The Summer I Turned Pretty started as a book series written by Jenny Han. She began writing the first book in the trilogy in 2006 but did not publish it until 2009. The first season of the Prime show adaptation of the book was later released on June 17, 2022. Since then, the show has rapidly increased in popularity. Last summer, on July 16, the third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty was launched, and I must say, it is definitely a show worth watching.
Season three is full of love, heartbreak, drama, thrill, and some insane family issues. Whether you are team Jeremiah, team Conrad, or team Belly-should-leave-them-alone, this season will take your emotions on a roller coaster ride. From finding out Jeremiah cheated on Belly, to Steven’s car accident, to a very unwelcome marriage proposal, season three will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time, eyes glued to the screen.
The first reason why the third season really entertained me was that they did not release it all at once. It was such a smart tactic on their side to get everyone talking about the weekly The Summer I Turned Pretty episode and how happy or upset they were about what happened in it. However, the downside was that I always found myself on the edge of my couch waiting to find out what would happen next, just to realize that the episode was over, and that I would have to wait a whole week before ever getting an answer to my million questions. In all honesty, usually that ended with me dramatically falling to the ground in disappointment that I would have to patiently wait until next Wednesday for the latest episode.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about season three was seeing how much Belly’s character has developed since season one. She’s become a more confident person in who she is, but she worked to get there, and has decided to do what she feels is right with her life. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Lola Tung, who played Belly, spoke about how unafraid her character is of confrontation and highlighted the fact that she is not like that in real life. However, Tung also said that it was cool getting to play a character like that and even learn from the scenes she got to play as such an expressive character.
I was also impressed with the sideplots in season three; they were just as entertaining as the life of the main character, if not more. The extra scenes felt like a deeper dive into the lives of the other characters who make The Summer I Turned Pretty infinitely better. Newcomer Denise has to be one of my favorite characters now. I love watching her put Jeremiah and Steven in their place. Of course, I also cannot forget about Agnes. She was the friend whom Conrad never knew he really needed until she was there. I found it so inspirational that she could put her feelings for him aside and treat him like someone she saw as “just a friend,” even in times when he was so broken apart because of Belly.
Everything was worth it in the end. Honestly, if Belly had ended up with Jeremiah, the tone of this article would have been completely different. I would probably be ranting about how mad I would be, or that the ending didn’t make sense to me. Luckily, that is not the case. I have read the books, so I already knew that Belly was going to end up with Conrad, but of course, you can never be certain with Jenny Han. I must say that Belly choosing Conrad is a win for me; their love story has to be one of my top favorites. If you are ever in need of a show that will cause so much anger, annoyance, love, happiness, sadness, and celebration all at the same time, The Summer I Turned Pretty is the show for you. I 100% recommend it.
