Disclaimer: spoilers from all episodes are included ahead

            Season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken the world by storm, and with author Jenny Han as an executive producer, avoiding spoilers every Wednesday is nearly impossible. Thirteen years after Jenny Han released the first book of her young-adult series, The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Prime Video in 2022. Millions of viewers flocked to their TVs, appreciating the extensive soundtrack, complicated characters, and New England nautical aesthetic of the show. With the debut of the third and final season, fans worldwide are still debating the infamous love triangle and other controversies within the show. These discussions about the latest season are constantly occurring in online spaces, most frequently on TikTok and Instagram, with people having heated arguments over Team Jellyfish v. Team Bonrad. The unique weekly episode release schedule for this final season, which has not been employed for any of the prior seasons, allows the show to remain in constant discussion. With the final episode being released on September 17, viewers eagerly await the film conclusion in the next few years.

            By the eve of season three, Belly chooses both herself and Jeremiah by returning to her sport of volleyball, with Jeremiah supporting her from the bleachers, while Conrad moves to California to study medicine at Stanford. The season two finale left many fans unhappy with Belly’s choice of Jeremiah, as a majority proclaim themselves as “Team Conrad”. Even so, this made viewers even more excited to watch season three, hoping that Belly would make the right decision with regard to her love life. However, the right decision heavily depends on who one asks. As for the release schedule of the final season, many fans were excited to binge-watch the show in one night. After learning from the production team that one episode would be released at a time, viewers were initially upset and complained that producers were unnecessarily prolonging the anticipated finale. After the show’s conclusion, I’ve noticed that more and more people are appreciating the classic schedule that television had followed until Netflix’s binge-watching practice became popular in the mid-2000s. As for myself, I love this schedule style, as I am reminded of eagerly awaiting the latest episode every week of my favorite Nickelodeon cartoons from my childhood.

            Season three opens with Belly and Jeremiah navigating their relationship at Finch College and tackling difficult circumstances together, most notably when Belly discovers that Jeremiah had been with someone else over spring break in Cabo during some time they spent apart. After watching a flashback scene that took place before Jeremiah left for his trip, it was clear to me that he picked a fight with Belly so he could be with someone else, without feeling guilty. Despite this, after Steven, Belly’s brother, gets into a car accident, Jeremiah makes the insufferable decision to propose to Belly (without a ring, might I add). Whether he did this to end their fight or officially “claim” her, so Conrad could not have her, Belly accepts. Viewers, including myself, were distraught at this. Why Belly said “yes,” no one knows, but so began the nearly unbearable 6-episode period of their engagement. After announcing their news to their families and facing a multitude of disapproval, scenes began to shift towards the many side plots occurring in the show. From Taylor and her mom’s hair salon to Steven, Jeremiah, and Denise’s work, it began to feel like the show was losing its focus on the original love triangle. This became a main issue I had with this season of the show, as it just wasn’t the same as the first two seasons. Producers definitely spread the season too thin, which ultimately led to a rushed conclusion.

            Things picked up, however, when Conrad appeared at the Cousins beach house, where Belly had been staying while she was fighting with her mom. Although awkward at first, he helps Belly with wedding planning while Jeremiah is stuck at work. From getting decorations to flowers, their chemistry begins to reignite and Belly starts to doubt the wedding. Episode 5, narrated by Conrad, solidified my siding with Team Conrad, especially through the reveal of his constant yearning for his lost love. After convincing Belly’s mom to attend the wedding, Laurel makes it clear to him that he is in love with Belly. Days before the wedding, Conrad confesses his love for Belly on the beach, reminding viewers of their breakup scene from season two that also took place on the beach. When Belly tells this to her fiancé, Jeremiah decides to call off the wedding. While he flees to a bar with his friends, Belly escapes to Paris, where she was originally supposed to study abroad, but decided to cancel her trip after complaints from Jeremiah. Those on Team Conrad were elated at this event, with imaginary confetti, balloons, and party hats being worn in our heads. Seeing Belly finally be able to be independent in Paris and learn about herself allowed her character to develop more in a few episodes than it had in the whole season thus far. She explores new styles, experiences, and people, including an unlabeled relationship with Benito. However, on the day before Belly’s twenty-second birthday, Conrad appears for a visit, and they spend the day together. The series finale failed to stay on-task, however, as the show shifted focus back to the dinner party Jeremiah was planning in Cousins, I became increasingly bored. 

            As the episode began to end, with less than half an hour being left and Belly and Conrad still having yet to get back together, I began to feel a wave of fear coming over me that she would choose “herself” or “summer”. This trope has become more and more apparent in modern culture, with Disney princesses being rewritten to incorporate the idea that women are not stereotypical “damsels in distress”. While this is, of course, true, people still expect to see a classic love story every so often. My fears immediately disappeared after the night Belly and Conrad spent together, but despite this, Belly sent him away the next morning after fearing that she would get hurt again. Realizing that this was a mistake, she chases after him, confessing her love, and brings him back to her apartment, where he stayed for the rest of the year. The episode concluded with Belly and Conrad simply returning to the Cousins beach house together, with a montage of photographs from their Christmas in Paris. 

            I felt as though it was a very rushed, unfinished, and half-hearted episode with little closure in the end. Many things were left unresolved, like Conrad and Jeremiah’s relationship, Steven and Taylor’s moving to California, and the future of Belly and Conrad. Mere hours after the release of this episode, the official Instagram of The Summer I Turned Pretty made an official announcement that a movie would be coming out sometime in the upcoming years. Although many were pleased with this ending, I consider it just another example of a storyline spread too thin to allow for a quick conclusion, as we have seen through Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, How I Met Your Mother, and many others. I also think that the announcement of the movie is an attempt at a money-grab, seeing as producers could have easily concluded the show if they had not spent so much time on the meaningless side plots. 

            Despite my approval of Belly’s choice of Conrad, the execution of this conclusion was far more disappointing than I had expected. Fans eagerly await the closure that the film adaptation will bring, and hope that it will fulfil the happy and completed ending that the series finale lacked.