Is there anything messier than a love triangle? Not when two brothers make up either side of it. The long-awaited final season of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty aired its first two episodes on July 16th, plunging fans back into the trenches of Belly (Lola Tung), Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), and Conrad’s (Chris Briney) complicated trainwreck of a love story. Last season, sane fans everywhere were left heartbroken when Belly finally turned her back on her first love, Conrad, for his younger “golden retriever” brother Jeremiah (golden retriever must have taken on new connotations I wasn’t aware of: Manipulator? Egoist? Simply unbearable?). Jelly fans, please be prepared: you may not like this article.
Speedy Recap of Seasons One and Two
As most fans will know, Belly, Jeremiah, Conrad, and Steven (Sean Kaufman), Belly’s brother, have spent every summer at the Cousins’ beach house owned by Susannah (Rachel Blanchard), Jer and Conrad’s mother. Susannah and Laurel (Jackie Chung), Belly and Steven’s mom, have been best friends since they met in college. The summer of Belly’s 16th birthday, she arrives in Cousins, out the other side of the harrows of puberty, as a mature and beautiful girl; the brothers both take notice.
However, while it becomes clear Conrad has always shared the affection Belly held for him, Jeremiah is just starting to take notice. His interest spikes when he picks up on his favored older brother’s growing fondness, and he works hard to get between them. Sick of the hot and cold from Conrad, Belly starts to return Jer’s flirtation and shares a few kisses with him. However, when Conrad finally gets up the nerve to tell Belly how he feels, she swiftly ditches Jeremiah to pursue the relationship she’s always dreamed of (really, can we blame her?), much to Jeremiah’s outrage (can’t blame him on that one either).
In the background of the love triangle, a different kind of heartbreak is unfolding. Conrad has known all summer that his mother’s cancer has returned; Susannah and Laurel have no idea. Season one’s finale broke the news to all the kids that Susannah is sick and she isn’t going to get better. The boys convince their mother to try, leaving a hint of light at the end of the tunnel that is promptly snuffed out at the beginning of season two.
Within the season’s opening scene, Belly’s narration reveals that she and Conrad are no longer together, Jer is still not speaking to her, and Susannah has died. Brokenhearted over Conrad and fighting desperately to rekindle her friendship with Jeremiah, Belly bands together with the boys, Steven, and Taylor (Rain Spencer) to stop their beach house from being sold by Susannah’s half-sister, Julia.
Season two reveals important truths about this love triangle. Conrad and Belly broke up because his grief was crippling; he couldn’t be the boyfriend she needed, so he pushed her away, but he still loves her fiercely. Jeremiah still has feelings for Belly, and the slightest interaction between her and his brother fuels his inferiority complex beyond belief. He may love Belly, but she’s also a token: living, breathing proof that he beat out his brother in something. Belly will always love Conrad, but she needs something easy and simple, and Jeremiah is anything but complex. Unlike Jeremiah, Conrad cares more about Belly than himself; he lets her go, much to his heartache and much to Jeremiah’s triumph.
Last Season
The season three opener, Last Season, starts with Belly’s move-in day at Finch, Jeremiah’s university, which she unabashedly states she chose because it meant she could be with Jeremiah. Gag. We see that Taylor is also attending Finch and seems to have recently broken up with Steven (a plot twist I was not ready for); though, as Belly catches them kissing from the window above, it’s clear early on that there is unfinished business between these two. From here, we jump three years in time with Belly navigating her Junior year and Jeremiah preparing to graduate.
Despite the over-the-top gushing over Jeremiah we’re subjected to in Belly’s narration, clear issues in their relationship are revealed. Jeremiah is in a frat (are we surprised in the least?) and Belly hates it; he smokes too much weed, he complains a lot, and is irresponsible. A point made crystal clear when Jeremiah realizes he won’t be graduating with his class because he never read the emails informing him he is missing core credits for his major. I know what we’re all thinking — Conrad would never let that happen.
As it happens, Conrad is doing great. Entering the season to the tune of Can’t Stop by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Conrad is thriving at Stanford. He’s smiling, he’s going to therapy to work through his anxiety and communication issues (YES CONRAD), is on his way to med school, and has been selected for a highly coveted internship with a respected Doctor. Set to make his return to Cousins next week for Susannah’s memorial, his therapist questions him on the source of his anxiety: Belly’s smiling face from season one appears on the screen.
