It’s back and as dramatic as always. The Summer I Turned Pretty has finally put out its final season. In this season, we skip a few years into the future, and things are getting serious, whether it’s the kids going to college or starting off work. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely Team Jeremiah, and I feel like the show (possibly the books as well, but I wouldn’t know since I haven’t read them) is pushing us to dislike him. I don’t know about you, but Golden Retriever Boy’s behavior doesn’t necessarily make sense for the kind of person that he is. Sure, he’s carefree and unserious, but he still loves Belly more than anything in the world, so this first episode really just left me more annoyed than anything. But anyway, without wasting your time further, let’s jump into episode 1 of season 3.
Spoiler Alert
Is Belly Going To Paris?
Episode 1 opens with Belly driving off to college; finally, something to look forward to outside of the summer. It’s cute to see the whole family together, dropping her off (even though she’s the one driving). Also, I want to talk about Steven’s new look, like what’s going on here? he looks like a totally different person. Anyway, we already knew Belly chose Finch because Jere and Taylor are around too, but they’re rooming separately because they want to try new things without each other too. Laurel gives Belly a picture of Susannah and her from when they were in college and then reminds her that even though she loves Jere, Belly should be open-minded. Laur! You wouldn’t have said so if it were Conrad (sigh). Suddenly, 3 years have passed; Jere’s a frat boy, Taylor’s a sorority girl, and Belly is studying sports psychology because she hurt herself playing volleyball and had to quit. It’s meant to be Jere’s big moment, because he’s supposed to be graduating this year. Belly’s sad that they won’t be spending time together in the dorm rooms or at school anymore, but alas. Meanwhile, there’s supposed to be a dedication ceremony for Susannah in the summer, and the boys are meant to give a speech.
Speaking of, Conrad is apparently doing better and going to therapy, but he’s obviously still not over Belly. Hey, at least he’s doing well in school and has a female friend named Agnes who everybody is rooting for. Conrad isn’t too excited about the dedication ceremony because he doesn’t want to embarrass anybody. But it’s good to see him working on himself. Later, he learns that he got an internship with a Dr. Namazy, and Agnes got it too. He seems happy, but the internship begins the same week, which means he can’t leave for the ceremony. He tells Laurel about it, and she tells him to tell Jere as soon as possible since they’re meant to be doing the speech together.
Meanwhile, Steven and Taylor, (who both have partners outside of each other), are sleeping together after bumping into each other in New York. Steven is working at a big firm after graduating early from Princeton (wow, what a smartie), and his colleague, Denise, seems to be annoyed by Steven the intern, maybe provoked by jealousy, but I wonder if there’s going to be something between them in the future. Belly shows up for their study session but doesn’t realize it’s her brother in the room and not Taylor’s boyfriend. Steven ends up falling asleep because her “sisters” don’t leave the house, forcing him to hide in her room. Apparently, this is a no-strings-attached thing, and Taylor’s happy if there’s no drama between her and Steven; however, after spending the whole day waiting for her, Steven has some new plans.
While studying with Taylor and Anika, Belly learns that she got off the waitlist for a study abroad program she applied to in Paris. Any sane person would immediately choose to go, but she got used to the idea of staying back, so she’s reconsidering. When Belly goes to meet Jere, she learns that he has to do another semester, which somehow makes her decision even harder because she’s young and thinks she needs to be there for Jere. But, after what happens next, it looks like Belly’s going after all (for now, at least).
Why Do Jere and Belly Break Up?
Later at night, the gang’s meant to be celebrating, but Jere gets a call from his dad telling him off for messing things up really badly and making him pay more tuition. Jere gets upset and tells Belly he can’t join them for dinner, but he hopes to show up for the party after. Steven is still team Conrad, it looks like, because during dinner, he reminds Belly how a lot of what Jere does makes her annoyed too. Belly tells Steven that she knows about him and Taylor, so he’s not one to talk about messing up. But Belly also tells him about Paris, and Steven convinces her to go and also to tell Jere immediately because it would give him a chance to step up as well.
On the other hand, Conrad manages to reach Jere, but Jere tells him about the school stuff, so Conrad can’t really tell him about not being able to make it for the speech. But it seems the brothers are doing well in terms of how things turned out the last time we saw them hanging out, which I think is great. We don’t need Belly to ruin this sibling love; that is not what we support. Belly and Jere meet at the party, and Belly tells him that she got off the waitlist. He tells her they should celebrate and that she should go for sure. The party starts off all fun and cozy and cute, but then a massive bomb is dropped on Belly.
At the end of The Summer I Turned Pretty episode 1, Belly overhears Lacie, a girl from Taylor’s sorority, talk about hooking up with Jere in Cabo. Now, this is giving “Friends,” and that’s why we think this show is for millennials, but it turns out Jere and Belly broke up for a tiny second, and Jere went and slept with somebody else. Belly completely loses it and tells Jere that he’s ruined everything and that she doesn’t want to see him ever again. This breakup truly seems like the end because how can Belly forgive Jere for such a big mistake? Oh, and Conrad tells Agnes about how he’s been pining for his brother’s girlfriend and that he was a terrible boyfriend when he had the chance.
