Hopefully, we’ve all recovered from the Jeremiah cheating turned proposal scandal that unfolded in the first two episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty’s final season. (I say that for positive manifestation, as I certainly haven’t recovered). However, the terrors unfortunately persist in the latest episode of the series, where Jeremiah and Belly float away in their delusional love bubble. Don’t worry, all bubbles pop eventually.
Engaged in College
Last Supper, episode three of season three, begins with an affronting scene of Jeremiah and Belly kissing in bed, basking in the love-soaked haze of their secret proposal. Thankfully, the affection is cut short as Belly rushes to meet a love-sick Taylor for coffee, but not short enough. As Belly pulls up her jeans, she turns around to a (finally) kneeling Jeremiah holding up an engagement ring. Or at least I think? I can hardly see it. I hate to sound part of the romantic commodification capitalist scheme, but come on. It’s not so much the ring’s appearance, but what it gives out — it’s wimpy, much like the relationship it’s meant to be binding.
Belly’s nauseating cheerfulness is chased by Taylor’s refreshing bleakness at the coffee shop, where she is literally on the brink of starvation as she waits for Belly. We spend about a minute on Taylor and Steven’s situation (even though it’s supposedly the whole reason they’re meeting), where Taylor, in Taylor fashion, insists she doesn’t even care and even if he were to come crawling back, begging on his knees, she wouldn’t — wait, did he say something? Suffering and trying to push it off, Taylor switches topics to Jer and Belly’s reunion. Belly, fishing to spill the news with her unshakeable smile, tells Taylor about the engagement. Sensibly, as always, Taylor reacts:
“Oh, my god, are you pregnant? [Belly: What? No!] Then, why? [chuckles] Oh, it’s because of Steven’s accident.”
-Last Supper, episode three of season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty
Finally, someone to pop Belly and Jeremiah’s delusional bubble. Belly, while completely deluded, has enough recognition to at least vaguely connect the proposal and accident with the fear she had over losing the boys when Susannah passed, but not enough. Outraged by the most reasonable response a 21-year-old can give when her 20-year-old best friend tells her she’s getting married in three months, Belly leaves to finish moving out of her dorm and back to Philadelphia before leaving for Cousins for Susannah’s dedication.
Pining in Philadelphia
After nearly revealing his and Laurel’s secret rekindling on the night of Steven’s accident, John drops Belly home and comes back to a guilt-ridden, anxious, and slightly mean Laurel. Laurel is racked with guilt over missing Belly’s calls about Steven because she was too busy getting back together with her ex-husband, and is overcompensating with overbearing maternal care to an irritated and frustrated Steven, and by shutting out said ex-husband. Laurel tells John it may be best if he skips the dedication, majorly disrupting Belly and Jeremiah’s plans of telling their family when they’re all together.
One of the best parts of season three, as of yet, is finally getting to a deeper look at Taylor (an arguably more interesting and well-rounded female lead). We get to see Taylor arrive home from college to her single, young mother, Lucienda, who is made from the thinly veiled blueprint of Lorelai Gilmore. Taylor and Lucienda’s relationship is clearly friend-parent, parent-daughter, like we see in so many representations of single parenting, but, nevertheless, endearing. Lucienda talks like a peer, but doesn’t shy away from real parenting moments, telling Taylor that Steven is the only boy she’s ever dated who is even remotely worthy of her and not to let pride stand in the way of what’s best for her.
Taylor takes Lucienda’s advice and heads to Belly’s to apologize for their argument (girl, you shouldn’t have to apologize for being real with your best friend) and “run into” Steven. Taylor is the “founding member of Team Jellyfish” (up there along with habitual cheating as her biggest fault) and the “captain” of Team Belly, so of course, she is now the biggest supporter of this engagement. I could only maintain my composure because of what I, and Taylor, know is coming: Laurel is going to lose it when she finds out. Patience.
At least she pointed out that the ring resembles a “sliver of tinfoil”. Taylor successfully intercepts Steven and tries out their usual, mean, but flirty banter on an unresponsive Steven. Her fleeting attempts to offer comfort and her hand lightly grazing his arm almost make him crack, but he stays strong. When Lucienda finds out Taylor’s visit didn’t go to plan, she does what any overly involved, “hip” mom would do: she calls her daughter’s ex-boyfriend herself. Making up a story that she needs help making sense of her books, Lucienda enlists Steven with the task and tells him to talk out next steps with Taylor: “You’re still friends, right?”
Unfortunately, Steven finds issues when looking over Lucienda’s paperwork and calls Taylor to tell her. A blindsided and embarrassed Taylor finds out that Lucienda’s ex-boyfriend has plunged her mother’s business into debt and may cause her to close. Steven clearly wants to be there for Taylor, offering his help filling out loan paperwork, but, as always, Taylor’s vulnerability causes her to shut him down. As Lucienda cries at her college-aged daughter about what she should do, we see that Taylor does a lot more parenting than she ever should.
