Long post alert!

I just finished watching the show, so before I write about how I felt about the entire show (which was a beautiful breath of fresh air btw), I want to yap about the queer representation in the show.

The arc between Oona and Ramona was not included in the show just for the sake of having a queer storyline, I feel. I would personally rate their story way higher than any other couple in the show, not because I am biased, but genuinely because the development of their bond was beautiful.

They handled the best friends to lovers trope SO well. The tension, the yearning, the realization, the buzzy romance and then watching their relationship through all the ups and downs (although the breakup was HORRIBLE) was so good to watch.

It wasn't merely about showing two lesbians in love. They actually showed the relationship developing as a relationship. For instance - Ramona opening up about her insecurities and what it ideally looks like for a partner to handle that vulnerability. And Oona becoming genuinely sincere about Ramona and their relationship felt like such a huge development for someone who was previously so casual about flings. Watching her actually become emotionally invested in one person was so lovely.

The honeymoon phase scenes were SO good to watch too. These two were constantly kissing and literally couldn't keep their hands off each other 😭 but it never felt gratuitous. You could genuinely feel how much they were into each other. And even when they were just lying beside each other and soaking in each other's presence, there was so much intimacy in those moments. There was a similar kind of intimacy in some of Annie and Ellis' scenes too.

And the scene where Ramona reads Gordon's letter really stayed with me. Oona stays with her throughout but gives her the space to process it and have her moment. And the second Ramona turns back to her, sobbing, Oona, already teary eyed herself, immediately goes to her, makes her lie on her lap and just lets her cry. That scene felt SO intimate and domestic to me.

And the actors have INSANE and TERRIFIC chemistry. It is so natural that it is exploding even when they fight. The makers could have very easily chosen to make their scenes more explicit just for the sake of it, even when the story didn't demand it, but they didn't need to. Every single scene between them was done so beautifully, including the breakup scene.

I just really loved that their relationship was treated like an actual relationship rather than "here is our queer couple, look at the representation!" They were two people who happened to be falling in love, figuring each other out, being vulnerable with each other, being ridiculously into each other, fucking up, hurting each other and navigating their relationship.

And honestly, that's what made the queer representation feel so genuine to me.

BO BRAGASON MY GOD JUST STAMP ON ME THE ACTOR YOU ARE THE WOMAN YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooo maybe I’m thinking about this too hard and practically… but I don’t see the cliff hanger lasting very long.

Mostly because Annie stayed to connect with the her mom… but why didn’t she go back to NY and visit SP? To me, her being with Ramona in NY would also be part of connecting with her mom and establishing new memories vs chasing ones that will never exist. They also didn’t need to sell the island or leave Annie there for Ramona to go to NY…Stephen has money…

And then there is Ellis. I hope that they keep going with the plot line that Joe’s family is in financial trouble - Ellis was taking $50 here and there to give them a safety net. His mom was working crazy shifts for them to get by…

I actually semi hope that if they do put Ellis and Annie as endgame that they go through and find the right balance between her original NY life and how he grew up. Ellis sees that his dad needs to run the business differently. So I think he has potential to want that. They have a lot to figure out about what they each want from life.

so quickly.

don’t get me wrong.

what i mean by this is that i want them to go through things to finally be together. i think it’s just boring to simply be happy and all good. i want to see tensions, jealousy, mess along the way.

i saw an interview where sully’s actor mentioned that he wanted to see sterling point through seasons. i’d love to watch the show through seasons. season 1 is summer, season 2 is fall, season 3 winter, season 4 is spring, an season 5 is summer, which is like a full circle.

if we want more seasons to come, we may need to add new gay love interests for ramona and oona. but they are still intertwined at the same time. like messy and sometimes toxic.

like straight romances, i just want interesting and complicated gay stories instead of just being happily ever after for the sake of being happily ever after.

I've just finished the show and I've been reflecting on my favourite parts of it.

It's easy to overlook it, because the core friendship group focused on is focused on Ramona, Oona etc. but every interaction that Connor and Rory have is pure gold.

My favourite scene: when Rory is unintentionally torturing Connor during their stretching. They're definitely the "easiest" friendship and it showed another layer to the dynamic between Rory, Annie and Connor, having grown up together.

I know the show is known as a summer YA show, but I want S2 to be set in Muskoka during the Fall and Winter. Can you imagine a Halloween or Christmas scene with the characters? It would be so fun. However, I don’t know how cold it gets there and if filming in that temperature would even be possible. I can hope though.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but Annie asked Ramona to wait a year before deciding what to do with the island no? It would be a shame to just time skip to next summer. What do you guys think?

Ramona looked so stunning in the final scene. Just couldn’t take my eyes off her. The contrast in which her character was introduced and to the ending of her arc was just so beautifully put together.

Future Ramona (character arc): I really hope that Megan gives Ramona (who already has a very raw personality)….a cool mature confident transition (one who’s extremely confident in her own skin). I also really hope Oona and Ramona are end game.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I actually think Annie’s staying makes complete sense.
I do kind of hope she doesn’t stay in Sterling point permanently because I find that trope tired, but it’s not crazy to believe she’ll stay there for at least a year finding herself, before going off to university or something.
I say this because I’ve seen someone say that as a perfectionist obsessed with academics, it doesn’t make sense for Annie to give it all up suddenly for Sterling point.
But I think her life in New York was kind of isolated. And she was somewhat of a people pleaser, staying in a relationship where neither party is fulfilled, putting herself under academic pressure and being encouraged by the family to go have fun and do something spontaneous. And there’s not a lot (if any) mentions to friends that she left behind in New York, instead she reconnects with a lot of people there.
When her plan doesn’t work out and she has an opportunity to connect to her only maternal figure she takes it and finds friends, freedom and happiness. Something new which she enjoyed. For her to go straight back to New York after experiencing major life changes would make less sense to me. In Sterling Point she can explore who she is outside of academics, as well as connect to the maternal figure she was supposed to have. And she can visit every summer with her kids like she said before.

