Here we are. After three seasons, The Summer I Turned Pretty has come to an end. Of course, the biggest question about the series finale was whether Jenny Han and the writers would remain true to the books for the ending.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 finale.
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 has extended the ending of the book by giving us three episodes of Belly in Paris. This was needed to see just how Belly would end up where she would in the end, but would it be with Conrad?
Conrad shows up at Belly’s apartment in The Summer I Turned Pretty
The episode opens with Conrad showing up at Belly’s place. Benito leaves, and Belly appears with a new birthday do and ready for her plans later than evening. Conrad quickly shares that he has a conference in Brussels, and he decided to pay Belly a visit remembering that it’s her birthday. On the outside, Belly isn’t impressed that he showed up, but on the inside, we can tell there are plenty of feelings for Conrad coming back.
At first, Belly does the usual tourist stuff, but Conrad asks her to show Paris through her eyes. This leads to a rooftop terrace, where Belly says that she loves to watch the sun rise from. It reminded her of something Conrad had once said about watching out on the Pacific, and it made Paris the most beautiful city for her.
Belly decides to invite Conrad to her pre-birthday dinner with her friends, which is where we learn that Belly broke up with Bentio pre-Mexico! What! Conrad also gives her the gift that he brought: a vile of Cousins beach sand. It’s a beautiful and touching moment that makes it clear that these two are meant to be.
Later that night, Belly admits that she stayed in Paris as a punishment to herself for breaking up the Fisher family. She didn’t do that, but she can’t help feel like she did. On top of that, she shares that Conrad’s letters helped her get through times when Paris was hard, and FINALLY, we get the reunion we’ve all been waiting for.
Belly and Conrad are back together. Well, for a short time, as Belly ends up self-sabotaging, but in an understandable way. She wants Conrad to stick to his plans, because she’s not changing her Paris plans for him. She wants to know that they really love each other because they want to and not because they’ve been told to via Susannah’s ghostly presence.
While Conrad points out that he loves her even though he’s tried not to, Belly makes it clear that she’s not as sure. Honestly, this is a good growth moment. Sure, we want to see the two of them together, but Belly did need to do some growing, and this is part of that.
Well, as she looks at the Junior Mint, Belly has a revelation. She does love Conrad, and so we get the frantic race to the train station to find Conrad before it’s too late. In The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 finale, she ends up sitting next to Conrad and tells him that she loves him.
Jeremiah has a new job opportunity
Meanwhile, we catch up with where Jeremiah is. He’s spent the last six months staying with Denise, and right now, he’s frantically preparing for a major event. A TikTok Taylor made of Jere took off, and now he’s one of the “up-and-coming chefs” of the area. So, he has an event for 30 food influences.
There’s an issue with the venue, though. It’s flooding, and Taylor comes to share that Jere needs to find a new place. She walks in just as Denise shares that her and Steven’s video game has seed funding, but it means a move to San Francisco. Of course, Steven hasn’t told Taylor yet, but she finds out when she overhears this conversation.
I really wish that Taylor had just talked it out with Steven from the start, but she decides to passive aggressively baiting him into telling her. Eventually, they do talk it out, and there is hope for the two of them, but Taylor needs to stop the toxic side of her.
We also finally see Adam show up, sharing that he and Kayleigh have broken up and that he is proud of Jere after all. Of course, Jeremiah’s confidence is still knocked, but Denise helps with that. The two share a kiss, and this relationship just feels right. We’ve missed some of the growth that Jere has had in six months, but I feel like he’s had some.
Does The Summer I Turned Pretty end with the wedding?
The book, We’ll Always Have Summer, ends with Conrad and Belly getting married. There are plenty of readers who don’t really like it, as Jere is there with an unnamed date and there’s still no sense of growth for anyone.
The Summer I Turned Pretty series finale ends differently. We get to see Belly and Conrad happy together, but we don’t end with a wedding. There is hope that a wedding is to come, but the two are enjoying dating and being in love. The two spend time in Cousins together, but they also spend time in Paris together, and I think that’s the best ending that we could have gotten.
Of course, there have been rumors that there is another episode to come even though this is the series finale. It makes sense that maybe there’s a short or an episode out there that gives us the wedding from the books, but nothing has been confirmed just yet.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video.
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