‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’ is a story of love, relationships and growing up. The end of high school marks big changes, leaving Lara Jean wondering whether her relationship with Peter Kavinsky can persevere through life changes. The movie focuses on adolescence and the struggle of holding on to our first love.
But I’m going to go further, as the story of Lara Jean and Peter has in many ways helped bring back one of the most romantic gestures ever invented by humans: love letters.
What is more charming than receiving a love letter?
Nowadays, with texting and instant messaging, we have lost one of the most enchanting, poetic forms of showing someone we love them. Be that as it may, Netflix Trilogy “To All the Boys”, revives this romantic gesture through the creative, main character Lara Jean.
We first met Lara Jean as a naïve romantic, daydreaming of stealing a kiss from her crush. In the first movie, whenever she fell hard for a boy, she would passionately write. Expressing how she felt in a love letter, which she never intended to send. This was a way for Lara Jean to express how she felt, knowing she could still keep her feelings a secret. Through her writing, Lara Jean lived out her fantasy. Unexpectedly, her letters actually nudged her towards her high school sweetheart Peter. A personalized, handwritten love letter was critical in the foundation of Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship. Through her writing, Lara Jean unintentionally captivated not only Peter, but the audience.
Who else now goes to the stationary section, inspired to write a letter just like Lara Jean? I do. Expressing ourselves in a love letter, lets your partner know how much you care, that goes beyond a text and this is apparent throughout the trilogy, to the very end.
Although the movie doesn’t end the way we want it to, we see the sincerity and tenderness of Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship, expressed in writing. The senior year books became another form of writing a letter, when Peter wrote about their memorable ‘meet-cute’, which melted our hearts. LJ + P relationship ends poetically, leaving intact their love and the ability to grow individually.
Now more than ever, writing letters has become a need, you never knew you needed. As we spend time away from our loved ones, taking time to send a letter can revive the romantic inside.
Watching the TATB series, definitely is inspiring when it comes to old fashion love letters. We would have never known exhilaration of writing, sending and waiting for a letter, if it weren’t for Lara Jean.