Love in Taipei, a Paramount+ original movie based on Abigail Hing Wen’s novel Loveboat, Taipei, tells the story of Ever, a Taiwanese-American girl embarking on a journey of self-discovery and romance while in a cultural immersion summer program in Taiwan. However, many have noticed that the movie’s ending differed greatly from the ending of the first book, and Wen and movie director Arvin Chen discussed these changes with The Wrap.

“The main kind of arc for Ever is the story of discovery, understanding what her identity is, and all its facets. That is a journey that’s reflected in all my main characters. That thesis– can we be ourselves, can we bring our full selves to the table because that’s really where our power and our strength comes from– that’s one of the biggest takeaways,” Wen told TheWrap.

With that story of self-discovery comes romance, which is where the plot differs. Chen said that they wanted to leave the movie more open-ended for Ever to grow and so that there is more story to tell in the future– the third book in the trilogy is has not yet been released, so not every detail has been finalized yet.

“There are two other books and they’re all still about these four people in relationships. We wanted to leave it, not open-ended, but all Ever really did is just realize that like she’s got more to figure out as opposed to, she’s solved everything,” Chen said.

Love in Taipei is now streaming on Paramount+.