Our first official week without an active love triangle in The Summer I Turned Pretty, and the Fishers and Conklins are getting a necessary year of self-reflection, distance, and healing. The second-to-last episode of the series, Last Year, is centered on growth. Though many fans are disappointed with the sudden slow pace of the series over the last two episodes, I think we can all agree that what these characters need is to detox from each other, touch grass, and then regroup. Plus, I’m a sucker for a girl-finding-herself plotline, and Isabel Conklin does Paris well. But fret not: While everyone else may have moved on, Conrad’s still staring at Polaroids, sitting longingly in Belly’s room, writing love letters, and preparing for a grand gesture. So don’t worry about that finale — as if Conrad Fisher would ever let us down.
Happy Thanksgiving
Last Year picks up with Belly prepping homemade stuffing in her Parisian apartment and offering it to her roommates, who convey their disgust in French so Belly can’t understand. A little confused that Belly has taken French for at least six years and can’t make basic conversation, but we march on. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and we go through Belly’s new routine: Pick up a croissant, take online classes at her movie theatre job, head to her bar job, and hang out with her friends.
She’s glowing, but the homesickness eats at her every now and then. When she returns late at night, she and Taylor FaceTime to catch up on the holiday. Back in Boston, Taylor and Steven are hosting a Friendsgiving at his apartment. Their relationship is thriving (thank god) in every way; Steven coming into the room saying “top off, skirt on” not knowing Belly was on FaceTime will forever kill me. Belly is still holding guilt over the wedding debacle, of course, and asks Taylor to send her greetings to Jere.
However, Jere’s busy making out with an unknown girl and getting caught by a guy he’s also seeing. Still petty over the situation last summer, when Taylor mentions Belly, Jere simply replies: “Belly who?” He’s also not taking any classes at Finch, didn’t start the job Adam offered, and has been staying on Steven’s couch for months. But when Adam makes a surprise appearance and discovers Jere hasn’t been staying at the frat house like he said, he finally checks Jere’s entitlement. He cuts him off, and Jere is going to have to sort his future out himself.
Conrad is having a lonely Thanksgiving in California. After calling Laurel and finding out that Belly plans to stay in Paris over the holidays, possibly longer, he decides to write her the first of a series of letters. Pulling the Polaroid of the two of them from five years ago, he describes how he envisions her in Paris, how happy he is that she’s happy, how he likes picturing her finding herself. This is a man who must be deeply loved by his therapist. Belly may be finding herself, but when that letter finds her, it’s clear that her feelings for Conrad can never fully be put to bed. Even if he’s 3000 miles away.
Merry Christmas
From Thanksgiving, we jump right into Christmas. Belly is spending Christmas Eve alone at the bar she works at in Paris, drinking wine, and dancing alone. I know some people aren’t a fan of the Belly-finding-herself storyline, but I personally love it. The personality has improved, the outfits, the extracurriculars. What could Belly have needed more than a reality check and some independence?
What she doesn’t need is Benito, who shows up on Christmas Eve to romance her. (Well, I guess Belly exploring the dating pool outside of a singular set of brothers can only be a positive, but if they try for a minute of airtime of Belly-Benito in the finale, I’ll scream.) After playing a drunken game of darts, they decide to drive around Paris in the snow with Belly driving; Jenny Han loves an Audrey Hepburn parallel, and Belly is getting a Roman Holiday makeover in Paris.
Conrad makes his nervous return to the Cousins House, seeing and speaking to most of them for the first time since the wedding. Steven’s still frosty at him as they play video games, leading him to ask, “Does everyone hate me? Do you still hate me?” We all know how anxious and tight-lipped Conrad is, so hearing him say this direct, desperate line after everything he’s been through was an absolute gut punch. For Steven too, who seems to soften, telling him he doesn’t hate him, they’re family, he just doesn’t know how to be around him after last summer. They talk it over, and the ice seems to thaw. We also get the beautiful detail that Taylor and Conrad have been keeping in touch since the wedding (we love a girl who can switch sides once she has more information).
Why anyone can forgive Jeremiah immediately for cheating on Belly and dating his brother’s ex-girlfriend a couple of weeks after they broke up and their mom died, and not Conrad for being sometimes moody and intervening in a budding, doomed marriage is beyond me, but I digress. Mind you, Jeremiah was rebounding two months after his almost marriage, and Conrad is yearning over Polaroids, writing her letters, and sitting in her bedroom, missing her desperately.
