The entire third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has been building up to Belly (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) wedding, and now that it’s here, I couldn’t be happier – not for the actual wedding itself, of course, but for all of the drama that was promised to unfold on the day of. For too long, we have watched Conrad Beck Fisher (Christopher Briney) suffer in silence, and it’s a welcome change of pace to see him being honest about his feelings in this week’s episode. His brother has been long due some comeuppance as well, and this week’s installment is exactly the sort of payoff that I’ve been hoping for all season (really for the past three seasons). In Season 3, Episode 8, “Last Kiss” (a title that seems to be a reference to one of the best and saddest Taylor Swift songs), Belly prepares to go through with her wedding to Jeremiah, in spite of Conrad’s confession last episode. This episode picks up the morning after the events of the beach, and on the day before the wedding. Belly’s doubts about the wedding and her feelings for Conrad linger over the remaining wedding festivities, but she still continues to reject Conrad at every turn. And Belly may be set on choosing Jeremiah, but this week’s episode proves that she really can’t keep burying her feelings for Conrad after all.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 8, Conrad’s Confession Has a Ripple Effect

Belly Conklin walking down the aisle during her wedding rehearsal in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3
Image via Prime Video

As of the start of “Last Kiss,” Belly is still reeling from Conrad’s confession, but she tries to focus on the wedding. Conrad respects Belly’s choice, and he even tries to do damage control, but she’s having none of it. Belly may not let herself process her feelings for Conrad, but they’re very much still there, and she refuses to let him minimize his confession in order to make things easier for both of them. As a result, Conrad has finally decided to stop hiding his feelings just to make everyone else feel better. He tells Belly that she broke his heart, and when Taylor (Rain Spencer) later confronts him for saying something to Belly, he opens up to her about his love for Belly. Belly is so far gone at this point, that she is just going through the motions with the wedding rehearsal and subsequent rehearsal dinner. At the rehearsal dinner, Belly finds out that Jeremiah has upended their plans and accepted a job working for Adam (Tom Everett Scott) in Boston that fall, even though she had agreed to give up Paris to spend the semester at Finch with him. I wanted to see Belly get angry here, and it really would have been warranted. Instead, though, Belly once again makes yet another compromise for Jeremiah. These are just the sort of things that prove that, as Taylor points out the next day, Belly is losing herself in her relationship with Jeremiah. Still, though, Belly can’t see what she is doing, and her only goal is to go through with the wedding. In the middle of the night, Belly tells Jeremiah about Conrad’s confession, and Jeremiah goes missing the next morning.
In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 8, Belly and Jeremiah’s Wedding Day Is a Complete Trainwreck

Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding day in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 follows the events of the third book in the Jenny Han trilogy very closely, but it also heightens everything in all the best ways. While Jeremiah is missing, Steven (Sean Kaufman) yells at Conrad for telling Belly how he feels, and Belly yells at Taylor for expressing her doubts about the wedding. I was really frustrated with Steven for automatically taking Jeremiah’s side and disregarding Conrad’s feelings, but I also had to remember that he still doesn’t know about Cabo. Ultimately, Steven’s line of arguing is more focused on how he feels about his friendships with Conrad and Jeremiah, rather than how Belly feels about them, so he’s unable to be fair to Conrad. Taylor, on the other hand, is finally seeing reason for once, but Belly punishes her for doubting the wedding, and in turn lashes out at her. Laurel (Jackie Chung) gives Belly and Jeremiah the letters that Susannah wrote them to be opened on their wedding days. Belly can’t bring herself to open hers, but Conrad brings Jeremiah’s to him. Conrad just tries to get Jeremiah to come back for the wedding, but Jeremiah can’t see past his own competition with Conrad, and he doesn’t think about how his actions are affecting everyone else. Ultimately, Jeremiah punches Conrad after Conrad brings up Cabo, but he does read Susannah’s (Rachel Blanchard) letter, which is actually mistakenly the one she wrote for Conrad instead (where she spends an entire paragraph talking about Conrad and Belly’s deep love for each other). Jeremiah uninvites Conrad from the wedding, then Conrad leaves to say goodbye to Belly, and he gives her an emotional final speech where he tells her that loving her was worth all the pain. Finally, Jeremiah returns to the club, prepared to marry Belly. He just wants to ignore the Conrad situation and forge ahead, but Belly wants to talk about it, which forces them to get to the root of just one of their many problems: Belly is still in love with Conrad. Jeremiah calls off the wedding, which terrifies Belly, because she and Jeremiah have been intensely depending on each other since Susannah died. Still, though, Belly lets Jeremiah call it off because she knows that this is the best thing for both of them, and then she goes to the airport to buy an early plane ticket to Paris.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 8, Ends on a Surprising Cliffhanger for Belly and Conrad

Conrad Fisher sitting at the airport in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3
Image via Prime Video

As of the end of “Last Kiss,” The Summer I Turned Pretty has pretty much wrapped up the events of the final book, aside from its brief epilogue. There are still three episodes left, and I’m not really sure of what to expect, beyond Belly going to Paris. The season’s main storylines are mostly resolved at this point. Steven and Denise (Isabella Briggs) have decided to just be friends and business partners, and he and Taylor have hinted that they still have feelings for each other. Laurel and John (Colin Ferguson) are also on the path towards getting back together, and Lucinda (Kristen Connolly) is putting her life and salon back together after her ex stole from her. Now, the biggest loose end left is Belly and Conrad’s love story, and I’m excited to see what The Summer I Turned Pretty has in store from here on out. In the final moments of “Last Kiss,” Belly waits in the Cousins airport for her impromptu flight to Paris. While there, she looks across the room to see Conrad sitting in one of the chairs, presumably waiting for his flight back to California. As Belly reacts to this, the episode ends on a cliffhanger. It looks like Belly very well might end up saying something to Conrad, although the two definitely have a ways to go before they can find their way back to each other. As it stands, Belly may have made one right decision this episode, but she has a lot of growing up to do, and some time alone will be good for her. New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty are released Wednesdays at 3:00 AM 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