Despite dealing with the same dilemma, the first and the second season of The Summer I Turned Pretty were charming. A third season has to be there, and the network did well to announce it. It will no doubt be set in the Cousins Beach House once again, since the kids have fought so hard for it. As for the timeline, it should be set a year after the events of Season 2, as that is when summer will roll around again. Belly and Jeremiah would have spent a year in college, and Conrad might be back from Stanford. Currently, he seems to be in two minds about going, despite it being his dream college, but now that Belly and Jeremiah are together, he would definitely want to put some distance between them and himself.
Season 2 was based on the second book of the trilogy by Jenny Han, so the third season will follow We’ll Always Have Summer. It might be the final season of the franchise, or given some creative liberties, a fourth season may also be part of the plan. We have not read either of the books, so our speculation about what is to come is based completely on what we have seen happen in the series. The continuing love triangle has to be a part of the narrative, but this time, maybe we will see a more grown-up Conrad. In the words of Steven, he has always been an “all or nothing” guy, and it is for the first time that Conrad has seen how it can cost him. He lost Belly because he did not communicate with her. She was willing to wait and compromise; all she wanted was some words of affirmation, and had Conrad managed to bring himself to do that, he would have still been with Belly.
Conrad wouldn’t want Jeremiah to be hurt, but he might compare himself with him to try and understand what made Belly choose him in the end. We don’t believe that Conrad would try to be like his brother, but some intense self-reflection and growth have to be one of his goals for the year. We may see a very different Conrad in Season 3, and undoubtedly, there is something about a “bad boy” learning emotional maturity that is going to make Belly stop and think. But that will only happen if there is some friction in her relationship with Jeremiah. A conversation between Steven and Taylor comes to mind, which also makes us think of another conversation from a different show with yet another love triangle: that while one brother will always be good for the girl, the other is either the best or the worst for her (Vampire Diaries). Just speculation, but Damon had a lot of maturing to do before Elena decided to act on her feelings for him, which is something similar to what Conrad needs to do now. We don’t suppose that he will actively fight for Belly in Season 3, and he may also try to stay away from the couple. That is warranted after his little display in the car in episode 8 of season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty. But the heart wants what it wants.
When it comes to Jeremiah and Belly, we know they will be a good couple who communicate and understand each other. But Belly comes across as someone who needs to be pushed, and she grows through the challenges thrown at her. Jeremiah doesn’t seem like the challenging type, at least not for Belly. The Summer fandom has been divided into Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah so badly, but maybe we have all ignored what the prize is. We are not dissing Belly, but we are considering that being with someone may not be the achievement it is being touted to be. We have all been asking who would be better for Belly: Conrad or Jeremiah? But we have not asked who would be good for either Conrad or Jeremiah. Is it someone like Belly?
In our opinion, if these three had been real-life people instead of characters in a story, we would say that Conrad should try dating from scratch with someone that he won’t get too involved with but can be there for, while testing how he handles the emotional responsibilities of the situation. Belly also needs something similar. We agree that she may have chosen to be with Jeremiah out of genuine feelings for him, but what would she have done if he was not in the picture at all? Would she have been single or eventually gotten together with Conrad? Season 3 might probably give us a conclusive answer to this. But there is also the question of Jeremiah. We have always felt that Belly was not good enough for him. She isn’t a bad person or even immature the way Conrad is, but there is a certain clarity and care to Jeremiah’s character that we have not really seen in anyone else. He deserves someone who thinks of him before anyone else. Maybe these are the very cracks that will start forming in their relationship before next summer happens, and they start to realize that they don’t have to be together after all. The bond between the two of them is unique, but it is not necessarily relationship-material.
There are other characters to consider as well. Laurel has a lot to sort through regarding her feelings after Susannah’s death and how she moves on in her own life. Then there is the matter of Adam Fisher, Conrad, and Jeremiah’s father. He may have a greater role to play in Season 3, and his continued presence may bring up old resentments between him and his children. Laurel and he might also have some tense interactions, and we wonder if Julia and Sky will make a comeback in Season 3. They should, to prove that they indeed have a place there and that it was not just lip service on the part of the Fisher brothers to get them to sell the house to them. We also want to see how fun Taylor and Steven turn out to be. They are an interesting couple and a much better fit than Belly-Jeremiah or Belly-Conrad. The last season may just be the best of them all.
