On Wednesday, September 3, I—and everyone else—tuned in to the newest episode of Amazon Prime’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” Following a dramatic episode 8, I was anxious to finally sit and see what happens next. Spoilers ahead!
Summary
For those who haven’t fallen deep into Amazon’s hit love triangle, based on the trilogy written by Jenny Han, here is what you need to know: our three main characters—Isabel (who goes by Belly) Conklin and Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher—grew up together, along with Belly’s older brother, Steven. Since Jeremiah and Conrad’s mom is best friends with Steven and Belly’s, it was pretty much inevitable to all of them that they’d all be attached at the hip whether they liked it or not. As with most any classic young adult romance, Belly falls into a love triangle with the two Fisher boys almost immediately. Belly has had a crush on Conrad for as long as she can remember, but what about her newfound adoration for his younger brother, Jeremiah? This internal debate is what dictates the entirety of season 1, season 2, and what is driving season 3. She dates Jeremiah in season 1, leaves him for his brother in season 2, and then ends up back with Jeremiah in season 3 (for now). She broke up with Jeremiah because of finally-reciprocated feelings from Conrad; and she broke up with Conrad in season 2 after he forgot her corsage at prom due to being a bit too busy mourning the imminent death of his mother. Season 3 sets us up with a timeskip, where all three points of the triangle are in college and Belly is deeply in love with Jeremiah. Conrad is yearning and pining from afar in California, Belly’s best friend, Taylor, and Steven are dancing around each other, and the show is as chaotic, frustrating, and addicting as always.
Episode 9
Episode 9 picks up right where episode 8 left off, with Belly about to embark on a solo trip to Paris after calling off her wedding with Jeremiah. She hesitates to board the plane when she sees Conrad sitting at the airport, clearly waiting for a sight of her. Instead of running to him like myself, and almost all other viewers wanted, Belly decides to board the flight anyway and is officially en route to Paris. While she fumbles with a foreign language and chases a lost backpack throughout the city of love, Jeremiah is pouting in Cousins Beach like an angry puppy who was denied another treat. Steven and Taylor are comforting him as he pities himself, and everyone around him just feels so unbelievably bad for Jeremiah. While this is the show’s attempt at a redemption arc, we are reminded of the fact that Jeremiah is genuinely the worst, when Taylor tells Steven that Jeremiah cheated on Belly while he was on a spring break trip in Cabo. As any older brother would be, Steven is enraged. However, his anger is quickly dissipated when he and Taylor fall into the sheets soon after. Sure, being left at the altar would be pretty mortifying. But, I believe Jeremiah deserves very little sympathy. He is ignorant, unaware, and ridiculously dependent on everybody around him. Not to mention—he cheated on her. Twice. He and the so-called “love of his life” got in a fight that he instigated, and instead of being mature about it, Jeremiah decided to find comfort in Lacie Barone. Yes, he and Belly were on a break. But I think anyone would feel betrayed if the person they’ve been dating for four years immediately jumped into bed with someone else within days of a break.
While Jeremiah pouts and Conrad continues to pine and attempt to fix things with his brother, Belly finally finds her backpack in a sketchy club in the middle of Paris. Don’t even get me started on the mechanics of bringing an entire suitcase into a club, but nonetheless, she finally is reunited with her beloved backpack. She was so horrified to lose it due to the fact that her engagement ring—which looks like a shard of tinfoil, might I add—was packed tightly in a little pouch inside the bag. During this debacle, Belly meets some new friends, tells them her whole story, and instead of coming home immediately like her mom suggested, or giving into Jeremiah’s request to try again, Belly decides to stay in Paris and grow on her own. I honestly believe that Belly is one of the most insufferable characters ever written, but I can commend her for this one. Being in a foreign country on your own is no doubt intimidating, and yet, Belly knew that going home would feel worse.
Thoughts
Despite my many critiques, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is one of those shows that is so bad, it’s good. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look forward to every single Wednesday for the newest episode in Belly’s back-and-forth actions as she singlehandedly ruins the bond between two brothers. While I firmly believe that Belly should leave them alone and just try being single for once, I do believe that Conrad is the much better option. He at least knows how to be mature and act like an adult compared to his brother.
Conclusion
If you’re in the mood to be frustrated by, and yet obsessed with a new show, I encourage you to give “The Summer I Turned Pretty” a try. As infuriating as it is, there’s a reason the show is so popular. Whether it serves as a distraction from real life’s stressors, a way to bond with others at a watch party, or a way to remind yourself that it really could always be worse, make sure to tune in every Wednesday for another installment in the twists and turns of Belly’s love story.
Watch “The Summer I Turned Pretty” on Amazon Prime!
Check out Kaden’s article on Another Bug Hunt!
