The Summer I Turned Pretty: A Wild Recap of Season Three

Molly Kelly

Staff Writer

Cheating? Nearly left at the altar? Love affairs?

Now that summer is finally over, it’s important to acknowledge the wild decisions Belly Conklin made in the hit show, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, which often gave us a bellyache. While there are plenty of “fish in the sea,” Belly only fished for the Fisher brothers, damaging her relationship with both of them immensely. It was a classic ongoing battle between the mysterious 10/10 brunette, versus the ditzy but conventionally attractive blonde, who didn’t have much going for him besides his ocean-blue eyes and rock hard abs.

To begin, the ditzy blonde, Jeremiah, the founding father of Team #Jellyfish, proved to be a messy drunk and avid cheater, who cared more about having chocolate – mere glaze on his wedding cake than the wedding and Belly herself. He had his Willy Wonka moment when he demanded that his wedding cake have raspberry filling, chocolate glaze, and that it be two tiers tall.

As well as this, season three started off with the hard launch of Team #Jellyfish, with Jeremiah and Belly being in love at Finch University. Jeremiah’s jealousy and distrust towards Belly had led to his affair on a spring break trip in Cabo. Jeremiah was falling on the ground begging her to forgive him, as if he was not the one who had cheated. Despite the betrayal, Jere’s solution to the problem was a proposal towards Belly. Belly, letting go of the cheating, and not knowing about Jere’s jealousy towards Conrad, spent almost the entirety of this season attempting to plan their wedding.

Viewers were infuriated with her hard work towards the planning, and Jeremiah’s indifference towards the occasion as a whole. In buying Belly a wedding ring with a rock the size of a pebble, Jeremiah thought the ring was perfect, however Susannah, his deceased mother, threw him for a loop from the grave on his wedding day in a letter she had written. The letter was meant for Conrad, his brother, whom Susannah thought Belly would end up with.

Their love story proved to be falling apart in front of them, but they refused to believe it. Belly gave up on her dreams of Paris to stay with Jeremiah, and he gladly took her up on the offer. Not on track to graduate, Jeremiah’s irresponsibility showed through and foreshadowed how such immaturity would dribble into his life as a husband. The disapproval of both Jere’s father, Adam, and Laurel, Belly’s mother, as well as his irresponsibility was only the beginning of the inevitable doom of Team #Jellyfish.

Next, the mysterious brunette, Conrad Fisher, was a modernized version of Gatsby throughout the entirety of season three. With Belly being his Daisy, he watched her from afar – long after their breakup – a sense of yearning absorbing his entire life. In helping her plan for the wedding, Conrad subconsciously yearned for Belly to notice him again. A hopeless romantic, he struggled in med school as the thought of Belly began to take over his entire life. In episode five, Belly’s character looked “extra pretty”, which fans speculated was because they were seeing Belly from Conrad’s view, which, to him, is the most beautiful girl ever. It wasn’t until Conrad broke up Belly’s wedding when he told her he loved her on the beach, that viewers began to realize how deeply in love with her he truly was.

Finally, Belly worked towards finding herself in Paris, cutting her hair, and having a major bob moment. She dated a sweet man for a brief amount of time, but it didn’t last. Conrad showed up on her doorstep the day before her 22nd birthday, and nonchalantly asked her to spend time with him. We all were expecting a sweet little Paris reunion, perhaps full of hugs, kisses, and a dance near the eiffel tower. Belly and Conrad sealed their love with an intimate and romantic montage, which we know had fans screaming of joy at their fogging up screens. Despite brief moments of struggle after their reconciliation, Belly and Conrad ended up together, for real this time.

#Bonrad will remain forever, and the beautiful ending of their love brought tears to the #TeamConrad’s eyes. We all knew it was going to be Conrad, it had to be, because Belly and Conrad were “infinity.”

The entirety of season three was a mishmash of different emotions, relationships, trials and tribulations, and a whole lot of messy love. It wasn’t just all about Belly though.

For example, Steven and Taylor, who were a fan favorite couple, went through tough times, but ended up together and better than ever in the end. Their intimate make out scene on the deck of the beach house was certainly one that fans hit rewind on multiple times. Their love will continue on to California, where Steven needs to go to continue his new work.

As for Jeremiah, he and Denise ended up finding unexpected love together. As for Laurel and John, Belly’s parents, they seem to have reconciled…hinting that their love story may not be over. As for Adam Fisher, he hints at looking for love eventually, as his mistress dumped him.

Overall, there was a lot to unpack with this season, yet, it seems everyone had a happy ending. With the new announcement of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty The Movie’, fans may begin to wonder if Belly’s story is really over, I guess we will find out in the movie.

To close, if one were to ask what lessons should be taken away from ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ as the show is now over, here is what is important to take away: Love takes courage, sacrifice, and maturity, there is such a thing as right person, wrong time, and finally, never, EVER, under any circumstance, mess with a man and his two-tier dark chocolate raspberry coulis filling and mirror glaze cake.