The emotional ending of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, episode 7, “Last Hurrah,” provides a meaningful callback to another pivotal TSITP episode. Secrets were bound to be revealed during Belly’s (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) respective bachelor and bachelorette parties. Alcohol and weed can be a devastating combination, after all.
By the end of the night, Conrad (Christopher Briney) confesses his love to Belly, resulting in a painful rejection on the beach. It’s a major turning point in the season, as Belly’s conflicted feelings are heightened, and the wedding is just hours away. The Summer I Turned Pretty creator and writer Jenny Han didn’t just want to set the stage for the doomed nuptials, however.
Though certain scenes and lines of dialogue in The Summer I Turned Pretty are lifted straight from Han’s original novels – think of season 3, episode 5’s peach scene, and even Conrad’s desperate beachfront confession – this latest episode includes a parallel that wasn’t in the books. This parallel has certainly made the wedding episode an even more exciting (and dramatic) prospect, though.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 7’s Ending Directly Mirrors Season 1, Episode 6’s Ending
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 7 ends with an all-too-familiar sequence of events. Conrad and Belly meet in the middle of the night, with Conrad wearing his heart on his sleeve. Belly, in turn, rejects him, scared of her feelings and of betraying Jeremiah’s trust. In the end, Belly goes back to sleep in bed with Taylor, while Conrad ends up sitting on the dock, alone.
If you’re wondering why that feels familiar, think back to The Summer I Turned Pretty season 1, episode 6, “Summer Tides.”
After sharing a steamy kiss with Jeremiah, Belly is lured to the docks by a text from Conrad. Conrad gives her the birthday necklace and tells her he doesn’t want to lose her, stumbling over his words. Belly tells him it’s too late, having already asked Jeremiah to be her escort for the debutantes’ ball, and leaves the eldest Fisher brother by himself.
This parallel can’t be a coincidence. Jenny Han is meticulous when it comes to adding detail in The Summer I Turned Pretty and has been from the beginning. Given what occurs at the country club in TSITP season 1, episode 7, “Summer Love,” I think it’s safe to assume Han is setting up a major twist for the wedding in season 3.
Jeremiah & Belly’s Wedding Will Likely Mirror Season 1’s Debutante Ball Twists
During the deb ball, Jeremiah discovers that his mother’s cancer has come back, and leaves before his first dance with Belly. Conrad steps in to save the day, which directly leads to them sharing their first kiss on the beach and eventually getting into a relationship. In response, Jeremiah ignores Belly for nearly a year, until we see them meet up again at the beginning of season 2.
Given the established parallels between season 1, episode 6, and season 3, episode 7, it’s not too much of a stretch to believe that a similar twist will occur in season 3’s wedding episode, even if this does mean departing from the exact events of the final book in Han’s trilogy, We’ll Always Have Summer.
The last few episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty have done enough work to set up Belly’s defection to Team Conrad. This means she could potentially leave Jeremiah standing alone at the country club once again, just like the last time she wore a white, formal dress. Even the setting is the same. From the season 3 trailer, we already know we’ll see Conrad and Jeremiah fight physically again, too.
Though it feels like a lifetime ago, the night of the debutante ball changed everything. At this point, Jeremiah and Belly’s years-long relationship feels like an interlude more than anything else, a way to fill the time between Conrad and Belly’s first dance and their nearly inevitable reconciliation.
There are still four episodes to go, so there’s plenty of time left to fill. The show could explore beyond what the book ever did, including Belly’s potential second relationship with Conrad. Jenny Han has teased as much during promotional interviews. The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 has been a rollercoaster of emotion, but it’s becoming painfully obvious that Conrad and Belly are meant to be together.
New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 premiere weekly on Wednesdays, exclusively on Prime Video.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
- Release Date
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2022 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Prime Video
- Directors
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Erica Dunton, Jesse Peretz, Jeff Chan
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Lola Tung
Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin
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Christopher Briney
Conrad Fisher
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