Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 6. After last week’s Conrad-centric episode, I have been champing at the bit for the next episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, and Episode 6 definitely did not disappoint. This week’s episode, titled “Last Name,” brings some of the best scenes from We’ll Always Have Summer, the final book in the Jenny Han trilogy on which the show is based, to life. We also get some new scenes that give us an even deeper look into the dynamics of the Fisher family, and that, incredibly enough, actually had me feeling bad for Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) for once. Make no mistake, though: Conrad (Christopher Briney) is still my favorite character, and his actions in this episode only further prove why. “Last Name” picks up two weeks after “Last Dance.” Belly (Lola Tung) has been staying with Jeremiah at Adam’s (Tom Everett Scott) Boston apartment ever since that day when she ran errands with Conrad, and Adam is naturally getting quite fed up with this new living arrangement. Jeremiah’s arc in this episode is actually really compelling, as he continues to prioritize Adam’s approval over everything, including Belly. Jeremiah may be closer to following in his father’s footsteps, but Adam still keeps choosing Conrad over him, even as Conrad makes it clear that he doesn’t want this. This week’s episode gives more focus to the show’s family-centered storylines, but The Summer I Turned Pretty’s best romance still gets a chance to shine – and shine it does.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 6, Belly Deals With the Brunt of the Wedding Preparations

Belly Conklin talking on the phone while looking concerned in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3
Image via Prime Video

While Jeremiah puts everything into doing well at work and impressing Adam, Belly is stuck with the burden of planning both their wedding and their future together. She arranges for them to look at apartments together, but they can’t get a good place because of Jeremiah’s credit score, and he is too distracted to put in the effort to look for somewhere else. Belly then goes to the club to see the hall for her and Jeremiah’s wedding (where Jenny Han makes a blink-and-miss-it background cameo), but she is reminded yet again that Laurel (Jackie Chung) won’t be there on the day of. Belly calls Jeremiah, looking for comfort about how lost and overwhelmed she feels, but instead, he dismisses her with the declaration that he’s all she needs. Belly feels even more conflicted when she sees that Conrad is still staying at the Cousins house, and she tries to keep avoiding him after their day together two weeks ago. Belly refuses to eat even when Conrad makes a plate for her, and doesn’t get any joy out of the wedding planning, so Conrad once again steps in to help her when nobody else will. He reaches out to Laurel, and the two meet up at a diner together to talk about the wedding.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 6, Conrad Gets Through to Laurel

Conrad Fisher and Laurel Park sitting at a diner together in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3
Image via Prime Video

Conrad and Laurel’s scene together is a perfect adaptation of the book scene, and it’s my second-favorite scene of the episode. Before Conrad tries to convince Laurel to participate in the wedding, though, the two have an honest conversation about Adam’s affair with Kayleigh (Emma Ishta). Laurel tells Conrad that she feels alone in her opposition to the wedding, and then Conrad reveals that Adam has asked Kayleigh – the woman with whom he cheated on Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) – to plan the wedding. It’s a beautiful scene in which Laurel learns that Conrad and Belly both knew about the affair and kept it a secret, and she sees how much everything has been weighing on Conrad. Then, Conrad tells Laurel how much Belly has been struggling. He tells her how alone Belly feels with Jeremiah in the city and Laurel refusing to be involved in the wedding, and then he says that she will regret it if she doesn’t go. It’s the perfect contrast to Jeremiah, who approached Laurel from a place of entitlement when he tried to get her to support the wedding. Conrad instead acknowledges that the wedding isn’t the best idea, but simply tells Laurel that Belly needs her mom right now. Laurel listens to Conrad and makes it clear that she values both his opinion and the fact that he cares so much about Belly. Laurel speaks for all of us when he encourages Conrad to start prioritizing himself and his own happiness, but Conrad is intent on selflessly putting his own needs on hold until the wedding is over.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 6 Brings the Conklin and Fisher Family Dynamics to the Forefront

