LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- To All the Boys cast members Janel Parrish, Madeleine Arthur, Anna Cathcart and Ross Butler feel the sequels have complicated the relationship at the heart of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. They agreed that the end of the trilogy, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, shows just how challenging relationships can be.
"Love isn't perfect, just like nothing in life is," Arthur, who plays Chris in the films, told UPI in a Zoom interview. "There's a lot of growth through the second and third [films]."
To All the Boys I've Loved Before follows Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), who wrote five love letters to five of her crushes, but kept them in a box. Her younger sister, Kitty (Cathcart) mailed them, forcing Lara Jean to confront the boys.
The sequel, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You dealt with the challenges Lara Jean faced with Peter (Noah Centineo), the suitor she chose at the end of the first film. In Always and Forever, Peter and Lara Jean face going to different colleges after graduation. Peter is going to Stanford, so Lara Jean plans to go to nearby Berkeley, until she discovers NYU.
"I think it's cool [the movies] show honest, real relationships," Cathcart said. "People can relate to those. It's not always perfect, but it can work out and there can be ups and downs."
Through all three films, Lara Jean has had friends and family support her. Older sister Margot (Parrish), who went to college in Scotland, encourages her to pursue NYU, even though it is far away from Peter.
"I feel like in every movie I said, 'Just make sure that's what you want,'" the 32-year-old Parrish said. "She is gently letting Lara Jean know you just have to follow your own voice."
Lara Jean's best friend, Chris, also takes a gentle approach, Arthur said. The 23-year-old Arthur said Always and Forever gave Lara Jean and Chris more of a chance to explore their friendship, particularly on a class trip to New York.
"I feel like Chris is there for her and supports Lara Jean in whatever she chooses," Arthur said. "[She] also has kind of been the friend to kind of encourage her to step out of her comfort zone."
Ross Butler plays Peter's friend, Trevor. The 30-year-old encourages viewers to discuss the situation in which Peter and Lara Jean find themselves.
"What college you go to shouldn't depend on the person you're dating," Butler said. "College is where I think you meet your real life connections."
Chris and Trevor are a couple in Always and Forever. Chris was not looking for love like Lara Jean was, so Arthur said falling for Trevor surprised Chris.
"I think Chris is very independent," Arthur said. "It was really fun to play a character who just walks to the beat of her own drum, is not apologetic about it and doesn't care what anyone thinks."
Butler said actors improvised many of Trevor and Chris's flirtations. The actor said they continued to build on their natural chemistry in the third film during a scene in which Trevor picks up Chris for the prom.
"The banter between me and Madeleine in that scene is completely [improvised]," Butler said.
Lara Jean also gets a chance to pass the romantic torch to her younger sister in Always and Forever. Kitty meets a boy and sends him romantic texts.
Now that Cathcart is 17, she said she relates more to Lara Jean in the original film. Kitty, however, can ask Lara Jean and Peter for advice, since they've exchanged love letters before.
"I'm doing what my sister's been doing that I've seen her do for so many years," Cathcart said. "I have my own Peter in a way."
To All the Boys: Always and Forever premieres Friday on Netflix.
