Sterling Point Cast and Creator Weigh in on Annie and Ramona’s Romantic Futures

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Sterling Point. Read at your own risk!]

Sometimes you need to just get away from your hometown, discover an estranged sister, and get into a bunch of romantic messes. That’s definitely the case for Annie (Ella Rubin) and Ramona (Amélie Hoeferle) in Prime Video’s new YA drama, Sterling Point. Early in the season, Annie and her twin brother Connor (Keen Ruffalo) learn that their grandfather dies, leaving them part ownership of the titular island in his will. After Annie absconds to Sterling Point, she meets Ramona, who she discovers is the secret birth daughter of Connor and Annie’s deceased adoptive mother. The season sees the siblings trying to unravel their parents’ past drama while also figuring out exactly who they are to each other. 

They are teenagers with rampant hormones, though, so of course there’s some romantic drama along the way, too. Annie finds herself torn between Ellis (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), the son of the local marina manager (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and Rory (Daniel Quinn-Toye), a boy she used to know in middle school whose wealthy family owns a house on the island. At first, it seems like Annie and Rory’s shared past may give him the upper hand in the battle for her heart, because he turns out not to be the entitled rich kid he appears to be in the audience’s first impression of him. 

“Sure, he comes from this background, but I think it’s a credit to Megan [Park, creator]’s writing,” Quinn-Toye tells TV Guide. “We had big conversations about the character and perhaps what he really wants, and he’s born into this world that he doesn’t fully belong in. He’s kind of a creature of habit. He goes back to the same friends and has the same hobbies, but I think deep down he’s a nice guy. There’s a genuine understanding and sensitivity.” 

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Annie and Rory have a great time, but it is ultimately Ellis and his steady energy that turns out to be exactly what she needs as she realizes everything she knew about her parents and their relationship isn’t true. He’s her “thunder jacket” as she parses through what revelations about the past mean about her future. 

“Annie brings this breath of fresh air to Ellis’ life,” says Whiteduck-Lavoie. “He’s been doing the same things for the past few years. His life isn’t boring, but I think it’s very repetitive when you work for your dad, and you do the same thing every day, repairing boats and stuff. This vibe and energy she brings along with her when she comes from the city, Ellis isn’t used to that. It definitely lights him up. It’s just love at first sight. They relate on a deeper level right away.” 

Season 1 shakes up both Annie and Ellis’ personal lives outside of their relationship, though. Ellis’ parents separate when it looks like his dad, Joe, might be Ramona’s birth father. Annie has to reconcile everything again when it turns out that her adopted dad Steven (Jay Duplass) is actually Ramona’s biological dad. There’s a lot of dad stuff for them both to work out if the show gets a second season, but showrunner Megan Park is already itching to dig into their next obstacles. 

“I think their relationship is going to be so great to explore because can they really withstand this life if Annie stays on the island? How long is that going to last? She’s going to get further into her experiment than her mom ever did. Let’s see how that plays out,” Park teases. “Can they meet in the middle? And Ellis’ romantic past is such a mystery. We don’t really know much about what that’s like. There’s a lot to find out potentially about Ellis.” 

Annie and Ellis may be stable (for now), but Ramona is not doing as well romantically. In the final minutes of the finale, she takes Annie up on the offer to go live in New York and get to know Steven while Annie stays on the island to find out what their mother found so special about it. Leaving Sterling Point brings an ugly end to Ramona’s burgeoning relationship with Oona (Bo Bragason). After braving their insecurities to take their best friendship to the romantic level, Ramona taking the opportunity to explore who she is by leaving Sterling Point triggers Oona’s abandonment issues and leads to a fight that will not be easy to come back from. 

“The way they leave it is so sad. They could have handled it in such a better way, but you make these mistakes when you’re young,” Bragason explains. “As of right now, they’re not together. If they’re meant to be, they’ll find each other again. I think there’s a good chance of that happening if we get a second season. One can hope.” 

Hoeferle is also optimistic that these two haven’t said their final goodbyes to each other yet. “It’s a big question mark between them. Oona’s choice to let Ramona go and letting her experience what she may need to experience is really brave, painful, and heartbreaking on both sides,” the actress adds. It’s so easy to see Oona as the villain, and she probably is to a certain degree in Ramona’s world, but it’s such a selfless thing to do. There’s so much understanding between the two of them that is so beautiful and carries through the whole show.” 

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Park is also rooting for them and hints that if the show gets renewed for Season 2, she plans to help the audience understand Oona’s abandonment issues on a deeper level. “They are the couple that you root for. You understand where they are at in their lives,” Park says. “I hope if we get a Season 2 that we can dig way more into Oona’s backstory and her relationship with her mom and understand her from a different place. But that’s the heartbreak. The real heartbreak you leave the season with is that you want them to be together. Oona really does have those abandonment issues, and Ramona is completely thrown. Neither of them acts perfectly in that fight. It’s ugly. It’s an ugly breakup.” 

So Ramona and Oona still have some growing to do before they can give their relationship a real chance at survival. Meanwhile, Annie and Ellis will test how strong their bond truly is as they start to process everything they’ve learned during Season 1. We know there will be angst along the way, but we’re rooting for both couples to figure it out. 

Sterling Point Season 1 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.