Are you team Edward or Jacob? Peeta or Gale? Conrad or Jeremiah? Following a long and divisive history of love triangles, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has made its own mark on pop culture. Having finished its third and final season, the coming-of-age series never achieved the status of prestige television, and most of my enjoyment came from rehashing the show’s absurdity with my friends.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows the story of Isabel (Lola Tung), known as “Belly,” throughout her tumultuous relationships with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) Fisher, her family friends. The three of them grew up together as their families spent every summer together at the Fisher’s beach house. The show establishes early that Belly has always been obsessed with the older brother, Conrad, but both brothers end up vying for her attention. Belly and Conrad briefly enter a relationship before splitting up due to the grief Conrad was facing as his mother, Susannah (Rachel Blanchard), was fighting cancer.
At the end of season two, after Susannah’s death, Belly and Jeremiah, the younger brother, start dating while attending the same college. Their relationship lasts through Belly’s junior year, when they abruptly get engaged following a nerve-racking family emergency.
Over the course of season three, Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship falls apart, leading to their wedding being canceled on the day of. Subsequently, Belly moves to Paris to get away and fulfill her childhood dreams. After a year abroad, Conrad visits Belly and the pair finally rekindle their relationship, getting their happily ever after.
If that description seemed ridiculous to you, you aren’t alone. I discovered “The Summer I Turned Pretty” when it first aired in 2021. The TV series is based on Jenny Han’s book franchise of the same name. I previously enjoyed Han’s other series, “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” so rather than jumping into the show, I read the books first. When reading them, I laughed at how nonsensical everything was. None of the characters’ choices made sense, but I kept reading; I had to see how it was going to end.
My experience with the show has been the exact same. The story is similarly baffling. Even though I knew the general direction of the plot, all of the book’s absurdity was amplified in the show. The conclusion of the third and final season aired Sept. 17. It ended with Belly and Conrad returning to his family’s summer house, where the story began. In my opinion, the finale failed to provide a satisfying ending to the story.
Many of the choices in the final episode were awkward. After spending the night together, Conrad tells Belly that she’s stuck with him. This makes both Belly and the audience feel awkward. With only thirteen minutes left in the entire show, Belly rejects Conrad once again only to immediately turn around and change her mind. The pacing of the show, especially the finale, felt off. There just wasn’t enough time given to the main romance, with screentime instead going toward concluding the side characters’ plots.
Although I know my frustrations aren’t unique, I also understand that those criticisms won’t change the show or the finale. In fact, part of the show’s pride seems to be the description of “so bad it’s good,” and part of my joy became complaining about it. Week after week, I’d tune in and be annoyed with the decisions of the characters, the pacing and the script. But no matter what, I was clicking on the next episode as soon as it dropped.
Although this can be fun, the acceptance of whatever the show gives the audience is what allows the people behind the screen to poorly stretch the story out for as long as possible. Rather than actually completing the story from the books within the three seasons, a movie was announced to adapt the next stages of Belly and Conrad’s romance. Although I know I’ll be tuning in to the upcoming film, I’m disappointed to see such an obvious attempt to remain relevant and earn more money.
Rating: 3/5
