The final season of Prime Video’s book-adaptation phenomenon, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” has not only reignited one of the hottest fan-based debates in television, but it has also wrapped up a show filled with love and heartbreak.
As a quick recap for the show, the story is set in the fictional Cousins Beach, Massachusetts. The main character, Belly Conklin, spends every summer with her family and Laurel’s best friend’s family in a summer house. Susannah, Laurel’s best friend, knew Belly was destined to be with one of her boys. Conrad, the nerdy, intellectual aspiring doctor, or Jeremiah, the charming, outgoing golden retriever. This choice for Belly has sparked a worldwide debate.
This debate, for fans, is not only about which brother gets the girl. It’s about which love story we believe in. Will Belly choose Conrad’s brooding affection, or Jeremiah’s surface-level love?
By the end of season one, Belly ended up with Conrad. Then the boys’ mother, Susannah, dies of complications with cancer. A hard-hitting loss for the entire family. By the end of season two, Belly was with Jeremiah. In the books, it is written that Belly ends up with Conrad. Will author Jenny Han change the narrative?
Season three was by far the most eventful season yet. The season starts with Belly moving into college for her freshman year. She goes to the same college as her then-boyfriend, Jeremiah. We see them navigate their college years; by Jeremiah’s senior year and Belly’s junior year, they’re pretty comfortable in college. Until Belly finds out Jeremiah cheated on her while they were on a break in Cabo during spring break.
After hearing this, more fans started to switch over to Team Conrad. Fans knew that Conrad would never do that to Belly. We later find out that Jeremiah only picked a fight with Belly before spring break because he found out that Belly and Conrad spent a night at the summer house together. Although Belly and Conrad didn’t do anything, Jeremiah felt hurt that Belly hid this from him. Then, Belly and Jeremiah make up, and Jeremiah proposes.
The whole family is distraught at the news of the two getting married, and so were fans. They couldn’t actually be getting married, right? Well, thankfully for Conrad fans, the wedding gets called off the day of because Conrad confesses his love to Belly the night before, after finding out his brother cheated on her.
Belly uses this event in her life to make a change. It has always been her dream to study in Paris, so she packs up her life and takes off. At this point, some fans are getting sick of the whole debate on which boy deserves her. Some fans feel as if she’s getting passed around the two brothers and that maybe it’s time to move on. Belly gets to Paris and realizes there is no room in the program she wanted to study. As she leaves the romantic city, her bags get stolen, and in the adventure of getting her stuff back, Belly meets a new group of friends and a potential lover, Benito.
This whole new era of Belly shows exponential growth, and we start to see Belly grow into an adult. Belly works lots of crappy jobs, learns French and finds a full-time place to live in. We even start to see her move on from the boys with Benito, even though Conrad is still sending her letters, trying to reconnect with her.
Benito is from Mexico, and they hit it off immediately after meeting. Their relationship isn’t really detailed throughout the season, but we can see during the finale episode that Benito and Belly aren’t a couple in the slightest.
In the finale, Conrad flies to Paris to see Belly. He needs to get her back, and it pains him that he hasn’t seen her. When he gets to Paris, Belly shows him around, and after Belly rejects him for the millionth time, she realizes that she has only ever loved him. She chases after him through the streets of Paris, and she chases him onto his train to Brussels. She (finally) confesses her love to him and they end up together. The episode ends with the two back in Cousins Beach and living happily.
Although the show had a happy ending, fans felt like there were so many loose ends that weren’t tied up. For example, in the last book, the wedding is a huge life-altering event for Belly. Fans were expecting that and were upset when they didn’t get it. That is, until the day of the finale premiere, Prime Video announced “The Summer I Turned Pretty” movie.
Fans are now devising theories on what the movie will include, and it’s creating buzz on what the storyline will look like. So, if you aren’t a fan yet, definitely go catch yourself up on all the details of the past three seasons before the movie comes out. You definitely don’t want to miss this!