After Jeremiah’s shift at the restaurant (cue entitled-rich-boy-saved-by-passion for cooking redemption arch), he sits in the driveway unable to come in the house. Laurel comes out, forgives him for his insane behavior towards her the day after the wedding, and assures him that no matter what, he’s her family. Jeremiah doesn’t go in; he’s not ready, but seems on the road to being with the extra support from Laurel. I really don’t know if it’s intentional or not how unlikable Jeremiah is, but it’s bordering on unbearable. Even when I’m set up in a scene to feel bad for him, he says some deluded nonsense:
I can’t go in the house without thinking about the two of them. They ruined it for me. And now he gets the family, and he gets Christmas. And I’m just — I lost everyone.”
– Jeremiah in Last Year, episode 10 of The Summer I Turned Pretty season three
I’m sorry, but literally, where has he gotten that impression? Conrad hasn’t seen them since the wedding, he’s been told to f**k off and crawl into a hole by essentially everyone he cares about, and “they” didn’t ruin it: You all did, Jeremiah. The inferiority complex is stinking up the screen. Give this man Conrad’s therapist’s number and get him out of my face. Better yet, reanimate Freud because he’d love the most out-of-pocket line of the series coming from Jeremiah moaning to Denise a couple of hours about missing Christmas dinner: “I feel like losing Belly has been even more painful than losing my mom.” The horror. Oh, Jeremiah — that’s an inside thought, babe, keep that to yourself.
Happy New Year!
Unfortunately, in the eleventh hour, Jenny Han has added two budding romances: Benito and Belly, and Denise and Jeremiah. I honestly don’t even care anymore; set Jeremiah up with Denise (my girl will demolish him if he steps out of line), just keep the story moving. These are not the people I need to see with less than two hours until the series completion. What we do love to see is Taylor and Belly reuniting in Paris over New Year’s Eve. After a montage of them enjoying the day, they go back home and start setting up Belly’s place for a New Year’s Eve party.
Very on brand for Taylor, she pushes Belly to explore the palpable chemistry she has with Benito. Belly pushes the idea away, insisting that she hasn’t been a saint since she’s been in Paris (so Belly’s been hooking up with some people), but she doesn’t want to risk hurting someone else. Right on cue, Jeremiah calls. For the first time in four months, Belly and Jeremiah talk. A call of closure, they wish each other the best and let one another go. In perfect time for the new year.
Jeremiah wasn’t the only Fisher brother to make contact on NYE. In the middle of the party, a box from Conrad gets delivered. Taylor intercepts, putting the pieces together that Conrad has been writing, and that’s why Belly can’t completely move on. She pulls out a giant bag of Sour Patch Kids, another letter, and Junior Mint, the bear Conrad won Belly when they were young. Instinctively, Belly checks its neck: The infinity necklace hides under its scarf. Conrad is never giving up. After a pep talk from Taylor, skillfully avoiding a Belly crashout as always, Belly marches out to the living room and grabs Benito, kissing him as the clock turns over to the new year.
Anniversary of Susannah’s Death
From there, we go rapidly into Spring with Belly and Benito kissing under the covers as her roommates come obnoxiously in and out of her room. More time in Paris has been kind to Belly; she seems more confident, has made close new friends, and her French has finally begun to sound fluent. But she’s supposed to be leaving soon. She heads to her friend Gemma’s stunning apartment to help her move out while Gemma complains about her decision to move home.
This could be your real life. Look, I’ve just got to say this again for the record. I think it’s crazy that you’re leaving. You should stay in Paris. […] It really would be a shame to see this place go to waste. You should take my apartment.”
– Gemma in Last Year, episode 10 of The Summer I Turned Pretty season three
Belly gets interrupted by a call from Laurel, but her face after Gemma’s offer is enough to tell us what the call will entail. Belly is staying in Paris; she feels “like maybe [she’s] not done here.” Hoping to get into an MA program for sports psychology there, work in a friend of hers’ sports clinic, and live at Gemma’s, she thinks she can definitely make it work if she puts her mind to it. Laurel’s pride, tinged with a slight longing for her daughter to come home, is moving.
