The Summer I Turned Pretty is one of the best modern coming-of-age shows. The mix of romance, family, friends and the quintessential summer feeling elevates this show above any average high school drama.
There’s so much that season three does wrong initially. It starts with three years flashing by, way too long for Belly and Jeremiah to be together, and I’m not just saying that because I’m team Conrad. Jeremiah and Belly have built this codependency around each other, shown when Jeremiah cheats and Belly is lost in a college she only attended to be close to him. Then, when emotions are running high, Jeremiah has the stupid idea to propose to Belly. For some reason, she says yes, even though there was no ring and he didn’t even get down on one knee. Also, when we get to see the ring, we can’t actually see it because the diamond is minuscule. Honestly, the only appropriate reaction to this proposal is disapproval. Even without considering that they’re way too young to get married, they’re both broke and have to budget everything way down.
Belly then spends the entire summer putting the wedding together herself, gathering flower arrangements, ordering food and inviting guests, all of which is very taxing to do without the support of her parents. Not to worry, though, because Conrad is at the beach house the entire summer keeping Belly company, and much to my delight, rekindling their romance, despite her engagement to his brother. Though there’s still obvious sparks between the two, they’ve both accepted the impending engagement.
However, Conrad then learns about Jeremiah’s cheating, which results in his dramatic love confession. Despite the complications with this gesture, I felt it encapsulated Conrad’s character perfectly. He wants what’s best for Belly, no matter what, and when he found out Jeremiah was unfaithful, Conrad realized he’d be better. Belly’s reaction was just the worst ever. She shut down his feelings and gaslighted him into believing there wasn’t anything between the two of them, which is really stupid because she clearly still wants to be with him. She can’t ever make up her mind. It’s frustrating to watch her push away her true love because he couldn’t be there for her once, and instead choose Jeremiah who drags her down constantly. Luckily, Belly chooses her own mental health and runs away to Paris, taking a break from tormenting the Fisher brothers.
Though I got nervous as the episodes counted down that she was going to ‘choose summer’ or ‘choose herself’ and not end up with Conrad, it was refreshing to watch Belly grow into her own outside of her childhood home and away from the Fishers. The final episode culminated nicely, and though I didn’t love all the subplots’ endings, seeing Belly eventually drive back to Cousins Beach with Conrad and visit the beach house felt like the appropriate ending to close out the show. Though it was cringe at times and I yelled at the TV more than once, I’ve been watching this show since middle school and can’t wait to see what becomes of the movie.
