The Last Sunrise follows Ry’s summer romance with Juliàn in Mallorca as her illness, family secrets, and a life-changing surgery threaten their future.
Based on Anna Todd’s 2025 novel, The Last Sunrise brings another of the After author’s romances to the screen.
The 2026 Prime Video Original takes viewers to Mallorca, Spain, where a summer romance unfolds against a backdrop of family history, a controversial property deal, and a serious medical condition. Carlson Young directs the film, with Maia Reficco, Fernando Lindez, Eva Longoria, and Andrés Velencoso leading the cast.
At the center of the story is Oriah Pera, better known as Ry. She lives with a chronic illness and travels to Mallorca with her mother, Isolde, for a six-week summer stay. Isolde is a single mother who tends to be extremely protective of her daughter. She has also returned to her hometown to work on a business project.
Ry tries to make the most of her time on the island. She befriends Amara, a hotel receptionist, and soon crosses paths with Juliàn García, a local fisherman. Their relationship quickly becomes the emotional center of the movie.
Ry has spent much of her life dealing with the side effects of her medication. She feels detached and emotionally numb, so she makes a dangerous decision. Without telling Isolde, she stops taking her epilepsy medication. The change makes Ry feel more alive, but it also puts her health at greater risk.
As Ry and Juliàn spend more time together, she learns about his family’s connection to the island. Juliàn shares his father Mateo’s desire to preserve Mallorca’s traditional way of life. They oppose the development of a luxury resort that could take away land belonging to local families.
Ry soon realizes that her own mother sits on the opposite side of the conflict. Isolde works for Redwyn, the company attempting to acquire Mateo’s property. Suddenly, Ry’s new romance and her mother’s business interests collide.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and reflects the author’s interpretation of The Last Sunrise; details may differ from the original novel.
What does Ry do to protect Juliàn’s family in The Last Sunrise?
Ry realizes that she cannot simply ignore what is happening to Juliàn’s family. She tells Isolde that Juliàn is Mateo García’s son and asks her to reconsider Redwyn’s plans for the property. Isolde does not immediately agree, but she promises to think about it.
At the same time, Ry begins to realize just how deeply she has fallen for Juliàn. During a conversation with her best friend back in the United States, she admits that she does not want her Mallorca experience to end. She even starts imagining a life that keeps her on the island.
Unfortunately, the situation surrounding Mateo becomes increasingly hostile. Carlos, who wants Mateo to accept Redwyn’s offer, sets fire to Mateo’s boat. The incident puts additional pressure on Mateo, and he eventually agrees to sell the property.
Juliàn is devastated by his father’s decision. His relationship with Ry also suffers when he discovers that her mother works for Redwyn. He feels betrayed and distances himself from her.
Ry, meanwhile, begins showing more obvious signs that her health is deteriorating. She develops tremors but chooses to ignore them. Later, she attends a Redwyn fundraising event. Rather than joining the party, Ry drinks champagne outside in the garden.
Carlos confronts her and attempts to intimidate her. Juliàn arrives before things escalate and intervenes. The confrontation ultimately brings Ry and Juliàn back together. They kiss, and Ry takes him with her to the fundraiser.
She introduces him to Isolde, but Isolde immediately becomes concerned. She knows that Juliàn still does not understand the full extent of Ry’s condition. Then Isolde sees Mateo. Ry notices her mother’s reaction and begins digging into their history.
Why does Isolde have a history with Mateo?
Ry eventually gets an explanation for the strange tension between her mother and Mateo. Isolde reveals that Mateo was once the most important person in her life.
The two were childhood sweethearts who grew up together in Mallorca. When Isolde’s mother died, however, she decided that she needed to leave the island.
She wanted Mateo to come with her to the United States. Mateo refused. His family and his life in Mallorca mattered too much to him, so he stayed behind while Isolde left.
Even after moving away, Isolde continued to write to him. She sent letters for years, but Mateo eventually stopped replying. Their relationship faded into the past.
Isolde insists that her current interest in Mateo’s property has nothing to do with their old romance. She claims she wants to purchase the land because the money would give Mateo financial security. That explanation does little to resolve the tension.
The Last Sunrise Recap: Why does Ry collapse?
After the fundraiser, Ry returns to the hotel the next morning. She has just experienced her first sunrise from Juliàn’s boat, making the moment particularly meaningful for her.
Her happiness does not last. Isolde discovers that Ry stopped taking her medication. She confronts her daughter and demands that she return home.
Ry refuses. Instead, she explains that her medication made her feel disconnected from her own life. Mallorca has given her something she believes she had lost: the desire to actually live. The argument becomes heated. Ry eventually leaves the hotel, but she does not get far. Her condition catches up with her, and she collapses.
Does Ry choose to have the surgery?
Ry wakes up in the hospital and learns that her Tuberous Sclerosis Complex has progressed to a dangerous point. She later meets Juliàn and finally tells him about her illness.
