The Notebook Fans Have Complained About Allie Ending Up With Noah For Years. Someone Finally Asked James Marsden (And I Second That)

James Marsden as Lon in The Notebook.
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)

You seriously can’t forget about The Notebook. It’s one of the best movies of the 2000s due to Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ undeniable chemistry, and for showing audiences that you can never forget your first love. Fans of The Notebook may have complained for years about Allie choosing Noah instead of Lon. But when James Marsden gives his own perspective on who Allie should have ended up with, I have to agree with him.

If you remember in one of James Marsden’s best movies, The Notebook, Allie is torn between her wealthy fiancé Lon, and her first love Noah, after reconnecting with her ex-boyfriend seven years later. Ultimately, she chooses Noah. While fans still question after over twenty years if Allie made the right choice, Marsden, who played Lon, gave his take to People. And I second it. As he shared:

You know, it's funny. I hear a lot of people nowadays that very kindly come up to me and say, ‘[Lon was] the whole package, you were like this wealthy guy, and you treated her right, and you trusted her and it was a healthy relationship and [Allie and Noah] were in an unhealthy, toxic relationship. While I see that and understand it, I mean, love is love.

I know where fans are coming from in that if you look at The Notebook from a practical stance, Lon was who Allie should be with. Even she admitted it. He was from a wealthy family like hers, the Army vet repaid Allie a kindness after she nursed him at the hospital, and was still willing to be with Allie despite her affair with Noah. But like Noah asked Allie constantly, “What do you want?” Her heart clearly wanted Noah.

With all of the passion that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams had playing Noah and Allie, I would be way too disappointed if they didn’t become endgame. They had one of the most memorable movie liplocks in the rain. In Noah and Allie’s unforgettable movie breakup, I had to have faith like Noah that it still wasn’t over between the two. Plus, Noah also set the standards high for men when, as an old married couple, he dedicated himself to telling Allie their love story as she grapples with dementia. James Marsden continued to give his own reasons why he felt Nicholas Sparks’ main characters belonged together:

The dynamic between [Allie and Noah] and their chemistry was undeniable. And so I think, yeah, she should have ended up with Noah. That kind of love in that movie can be fiery and it can still be the right thing, the right person to be with. Not that Lon is a bad guy, he’s a really good guy! But there’s another lady out there for him, I’m sure, that’s very happy.

Lon definitely isn’t a bad guy! He was determined to go on a date with Allie after they met at the hospital, and was always kind to her. Lon even made sure to get her parents’ blessing before proposing like a gentleman. Funny enough, back in 2015 the X-Men actor said that people got mad at him for getting “involved with [Noah and Allie's] love.” It wasn’t his fault that he pursued Allie by the time she was a single adult! But as Allie’s mother drove Noah away when he attempted to reconnect with her, there was no way I wanted her mother to have a final say in her daughter’s future again.

There may be people who think Allie should have chosen Lon instead of Noah, but I agree with James Marsden that Noah was the right choice. She followed her heart instead of fulfilling her parents’ expectations. And considering what a total catch Lon is, Marsden is right that I’m sure he found a lucky lady down the line.

Carly Levy
Entertainment Writer

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.

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