He’s All That Ending Explained

Netflix’s He’s All That, the gender-swapped reimagining of the 90’s teen rom-com She’s All That, had an ending befitting its predecessor; here it is explained. Though the plot of the movie hinged on secrets and lies, all was revealed and relationships were restored at the movie’s climactic Prom, as so many teen romance movies seem to be. Along the way, it revealed a few things about friendship and telling the truth, even when it’s hard.

Teen influencer Padgett Swayer (Addison Rae) seems to have it all — popularity, an aspiring rapper boyfriend named Jordan (Peyton Meyer), and a massive social media following. But when she’s accidentally livestreamed having a meltdown when she catches Jordan cheating on her, her fanbase — and the necessary income she gains from it — is at stake. In a bid to win back her followers, she agrees to a bet to transform an antisocial nerd into the Prom king and she ends up setting her sights on loner Cameron (Tanner Buchanan).

As is to be expected, Padgett’s plan backfires when she and Cameron end up genuinely falling for one another. But Padgett’s friend-turned-nemesis, Alden (Madison Pettis), nearly ruins their budding romance when she reveals the bet to Cameron in a bid to take humiliate Padgett and ruin what she has with Cameron. After hurting Cameron so badly, Padgett realizes things like social media followers don’t really matter in the long run and her new mindset helps her to rekindle her relationship with Cameron and set things right with the people she hurt. He may not have become Prom king, but the two of them come out as the real winners of He’s All That. Here’s the ending explained.

Why Alden Betrays Padgett

After Cameron makes the sweet and uncharacteristically public gesture to ask Padgett to Prom, mean girl Alden immediately ruins the moment by forcing Padgett to reveal the bet. The seed for Alden’s betrayal was planted early in the film, when Alden “accidentally” kept livestreaming Padgett’s freakout on Jordan, knowing it would lead to her humiliation. She obviously did it on purpose, but at the time, it wasn’t clear why. As revealed later in the Netflix movie, Alden wanted to be Prom queen and she knows Padgett would be a real threat. When she saw an opportunity to lessen Padgett’s chances at getting the crown, she jumped at it.

But Alden’s betrayal wasn’t just about her desperation to become Prom queen. It was meant to demonstrate the type of person Padgett might have become if she had never met Cameron. She may not have had the same privileged upbringing as her friends, but she longed to be like them. She dressed like them, obsessed over her social media following, and lied about where she and her mom (Rachael Leigh Cook) lived in order to keep up the appearance she came from a rich neighborhood. Though Padgett’s nature was sweet and kind, she was well on her way to becoming just as fake as Alden and Cameron entering her life allowed her to put things into perspective. The disparity between Padgett and Alden is what makes Alden’s betrayal so jarring; Padgett changes so much during the course of the film for the better that Alden’s actions seem especially cruel.

Why Padgett Is The Real Winner of the Bet

As Padgett’s rapper ex Jordan winning the title of Prom king, she technically lost the bet. Bringing Cameron to parties and giving him a makeover and him becoming far more popular wasn’t enough to take the crown. In spite of that, Padgett should be considered the real winner of the challenge in He’s All That. Getting Cameron the Prom king crown would have been an empty victory for Padgett; instead, she gained so much more with his loss. Padgett learned who her true friends were, what she valued in life, and found love. What’s more, Padgett grows throughout the movie and becomes a better version of herself, not just casting off the shallow persona, but also learning to be truly accountable for her actions.

Alden, on the other hand, may have technically won the bet with Padgett, but it was a hollow victory. Not only does Padgett still win Prom queen, but Alden humiliates herself when she rushes the stage after Padgett relinquishes the crown, assuming she came in second place only for the principal to tell her–and her classmates–that she actually came in fourth place. It’s possible that Alden might learn and grow from the humiliating moment, but it’s likely she’ll continue on in life just as shallow, cruel, and vain as ever. In the end, by being so cruel to Padgett and setting her up for humiliation, Alden gained nothing but humiliation of her own, the biggest loser in He’s All That‘s cast of characters.

Why Padgett and Cameron Are Perfect For Each Other

Their relationship has a few ups and downs over the course of the movie, but Cameron and Padgett do end up together by the end of the Netflix movie, and it’s revealed it wasn’t just Cameron who had been a positive influence on Padgett, but also the other way around. After finding out that he was just a bet, Cameron refuses to go to the Prom with her. But his sister, Brin (Isabella Crovetti), convinces him to give Padgett another chance, pointing out that since their mom died, Cameron hadn’t started laughing again until he met Padgett.

He’s All That‘s credits show Padgett and Cameron taking a trip together after the school year comes to a close, with Padgett regularly documenting their vacation to her followers. Surprisingly, Cameron’s okay with that because, as Padgett says in one of her videos, she’s taken a new direction with her social media pages, sharing his photography, as well. Not only that, but he’s dressed far more casually. None of this would’ve happened at the beginning of the film — Cameron would have refused to be involved in any sort of social media documentation. Initially, Cameron had an edge, with Tanner Buchanan channeling a lot of Cobra Kai‘s Robby into the character. But meeting Padgett brought him out of his shell and roused him from the hole he’d withdrawn to after his mom’s death, getting him to open up and enjoy life again. It’s the way they bring out one another’s best qualities that make them such a strong couple.

The Real Meaning of He’s All That’s Ending

He’s All That‘s ending carries its predecessor’s message into 2021 — inner beauty is more important than what’s on the outside. Yet, as social media became a cornerstone of culture after the first She’s All That movie was released, the message hits home in a more powerful way. At the beginning of He’s All That, Padgett surrounds herself with people who only care about looks and status. Her circle overlooked people like Cameron and his friends because they didn’t fit their conventional standards of popularity. But Padgett learns that people who only value superficial things tend to be superficial themselves, seeing this firsthand when Jordan leaves her for a dancer and Alden throws away their friendship at a chance for Prom queen. In their own ways, Cameron and Padgett each put up fronts to keep the world from seeing who they really are, but they slowly teach each other not to judge others so quickly, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable. Everything that they eventually come to stand for in He’s All That is really what makes both of them beautiful people.

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