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My Life With the Walter Boys: Why Does It End Differently? (Also, Comparisons With Summer I Turned Pretty)
*Spoilers Ahead*
Attention fans of teen drams! We know you can’t stop obsessing over Netflix’s latest teen drama: My Life With The Walter Boys! The show dropped on Netflix only recently and is currently trending on the top spot globally!
This latest teen drama tells the tale of 16-year-old Jackie, played by Nikki Rodriguez, who packs up her fancy life in New York City after losing her family to a tragic accident and moves to Silver Falls in rural Colorado and starts living with her legal guardians, the Walters.
It’s a ten-part series based on the novel of the same name. Ali Novak wrote the ten-part series and published it originally on Wattpad, and naturally, the story has literally everything anyone could want in a teen series: we are talking about plenty of drama and a major love triangle.
Basically, if you fell in love with The Summer I Turned Pretty then this one definitely needs to be on the top of your watch list.
And if you have spent your week on the couch binge-watching the first season just like we did and are already on the lookout for more, then you have come to the right place.
Scroll down to find out if season 2 is in the works and why the ending differed from the book. Oh, we have also discussed comparisons with The Summer I Turned Pretty!
Has Netflix Confirmed My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2?
At the moment, there has been no official confirmation from Netflix about My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2. But then again, the streaming giant just dropped the series on 7th December. And Netflix typically waits a while before announcing any season renewal, especially when the show is in its first season.
The show is based on a novel originally written by Ali Novak. Novak wrote an entertaining sequel for the novel, but that can easily change, considering the book has already been made into a show. Plus, the season finale and the book finale did not actually match.
However, the author did ask fans to keep up with her socials. It’s too early to make any promises about the show’s impending future. But she did ask fans to stay updated with her socials considering she will make future announcements on her socials.
The Possible Plotline For My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2:
Since Netflix has not confirmed a second season of My Life With The Walter Boys and the author has not written a sequel to the original novel, we are not really sure about the show’s trajectory going forward.
But since the season finale features Cole and Jackie kissing before she boards the plane to NYC, we are expecting the new season to pick up from where the first season ended.
My Life With the Walter Boys: Why Does It End Differently?
The first season of My Life with the Walter Boys ends with a cliffhanger (obviously!) The ending is absolutely different from the actual source material. In the season 1 finale, Alex tells Jackie that he is in love with her, but Jackie has nothing to say. Finally, a drunk Alex passes out before sharing a small moment with Kiley, his best friend.
When the wedding ends (of course, there is a wedding in the season finale – we love Wattpad!), Jackie discovers that Cole has fixed her sister’s broken tea mug and goes to express her thanks, but the two end up kissing.
But the very next day, Jackie leaves for NYC without informing anyone and leaving only a note behind. While this happens to be a significant change from how the book ended, there’s reason for it!
When the book ends, Alex overhears Cole and Jackie arguing, and Jackie even admits that she feels for Cole. So, Jackie and Alex break up, and there are no hard feelings with Alex even asking Jackie to leave for NYC with summer around the corner. The kiss between Cole and Jackie happens right after Jackie’s breakup with Alex.
Melanie Halsall, the showrunner, talked at length about the reason behind the major cliffhanger: “Episode 10 is about everything seems to be OK. We’ve had lots of ups and downs, but by Episode 10, everything’s settled down [..], and then I wanted to blow all that up. That was always my intention, to lead the audience down a certain path and then blow it all up.”
Why The Different Ending Work Out?
Changing the basic source material seems to be risky, but the show’s final change does work out. The open-ended finale sets up the right environment if a season 2 is announced. At the same time, the ending divides the audience into two teams (sorry, The Summer I Turned Pretty) fighting about the future of Jackie and the two Walter brothers.
Jackie resorting to cheating with Cole on Alex is a bad move, but that doesn’t really eliminate Alex from the picture – it just adds to the drama.
This also ends up preventing Cole and Jackie from becoming the end game now (but we know eventually that is exactly what will happen #sorrynotsorry). Plus, the cliffhanger provides the right amount of drama for the second season.
Showrunner Melanie Halsall On Comparisons With The Summer I Turned Pretty!
Of course, people are comparing My Life With the Walter Boys with The Summer I Turned Pretty – both shows are adapted from books depicting a teen woman falling for two brothers who differ from each other in terms of personality.
But what does Melanie Halsall have to say about that?
Here’s what she told Variety:
“The Summer I Turned Pretty is a great show. I think there’s room for two shows with that kind of theme. I don’t think it’s a bad comparison at all — I can understand why that is and why those parallels have been made. I think our show has a slightly different tone to it, and a slightly different mission. I think it’s a great show for people to watch while ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ isn’t on. I think people who love that show will love this show. So to me, I think it’s all great. I can’t get enough of teenage love triangles, so the more the merrier.”
As to why the show is resonating with the audience, Hallsal looks at the show as “a big cup of cocoa.” Pitched during the global pandemic, the show is a light-hearted coming-of-age story for everyone going through a difficult time. She said, “It’s complete escapism. It’s warm, it’s heartwarming, it’s about family… The warmth is really important to me. I think when you watch that, you can see the warmth come out, and that’s what I’m really proud of. I don’t think you can watch the show and feel anything other than happy, really.”
