Lainey asked me whether or not Noah Centineo belongs in the Best or Worst category of 2018 and without hesitation I said “BEST.” Peter Kavinsky was 100% one of the highlights of 2018. The character that Jenny Han created is one of the best rom-com boyfriends of all time. In the weeks and months after To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before started streaming, it felt like the only things people were tweeting, meme-ing and/or GIF-ing about were Peter Kavinsky and his love for Lara Jean. He was a burst of joy on your timelines full of despair. He was a shot of schoolboy naivety in a year soaked in jaded devastation. Peter Kavinsky was our reprieve.
Since Peter Kavinsky was relegated to 1 hour and 39 minutes and our day dreams, Noah Centineo became the Internet’s obsession. For a while, he was VERY good at being a real-life extension of the boy Lara Jean loved before, thanks in large part to the press he did with his charm incarnate co-star Lana Condor. The fascination fell more on Noah because of his whiteness and maleness but also because he actively sought out the attention. Noah Centineo was responsible for my favourite phrase of 2018, coined by Alison P Davis: “thirst architect". He LIVED for this sh-t. Then, shades of his true persona started to show. We’ve referred to him as an LA douchebag and a f-ckboy. These shades never surprised me but it’s true that his Instagram story personality is nothing like Peter Kavinsky. Noah Centineo seems to be your typical 22-year-old actor living in LA. He parties hard and ghosts women. None of these revelations killed my crush but they did dim some of yours. The rest of Team LG has been over him for a minute.
Great. He’s mine (I have many celeb side-pieces, don’t tell Michael Bae Jordan) anyway. The reason Noah Centineo is still squarely in the Best of 2018 category is that obsessing over him, then making fun of that obsession, and dissecting that obsession, was FUN. Watching his Instagram followers climb by the millions was fascinating. It was a meteoric rise captured in real time. Even if the sequel flops (HA) and all the projects he now has lined up go nowhere, Noah Centineo will always have 2018. We will always have Peter Kavinsky.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of Netflix’s most streamed movies of the year. Even as people claim to move on to Dumplin’s Luke Benward, Noah Centineo is still in the conversation. Bo is cute, sure, but he doesn’t even come close to Peter Kavinsky’s level. Don’t @ me. If you have any doubts about PK’s influence, Netflix poked fun at his popularity with their take on the 2018 “Best Nine” trend dominating IG right now.
Noah Centineo was at the Aquaman premiere last night rocking his signature messy hair and a tight black crewneck sweater that made me stop mid-scroll and say GODDAMN. He’s wearing these pants well – so well I don’t even think Lainey will complain about how he’s wearing these pants. As we close out 2018, I’m still crushing on Noah Centineo and daydreaming about Peter Kavinsky. Are you?
