Netflix has released the finale to Jenny Han’s trilogy To All the Boys: Always & Forever which brought all the feels – but with extra cheese.
Released on 12 February, this romantic comedy follows the trials and tribulations of young loves Lara Jean and Peter in their senior year of high school, whilst they struggle to decide which college to attend next year.
Many film productions have been halted due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic leading to speculations on social media about when the latest To All the Boys movie was filmed.
However, it has now been confirmed that the finale was filmed in summer 2019 a few months after they shot the second instalment To All the Boys: PS, I Still Love You.
The final instalment of the sequel starts off in South Korea, giving us all travel envy as we sit in our loungewear for another day in a national lockdown.
Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship is stronger than ever before, but their perfect plan of attending Stanford college together is demolished when Lara Jean’s application is declined.
A school trip to New York develops Lara Jeans love for NYU, yet she has also been accepted to Berkeley which is closer to Peter in Stanford.
New York is where Lara Jean finds her independence and realises that to be truly happy she needs to follow her own dreams, as much as she loves Peter.
The dilemmas Lara Jean has to tackle are – does she accept Berkeley to be closer to Peter or go to New York, 3,000 miles away from him?
At times, you can sense the tension between Lara Jean and Peter as they both fight to keep their relationship afloat while also trying to grow as individuals as they take the next step in their lives.
Throughout the whole film they feature every single type of love from true love, platonic and parental love as the teens attempt to find their way in life together.
This is the last book in Jenny Han’s trilogy of novels, therefore there is no fourth movie on the cards and the cast are already grieving their beloved characters.
Lana Condor – who plays Lara Jean – shared the heartbreak with her 10.2 million Instagram followers on Tuesday: “3 days till Lara Jean sees the world and Lana cries under her blanket for days because Lana has to say goodbye to LJ.”
The overall message of the film is that you have to follow your own path and that life does not always go to plan, but eventually everything will work out in the end.
As heart-warming as the storyline is – her relationship with Peter is undeniably your typical cheesy rom-com romance that makes you cringe at times.
Despite the cringey elements, it is worth a watch especially if you have been following the Netflix sequel since the beginning.
Ultimately, To All the Boys: Always & Forever is the perfect easy to watch film, especially while we are in lockdown.
Rating: 7/10
By Shannon Samecki
Feature image: USA Today