Kissing Booth 3 Theory: Elle Chooses To Go To Harvard, Not Berkley
Elle puts off deciding what college she wants to go to — here's why she's more likely to choose Harvard over UC Berkley in The Kissing Booth 3.
Elle Evans (Joey King) will likely decide to go to Harvard instead of U.C. Berkley in The Kissing Booth 3. Netflix's teen movie series dropped its second installment two years after the first The Kissing Booth movie hit the platform in 2018. Based on the novels of the same name written by Beth Reekles, the end of the sequel film sets up the confirmed the third project with Elle having to choose what college to attend.
Unlike its predecessor, The Kissing Booth 2 had a more complicated story thanks to an expanded cast and focus on other characters than Elle. It started with Elle and Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi) making the most of their summer together, but things quickly spiraled from there after he left for college. Elle struggled to trust Noah while he's in Boston attending Harvard given his dating history, not to mention the introduction of Chloe Winthrop (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) who seemed to be specifically close to her boyfriend. Noah suggested that Elle applied to Harvard so they can be together, which she did behind Lee Flynn's (Joel Courtney) back — not wanting to tell him that she may not go to Berkley as they previously agreed upon. All hell broke loose once Lee found out about Elle's secret plan, while her suspicions over Noah's cheating grew stronger. It didn't help that during this tumultuous time, she grew incredibly close to The Los Angeles Country Day High School's newest hotshot, Marco Peña (Taylor Zakhar Perez).
In the end, every single plot complication in The Kissing Booth 2 was resolved. It turns out, Noah wasn't cheating with Chloe, they're just good friends, and Lee ultimately forgave Elle for keeping her college plans secret from him. That said, the sequel left one question left unanswered — where Elle goes to college, a mystery that's saved for The Kissing Booth 3. But, given everything that has happened in the first two films, there's a good chance that Elle goes to Harvard instead of Berkley.
Elle's falling out with both her boyfriend and best friend resulted in her finally cracking her college essay in The Kissing Booth 2. Instead of focusing on impressing the admissions officers, she kept her composition simple and reflective of how she really sees herself in the next five years. Before graduating, she received her letters from Berkley and Harvard, but not wanting to deal with them just yet, she decided to keep them unopened.
Noah came home to celebrate the graduation of Elle and Lee. With everything resolved among the three of them — as well as Lee's girlfriend, Rachel (Meganne Young), who previously didn't like that Elle was hanging around them so much — the group was simply happy about high school being over. That led to the Flynns asking Elle about the status of her Berkley and Harvard applications. Instead of telling the truth about getting the letters and opting to deal with them later, she lied instead — saying she's waitlisted in both schools. Later on, she decided to open the letters and discovered that she was accepted to both schools and forcing her to decide for herself where she'll study for college.
The cliffhanger effectively sets up The Kissing Booth 3 which is already confirmed for a 2021 release date. Instead of answering the lingering mystery up front, chances are that the threequel will make Elle's dilemma a pivotal plot point in the movie. With the school year over, perhaps The Kissing Booth 3 begins with Elle and the Flynns happily spending their summer together — just like how The Kissing Booth 2 started. However, once reality sinks in, Elle will have to eventually make the decision.
The Kissing Booth 2 didn't answer what school Elle is going to choose, and the idea that she's genuinely conflicted about the matter leaves the both options a possibility for the sequel. However, given how hard she worked to be financially able to move to Boston in case she gets accepted to Harvard, it's more likely that she will push through with that plan to be with Noah than stay in California and attend Berkley with Lee. It was clear in The Kissing Booth 2 that Elle was struggling with the idea of a long-distance relationship with Noah. Now they're able to rectify the situation with Elle moving to be closer to him, chances are that the pair will take the opportunity to be together. If Elle wasn't seriously considering the idea, she wouldn't have put in the time and effort — even begging for Marco — to help her win the Dance Revo contest. It's only fair that she gets to spend her hard-earned money for what it was supposed to be.
While this means breaking Rule No. 19 which states that Elle and Lee promise to go to the same college together, it's time that they acknowledge the fact that the set of rules they created when they're kids is outdated. Circumstances change and they can't be held hostage by their made-up rules and hindered in doing what they think is best for themselves - including going their separate ways for college. The Kissing Booth 3 will expectedly tackle Elle and Lee becoming full-grown adults, which could include the pair finally acknowledging how silly some of the rules they've come up with.
In terms of the overall story of the franchise thus far, it makes much more sense for Elle to choose Harvard over the Berkley in The Kissing Booth 3. The second film already tackled what a long-distance relationship between her and Noah would be like. Granted that both still have a lot of things to learn when it comes to making their relationship work despite being on opposite ends of the country, putting them in a similar situation that they were in The Kissing Booth 3 would be repetitive and boring for viewers.
On the flip side, separating Elle from Lee would be a new scenario that either of the previous films has tackled; in fact, both movies reiterated how they've been inseparable since birth. This became a major issue between Lee and Rachel in The Kissing Booth 2 when the couple barely got any time together without Elle around them. Overall, it's just a much more interesting narrative route to see how Elle and Lee would cope with being apart from each other. It also poses more opportunities to further explore the romance between Elle and Noah. Since the couple didn't really get to spend much time together in the aftermath of their relationship being outed in the first film, reuniting them in Boston would allow The Kissing Booth 3 to delve more into their dynamic with the upcoming film revealing whether or not they're in it for the long haul.