Warning! Spoiler Ahead!
Wes returns to his hometown the next year due to the fact that his grandfather dies, where he meets up with Lauren once more and their physical desire for one another finally finds its outlet. After a passionate night, they conclude that they've never been someone who understands them so well or is so connected to them emotionally. When they leave for the day to go about their business, they fail to realize that neither of them asked the other one why they were back in Wes' hometown. An hour later, when Wes' met his ostracized extended family who'd come to town to grieve for his grandfather, he was introduced to his cousin—Lauren! At this point, the major question of the film is raised about whether love is great enough to overrule legal considerations that would keep you apart. While, the final outcome of the film is fairly predictable and relies a bit too much on kismet, it is pretty satisfying--especially as certain unusual allies to the couple provide them with secret support.
With that said, I think it would easily have been an excellent exploration to have the main characters not go the expected route. Rather, it would have been interesting to look at their forbidden romance as a catalyst for change in both characters. As such, once they discovered their relationship by blood, they might still actually change their lives and find people that are not related to them (but are still reminders of the connection they found in one another). I think this would have pushed the film to a whole different level that might have been more unusual and, therefore, more successful. (I know it sounds weird to say that cousins getting together is an expected turn of events, but, in this film, it actually is.)
