ plans to hang out with him after, but Peter breaks up with her after thinking the gift was a goodbye gift. Peter leaves Lara Jean in tears and carries on with his senior year. 

At the end of the movie, LJ’s dad and Trina, their new stepmom, get married and host a vibrant wedding in their backyard. Peter was supposed to be LJ’s plus one but since the couple broke up, he didn’t go. As the wedding comes to a close and everyone goes home, LJ finds Peter in the wedding tent and he immediately apologizes. No matter all the stories about high school couples breaking up before college, the two realize they aren’t like those other couples and will last forever.