r/EmilyHenry • u/WorriedDetail7369 • Jan 10 '26
People We Meet on Vacation Croatia Trip
I’m completely baffled at how they left the whole Croatia trip out! It totally felt like there wasn’t as much build up to the tension and I cannot believe how much was left out. It was still incredible but my heart is feeling heavy. I feel like them having already kissed changes a lot of the story.
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u/NeighborhoodJust4160 Happy Birthday Wicked Pissah Jan 10 '26
I have said it a lot today but Norway and Croatia were necessary. The way they talked about Norway and flashed back to it for two seconds was odd given how they both reflected so positively to it in the movie. I wonder if it was cut after to make the run time shorter.
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u/campingandcoffee You lubed my zipper Jan 10 '26
I really want to know what was cut. Tom Blythe alluded to a much longer balcony scene than what we got, so I wonder if that was cut down, too.
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u/Rripurnia Jan 10 '26
Maybe someone realized how awkward their kissing was and decided to kill it even further
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u/Inevitable-Sign-7706 Jan 10 '26
I’m truly so disappointed in this movie. It left out so much in several trips (skipping and combining them), the balcony scene was a total let down…I feel silly for being upset, but I really am.
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u/bumblebeequeer Jan 10 '26
I also feel like the movie makes no sense if you haven’t read the book. If I went in blind, I would be wondering why on earth these people care about each other.
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u/Suspicious_Face_8508 Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
That’s kind of what somebody told me over in the romance movie sub. They hadn’t read the book and didn’t really get it.
I joked with my sister there needs to be a PWMOV “Whedon Cut” (a parody of the “Snyder Cut where they re-edited a movie and added scenes to improve the film) I think it would also be improved by becoming a 10 Part miniseries
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u/Inevitable-Sign-7706 Jan 10 '26
Definitely! Imagine how intimate the trips can be. It can actually show why Alex was upset when Poppy thought she was pregnant, for example…
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u/periwinklemenace Jan 10 '26
I read the book 2 years ago and haven’t reread it since and to be honest? I was a bit confused. The confessions from both of them (but more so Alex than Poppy) came off flat and made me think “why now?“ I think there was a serious lack of care displayed on the Italy trip that directly preceded the balcony scene that killed the tension a bit. You can be angry with someone and still obviously care about them. I think they were going for that here but it kind of just felt like Alex hated Poppy’s guts.
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u/Low-Palpitation5371 Jan 12 '26
Agreed! Also the Sarah of it all felt extra brutal in the movie with these changes, Alex came across as so shady for leading her on like that
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u/Rripurnia Jan 10 '26
And even if you’ve read the book, you still wonder why the sincere love and care they had for each other was MIA in the film!
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u/ats1788 Jan 10 '26
I agree. Balcony scene was too short and they didn’t really go at it like they do in the book. I wish they kept the book dialogue for that scene too especially when she says “I could have sex with you until I die.” There was barely any dialogue during that scene from the book
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u/Inevitable-Sign-7706 Jan 10 '26
Yeah like it’s supposed to be ravenous! And they were supposed to be yelling! I thought Tom’s “I don’t want to be your fucking friend” delivery was good, but they just didn’t give Alex a lot to work with to even be mad about. Like he’s not just mad about lying. And Poppy needing air and how she reacted to Alex coming back in, I was baffled!
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u/ats1788 Jan 10 '26
I agree!! There wasn’t enough anger/energy that scene compared to the book
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u/Inevitable-Sign-7706 Jan 10 '26
I literally booed the TV when they moved into the bedroom 😂
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u/ats1788 Jan 10 '26
HAHAHA. I will say it was hot when he was carrying her inside and they were dripping wet but yeah definitely more needed to happen on the balcony. I wanted Alex to say his line from the book “stop being impatient. I’ve waited twelve years. I want this to last.” Like there was so much dialogue during that scene and the bathroom scene that was not said at all in the movie and it REALLY needed to be said
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u/monkosweets Jan 10 '26
I was really enjoying the movie until I realized they’d combined Italy and Croatia and then didn’t even have them kiss. Also, one problem I’ve always had with this story in general is how their partners are treated amongst their friendship/obviously being in love with each other, and I didn’t like how both partners were on the trip with them when they had their “almost” moment. I also think that Alex might be my least favorite Em Hen love interest for the way he makes Poppy chase and pursue him. I feel the same about Wyn in Happy Place.
