that it could easily serve as a direct sequel to the 2018 original. With the rom-com dramatics behind them, high school seniors Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) are now firmly secure in their relationship and looking ahead to their plans for college. Their hope is to attend Stanford together—him on a lacrosse scholarship, her to study English lit. But when Lara Jean is rejected by the school, that picture-perfect future is suddenly a lot more uncertain. Always And Forever at first seems to be setting up a contrived storyline in which Lara Jean hides her Stanford rejection from Peter, maintaining an elaborate ruse like their own fake-date origin story. Thankfully, the film swerves to a more emotionally honest conflict instead. As her senior year unfolds, Lara Jean begins to realize that maybe she should choose her collegiate future based on more than just being near her boyfriend, dreamy as he may be.