Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 5.I’ll be honest: I didn’t really get into the second season of The Summer I Turned Pretty until everybody got to Cousins Beach and the action started, and I have felt that way about Season 3 so far as well. The first four episodes definitely had some great scenes, but it all felt very transitional, because it was building up to the main event: Belly (Lola Tung) and Conrad (Christopher Briney) spending the summer at the Cousins Beach house together. Well, the much-anticipated fifth episode, “Last Dance,” is finally here, and I’m pleased to report that the season is finally where I want it to be. In my favorite episode of Season 3 so far, we finally get to see the world of The Summer I Turned Pretty from Conrad’s point of view, just like in We’ll Always Have Summer, the third book in the Jenny Han trilogy. To nobody’s surprise, Conrad is still desperately in love with Belly, and he’s struggling to strike the perfect balance between keeping his distance from her and being for her during this incredibly stressful time. Conrad and Belly’s storyline. This episode has some of the very best scenes from We’ll Always Have Summer, and it’s easily the highlight of the season so far. As such, every time that the episode cut away to the less interesting Boston scenes, I was pretty much counting down the minutes until we could get back to the good stuff – and buckle up, because there’s a lot of it this week.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 5, Conrad Finally Gets to Tell His Side of the Story

Image via Prime Video

“Last Dance” brings back the voiceovers, but this time, Conrad is narrating instead of Belly. His thoughts reveal just how hard it is for him to be around Belly, and we see him trying to find ways to avoid her. He does a lot of work to get the house ready for the wedding, and even works on the roof by himself — although his efforts are in vain, because Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) ends up changing the location and guilts Belly into agreeing. Still, Conrad can’t say no to Belly, and he ends up helping her out with various wedding duties when Jeremiah and Taylor (Rain Spencer) cancel their visit at the last minute. Belly and Conrad spend the entire day together, and the whole time, Conrad tries to bury his feelings for her. Instead, though, Conrad is haunted by flashbacks of Belly. We see two new memories from Conrad: one as a child where he helps Belly ride a bike without training wheels for the first time, and one where the two share a moment together at her house towards the end of their relationship. In the more recent memory, Conrad holds in both the truth about how badly Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) is doing, as well as how hard it is for him. Conrad has a moment of self-reflection in this episode where he realizes that always trying to protect Belly inadvertently pushed him further away from her. Still, though, Conrad prioritizes his responsibilities, and a flashback to the Season 2 finale reveals that he stepped aside back then to try to look out for both Jeremiah and Belly.
In Season 3, Episode 5, Belly and Conrad Spend the Day Together Preparing for the Wedding

While running errands for the wedding together, Conrad and Belly easily fall back into step with each other. She opens up to him about being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of the wedding, and he opens up to her about being fired from his summer job. It’s a huge step for Conrad to deliberately be so vulnerable with Belly, telling her about his fear of failure, as well as his experience with therapy. It’s clear how much this means to Belly, as well. The day goes smoothly enough even on their tight budget, although Conrad does get mistaken for Belly’s fiancé at the flower shop, and Jeremiah gripes at her over the phone, because they can’t afford to buy his very specific dream wedding cake for the occasion. The episode was both written and directed by Jenny Han, and it is really faithful to the book in all the best ways. Belly and Conrad discuss his stamp collection, and he points out that she still bites her nails. Later, the two stop at a peach stand on the way home, where Belly eats two peaches. When she gets the juice on her face, Conrad wipes it for her with his T-shirt, and they share a moment. Conrad tries to pull back for the rest of the day, but he and Belly end up cooking dinner and then enjoying the meal together. It’s the perfect way of showing exactly how things should be, all the way up to Jeremiah showing up late at night and interrupting their dinner. The show is also deliberate in this episode in showing how Conrad is willing to do anything for Belly, whereas Jeremiah has not made a single compromise for the wedding, and has now gotten to choose their cake, venue, and first dance song.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 5, Takes Some Diversions Back to the Breaker Crowd

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While “Last Dance” is definitely a top-tier Summer I Turned Pretty episode, the episode is still dragged down every time that it leaves Cousins to focus on Adam’s (Tom Everett Scott) company, Breaker Capital. Jeremiah is working closely with Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Denise (Isabella Briggs), and he encourages Steven to pursue a romance with her. Oddly enough, Taylor has been “Team Jeremiah” this entire time, and she even plans to drive him to Cousins this episode. When Jeremiah’s on the other end, though, he notices both Taylor and Steven’s lingering feelings for each other, but still pushes him to consider starting a relationship with Denise. After Conrad suggests that Adam get on board with the wedding, Adam expresses his support for and pride in Jeremiah, much to Jeremiah’s delight. This, too, is a major contrast to Conrad. Whereas Conrad says in his voiceover that he has since stopped valuing Adam’s opinion after learning about his affair, Jeremiah tells Adam how much his opinion means to him. Adam then offers to pay for the wedding, and he takes it over in the process as well. As for Steven and Denise, they wind up on a train to a gaming convention together, and as of the end of the episode, they’re closer than ever. It’s clear that The Summer I Turned Pretty is going to bring Steven and Taylor back together by the end of the series, but it seems like he and Denise are going to have a romance in the meantime. As it stands, even with the focus on Breaker, the Conrad and Belly storyline easily carries the episode into the Top 10 of the series so far. 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