Led by 16-year-old Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin), Sterling Point is the story of a Type-A, New York teenager who seemingly has it all – including her whole life figured out (competitive summer business program, Wharton business school, then a life of success, of course). Which is the opposite of how her twin brother, Connor (Keen Ruffalo) approaches life. Where Annie loves plans and structure, Connor lives for the moment and is perfectly fine with being perceived as the dumb-but-cute sibling (even though he’s every bit as smart as his sister). Both of them quickly find out, though, that even the best laid plans often fail, and growing up means carrying on as things go awry.
Following the death of an estranged grandparent, an unexpected inheritance, and the discovery of some old, undelivered letters, Annie embarks on a trip to the mysterious Sterling Point, a quiet private island where life is slow and drama runs rampant (an island, may I add, now owned by Annie, Connor, and another member of their maternal family). There, she is confronted with a piece of herself and her family history that she wasn’t aware existed. New friends and old secrets converge under the sun, on the shores of Lake Muskoka.
Episode after episode, I watched Annie fill in the gaps of who she is and where she comes from. Meeting a secret family member, losing her virginity to her middle school crush, finding out the real reason behind her parents’ divorce, and realizing the life she had planned is no longer viable, all in the span of one summer, is too much. A few warm months can indeed change your life, Annie discovers, especially when you realize there is a whole other world you could’ve been living in instead.
Like Annie, I too have family members who I’ve never met. Unlike her, though, I chose to cut ties with them – still, there was a time in my life when the “what ifs” plagued my mind.
Coming to terms with the fact that there are people out there who share part of my background – who played with the same go-kart, enjoyed the same family recipes, and hung out in the same living rooms I did every Christmas – wasn’t the easiest. I share a history with these people, yet we’ve never met, and likely never will. Our stories are both tied and completely independent – much like Annie, Connor, and the rest of their family in Sterling Point.
While at the time (and I hate to admit this) ,I felt like a little piece of me was missing, in the end, I reconciled with the fact that my choices led me down the road to becoming the woman I am today – and honestly, I’m proud of myself and the hard choices I had to make).
I saw myself in Annie – more than I’d like to admit, actually. I, too, was the parentified eldest daughter who had to manage the adults’ reactions and feelings. I had to push my own feelings aside for the “greater good” in a poor attempt to keep the status quo. I still do that, actually – it’s a tough habit to break. I learned to bottle it all up.
It’s hard not to be moved by the Jacobsons’ story because I’ve been there. I’m confident in my choices now, but the memory of feeling lost still haunts me sometimes. Watching their story unfold on my screen helped me come to terms with the bits of myself that I’d ignored for a long time. Now, if only I’d had a cottage on the shores of Lake Musokka, a group of unexpected friends willing to figure it all out with me, and two cute boys vying for my attention, things might’ve been a bit easier for me.
All episodes of Sterling Point are available on Prime Video on 8/5 (Prime Video really is on fire with the summer releases this year!).