Belly happened to decide all this on the fifth anniversary of Susannah’s death. Having forgotten the date, Belly feels guilty, but Laurel assures her, “Beck would be so proud of you moving to Paris.” That’s been my thought watching all this drama unfold over the past few episodes: Boy, is it a mess, but Susannah would’ve loved that Belly caused it. Warming at her memory of Susannah’s love of old movies (and Jenny Han’s love of Easter eggs), Belly says:
Gemma’s apartment has a view of the Sacré-Couer. Just like in Sabrina. [Laurel: How perfect.]”
– Belly in Last Year, episode 10 of The Summer I Turned Pretty season three
While things are falling into place for Belly in Paris, relationships are finally beginning to heal in Cousins. Jeremiah shows up at Susannah’s grave and runs into Conrad. The location calls a momentary truce of sorts. For once since the wedding, they don’t immediately bring up Belly. Jeremiah simply says, “I realized this morning I can’t remember her laugh.” Conrad tells him, “I can’t remember her hands.” “They’re like yours,” Jeremiah tells him. There was something so haunting and sweet about this scene. A recentering of the story, a reminder that at the end of the day, these are two boys who lost their mother young. And now to lose each other, that would be a tragedy.
Jeremiah tries to make a quick exit, but Conrad follows him, telling him he’s going to keep trying to make things right. No matter what. Jeremiah begins to launch into the familiar woe-is-me speech he’s been feeding everyone for months, but finally, Conrad calls bullshit. He pushes him about the cheating again, and Jere deflects by blaming it on Christmas. He tells him to admit it, he wanted Belly again and found a way to take her. The speech I’ve been praying for anyone to give Jeremiah finally gets delivered by my number-one guy:
You can’t take someone, Jere. She’s not a f**king object. And the only reason there was any wedding to break up was because you were afraid of losing her. As if a ring could make someone yours. Jere, I’m sorry that I couldn’t stop loving her, and that that hurt you. I hate that. But you’ve been that person too. When you had the chance to be with her a month after she and I broke up, you took it. You think that didn’t f**k me up? You think that was easy for me? And I get it, because… you loved her so much that you forgot about everyone else. I did too.”
-Conrad in Last Year, episode 10 of The Summer I Turned Pretty season three
Jere, for once, is receptive. Maybe Conrad has overwhelming receipts, but I won’t question the win too much. Not only does there seem to be light at the end of the tunnel for this brotherly relationship, but Jeremiah encourages Conrad not to waste his opportunity after all this. The first gold star ever for Jeremiah.
Happy Birthday, Belly! We Hope You Like Your Present
Conrad’s next letter to Belly plays over the scene as the two brothers walk away from one another. He confesses that it killed him to hear she’s spoken to Jere and not him. We switch to Belly (looking fantastic), moving into her new place, and insisting that she sleep alone in her bed on her first night. Benito keeps pushing Belly to come to Mexico for his grandmother’s 80th, and each time she gets this uncomfortable look on her face. What’s stopping you, Belly? The scene moves to Belly at night, sitting at her desk in front of her window, drinking red wine and reading Conrad’s letter (an exact parallel to Sabrina). His words — “You’re pretty much all I think about. Just to be clear” — ring out as Belly finally writes him a return letter. It’s brief, but it’s enough.
In California, Conrad is preparing to leave for a conference in Brussels when Agnes comes over to see him off. She innocently starts talking about Brussels, a Belgian town only an hour and a half from Paris by train. She asks to see the postcard Belly sent. This sweet angel takes it out of his wallet. Agnes tells him, “If you don’t go, you might regret it forever. If you do go, you might regret it forever too, but […] Doctor, help thyself.”
Sign of the Times by Harry Styles begins to play as Belly walks down a Parisian street. We flash to Conrad at the airport, confirming that he wants to spend the extra money on a ticket change to Paris. This is it, people. Belly stops in the hairdresser’s for a dramatic cut on her birthday. The hair Jere insisted Belly should never cut is coming off today, with Conrad en route. On the plane, everyone else is asleep, but Conrad Fisher is wide awake, wired, and ready to see his girl. One episode left. Happily ever after is right around the bend.
Looking for a recap of Last Call? Unpack the ninth episode of season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty here.
Conrad and Belly’s love story ends soon. Find your next romance on our Love Is In The Air: Contemporary Romance bookshelf on Bookshop.
