Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Lara Jean wakes up unsure if she and Peter are in a fight. She goes to the store for ingredients (and extra carrots) and then to the boys’ house to make French toast for him, but he refuses to break his workout regime. All the others eat, but he won’t, so she drives back to the house with his toast and gives it to Chris. It is the last night of Beach Week, there’s a cookout and everyone brings the leftovers from their fridges.

She ends up in a conversation with one of Genevieve’s friends, who asks if she really thinks she’ll stay together with Peter during college. For once, Lara Jean isn’t sure, but she has to put on a brave face in front of Genevieve’s friends. The three of them continue to discuss long distance relationships. Internally, Lara Jean compares this to what happened with Margot when she went off to college, but she reasons it’s easier for sisters to bounce back. If Peter is already being distant toward her, she wonders how they’ll handle the distance next year. She slips out of the conversation, finds Peter, and asks him if he’d like to leave. They are walking back to her house quietly when Peter asks if she’s still mad at him. He admits he’s been in a “weird mood” and is visibly relieved she’s not angry, though he does apologize.

In bed together, Lara Jean realizes she is ready for sex. She assures Peter she’s not drunk and asks him to play Frank Ocean. Suddenly, she jumps up and goes into the bathroom to change into her pretty underwear. She gets out a condom but just as they are about to start, he questions whether she’s doing this because of their fight, and why she’s chosen Peter to be her first. Peter stops and tells her he doesn’t want to have sex now—he has a lot on his mind. They start talking about UNC and whether Lara Jean still has any plans to transfer, and Peter decides to leave. When he’s gone, Lara Jean cries.

Packing up in the morning, Peter doesn’t come to pick Lara Jean up, so she rides home with the girls from her house. The next day, he sends her a text saying he’s sorry and he wants to make things work. They make plans to meet up. Lara Jean gets a call from Peter’s mother asking her to come over to discuss something, so she drives over. Peter’s mother tells her he came back from Beach Week talking about transferring to UNC. She is worried about him because of his athletic scholarship and tuition fees. Lara Jean says she will tell him not to transfer, but Peter’s mom’s concerns run deeper than that. She is afraid her son is losing focus, and as a student athlete, he cannot afford to be driving down to North Carolina to visit his girlfriend every weekend. Without saying it directly, Lara Jean realizes his mom is asking her to break up with Peter before school starts; she also asks that Lara Jean keep their conversation between the two of them.

When she gets home, her family is discussing where to go for dinner, and she contemplates skipping it. Margot suggests Korean, but they know Trina doesn’t have a sophisticated palate. They decide to go anyway, but the two younger sisters find themselves defending Trina to Margot. Margot is afraid of losing her heritage when they marry, but Lara Jean reminds her they’ll be eating Korean food every day in July. Margot continues to complain about Trina’s belongings, and Kitty snaps back. Margot puts on a brave face but leaves to cry upstairs; then, Kitty is crying downstairs, and Lara Jean feels like crying, but she has to keep it together for the others. Peter texts to meet up, but she tells him about family dinner and reassures him they’ll see each other after the bachelor and bachelorette parties the following night. Kitty and Margot make up.

Lara Jean is painting her nails upstairs with Margot when she confesses it’s not just Trina, it’s that her whole family has changed without her. They reason that Trina’s relationship with their father has been good for Kitty, though they mourn for the loss of their mother. Margot cries for the second time and jokes about it being unlike her. She notices that Lara Jean has seemed unhappy since returning from Beach Week. Lara Jean wants to tell her, but she holds back, knowing Margot will tell her not to go to college with a high school boyfriend; it was her mom’s advice and she knows it would be Margot’s as well.

The theme of the bachelorette party is the nineties, and everyone is getting dressed for it. Kristen arrives and puts on the music before pouring a cocktail and inspecting Lara Jean’s outfit. As Trina’s friends arrive, Lara Jean notices similarities between their outfits and what is fashionable now among her peers at school; she considers that “fashion really is cyclical.” Lara Jean gets a photo of her father and Peter on their way to the steakhouse and questions his mother’s request to distance herself from him.

At the karaoke bar, they have a private room. Margot orders a drink, and Trina notices but chooses to stay silent. Margot offers to share it with Lara Jean, and she’s apprehensive but takes an enjoyable sip. The drinks help to loosen everyone up, and soon people are singing. As the women drink more, Lara Jean has a few more sips, and then an entire martini. Trina soon recognizes that she is drunk, but before much can be done, the bachelor party has arrived from the steakhouse. Lara Jean focuses her attention on Peter, who recognizes the situation and gets her away before her father notices.

Lara Jean realizes how much they love each other, and in that moment decides she has to tell him her new opinion that they shouldn’t begin college in a long-distance relationship. Immediately, Peter recognizes his mom’s influence over Lara Jean at work. He is upset and tries to leave. He believes that since Beach Week, she’s been trying to turn them into a series of nice memories—closing a chapter of her life. Lara Jean doesn't agree, but she goes along with it. As soon as he leaves, Lara Jean throws up just as her family exits the bar. When her father tries to blame Trina, Margot unexpectedly backs her up. In the car, Lara Jean cries and tells her father that she broke up with Peter. He comforts her, but she believes she made the right decision.