Every Year After is the latest TV show to mine drama from a sleepy cottage town.
The Prime series, based on the bestselling novel Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, takes us to idyllic Canada in the fictional Barry’s Bay, where gorgeous lakes and charming homes are the springboard for an unforgettable romance ten years in the making.
Percy (Sadie Soverall) hasn’t been back to Barry’s Bay in over a decade. As a teenager, she spent her summers there, falling in love with Sam (Matt Cornett) as they passed the hours watching horror movies. But after a mysterious incident, she leaves for good, only returning after the death of Sam’s mother Sue (Elisha Cuthbert).
Percy had a close bond with Sue, who owned the local tavern, and hopes to reconnect with Sam after so many years away. As the series reveals over 8 episodes, that’s easier said than done.
At the start of Every Year After’s finale, Sam has discovered why Percy left Barry’s Bay when she was 17: she slept with Sam’s older brother Charlie (Michael Bradway). Sam hasn’t been processing the news well, refusing to speak to both Charlie and Percy.
On the day of Sue’s funeral, Sam gives a heartfelt eulogy, discussing his mother’s love for his father. “Some people are lucky like that. They meet their best friend, the love of their life, and they’re wise enough to never let go,” he says. But Sam isn’t just talking about his mother; he’s heartbroken over losing his relationship with Percy all those years ago, and devastated over the fact that Percy slept with Charlie. Sam feels as if he’s lost his chance at the very thing that made his mother’s life so special. He’s overcome with emotion, and Charlie swoops in to help him, delivering a touching eulogy of his own.
At the wake, the two reconnect after their recent feud, and understand that they need each other to get through the loss of their mother. And with the loss of their father many years earlier, all they really have is each o