Ry also explains why she has resisted surgery. She worries that the procedure could affect her memories. After everything she has experienced in Mallorca, the thought of forgetting Juliàn and the people she has grown close to terrifies her.
For Ry, remembering her summer becomes almost as important as surviving it. She and Juliàn spend the night together on the beach. But when Juliàn wakes up, Ry does not respond.
He immediately panics. Juliàn carries her to the hospital, where Isolde desperately waits for answers. The doctors make the situation clear: Ry needs surgery. Isolde struggles with the decision because she knows Ry does not want it. Juliàn eventually convinces her that saving Ry’s life has to come first. Isolde agrees. Ry undergoes the surgery.
Does Ry lose her memories of Juliàn?
The surgery saves Ry, but the aftermath leaves Juliàn with a painful question. When Ry wakes up, she does not recognize him. For Juliàn, this is devastating. Ry had been terrified of losing her memories, and now it appears that her fear may have come true.
Elsewhere, Juliàn returns to his boat and discovers Mateo’s old letters to Isolde. He brings them to Isolde and reveals that he had hidden the letters because he feared Mateo would eventually leave Mallorca to find her. The discovery finally gives Isolde a chance to confront the past she left behind.
At the same time, the conflict over Mateo’s property reaches its resolution. Isolde tells Mateo that Redwyn will no longer take over his land. Instead, the company plans to work with the García family’s fishing business.
The land dispute is finally settled. But Ry and Juliàn still have unfinished business. After her recovery, Ry returns to the beach. Juliàn approaches her and introduces himself. She looks at him. Then she smiles. Ry recognizes him. So, despite the initial uncertainty, the movie ultimately confirms that Ry remembers Juliàn.
What does the ending of The Last Sunrise mean?
The final scene essentially gives Ry the future she fought for. She survives the surgery, and she eventually reconnects with Juliàn. The beach also brings the story full circle because Mallorca—and Juliàn—became the place and person that made Ry feel alive again.
Her fear of losing those memories becomes one of the movie’s central emotional conflicts. The ending resolves that fear by allowing her to retain her connection with Juliàn. It is a happy ending. Perhaps a little too happy and convenient, but a happy ending nonetheless.
Honestly? This one was a miss.
The Last Sunrise has plenty of ingredients for an entertaining romantic drama. You have a beautiful Mediterranean setting, a summer romance, family secrets, a land dispute, a potentially dangerous illness, and a mother who happens to have a complicated history with her daughter’s love interest’s father. That sounds like the recipe for deliciously messy drama. Unfortunately, the movie rarely takes advantage of it.
The story moves from one conflict to another without giving most of them enough weight. The romance between Ry and Juliàn gets most of the attention, while the potentially more interesting family drama remains frustratingly underdeveloped.
The medical storyline also asks the audience to accept some questionable decisions. Ry refuses surgery because she fears losing memories of the people she met in Mallorca. Emotionally, the fear makes sense. Logically? It is difficult to buy.
She has known Juliàn for only a few weeks. Yet the movie asks us to believe that she would rather risk a life-threatening medical crisis than potentially forget those experiences. That is a huge emotional leap.
Then there is the entire Isolde-Mateo situation. Isolde spends much of the movie believing that purchasing Mateo’s land will help him. Mateo, however, does not seem particularly interested in the arrangement.
The frustrating part is that the conflict could have ended much earlier if these two adults simply sat down and talked honestly. Instead, the misunderstanding becomes one of the movie’s major sources of drama.
And we have to talk about the twist we kept expecting. For a large part of the movie, it feels like Ry might turn out to be Mateo’s daughter. Now that would have made things interesting. Imagine the chaos. Ry falls for Juliàn, only to discover that his father might also be her father. Suddenly, the movie would have had a much bigger problem than a luxury hotel development and a six-week summer romance.
It could have delivered the kind of wildly complicated family drama that would make My Fault look tame. Instead, The Last Sunrise plays things relatively safe. The result is a predictable romance with an attractive setting, a talented cast, and several opportunities for genuine drama that the movie never fully explores.
Maia Reficco does well as Ry. She brings enough vulnerability to make the character’s emotional struggles believable. Eva Longoria also gives Isolde the authority and intensity the role requires. But even strong performances cannot completely rescue a story that repeatedly chooses the easiest route. By the time Ry returns to the beach and recognizes Juliàn, the movie has already told us exactly where everything is going.
She survives. She remembers him. The land dispute gets resolved. Everyone gets another chance. And, of course, there is one last sunrise. Romantic? Sure. Memorable? Not quite.
Stream The Last Sunrise on Prime Video and see for yourself if Ry and Juliàn’s summer romance delivers the happily-ever-after fans have been waiting for.
Source: Prime Video (YouTube), Prime Video (X), Prime Video (Instagram)