Later, when being questioned on his romantic unavailability by his friend, Agnes, at the bar, she asks him if he’s ever been in love. “Once.” When Agnes pieces together that Conrad’s Belly is Jeremiah’s Belly, he defends himself: “Hey, she was my girlfriend first.” Oh yes, she was, Connie Baby, and we’re all rooting for you.
Jeremiah’s embarrassment over his graduation slip-up stops Belly from sharing her acceptance to the study abroad Fall semester in France, and again, we’re faced with the painful clarity that Belly will give up whatever for Jer out of guilt over what went down between them FIVE SUMMERS AGO. Come on, Belly. When Steven reprimands her for considering turning down this opportunity — he both highlights that Jer is often oblivious (bringing up an unknown fight over spring break in Cabo where Jer’s shortsightedness stopped Belly from joining him) and that leaving him to handle his mess isn’t the same as standing by him with Suzannah dying (duh) — Belly gets the courage to tell Jeremiah. Unexpectedly, he handles it well and encourages her to chase her dreams. We get a fleeting moment seeing the kindness Belly sees in Jer, before it comes crashing down.
After arriving at a party and steering Belly away from a girl named Lacie, Jelly has a second to shine on the dance floor. (You people must have stronger stomachs than I because seeing Jer sing to Belly sent me running for the bathroom.) When Belly goes to freshen up, she overhears some of the sorority girls talking about how hot Jeremiah looks and smiles to herself in the mirror. That smile quickly fades when she hears a girl tell Lacie how jealous she is that she got to hook up with him in Cabo over spring break. Add being a cheater to the long list of Jeremiah failures!
Belly rushes to confront him, and Jeremiah is terrified; he got caught. I let out a punch in the air when Belly dismissed Jeremiah’s pleas, using the classic Ross argument that “they were on a break,” and tells him she’ll never be able to forgive him for this. My victory felt sealed with that soothing slap to Jeremiah’s face. Forget the 2022 Oscars, this is the slap heard around the world. But, gratification is short-lived; turns out I’m as naive as Belly.
Last Christmas
After the exhilarating end of the first episode, I immediately turned on the next and received the gift of Belly and Jeremiah’s Cabo fight. Maybe I’m just a pessimist clouded with an untethered hatred for this character, but I think Jeremiah’s little “miscommunication” about Cabo was in hopes of getting to act like a single frat guy on spring break at least once before he closed his college career. The fight was so escalated, so confusing, and then ended so abruptly with Jeremiah’s heated scream that they should end it (obviously he was triggered by Belly’s slight at his inferiority complex when it comes to his brother — I’ve never been so proud of you Belly) before he disappears to Mexico for the week without a single text to Belly. Snake. I think we’ve all met this kind of man — a martyr for remaining faithful through university, but even the holy deserve a break, don’t they? Hell no.
Belly ices out Jer all day, walking haunted through the campus with flashbacks of their relationship, and refuses to speak to Taylor. She is in the same sorority as Lacie, but swears she knew nothing, and I believe her. But, I think Belly’s resistance to her comes from a more subconscious place: she doesn’t want to be around another cheater. Much to my disappointment, the previous episode revealed that Taylor and Steven’s tumultuous relationship has taken its darkest turn yet, with both of them cheating on their committed partners despite their painfully clear dedication to one another.
I honestly hate this twist. I just don’t think it makes any sense for their characters, especially Taylor. She’s always been about loyalty and honesty, and now she consistently has sex with another man behind her boyfriend’s back? It feels like a thinly veiled attempt to show a different path to the relationship evolution of high school sweethearts; Conrad and Belly break up, Belly and Jer stay together, and Steven and Taylor become destructive with an unshakeable urge to be drawn back together.
Belly and Jeremiah run into each other on campus the next day, but all Belly is interested in discussing is the details of the betrayal. Don’t worry, Belly, the details are awesome: after manufacturing a break-up with you to sleep with someone else, Jeremiah was so sad on his binge-drinking boy trip in Cabo that Lacie took that as her opportunity to sleep with him (hated the framing of this young girl). The fact that he could do that to you made him even sadder, so to make himself feel better, he did it again! Not a one-time mistake: he slept with her twice, never said a word, and was never planning to. Jeremiah drops to his knees for forgiveness (ew), and Belly walks away.
