To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before premiered on Netflix in 2018 and quickly became a hit with rom-com fans and fans of teen comedies. The sweet story of Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky's (Noah Centineo) romance awoke the YA fan in all of us. Netflix, knowing a hit when it sees one, began working on the next two films in the series, To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You and To All The Boys: Always and Forever.
To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You premiered in 2020, and To All The Boys: Always and Forever premieres February 12, 2021. Always and Forever is slated to be the final To All The Boys movie for Netflix. Viewers will get to watch how it all ends for Lara Jean and Peter. Before Always and Forever premieres, let’s look at some key things to remember from the first two films.
Warning To All The Boys spoilers about the first two movies ahead, and some minor book spoilers.
Lara Jean Wrote Five Letters For Five Guys In To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Lara Jean has a habit of writing a love letter every time that she falls in love. Over her sixteen years on earth, she’s written love letters to five guys, including Peter--her first kiss. However, the most important letter (at this time) was to Josh Sanderson (Israel Broussard), one of her best friends and older sister Margot's (Janel Parrish) boyfriend.
Lara Jean fell in love with Josh before he started dating Margot. Her love for him grew over the years, but once Josh started dating Margot, he became off-limits romantically. Lara Jean’s younger sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) decides to send all the letters in hope of getting Lara Jean a boyfriend, but this causes some major issues between Josh and Lara Jean. Now that he knows her feelings for him, things are a bit awkward between them.
Peter And Lara Jean’s Romance Started Off Fake In To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Peter is the reason that Lara Jean first discovers that all her letters have been sent out. He confronts her about them, and then Josh shows up carrying his letter. Lara Jean kisses Peter so Josh will leave before they can discuss the letter. The kiss sparks an idea in Peter’s head. He wants to make his ex-girlfriend Gen (Emilija Baranac) jealous and Lara Jean needs to keep Josh away from her, so Peter suggests they fake a romance.
This new fake romance comes with a set of rules, including no kissing, a future ski-trip, and love letters from Peter.
Peter’s Relationship With Ex-Girlfriend Gen Caused Trouble In His Romance With Lara Jean
Despite being broken up, Gen still holds a special place in Peter’s heart. She was his first everything, except maybe kiss. This presents a constant issue for Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship. In To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Peter starts his fake romance with Lara Jean with the intention of having it help him get Gen back. Therefore, Lara Jean is confused about Peter’s feelings for her. In the second movie, Peter continues to have a friendship with Gen, despite Lara Jean being his girlfriend.
He also doesn’t tell Lara Jean everything going on with Gen and him. This creates some distrust, insecurity, and miscommunication in Peter and Lara Jean’s relationship. To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You seemed to offer some resolution to the Gen, Peter, and Lara Jean drama. Lara Jean admitted that she was the one being obsessed with Peter’s past with Gen, not him.
Gen and Lara Jean also seemed to have a moment of understanding and forgiveness towards the end of the film. This may mean the Gen, Lara Jean, and Peter drama is not an issue in To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
John Ambrose Tried To Sweep Lara Jean Off Her Feet In To All The Boys 2
Another problem in Lara Jean and Peter’s romance was other letter recipient John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher). In To All the Boys: P.S I Still Love You, John Ambrose and Lara Jean end up volunteering at the same senior residential home, Belleview. Being together, Lara Jean starts to remember why she liked John Ambrose so much when they were younger, and wonders if he may be the boy for her.
However, they share a kiss at the end of P.S I Still Love You and Lara Jean goes running back to Peter. Slight book spoiler coming up… John Ambrose is barely in Jenny Han’s third book in the To All the Boys series. He makes a brief appearance but nothing significant, except giving Team John fans hope that Lara Jean and he will end up at college together at some point in the next four years. So it’s unlikely that John Ambrose will be in the third film. He may only appear if Lara Jean is still volunteering at Belleview. In the book, he didn’t volunteer there. He was Stormy's (Holland Taylor) grandson and that was his connection to Belleview.
We’ll have to wait to see if To All the Boys: Always and Forever gives John Ambrose a cameo appearance, keeps him out of Always and Forever, or makes his part bigger in the final film. The second and third films were filmed together, so there is a chance that director Michael Fimognari utilized having Jordan Fisher already on set.
Lara Jean’s Dad Began A Relationship With Neighbor Trina Rothschild In To All The Boys 2
Lara Jean’s dad (John Corbett)’s crush on new neighbor Trina Rothschild (Sarayu Blue) was a brief point in To All the Boys: P.S I Still Love You but it became a main part in the third To All the Boys book. Their relationship became much more serious and Margot wasn’t happy about it. From the To All the Boys 3 trailer, we can see a slight spoiler in it that shows it keeps a major storyline about Trina and Dr. Covey from the Always and Forever book. This means their relationship should play a bigger role in the new movie.
Peter Discussed His Absent Father In To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Peter discussed in the first To All the Boys film that his father decided to leave the family a few years ago. He now has a new family that he treats better. Peter’s father and his parent’s divorce was only briefly mentioned in P.S I Still Love You, but another slight book spoiler, Peter’s father’s absence is a big component of the third To All the Boys book. It should play a significant role in To All The Boys: Always and Forever too.
Peter And Lara Jean Were Still In The Early Stages Of Their Relationship By The End Of To All The Boys 2
The timeline between the first two films suggests that they happened anywhere from a few weeks to a few months apart. However, To All the Boys: Always and Forever takes place in Lara Jean and Peter’s senior year. The first film starts off at the beginning of junior year, which means Lara Jean and Peter have been dating about a year or longer in the third film. Their relationship is very much established. To All the Boys: P.S I Still Love You ended with Lara Jean saying that this was just the beginning of her story with Peter, and with them very much happy and in love.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever deals a lot with what post-high school life looks like for Peter and Lara Jean as a couple and as individuals.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of the most popular teen romantic movies released in the last ten years, so many will be sad to say goodbye to this one. Say goodbye to Lara Jean and Peter (for now) on February 12. Stream To All the Boys: Always and Forever on Netflix here.