Heartbreak in Cousins
Despite having been fired from the job that was standing in the way of attending Susannah’s dedication, Conrad is still not going. Please. Agnes clocks Conrad’s avoidance, telling him point-blank he needs to go to Cousins for exposure therapy if he ever wants to move on from Belly. Unluckily for him, Belly wakes up early to pull out all the stops for Susannah’s dedication and her engagement announcement. But, let me ask you, do we think Belly ever really thought Conrad wouldn’t be there?
Arriving in Cousins to an unironed Jeremiah with a weird quilted tie, Belly gushes about wanting to show off her engagement ring and wishes Jeremiah luck on his big speech for Susannah. Jeremiah does surprisingly well; the speech is thoughtful, warm, and — oh, that makes more sense, Conrad wrote it. I wonder if Belly knows that… It’s okay, Conrad doesn’t seem to need the extra juice. As the dedication draws to a close and Belly runs over to tell Jeremiah how proud she is of him, she completely loses track of space, time, and her fiancé when she lays eyes on Conrad. With the signature Conrad yearning, soft smile, and weighted, lingering glance, Belly and Conrad have more chemistry and romance in a fleeting moment than Belly and Jeremiah have throughout the season.
Their intimacy is interrupted by Jeremiah, who Belly seems to have forgotten is even there, and the rest of the family rushing over to greet him. As he makes his rounds, he stops for a moment longer in front of Belly, before they let out awkward, goofy “hi’s” and Conrad scoops her up in a friendly hug. Adam, clueless and unbearable as usual, lets out a shivering remark: “Ah, Connie’s really glad to have his little sister around again.” Everyone cringes at the glaringly obvious elephant in the room, and Conrad lets out an awkward and honestly hilarious, “How you been, little sis?” to cut the tension. As Belly wraps her arms around Jeremiah and says, “we’ve been great”, it’s clear why Conrad hasn’t been around much in the past two years: he cannot possibly hide that he still has feelings for Belly. It’s written all over him the second he sees her.
When they arrive at the restaurant, Laurel asserts that lunch is on her. Belly nervously looks at her mother. Adam seems elated and promptly orders the most expensive thing on the menu, which an oblivious Jeremiah copies, while Belly orders a soup as her entree (clearly trying to cut down the bill). Conrad follows her example and orders the cheapest entrée. It’s the little things. Conrad is questioned by Steven about why they never see him, it’s been almost two years. The weighted knowledge of Conrad and Belly’s secret Christmas causes Conrad to blush, and Belly conceals a slight smile. Steven cheekily asks if Conrad’s got any girls out in California. “No. No girl.” Well, Conrad, you could’ve borrowed one of Jeremiah’s! He had two at one point.
Laurel announces that she and Adam would like to make a toast, which Adam quickly colonizes. Adam rushes through a brief, confident, and unsurprisingly unsentimental toast to his late wife and continually steamrolls through Laurel’s attempts to join in. But of course, when Adam raises a toast to Susannah, Laurel raises a toast to Beck (Susannah’s nickname and maiden name). Laurel extends the sentiment by going around and praising the kids for their accomplishments. When Adam gets around to Jeremiah, he’s crueler than even I am to Jeremiah:
“And, let’s not forget Jeremiah, our super senior. Fingers crossed, only one more semester till the diploma. And then, I guess, we’ll see [chuckles].”
Now he’s done it. Belly, fiercely protective of Jeremiah as always, pipes up and tells the table that Jer has a lot to be excited about in the future. Their future. She announces their engagement. An immediate camera turn fixes on a physically ill Conrad; we all just watched him get speared through the chest. As Laurel, Steven, and Adam break out in outrage and disapproval, Conrad sits, gaping-mouthed, shell-shocked as his family bickers around him. All the perfect descriptors are getting thrown out: wild, insane, crazy, delusional. Clock it, Laurel and Steven.
When Adam, material-minded as always, tells Jeremiah he isn’t getting his mother’s ring, I braced myself for what was sure to follow. Belly proudly pulls out her ring and puts it on her fingers for all to squint at and Conrad to despair at and me to stifle my laugh at. The allusion to The Notebook is unmistakable and, hopefully, means we just have to play the long game on this one. The one word Conrad utters is in response to Steven asking if he knew about this: “No”, he says quietly. Laurel cancels lunch, and Belly and Jeremiah rush to the parking lot, shocked at how badly this went. A fuming Laurel grabs Belly and says they’re going home. The Conklins pile into the car while Adam and Jeremiah drive off. We’re left with a solitary Conrad, watching them drive off, in disbelief, surrounded by a quiet devastation.
Last Supper makes it almost impossible to understand how Belly and Conrad will end up together and, simultaneously, still makes it painfully clear that they will. As always, Belly has made a mess. This one is on a catastrophic level. But, still, I’m rooting for these two. Or maybe I’m just rooting for Conrad. I’ll check on our boy next week and get back to you soon.
Need a refresher on the first two episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty? Click here.
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