The big events of the episode are Belly’s bridal shower and the Fisher family outing that takes place at the same time. Conrad’s talk with Laurel turns out to be effective, and she shows up to the shower. This means everything to Belly, and she’s finally able to go all in on the wedding planning – that is, except for her lingering feelings for Conrad, which resurface in subtle and unexpected ways throughout the episode. The shower goes very well, for the most part. Taylor (Rain Spencer) focuses more on Steven (Sean Kaufman) than Belly, and tries to reignite things between them while he’s there. Instead, she sees how close he has gotten with Denise (Isabella Briggs), and agrees to be just friends. Unbeknownst to Taylor (or anyone else, for that matter), Denise has asked Steven to go into business together, but they have to keep it a secret while they’re both still under contract with Breaker Capital. There’s no way that this isn’t going to backfire on both of them, but in the meantime, there are bigger fish to fry. While everyone else is at the bridal shower, the Fishers go out suit-shopping together. Jeremiah continues to try to impress Adam, who’s only focused on Conrad. Jeremiah walked in on Adam and Kayleigh at work the other day, so Adam gets ahead of this by revealing his relationship to the boys. Jeremiah takes Adam’s side when Conrad pushes back, and Conrad graciously continues to keep Adam’s affair to himself. At lunch, Adam gives Conrad grief for being on the defensive, and Jeremiah once again backs Adam up. Still, Conrad chooses to be vulnerable with both of them, and he admits that he got fired from his summer job. When Jeremiah sees that Adam has no problem with this, he gets ahead of it and expresses reluctant support for Conrad, which Adam seconds. Meanwhile, back at the bridal shower, Belly gets every answer about Jeremiah right during a newlywed game. She and Steven do end up arguing about their memories of a dog named Rosie that the four of them briefly had when they were younger. Belly remembers that Jeremiah found the dog on the beach, but Steven insists that Conrad did. This really bothers Belly, but when she tries to talk about it with Taylor, Taylor dismisses her. Later, Belly pretends to be casual about it when she brings it up to Jeremiah. He says that Conrad found the dog, and both of them are left bothered by the conversation, as they seem to realize that this misremembered memory reveals Belly’s lingering feelings for Conrad – and her desperation to bury them in her relationship with Jeremiah.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 6, Belly’s Feelings for Conrad Finally Catch Up to Her

Belly Conklin helping an injured Conrad Fisher walk in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3
Image via Prime Video

The day after the bridal shower, Belly is at the Cousins house writing thank you notes when Conrad comes back from surfing, where he got a bad cut on his leg. Like every big problem, Conrad is determined to handle the cut on his own, but Belly insists on helping him – especially after she sees his blood dripping in a trail up the stairs. Conrad’s cut is actually quite awful, and he really should be getting stitches instead (but the resulting scene is an excellent one for this pairing, so I’m not complaining). Conrad is so focused on his pain that, for a moment, he stops holding back as much with Belly. Because of this, his head rests on her shoulder while she cleans out his wound. Belly then gets lost in the moment with Conrad, but he then asks her to help him up so that he can rest, which she does. Belly has been denying her feelings for Conrad all season, and it’s been a bit frustrating to see how different she has been acting when she’s with Jeremiah. The memory incident really wakes Belly up, even more so than her moment with Conrad at the peach stand. Belly looks back on her love for Conrad when she was a child and admits through voiceover how true that love was. Then, after helping Conrad with his wound, Belly is left there in shock and panic about what she almost did. With just one month left until the wedding and five episodes left in the season, things are at their most exciting, and I cannot wait for what will likely be the rehearsal dinner next week. New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty are released Wednesdays at 3:00 A.M. EST on Prime Video.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Release Date

2022 – 2025-00-00

Network

Prime Video

Directors

Erica Dunton, Jesse Peretz, Jeff Chan

Lola Tung

Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin

Christopher Briney

Conrad Fisher

Gavin Casalegno

Jeremiah Fisher

Sean Kaufman

Steven Conklin