Who Does Tally End Up With In Uglies? Here's What Happens In The Books

17 September 2024, 14:26

Does Tally end up with David or Zane in the Uglies books? Picture: Alamy

By Capital Buzz

Tally from Uglies has two main love interests in the book series, so who does she end up with? Zane or David?

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The release of Uglies on Netflix has taken the world by storm. Starring Joey King as the protagonist Tally Youngblood, the movie has been adapted from author Scott Westerfeld’s books that were released in the mid-2000s.

The author’s successful YA series has three books in the main series; Uglies, Pretties and Specials with a fourth additional side story as the final book Extras.

But with the first film of the Netflix adaptation based on the first book, it’s not yet been confirmed that Pretties will be adapted into a second film.

The creators of the film have taken a few liberties to change some things from the original books, so when it comes to Tally’s love life, who will she end up with? Here’s how it goes down in the books.

Read more: Will There Be An Uglies 2? Pretties Movie Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Book Plot And News

Warning: Major Uglies spoilers ahead!

Joey King pitched Uglies to Netflix when she was 17

Who are Tally’s love interests in the Uglies books?

There are only really two men that captured Tally’s heart throughout the three books she featured in and we’ve only met one of them so far.

The character of David, played by Keith Powers, is from The Smoke, a community on the outskirts of the major cities that rebel against the regime in place that enforces 16-year-olds to undergo surgery and become brainwashed to become ‘perfect.’

Living in The Smoke meant David had surpassed the age of 16 and had not had his surgery which means, to the average eye, he looked ‘ugly.’

However, Tally entered The Smoke as a spy for the ‘Pretties’ after being blackmailed to uncover a secret weapon hidden there.

David is a rebel leader in 'The Smoke'. Picture: Alamy

But after experiencing a completely new way of life that didn't include being worried about what she looked like, Tally slowly fell in love with David and the cause he led.

However, their relationship is put to the test at the end of the first book when Tally agrees to be a double agent and become a ‘Pretty’ to trial the secret weapon which is a cure for brainwashing.

David barely appeared in the second book Pretties, because that’s when we met Tally’s second love interest Zane whom she met after becoming a ‘Pretty’ and forgetting all about her previous life.

Zane was a leader of the ‘Crims’, a clique in the city of Pretties and after Tally passed the tests involved in joining the clique, the pair fell in love and began to see one another.

The Uglies film has a few changes from the book series. Picture: Alamy

However when eventually put in a position to pick between the two, Tally chose Zane in the second book which broke David’s heart after he assumed she no longer liked him because he was still ‘ugly.’

After Tally underwent further surgery to become a ‘Special’, an elite form of Pretty that gave her an entirely new personality, she’s strong enough to try the cure developed by The Smoke.

She and Zane eventually decided to split the cure without realising the two pills were a singular dose and their fate became sealed as Zane’s dose began to deteriorate his brain.

Eventually, after an entire book of Tally essentially getting the ick from Zane’s illness because of her new cutthroat personality, thanks to the ‘Specials’ surgery, Zane eventually fell to his illness.

Tally secretly works for the Pretties. Picture: Alamy

Who does Tally end up with in the Uglies books?

It’s David that Tally ended up with ultimately at the end of the Trilogy.

After being rendered brain dead from a surgery aimed to fix him, Zane’s death drove Tally back into David's arms and the pair worked together to end the Pretty regime once and for all.

The series ended with Tally and David living out in the wilds, away from civilisation, as they formed a new group called ‘Special Circumstances’ with the aim of protecting the world from itself… the humans.