(Jashodhara Jindal / Heights Editor)
Is Belly even worthy of Conrad’s love? That’s the question that lingers throughout the third and final season of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty.
The show follows Isabel Conklin, aka Belly (Lola Tung), as she gets lost in a turbulent Bermuda love triangle with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) Fisher. What once might have seemed like sweet teenage love is now a tiring back-and-forth for viewers.
This season saw the show’s tensions reach their peak. In the second episode of the season, Steven (Sean Kaufman)—Belly’s older brother and Jeremiah’s best friend—gets into a car accident. The fallout from that, along with a messy fight, prompts super-senior Jeremiah to propose to Belly—their wedding prep being the main focus of season three.
Why the rush? That’s the question everyone—including their parents—ask ourselves every episode.
The answer? Jeremiah is scared of losing Belly.
Despite their relationship having been about four years ago, Conrad and Belly were the it couple, the pair most—dare I say all—viewers rooted for. Some might argue that too much time has gone by for there to be hope for the couple’s rekindling.
Luckily for Amazon Prime Video, the show’s fanbase is a loyal one, tuning in every Wednesday in hopes today will be the episode Conrad and Belly will get back together. Because one thing is for sure: In the Jenny Han universe, the fan-favorite couple will end up together.
The final episode follows Conrad as he flies to Paris in an impromptu visit to his lifelong love. After a little resistance on her end, Belly finally gives in. The public gets everything we’ve been waiting for. In a stroll through the city of love, the two share a kiss—and that’s only the beginning of the night. Briney and Tung’s chemistry is undeniable, and viewers can’t help but grasp the edge of their seats as we watch the highly anticipated kiss.
In the morning, however, the spell seems to be broken. Sweet Conrad wakes up to independent (and mean) Belly, who tells him he should leave and take the earlier train to his medical conference in Berlin.
We’ve waited years for this moment, for wishy-washy Belly to finally reunite with “Connie Baby,” and this is what we get? Thankfully, she realizes the mistake she’s just made and runs to meet him at the station.
“Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift plays as Belly dramatically runs into the train, her newly-cut bob waving side to side, and finds teary-eyed Conrad moping as he stares out the window.
“Conrad, I choose you of my own free will,” Belly declares. “If there are infinite worlds, every version of me chooses you in every one of them.”
They kiss, and that’s the start of our long-anticipated happily ever after. Or something like that.
Though I can’t complain too much about the ending because, after all, Conrad and Belly did end up together, it felt rushed. Most of their time together this episode was spent reminiscing about all of their rights and wrongs, while little time was devoted to discussing the present or future.
The same can be said about side characters. In a six-month time jump, from the penultimate episode to the finale, Jeremiah randomly takes up cooking and becomes a professional chef. How does this chef plotline even emerge? We knew about his obsession with the infamous two-tier cake with a raspberry coulis filling and dark chocolate mirror glaze, but that’s about it.
Jeremiah also shares a kiss with his ex-coworker Denise (Isabella Briggs), hinting at a potential new couple for The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Movie. Random? Maybe. But perhaps that was Han’s way of making the younger Fisher brother happy, distracted from the fact that his ex-fiancée is now dating his older brother. Again.
Denise and Steven, who co-founded a startup, are moving to California to expand their business venture. Taylor (Rain Spencer), Belly’s best friend and Steven’s girlfriend, is initially taken aback by the fact that her boyfriend is moving across the country, providing fans with a new climactic point mid-episode.
The couple ends up having a civil conversation—for once—and decides to move together to San Francisco, giving fans the satisfaction of seeing the beloved duo working things out.
Despite the few random and rushed details, the show successfully tied up any loose ends. Fans got to see a whole new side of Belly, who puts herself first, and only because of that can work things out with Conrad.
The last scene has Belly and Conrad, in an unspecified time jump, driving back to Cousins, indicating that this time, the two have finally managed to work together. The final shot sees the couple smiling in front of the house, in what feels like an appropriate way to wrap up The Summer I Turned Pretty. This is where it all started, and this is where it ends.