Warning! This article contains major spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, episodes 1 and 2.
The Summer I Turned Prettyseason 3’s two-episode premiere offers the perfect sequel to Belly and Conrad’s most meaningful season 2 flashback.The Summer I Turned Prettymight, as the title suggests, be all about summers spent down by the beach, but Christmas plays an undeniably important role in Belly’s (Lola Tung) life and her will-they-won’t-they romance with her first love, Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney).
InThe Summer I Turned Prettyseason 2, episode 2, “Love Scene,” we learned and Conrad’s sweet but doomed relationshipthrough a series of flashbacks. In that episode, Belly remembered the happiest parts of their relationship – late-night phone calls, sneaking out of the house for a wintry road trip, and dancing in the snow on the beach.
Belly and Conrad shared a magical day, one that changed everything for Belly. They slept together for the first time in front of the fireplace in the Cousins beach house, and it’s a memory that still haunts them both even years later, as we’re shown inThe Summer I Turned Prettyseason 3, episode 2, “Last Christmas.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3’s “Last Christmas” Is A Sequel To Season 2’s “Love Scene”
“Last Christmas” is an undeniably important episode. Not only does it bring Belly and Conrad together (alone) for the first time since she officially chose Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), butthe flashbacks perfectly parallel those from “Love Scene.“Once again, Belly finds herself in Cousins around Christmastime, though she expected to be alone.
When Conrad shows up unexpectedly because his flight has been delayed, the two are forced to spend a few days together. Though you’d expect it to be awkward, they instead cocoon themselves in what can only be described as domestic bliss. While they’re both unable to forget what they shared on the living room floor, they watch movies and drink cocoa together. It’s nice.
Belly’s and Conrad’s days of Christmas calm are presented as a stark contrast to Belly’s present life with Jeremiah in season 3, which nearly unravels as she discovers that he slept with someone else (twice) while on a spring break trip to Cabo.
During arguments that feel like exact recreations of Ross and Rachel’s infamous “we were on a break” storyline inFriends, the show starts to question which brother is better for Belly, flipping the script from season 2.In season 2, Conrad distanced himself from Belly, with Jeremiah presented as the sunny, emotionally available option. Now, it’s Jeremiah who’s damaged their relationship, and Conrad is getting his act together.
Conrad is in therapy, working on giving himself some grace and space to be happy. That’s exactly what drove him and Belly apart in the first place.
Whether this means Belly will end up with Conrad is still debatable, however. Despite how much he hurt her, Belly finds her way back to Jeremiah, and he even asks her to marry him. She happily accepts. Does this officially mean that Jeremiah has won the ultimate competition with his do-no-wrong brother, however?
Conrad is in therapy, working on giving himself some grace and space to be happy. That’s exactly what drove him and Belly apart in the first place. Belly may have said yes to Jeremiah, but as their families become involved, and Conrad re-enters Belly’s life, there’s every chance Jeremiah will self-destruct and succumb to his inferiority complex.
Author and creatorJenny Han has teased that the season will feature some surprising changes from the book. At this point, with nine episodes still to go, anything could happen inThe Summer I Turned Prettyseason 3, including a rekindling of the romance between Belly and Conrad.
New episodes ofThe Summer I Turned Prettyseason 3 drop weekly on Wednesdays on Prime Video.
