The final episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 was released on Wednesday, Sept. 17, marking a bittersweet moment for fans who’ve been following the series since July.
The good news? it’s technically not officially over. After three seasons of this top-charting Amazon Prime Video TV series, producers have announced The Summer I Turned Pretty movie! There’s no official release date yet, but it offers hope for fans seeking closure after the season finale.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is a television adaptation of Jenny Han’s best-selling novel trilogy. Fun fact: Han is also the executive producer of the series. In the past, she wrote and produced To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and XO, Kitty.
The show follows the main lead Isabel Conklin, also known as Belly, a teenage girl who visits the Cousins Beach house every summer with her family to spend it with her mom’s best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. One summer, Belly is all grown up, and that’s when the boys start thinking of Belly as more than just a friend — as a love interest. From there, drama unfolds as Belly tries figuring out her feelings for the two brothers.
Let’s get back to season 3, shall we? (Spoilers ahead)
Season 3 opens with a time jump: Belly and Jeremiah have been dating for four years. Throughout the season, we learn that lingering feelings remain between Belly and Conrad. The biggest surprise this season? Belly and Jeremiah announce their engagement, which both families are initially against, until they learn to accept it. The day before the wedding, Conrad confesses his love for Belly. The wedding is cancelled, and Belly flees to Paris to figure out her life from scratch.
The show features various Taylor Swift songs, including “Daylight,” “Out of the Woods” “cardigan,” and more. “Dress” plays during Belly and Conrad’s intimate scene in the episode finale. The lyrics reflect Belly’s emotional journey, adding a nice touch to the show’s atmosphere.
The pacing felt slow at times. For example, in Episode 7, “Last Hurrah,” Belly and Jeremiah rehearse a dance with their friends before the wedding — a scene that felt unnecessary. In Episode 9, “Last Call,” after Belly arrives in Paris and finds out her bag has been stolen, a long portion of the episode was taken up by a chase sequence that doesn’t add much to the plot. Other than some unnecessary filler moments, the season moved at a regular pace.
One thing the show does well is evoke a range of emotions: happiness, sadness, pity and frustration. On Belly’s wedding day, when she tells Jeremiah that she still has a piece of her heart left for Conrad, I felt sorry for Jeremiah. When Steven, Belly’s brother, and Taylor, her best friend, cheat on their partners to be together, I felt frustrated. And when Belly and Conrad finally end up together, I felt fulfilled. This allows the audience to connect on an emotional level, which explains the reason for the show’s popularity.
The show has its engaging elements, but there are some character flaws. For instance, Jeremiah appears as a dependable and mature character in the first two seasons. He seemed like someone who could take care of Belly, but in Season 3, his image fluctuates in a not so positive way. The storyline also feels predictable. There’s nothing wrong with a predictable plot, but I enjoy a show with some twists and turns, where I’m left wondering what’s going to happen next. There were some surprise elements, with Jeremiah and Denise ending up together at the end, but when it came to Belly, there was always a gut feeling that she would go back to Conrad.
Despite the good and bad, I genuinely looked forward to getting home on Wednesdays. I’d turn on my computer, get on call with my friends, and stream the season together. I really enjoyed the weekly release of one to two episodes. It helped build anticipation and prolong the fun, especially for someone like me who has no self-control when it comes to shows.
Final thoughts
The Summer I Turned Pretty is a fun, romantic TV series to watch with your friends and gossip about. Is it the best show I’ve ever seen? No. When the movie comes out, would I go see it? One hundred per cent.
I would rate it a solid seven out of 10 stars.
What I learned from this? Maybe don’t go after two brothers…
