This review contains spoilers.
Amazon Prime’s hit series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” released its third and final season over the summer, with the final episode recently premiering on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Based on the young adult book series by Jenny Han, each season of the show follows the plot of each book in the trilogy. The first season, released in the summer of 2023, immediately took the internet by storm, with memes and trends from the series going viral.
Taking place at fictional Cousins Beach on the East Coast, the show features the families of two moms and best friends who spend every summer in a beach house. The show primarily follows Isabel Conklin — known as Belly — played by Lola Tung, who has had a long time crush on Conrad Fisher, played by Christopher Briney. In the first two seasons, viewers follow along as she dates Conrad while simultaneously navigating her feelings for Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah Fisher, played by Gavin Casalegno. In a messy turn of events, Jeremiah and Belly start seriously dating at the end of season two.
Season 3 starts with a bold move to jump over three years, briefly showing the start of college for Belly before we see her life as a senior in college, still dating Jeremiah. In a turn of events, they end up engaged with a diamond ring so small it broke the internet. Most of this season follows the battle of Belly and Jeremiah trying to get married, while Conrad is battling his own feelings for Belly.
These events closely follow the plot of the third and final book in the trilogy, but continues beyond the book with the last three episodes of the season. These episodes were a surprise to fans, as people assumed the show would end when the book does, having a separate trailer for these final three episodes.
On social media, the news broke that Prime greenlit a movie to finish out the show. Han is working on writing the movie, with the timeline for production and release currently unknown.
The show had been struggling throughout season two to stay interesting, and many fans — myself included — thought the plot was moving slow and the side plots were feeling increasingly irrelevant. Season three picked up with some more interesting side plots and a faster pace of events, but still didn’t come close to the magic of season one, despite the cult following.
With the switch to Paris for the final episodes, the show redeems itself, “landing the plane” nicely. We get to see all of the characters grow immensely, including the side characters like Belly’s brother Steven and Belly’s best friend Taylor. Jeremiah gets his redemption arc, finding purpose in cooking and working to make a name for himself.
I had long been torn on Belly. Each episode left me yelling at the TV that everyone would be better off single. We needed to see Belly’s development in Paris spending time away from home and the Fisher boys that had been her safety net. We also see Conrad in therapy, Jeremiah working hard to find his purpose and Belly’s struggle for independence, making these endings satisfying and earned.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” brought the fun, romantic comedy energy people needed with the summer vibes keeping it bright, giving viewers an escape from real life. Season three wrapped the show and characters up in a satisfying finale. The show brought people together with watch parties and online discourse about Team Jeremiah or Conrad. Where other shows struggle to call it quits and lose the magic by adding more seasons and side characters, Han succeeds in providing a satisfying ending, going beyond the books and giving hope for the future movie.