The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 premiere brings us the beginning of the end for many parts of the series. How do things change in three years?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 premiere.
We open with Belly heading off to college and getting to her dorm room. However, the series jumps ahead three years, with Jeremiah ready to graduate and Belly finishing up her junior year. It’s quickly clear that this is the beginning of the end for many elements of the show.
Jeremiah hits a road block in graduation in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 premiere
It turns out that Jeremiah isn’t graduating after all. He needs to retake some freshman classes, and it makes him feel like a failure.
Belly wants to be supportive of him, as he shares that the silver lining is that they have one more year together. However, Belly had just been accepted on a year abroad program, already suffering a setback in her life when a knee injury made it impossible to play volleyball.
Of course, Jeremiah not graduating leads to Belly rethinking the semester abroad. When she applied, she didn’t think Jeremiah would still be in college. Taylor is the voice of reason, making it clear that Belly can’t put her life on hold for a boy, but will Belly listen to her sound advice?
It also turned out that there have been more issues between Belly and Jeremiah over the three years, and it all comes down to Jeremiah’s lack of accountability and forgetfulness. Belly continues to not want to hear things, though, even when her brother tells her the same thing about Paris as Taylor. He even tells her that she needs to give Jeremiah a chance to react to the news about Paris.
When Jere finds out about Paris, he is happy for her. He wants her to go on the program. It’s finally a redeeming moment in this entire episode, but we know that it’s sure to lead to the two of them facing some relationship troubles.
Taylor and Steven are still hooking up in The Summer I Turned Pretty
It’s not all that surprising to find out that Taylor and Steven are still hooking up, but they’re no longer together. Taylor is actually dating someone else, but she doesn’t take that relationship seriously at all. She and Steven are supposed to be casual, but it’s clear there is still something between them.
It takes a while for Belly to realize that she interrupted Taylor and her brother together, but when she does, she’s just not surprised. She clearly sees it the way we do. Taylor and Steven probably shouldn’t have broken up, but it’s clear that college kept them separated.
We do learn that the two have attempted to get back together in the past and then split up. Taylor isn’t the only one cheating, either. Steven is dating a girl called Mia in New York. Can I like any of the characters right now? They’re all making some absolutely terrible life choices.
Getting ready for a memorial for Susannah
Meanwhile, Conrad is busy with his work. He’s so busy that he can’t make it to Laurel’s dedication, which is set to also be a memorial for Susannah. Conrad and Jeremiah are both supposed to be there to make a speech together, but Conrad can’t make it due to a new summer clinic job that starts immediately. Laurel understands, but she tells Conrad that he needs to call Jeremiah himself and tell him.
When Conrad is finally able to call Jeremiah, he doesn’t get a chance to tell him about work. He can tell that Jeremiah needs him to be a brother instead, and we get to see hope that the two can get back to what they once were.
As Conrad chats with his clinic partner, Agnes, we learn that there was an attempt at something between them from Agnes’s side. However, Conrad made it clear that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. He’s not even good at relationships, and that leads to a conversation about love. Conrad eventually opens up about Belly, and it’s clear that he still has deep feelings for her. This is why he doesn’t really talk to her anymore, because otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hold back his feelings for her.
In the end, Conrad really needs to make the call to Jeremiah, but he only reaches voicemail. It’s hard not to feel bad for Jere with all these blows hitting him, but then it comes out that Jeremiah cheated on Belly over Spring Break. Of course, there’s the argument of whether they were broken up or not, but the fact that Jeremiah kept it all a secret makes it clear he knew he did the wrong thing.
Belly seemed to overreact at the entire situation, as she runs down the street crying. It’s the first time I’ve not really been impressed with the acting, but I guess I never really saw Belly and Jeremiah as right for each other. Considering in the trailer we know that Belly and Jeremiah end up engaged, it’s clear that this breakup is just a temporary one, so what does Jere do to get her back? We’ll find out soon in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3.
The Summer I Turned Pretty airs Wednesdays on Prime Video.
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