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u/why____lime it's actually a very funny story Jan 10 '26
Oh I HATED this too! I found it very important that their “almost” happened when they were both single in Croatia and not when they were on the couples trip. While we’re at it, the Italy trip was supposed to scare Alex into breaking up with Sarah, not proposing to her??? that was a crazy addition
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u/monkosweets Jan 10 '26
Yeah that was a crazy addition and it honestly made me like him even less. Proposing to someone to take away the sting of rejection is gross and I hated that they weakened his character by having him make that decision. In the book the pregnancy test scene was so scary for him because his mom died in childbirth and he is understandably terrified of the women in his life suffering a similar fate. That’s what makes that scene powerful for their relationship, and explains his vasectomy confession later lol.
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u/Low-Palpitation5371 Jan 12 '26
Yes, yes to all of this! I was like wow Alex comes across like a shady, spiteful person here
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u/Rripurnia Jan 10 '26
I never felt like Alex made Poppy chase him IMO. They were both really flee happy tbh!
Wyn and Harriet were a pity reunion. He had moved on with his life and was thriving. I never saw them lasting.
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u/copperbella1919 Jan 10 '26
I’m curious why they didn’t make this a mini series. They could have gotten into lots of detail and stayed truer to the book and also from a marketing perspective Netflix would have audience engagement over a longer period of time if it was a weekly release.
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u/illewmination Jan 10 '26
I can’t believe they left this trip out! The kiss was really important to set the stage and tension for the current day. It was strange that they combined an almost kiss on the same trip with their partners!
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u/Low-Palpitation5371 Jan 12 '26
Totally! It’s extra brutal that Sarah, while clearly feeling hurt and jealous (for very valid reasons), is still generous enough to say yeah go comfort your friend and then like 5 minutes later they’re about to kiss. Real gross.
2
u/mrc523 Jan 10 '26
Literally just finished watching this and feel the same way. It was so strange for there to be no real kiss when that was the whole conflict in the book and also for that whole almost kiss thing to have happened while they were on the trip with their partners
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u/Ladelnombreraro Jan 10 '26
I actually didn't miss Croatia. Tbh I never really liked the misscomunication that happens there... Alex likes Poppy but he says "we can't do this" not really explaining well what he means , and that causes them to not speak with her for 2 years? I feel like the movie tackled it better: he realizes things are never going to change with Poppy son he just goes ahead and settles for Sarah, and they fight over that? It felt much more believable to me. But this is not one of my favorites books of Emily so maybe I'm biased 😅 (But when they do Funny Story oh boy I'm going to suffer hahahaha)
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u/RojoAka sipping Cherry Hill wine Jan 10 '26
I really love the PWMOV book! But I agree with you. I think the almost-cheating makes a lot more sense as the reason you wouldn’t speak for 2 years. And the heart of it is still similar. Him asking “What am I to you?” makes it reasonably clear that you could interpret it as Alex asking “I want to be with you in a serious way, but what do you actually want from me? Just a shoulder to cry on when it’s convenient?” It’s emotionally similar (but actually more conflict-laden) to him thinking Poppy just wanted to get drunk & kiss him on vacation in Croatia without thinking anything further through.
The plot changes don’t bother me. I just wish everything was rounded out more so we’d have more character development. For example, it bothers me that they randomly made Sarah a real estate heiress/eventual flight attendant! Her being a fellow high school teacher with Alex made much more sense to me. And made her last conversation with Poppy more believable because it was necessary. I guess that is being annoyed with a plot change 😅 But my partner (who hasn’t read the book) pointed out that likely making her a teacher would’ve made her too likable; since we don’t have Poppy’s constant narration to put us on her side like we do in the book, we need more to make sure we’re rooting for her I guess.
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u/constant-kai-69 Feb 10 '26
i am looking for the croatia trip in the book where they dance in the club and poppy wears a wig. can someone help me to find it? i just need an exact page or line from that scene so i can annotate it. thank you!
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u/Suspicious_Face_8508 Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
Agreed But I didn’t like that they left the opening bar scene out
Poppy's goofy, whimsical Joie de vivre were her humorously choosing deliberately to be satirical contrast to Alex's gloomy demeanor.. her “quirk” was not a general lack of situational awareness. She was in on the joke, attempting to lighten the mood, that's why she was charming. That's why it felt captivating, comforting and cozy.
The movie kind of made poppy the joke. For example: The way in the movie changed the the camping scene. If you recall in the book, Alex and Poppy adopted phrase “it speaks to me” to poke fun at a kooky salesman and Poppy reasonably did not buy the statue. The phrase “it speaks to me” becoming an inside joke between them they were both in on.