"The Kissing Booth 2" Doesn’t Give Elle Much of a Chance to Make Her Own Choice
*Major spoilers for The Kissing Booth 2 below!*
The Kissing Booth 2 had fans freaking out over everything that went down between Elle and her circle. Throughout the film, it seemed like Elle couldn't win with everything that was going on around her. From trying to keep the peace between her, Lee, and Rachel (who doesn't want her always hanging around), to also trying to figure out why her BF is keeping his new college experience from her, it seems like everything around her is decided by other people.
The ending of the movie also presents a big problem for her. After getting waitlisted at all the colleges that she had applied to, she finds out that she was actually accepted to both Harvard and Berkley. This leaves her having to make a choice: Does she go to Harvard so she can be with her BF Noah? Or does she follow the friendship rules she has with Lee and go to Berkeley to be with him? But what about a third option — one that Elle considers because it’s the right choice for her, not because she needs to follow one of the men in her life?
Typically, a future college student would look at what kind of programs colleges have to offer. Is it good for what she wants to study? Does it have a good school-life balance? How are the dorms? Is it close to any places she wants to intern? How are the study-abroad programs? What kind of notable alumni came from there? However, the only question that Elle seems to be asking when trying to make her decision is: which boy am I gonna make happy? It's also important to note that despite the fact that her decision is tied to these two boys, she did not get in because of them. It's no secret how hard it is to get into both schools and she was able to get in herself by her own merit.
Even when she discovers that she has been accepted to both colleges, she doesn't even have a smile on her face. There is not even a hint of relief that she will now be able to go to college after being waitlisted to all her choices. Instead, she is visibly worried about making this decision and how she'll end up hurting at least one of the guys she's closest with. As noted in The Kissing Booth 3 clip, she also hides the news from them as well. Even though the news of her acceptances should be a cause of celebration, she is putting the boys' feelings over her own accomplishments.
It's surprising that despite applying for colleges and trying to decide where she wants to go for the next four years, we still don't know what Elle plans to study while at college. The fact that we don't even have this information at all makes us wonder if the writers ever thought of that as well.
To be honest, I was surprised that when one of the judges at the dance competition was revealed to be a professor at USC's Interactive Media and Video Gaming Department, Elle didn't run to ask her questions about her future and the program. Instead, she tried to run out to talk to Noah after her kiss with Marco on-stage. With Elle's love of video games shown prominently throughout the movies, she hasn't talked about wanting to work on them in the future and turning it into a career. Especially with the lack of female representation in video games, particularly in a post-gamergate world, this could have been an opportunity to give younger viewers the chance to show that women can be interested in the gaming industry. Not only that, it just seems to put Elle's accomplishments and interests on the back burner, and making her singular focus an issue regarding two boys.
There's also the big question of Berkeley versus Harvard. Berkeley might not be an Ivy League school, but it holds a lot of sentimental value for Elle as it was her mother's alma mater. and it is one of the hardest public schools to get into. Meanwhile, one can also argue that Harvard's reputation and notoriety should put it over Berkeley. It's definitely a hard case to make for both schools and certainly complicates things for Elle in The Kissing Booth 3, as already seen in the clip that has been released.
But the most important question that we should all be asking is: What does Elle want? Without that, it's hard, as viewer, to be able to make a decision as to where we think she should go. And it's certainly not great that, at the end of the day, the decision is being presented by which boy should she follow for the next four years.
The Kissing Booth 3 has already been filmed, so the decision has already been made. Meanwhile, a third book hasn't been released yet, so fans still have to wait to find out what Elle is going to choose. But no matter what decision she makes, all we can hope for is that she puts herself and her future first. Not the boys that are putting her in this position in the first place.
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