Well, at least she didn’t pick summer. The TV adaptation of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty concluded with its finale on Wednesday, Sep. 17, and perhaps its only saving grace was the John and Laurel side plot.
The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the story of Isabel “Belly” Conklin and her love triangle with the Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah, who are long time family friends. I’ll admit, this plot is done (albeit a bit cliché at times) very well in the first two seasons of the show. So, what happened with the third season?
The third season opens with Belly about to take on her first year at a fictional university, following her boyfriend, Jeremiah Fisher. Do not get used to these two though because in the second episode, it’s revealed that he cheated on her, twice, on a spring break trip to Cabo. But it’s okay though because they were “broken up.”
A hop, skip, and a jump later, Belly’s brother Steven ends up in the hospital due to a car crash caused by his on again off again girlfriend, Taylor. More on these guys later. At the hospital (where her brother is essentially fighting for his life, mind you) Jeremiah proposes to Belly. Audiences rioted everywhere, especially when Belly accepted without hesitation.
So, Belly and Jeremiah are scandalously engaged, and because there would be no love triangle without a third party, we find out just how much Conrad (Jeremiah’s older brother and Belly’s ex-boyfriend) has been pining for Belly.
Throughout the season, Belly and Conrad spend a perplexing amount of time together considering, one, they are exes, and two, she’s literally marrying his brother. However, to no one’s surprise, Belly’s feelings for Conrad begin to resurface, until everything falls apart when he confesses his undying love to her, and you’ll never guess when, the night before she marries, say it with me now, his brother.
Okay, summaries aside. Where season three falls short is its rushed and unthoughtful writing. The constant back and forth of the characters and their relationships is, frankly, exhausting and hard to watch.
Back to Steven and Taylor, the not so star-crossed lovers. Han’s writing in the show makes the already messy and tiring “love” story between them even worse than the previous two seasons. Just when audiences thought there was hope in the funny, smart, and sarcastic character Denise, our dreams were crushed when the two didn’t work out. Han’s token disposable person of color love interest strikes again, just like Cam Cameron.
The Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad love triangle isn’t much better either. Admittedly, yes, it is a major part of the show. However, when the story line is repeatedly dragged through the mud and redone the same way over and over again, it loses its novelty.
It’s unfortunate to see such an iconic show (and book series) get the send off it did. If Belly spent this summer figuring out her life, and not ruining a family, season three would be much better off.
