Review: ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’ Gen Z’s love triangle
Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? It’s the age-old question — well, it entered mainstream media in 2021 when the first season of the TV show “The Summer I Turned Pretty” came out. Now, four years later, we have just seen the ending of season three, where that question was answered. At least, main character and love-triangle point Belly Conklin finally made up her mind after flip-flopping between two brothers, and we could not be happier about her choice.
You read that right: brothers. We’re not quite sure why this trope has become so popular — see “My Life With the Walter Boys” by Ali Novak — but we’ll tell you this: It’s entertaining. We are entertained. If you don’t want spoilers for the highly-anticipated finale of the most-talked-about show of the summer, look away.
“The Summer I turned Pretty” is based on the book series by the same name written by Jenny Han. Each season corresponded with one of the books with just enough twist that fans didn’t know exactly what to expect from each episode. Honestly though, the fact that some people wanted and expected Belly to end up with Jeremiah — Mr. “Belly, Cacao is the Bean It’s What Chocolate Is Made Of” — was a little bit alarming. From the second Conrad walked into the frame in season one, to Taylor Swift’s “Lover” no less, we have been captains of Team Connie Baby.
Speaking of season one, let’s talk about the show’s start. Belly, short for Isabel, goes with her family to a summer house on the beach in Massachusetts every year, where they stay with her mom’s best friend, Susannah. Susannah has two sons, and they’re both — uh, oh! — attractive and available.
Belly has had a crush on Conrad, the older brother, her entire life, but he’s acting off this summer, likely because he’s the only one that knows his mom’s cancer came back and that his dad cheated on his mom while she was going through chemo — eff that guy! Since Conrad is dealing with all that, and because he suffers the classic boy-love-interest-who-thinks-he-should-hide-his-feeings-so-as-to-not-inconvience-anyone-but-this-is-the-inconvenience syndrome, Belly looks toward Jeremiah, who claims he has always loved her, even though he quite literally says that this summer — aka the one she “turned” pretty — was the first time her saw her in a romantic light. Coincidentally, it’s the same summer after he becomes a pyromaniac and lights a firework at his brother and Belly. It reminds us of when Hazel’s little brother lit gunpowder in his face the week of her wedding!
Conrad finally figures out his feelings and how to communicate, at least a little bit, so Belly kisses him at the end of the season, leaving fans wondering what she’s going to tell Jeremiah, who she had already shared a few smooches with.
This is where Team Anti-Belly originated, the camp who hates Belly and thinks she should stay away from the brothers. Yes, there is some merit to this, but perhaps Belly deserves more grace than weird men on the internet are trying to give her. After all, they are teenagers, they all crave validation and they are all coping with fear and grief. People make mistakes.
And Belly’s mistake is named Jeremiah. In season two, one year later, we come to find out Belly and Conrad did date but broke up at Belly’s prom after Conrad refused to open up to her. His mom dies a few weeks later, leaving the summer house in the hands of her sister, who is extraordinarily eager to sell it.
The entire crew returns to the beach to try and save the house, leading to awkward moments of Conrad and Belly post break-up and what some might think, and we completely non-understanding of, are “cute” moments between Belly and Jeremiah. We personally think it’s criminal to kiss your brother’s ex-girlfriend — keep in mind when Conrad kissed Belly in season one, he didn’t know she had kissed Jeremiah and she and Jeremiah were also not in a relationship — on your brother’s car while his ex is wearing his sweatshirt and he is about to profess his still-present love for her.
Season two also gives us the magical “I thought you knew” beach scene, demonstrating the acting talents and range of Chris Briney, who plays Conrad, and Lola Tung, who plays Belly. Their commitment to understanding their characters and chemistry truly shines in every moment the two are on screen together.
Enter season three. This season starts with a four-year time jump — not two like in the books — and shows Belly and Jeremiah get engaged only two days after she finds out that he sort of cheated on her by overhearing the news at a frat party. Jeremiah proposes standing up outside of a hospital. It’s giving lazy. If Belly was our friend, we would have told her it was a bad idea. Well, actually we did tell her — by screaming at the TV the Wednesday night that episode aired. Yes, he thought they were on a break, but she didn’t — it’s very Ross and Rachel core. Regardless of whether he cheated, her brother getting in a car accident scares Belly into thinking lifelong commitment is necessary, and the wedding plans quickly commence. Which is insane because Hazel has planned a wedding, and planning never quickly does anything.
Meanwhile, Conrad is going to medical school — okay, DR. FISHER and your little watch — and gets fired from his summer job at a clinic because he is too distracted by said car accident. He decides to take the summer off, going back to the beach house where coincidentally, Belly will also be spending her summer while Jeremiah works in Boston.
Again, the chemistry between Conrad and Belly is intense as she wonders whether Jeremiah really was the right choice. The wedding is quickly approaching, however, and both Belly and Conrad are questioning whether the wedding is the right choice. Well, Belly was questioning — both us and Conrad knew it was not a good plan.
When Conrad finds out about Jeremiah’s little cheating scandal, he confesses his love to Belly — “Don’t be with him. Don’t marry him. Be with me.” — in another stunning Chris Briney performance. If this man is not the go-to romcom love interest after that, we will swear of romcoms. Belly acknowledges she will always love Conrad, and her wedding with Jeremiah is over.
Thus enters the final era of this show: the Belly in Paris era. Ella went to Paris this summer and felt a horrible aching to go back as Belly had a hard time ordering bread, worked two jobs without knowing the language and read letters from Conrad. Finally, though, Conrad surprised her in Paris and the two decided to be together forever after once again leaving our mouths wide open from their intense chemistry — the two can connect just through one look, and that connection is seriously felt through the screen.
We give season three of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” a 9.5/10 for emotional damages. Actually, most of the episodes are only a 3/10 because our close personal friend Conrad Fisher was going through it and Jeremiah was on our screen too much, whining about his lack of a good credit score or the fact that he didn’t want Belly to go to her dream study abroad. But since it ended with Belly and Conrad, we loved it. We are, evidently, easy to please.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” will forever hold a special place in our hearts as the most intense, beautiful and frustrating romance of our college years. Belly and Conrad will always hold a special place in our hearts, winning the award for “Couple that should have been together the whole time and are strange for not recognizing that.”
And in extremely exciting news — at least for us — the series finale premiere held a special announcement: There’s going to be a movie, the plot of which no fan can completely guess because the book material has already run out. We have hopes that Jeremiah will not have any screen time unless accompanied by his new girlfriend Denise and that Belly and Conrad get to live happily ever after at the summer house on Cousins Beach.