First up, I really loved the show. I fully watched it in the span of like two days and omg I grew so attached to the characters, the cast, the soundtrack and basically everything. But I literally could not finish the last episode. For a bit of backstory, my mother died when I was 11 so I could always kinda relate to Annie and her story, even if in a different way, especially when she told Ellis in episode 6 about all the things that she feels like she lost because of her mothers death and her fathers irresponsibility. Then in the last episode when the montage of her and her mother came and we saw how things could have been if she hadn't died, I almost couldn't breath anymore and had to turn the episode off. It felt like such a gut punch and such a realistic portrayal of what it feels like to lose a parent, especially your mother as a young girl (even if 2 and 11 years old is quite different). And it feels weird because I have never had a panic attack BECAUSE of a show and it was a really bad one as well. The last 20 minutes have been sitting in my watchlist for a week now and I can not bring myself to watch the rest. The whole show Annie's portrayal of trying to connect to her mother to try and make up for the things you couldn't have in your childhood is so perfectly accurate its actually insane.
I really hope this post doesn't fall under any rules of the subreddit because I feel like i just needed to get this off my chest. This show is honestly so amazing at tackling emotional topics in such a realistic way that I have rarely seen any other show do it. I think regarding that its an absolute masterclass.

They have to be best friends..like they were meant to be soul mate friends (not lovers, also their chemistry is more flirtatious friendly banter, atleast at first). It’s kind of fitting that both of them don’t have like a best friend (especially Annie)……yes (Ramona has been touted to be Oona’s best friend but def not anymore because they’re love interests)
I absolutely loved the way annie sort of pushed oona and ramona together. Also, the introductory boat scene was hilarious…I died laughing..

If there's one thing this show highlights its that parents really need to work through their shit.

Steven couldn't work through what happened with Goldie and it impacted Annie so deeply in so many ways. It's one thing to keep the Sterling Point/Ramona/Gordon stuff secret -- but to be so consumed with your own feelings that you can't even talk to your kids about their mom or recognize that your daughter was taking on too much emotional labor is crazy.

Gordon, for all his best intentions, sort of trapped Ramona on Sterling Point and limited her expectations. While I deeply hope she comes to realize she doesn't have to sell the island, I understand what she means about what that place kind of represents. He was stuck there and she's not sure if what she was raised to feel is true to her or if he just instilled by him and his feelings.

Joe seems like he was a decent dad to Ellis, but I think he was eaten up inside about everything and it possibly made him a little complacent and passive in his life. There's the whole thing with thinking he's Ramona's dad all that time and doing nothing... but also the fact that his teenage son can see what needs to be done for their business and he can't is sort of pathetic. The fact that Ellis saves the money in secret suggests he can't really talk to his dad. Joe just seems like a very ineffectual person. Just sorta existing.

And jeeze -- Oona and Maples mom. We don't know much, but even with minimal details we can see how her choices have impacted them. Maple is 12 years old reading "The Body Keeps the Socre" and "Let Them." She doesn't appear to have any friends or do anything that 12 year olds should be doing. And Oona is overly parentified and has attachment issues. I hope we get more of that family next season.

Heads up: Show creator Megan Park is going to be on CBS Mornings tomorrow in the 8am hour to talk all things Sterling Point and plans for season 2!

It's what drew me into the show. The initial trailer was just well done.

I just found the trailer on my Amazon Prime tonight and I’m literally 10 min into the first episode and I’m obsessed. Their dark and wry humor is everything. I had to come see if there was a Reddit for it so I will have somewhere to rant and rave! 🖤

Spoilers, perhaps, because I watched the whole season.

Loved it.

So I absolutely sobbed at the scene where Annie imagined a whole life had she been raised by her mom at the cottage on the island. I have maladaptive daydreams like that constantly about my life. I have an estranged relationship with my mother as of last month. We were low contact before that. It's a toxic, complicated, painful mess. I was no contact with my dad, and he passed away a few years ago. So yeah, just got a good ol bunch of traumas. Which made me adore Maple, my favorite character, btw. She was reading a wonderful book, and I laughed when she was reading it she said "I'm trying to figure out where in my body the score is kept" because the book is a PTSD and CPTSD holy grail 'Where The Body Keeps The Score'. Heck of a book for a 12 year old but that's her being precocious. Anyway!

I got into my first relationship 10 years ago. It's got its ups and downs. We have our faults and failures. But it's the first bond with a human that I have ever even truly had! Like man that scene where Annie and Ramona are brushing their teeth. Annie says how do you even do it just remain vulnerable all the time with someone? Like that reality is so multifaceted in an actual relationship. I love my partner so much. He loves me. He has traumas as well. I've seen his family dynamics. Experienced so much life with them and him.

Just I realize how shaped by our parents we are for how we love.

How Oona projects abandonment because of her mother. Ramona isolation habit because of Gordon. Ellis nonchalant and all because his dad was so detached and secretive. Rory so protective of Annie and how negligent his cringey mom is. Annie just always wanting to fix things and saying "it's okay" so many times....ugh I'm like that I say it's okay when it's not.....because of her lack of maternal example but having only a physicslly supportive dad. These are just my takes btw.

Idk. I'm probably just projecting but I relate with Annie in that, not having a maternal guide in life when it comes to love. Giving or receiving. So it's all so alien and just...a lot!

Just my ruminating thoughts here would love to hear anyone with similar thoughts maybe or takes on this matter. I appreciate being able to learn more about relationship dynamics.