It has been a long and thoughtful ride over the past few weeks with Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. We have liked some of the characters and disliked them at times, but most of all, we have learned to understand them. Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty is, indeed, far better than Season 1 because, this time, the mushy moments do not only give us butterflies but, at all times, make us privy to the gravity of the situation that the protagonists find themselves in. Season 1 was simply about the mush, but Season 2 was about the actual emotions that make the mush tick. There are eight episodes in the series, and each one is based on a narrative of a few hours. As we reach the end of it, let us take a look at everything that has happened so far so that we can decide what we think of Belly’s journey, through this recap and explainer.
Spoiler Alert
Saving The Beach House
Ideally, we would have liked for Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty to explore the relationship between Belly and Conrad instead of once again bringing her back to the same position she was in during Season 1, that is, unable to decide between Conrad and Jeremiah. But Belly has a lot more depth since Season 1, and since she has already gotten what she wanted, she has come to know what the person is actually like when they are with her. We see why Belly and Conrad are attracted to each other. They have similar ideas about love and commit similarly to the people they feel passionately about. Belly and Conrad may have confessed their feelings right after the debutante ball, but Belly doesn’t want to officially start dating yet because she wants to watch out for Jeremiah’s feelings. Conrad agrees to wait, but it is not long before he asks for his brother’s blessing to be with Belly.
Jeremiah didn’t know at that point that Belly and Conrad were holding themselves back for his sake, but it is still not an easy thing to give a nod of approval to your brother’s decision to date the girl that you still have strong feelings for. Regardless, Belly and Conrad started dating, and we believe they had a beautiful time together; however, Susannah’s condition is still a dark cloud hanging over their relationship. Conrad is completely occupied by what is to come, to the point that he is negligent toward Belly. She understands him, but there comes a point when she wonders whether he even wants to be with her.
Maybe Belly shouldn’t have asked Conrad at the prom whether he wanted to be there for her. But it would be wrong to call her insensitive because, at best, she was just being human. Maybe the two of them could have patched things up later, but when Belly saw Conrad resting his head on another girl’s shoulders at his mother’s funeral, she lost control of herself. Belly did not think he was cheating on her or anything like that, but it hurt her that despite all her efforts, she was not good enough for Conrad to consider her his safe space, and he had instead sought that with someone else. There is a bit of a scene at the funeral, and Conrad ends up telling Belly that their relationship was a mistake, which confirms all of Belly’s worst fears.
A few weeks later, Belly is trying to move on without any success when she decides that she doesn’t want to mope around anymore but set things right. The first thing she does is call Jeremiah in the hope that she could start by setting their friendship right if nothing else. But the path to that is not smooth and the two of them decide to look for a missing Conrad, and they find that he may have gone to the beach house. That is where they go next, and thankfully, they make up on the way when Jeremiah calls out Belly for not extending the same support to him that she did to Conrad and everyone else. There seems to be a lot of pressure on Belly to be the caretaker, but she apologizes, and the two are friends again.
At the beach house, as expected, Conrad is there, but the shocker is that the house is going to be sold by Julia, Susannah’s half-sister, who jointly owned the house with her. Julia’s decision to sell the house is partly about financial convenience in addition to emotional protection. She had never been treated well by her father, and whenever she had come to the beach house, Susannah had been the only kind person to her, but even she insisted that everything that was happening to Julia was in her head. This is why Julia had not been in contact with Susannah and her family for the past decade. Right now, the kids ask her not to sell the house, but there is not much else that Julia can do. She may have been willing to give it to them if they had the money, but she doesn’t have it in her to wait till then. It is an obligation she can’t wait to be rid of. But over the course of the few days that she is there, she realizes that her memories with Susannah don’t have to get in the way of the happiness of the next generation. That is why, when Laurel comes to the beach house and speaks to Julia, she agrees to let go of the hurt and bitterness in her heart. Both the women speak with Adam Fisher, and with some more convincing from Conrad and Jeremiah, he agrees to buy the house.
Does Belly Go With Conrad?
Throughout this time, Belly has been re-evaluating her relationships with Jeremiah and Conrad and what the boys are like as individuals. Before it all began, Conrad was just an idea that she was in love with and that even led to a sweet relationship. But the thing about the boy was that you couldn’t count on him to be there during your tough times. He would be so consumed by himself that he wouldn’t know how to be there for others, whereas Jeremiah had always been there for her. He was in the same situation as Conrad, yet he had not neglected the other people in his life. It is just that he did not get a chance to prove it. But when the kids were fighting for Julia not to sell the house, Belly understood this difference between the boys, which became evident by the simple fact that Jeremiah never shied away from his affection for Belly, the way Conrad had a habit of doing. This is why, even after Belly came to know how much their relationship had meant to Conrad, it did not change anything.
Belly confessed her feelings to Jeremiah and told him that she wanted to be with him, and they even kissed. But there was still an obstacle, which was Conrad. When he saw them together, he lost his mind for a little bit because he was planning on getting back with Belly. We suppose he never really thought that Jeremiah was a potential love rival, and therefore, seeing Belly with him left him a little upset. When the three of them are going back, Conrad makes a lot of snide comments about the new couple, and it is so evident that he doesn’t know how to handle his emotions. However, by the time they park at a motel for the night due to the terrible weather, Conrad has calmed down a bit. Jeremiah has a talk with him later, and Conrad is ready to step back after he apologizes for his behavior, but Jeremiah has other concerns. He feels that if Belly knew that Conrad had feelings for her and wanted to get together with her, she would change her mind. However, all doubts are put to rest the next day when Belly makes it clear to Jeremiah that she has not chosen him because of the absence of Conrad but because she genuinely loves him. He is not a second choice or a compromise, but the one that she wants to be with at all costs. This makes the couple official, and Conrad steps back with some grace.
During The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2’s ending, Jeremiah and Belly are finally together as she goes to her volleyball coach and begs her for another chance to make it to the team. It is a sign that she is ready for new things and to be who she really is, as Jeremiah watches and supports her all the time.
Final Thoughts
It is important to remember while watching this series that Jeremiah, Belly, and Conrad are only humans. It is very easy to get annoyed by all these characters at times, but we are not looking at perfect people, or rather, perfect teenagers. They have all taken on a lot more than they could at their age, so being extra confused is part of the territory. On the other hand, The Summer I Turned Pretty is one of the sweetest watches of the year, and you should not miss it.
