‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’ is a Fitting Final Chapter

Watching the third chapter in the To All the Boys saga, Always and Forever, the expectation is one of diminishing returns: How often can you throw a wrench into the dreamy mechanics of the perfect high school couple and be moved by their solving it? I imagine the challenge of writing its finale, Always and Forever, was finding yet another conflict that is threatening enough to spark genuine drama but benevolent enough not to undermine the anchoring characteristics of its two stars, Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo), as two aggressively adorable, thoughtful, well-intentioned lovers. Fortunately, the Michael Fimognari-directed To All the Boys: Always and Forever strikes that balance by facing the couple against the natural evolution an any high school romance: choosing a college. When college prospects give Lara Jean and Peter different options, the two have to decide how to navigate their love for each other with making the right choices for themselves as individuals. Such an organic conflict allows both Lara Jean and Peter to remain perfect–almost too perfect–as the big-hearted duo you’re cheering for and paves the way for one of a few anchor moments that make the film memorable. Different from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and its sequel P.S. I Still Love You, this one sets itself apart as a travel movie as Lara Jean’s family visits Korea and returns to Portland just before Lara Jean and her senior class take a trip to a pre-pandemic Ne…