With its incredibly unrealistic plot, underdeveloped character arcs and overly dramatized setting, the new season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” adapted from Jenny Han’s novel, has all the same drawbacks (and appeals) of any lackluster but entertaining feel-good rom-com.
Season 3 picks up right where season 2 left off, with Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) somewhat less in the middle of her home-wrecking predicament. Her two-season-long love conundrum of being hopelessly torn between Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad Fisher (Chris Briney) seems to be resolved. Belly attends college with her best friend, Taylor Jewel (Rain Spencer), and Jeremiah, with whom she has settled into a happy relationship. Or so it seems.
After approximately half an episode of contentment, the angst begins, and we discover that Jeremiah engaged in the typical “we were on a break” cheating trope. They break up for a total of three minutes, when a car accident involving Belly’s brother Steven Conklin (Sean Kaufman) drives them towards the epiphany that “life is too short to waste any more time,” and Jeremiah proposes. This is the driving event of season 3’s plot.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” checks all the boxes of a mushy teen romance show. Love triangle? Check. An abundance of cliched tropes catering to fan service? Check. An indecisive and selfish female lead whom everyone hates? Check. Yet the show manages to create moments that are so cringeworthy they’re humorous, balancing it out with just enough realism, emotional investment and production quality to make it an enjoyable watch.
The soundtrack is just as brilliant and fitting as it has been in past seasons, if not more so. When Belly wallows over Jeremiah cheating on her with Lacey, while “Lacy” by Olivia Rodrigo plays in the background, it’s an almost perfect moment. As Belly recalls her and Conrad’s intimate winter break, the tender moments are complemented by the wistful laments of Sufjan Stevens’ “Mystery of Love.” And what could be more fitting for the surprise engagement announcement than Radiohead’s “No Surprises”? My personal favorite, “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, plays quietly during a tear-jerking scene of Belly yearning for her mother’s support, curled up in her childhood bed.
This season is perhaps even more frustrating with regard to Belly’s love life than previous seasons (a feat I didn’t think possible), as she breaks off her engagement to Jeremiah the day of her wedding and flees to Paris. The reason? None other than our favorite yearner, Conrad, who has apparently been in love with Belly since their brief high school relationship. Mind you, he is currently in medical school. He chooses to profess this undying love the night before the wedding, which feels gratingly forced for the sake of plot progression.
However, seeing Belly in Paris was a refreshing and much needed break from the Cousins scene, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her finally get into a relationship with someone outside of the Fisher family. The writers’ best decision was giving her a chance to discover herself outside of her love life and giving her the opportunity to grow as a character that was incrementally less despised by the audience. Unfortunately, as a loyal Team Jeremiah supporter throughout seasons 1 and 2, I was disappointed to witness the complete character assassination the writers carried out that forced me, along with others, to convert to Team Conrad. This did, however, make for some comical moments, such as the microscopic tin foil ring proposal and Jeremiah’s cake tirade. Me too, Conrad.
The season finale remained faithful to the books, with Belly ultimately ending up with Conrad in a nail-biting, adrenaline-filled chase-scene confession. And although the third and final season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” fell into many of the typical traps of a teen drama, it was paired with several redeeming qualities that made it a generally pleasant use of 10 hours – definitely worth a watch for anyone hoping to kill time and get a laugh out of shallow characters frolicking knee-deep in the trenches of drama.
The show’s producer, Jenny Han, has also confirmed that a “The Summer I Turned Pretty” movie is currently in the works. #Bonrad