Spoilers Ahead!
The sequel to All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was released on February 12, 2020, which resulted in me dropping everything I had in order to watch this movie. The complicated love life of Lara Jean is seen once again in this movie while she seems to get herself in a love triangle with her new beau, Peter Kavinsky, and childhood crush, John Ambrose McClaren. The sudden return of John Ambrose causes Lara Jean to rethink her current relationship with Peter as she is full of many different emotions, such as confusion and insecurities. Ultimately, Lara Jean has to make a decision between Kavinsky and McClaren where she ends up picking Kavinsky… but was he the right choice? Let’s discuss the pros and cons of both guys.
Let’s start with Peter Kavinsky, as there is so much to say about him. To begin with the pros, it is important to mention how family oriented he is. When picking up Lara Jean for their first date, he gave her little sister, Kitty, her favorite flower while promising their father to get Lara Jean back at 11:00. I mean, I could not stop from aww’ing during this sweet moment. He even attended Lara Jean’s traditional “Fakesgiving” with her family where he seemed very comfortable. He also remembers the small things, which will clearly make any girl happy. She mentions in the beginning of the movie how she despises driving in the snow, and in the end of the movie where she is at the Star Ball and it is snowing outside, he is outside ready to drive her home to prevent her from driving in the snow. Oh, the little things really do make a difference.
While there are pros to Kavinsky, we cannot forget about the cons. Let’s start off with the fact that he still keeps in touch with his ex-girlfriend, Gen. When Lara Jean tells Peter about her plans of having their old friend group reunite to dig up their buried time capsule, he asks about inviting Gen, to which Lara Jean refuses. Regardless of Lara Jean’s refusal, Peter still mentions the hang out to Gen, which ends up with her showing up anyways. Also, when Gen was upset about her parents separating, she went to Peter, where he comforted her without Lara Jean knowing. Tensions really start to rise when Lara Jean finds a picture of Peter and Gen getting close in a hot tub. Peter clearly still has a soft spot for Gen, which causes Lara Jean to be very insecure. It is devastating to feel as though you cannot compare to another girl, and this is exactly how Lara Jean felt throughout the film due to Peter keeping a connection with his ex-girlfriend. I think we should also mention how Peter totally plagiarized Edgar Allan Poe’s poem and recited it to Lara Jean… talk about unoriginality.
Enough about Peter, let’s talk more about John Ambrose McClaren. He is very similar to Lara Jean in numerous ways. For one, he does not try to fit in with a crowd and is okay with being himself, which is seen at the costume party he and Lara Jean went to as children. While everyone dressed in trendy costumes, he dressed up as a deviled egg which matched Lara Jean’s french toast costume, and they ended up sitting outside the party together. Can we also mention that he reads books, plays the piano, and enjoys helping people? Who wouldn’t adore a guy like John? It is evident he truly cares for Lara Jean and has since he was younger. Overall, John is a sweet, brainy guy that is hard not to fall for!
With not so much screen time, it is hard to think of any cons for John. If I had to note any, I would mention his disappearance in Lara Jean’s life. When they grew up and went to different schools, he did not seem to keep in touch with her. Perhaps things would be much different if he and Lara Jean were in contact.
With every guy comes the good and the bad, and this is shown through Peter and Johns’ characters. I am sure that the character of Lara Jean is relatable in many ways, and that she is certainly not the only girl who has found herself stuck in a love triangle. In the end, Lara Jean made her choice of sticking with her true love over her first love. Whether you are Team Peter or Team John, you cannot deny that you are excited for what the next movie has in store!