It seems like Belly is going to stay strong until tragedy strikes. Steven, who has grown tired of pretending he doesn’t love Taylor and is increasingly ashamed that he’s cheated on Mia, ends his relationship and sets off to win Taylor back. Picking her up in the car, he shares the news, to which a shocked Taylor replies bluntly: “I hope you didn’t do that for me.” Steven’s confusion grows into anger as he and Taylor hash it out back and forth. Taylor screams at him to let her out of the car, and when Steven does, he starts turning to follow her, only to be hit by a huge truck. A scene that has been done in every sensationalist TV show ever, but it still had me clutching my gaping mouth.
Taylor and Belly are in shambles at the hospital as Taylor wails that it’s all her fault. Steven has a few broken ribs and a bruise to the brain; he’s been put in a medically induced coma as they determine the severity of his injuries. Taylor calls Jeremiah, who rushes to the hospital and sits in the waiting room to give Belly her space, and Conrad, whom she tells not to fly in.
Feeling the need to help, Conrad approaches Dr Namazy, his new boss and an infamously tough doctor notorious for firing interns on their first day, to see if she has any connections at Steven’s hospital. She agrees to make a few calls and asks Conrad if he needs to take the day off. He declines. We see that while Conrad has grown, he still struggles to recognize and verbalize his limits. Later in the day, when Conrad sloppily mislabels a vial, Dr Namazy fires him on the spot. Conrad is crushed, but the good news is that means a Cousins summer is wide open. Go get your girl, Conrad.
Conrad’s connections have proved fruitful (increasing the comparison between the responsible and thoughtful older brother and the reckless and impulsive younger brother), and Steven has been upgraded to great care. The accident has finally put things in perspective for Taylor, who opens up to an unconscious Steven at his bedside:
“I know I act like I don’t care, but I just — I care so so much. I’m always afraid that it’s just a matter of time before you come to me and you tell me that I’m not worth it. So I figured if I just keep pushing you away and telling you you don’t mean anything to me, then you can’t hurt me.”
– Last Christmas, Episode 2, Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty
I sympathize with Taylor, but scoff at Jenny Han. This feels like Taylor’s recycled storyline from the previous seasons, and it’s growing tired. Taylor senses this too and decides to break off things with her boyfriend and commit to Steven fully. He’s awake upon her arrival, but has grown cold towards her and is unwilling to participate in their usual spiteful banter. Steven has realized that Taylor is right; they don’t work right. Can any relationship be simple in The Summer I Turned Pretty?
Amidst the chaos, Team Conrad gets a win with the long-teased accidental meetup between Belly and Conrad over Christmas. Some are upset about the lack of yearning and passion in the flashback, but I love how they handled it. Belly is in cozy, sweet pajamas with chocolate around her mouth, the unexplained tension of the fireplace, Belly’s heartwarming fall down the stairs, and Conrad’s gentle teasing and care, the two of them simply enjoying each other’s company.
Last Christmas was the foreshadowing of what life together could look like for Belly and Conrad if they finally swallowed their pride. The overwhelming joy I felt when Belly couldn’t bring herself to tell Jeremiah that Conrad and she were together. And of course, the little touch that has fans screaming: Conrad’s parting gift of the crossword they were working on together and the missing clue that Belly writes in: “Novel by Jenny Han, ‘P.S. I (Still) Love You’”. I can’t take the slow burn; I need instant gratification on the rekindling of this relationship.
But that’s proving incredibly tricky with the nauseating ending of the second episode. Belly and Jeremiah step outside to talk things over. Belly concedes that she can understand how Jer thought they were broken up (eyeroll), but doesn’t understand how he was okay enough to have sex with someone so quickly (yeah, Belly, we’re all wondering that). Jer insists that he was numb, and afterwards he sat in the shower for hours and cried (hold on, I’m gonna be sick).
Belly offers a fresh start, and Jeremiah jumps on it. They won’t mess this up again; Steven has shown them that life is too short. With no ring, no kneel, and no love from me, Jeremiah asks Belly to marry him. She says yes, and I’ve never been so disappointed. This is your proposal story, Belly? You caught him lying about sleeping with a girl twice the night before, and are engaged by the next day?
It’s still a long season ahead for Belly to gain some of her self-respect back, but it’s certainly a rocky start. I cannot wait to hear what Laurel and Steven have to say about this (we love a Team Conrad family). More than anything, I am itching to see Conrad find out about Jeremiah’s shady business — I’m picturing something along the lines of “I let the love of my life go so you could turn around and do this to her?” Bring on the reunion of the messiest triangle in existence, and let us welcome a new era of prosperity and Conrad. We all know there’s nothing like your first love. Check back soon to see how that dream is progressing.
Still thinking about Netflix’s Too Much? Check out Bookstr’s review here.
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