This article contains spoilers of season three of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Art is subjective. What’s considered “high art” is subjective. But as a film major, I feel confident saying that The Summer I Turned Pretty season three is not high art because of the writing choices this season. Jenny Han had us on our toes but not in the way you’d expect. Instead of giving viewers what they wanted, when they wanted it, she seemed more interested in dragging out the drama than delivering any real growth for the characters we’ve invested in.
This newest season has been a full-on sensation—from your FYP to your feed, to the endless debates over Team Jeremiah or Team Conrad. And yet… I can’t lie, I’m not exactly thrilled with what we got for the final season.
The first season of this show was actually pretty good, and it left me with high expectations of what was to come. But let’s be real: season three had the hype, just not the quality. Jenny Han kept the Team Jeremiah vs. Team Conrad debate alive, and while I stayed loyal to Team Conrad from season one, by season three I was mostly just disappointed and frustrated that the show wasn’t living up to the potential it once had.
My biggest issue with this season? The four-year time jump. Like… What even happened in those years? Are we really supposed to believe Belly and Jeremiah had the most perfect relationship? Because from what we saw this season, that definitely didn’t seem to be the case. Fast-forwarding through time didn’t just skip over some potentially awesome storylines but it also changed the characters so much that they barely felt like the ones we fell in love with in season one. Belly especially – sometimes I didn’t even recognize her, and her choices had me shaking my head more than rooting for her like I used to.
And oh… this season dragged. So much of this season was spent on Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding and it felt like watching a slow-motion disaster unfold. There’s so much that could have been written differently to keep viewers invested without making us frustrated at the characters. By the end, some of the choices like Belly agreeing to marry Jeremiah just minutes after forgiving him for cheating made the characters feel unpredictable, like we didn’t really know them anymore.
That said, I’ll give the show this: it still kept us on our toes. Every Wednesday, we were all waiting for the next episode, invested in the drama (whether we wanted to be or not). The show became special because as viewers, we genuinely cared about what would happen next, wondering if it would go the way we hoped or not. That’s why, even when it frustrates me, I can’t stop watching.
But now, let’s talk about why this season didn’t really land for me.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been Team Conrad since season one, so this whole wedding storyline had me shaking my head from the start. Truthfully it felt like a waste of time, and it seemed clear that the wedding was never going to work, especially with the way Jeremiah was acting. On top of that, I don’t think we saw enough of Belly and Jeremiah as a couple to believe that they were ready for marriage. Belly’s decision to go through with it was confusing in the first place, especially without the support of her mother. She’s been torn between Jeremiah and Conrad, and Jeremiah, while trying, is hardly husband material. Throughout the season, the signs were everywhere: she’s marrying the wrong Fisher brother. She wouldn’t have taken Jeremiah’s last name, but something tells me she would’ve said yes if she was marrying Conrad.
And let’s talk about the bachelorette party, the scene that probably made half of us scream at our screens. That night, she’s confused, having flashbacks of Conrad and her love for him… literally three days before her wedding with his brother. Then, when Conrad finally confesses his feelings, she shuts him down. Sure, the timing was messy, but girl… if you want him, go get him. The indecisiveness from Belly this season was wild. She’s been saying all along that Conrad has been THE guy since season one, and I, along with many other Team Conraders, believed the second time would’ve been the charm for them. But instead, she goes for round two with Jeremiah.
Watching Belly reject Conrad after he finally lays his heart out is painful. It’s like the universe has been giving her signs that he’s the guy meant for her. And honestly, the signs were everywhere this season. From the accidentally switched Susannah letter, the peach scene, and then the irony with Conrad’s gate right next to hers as she’s heading to Paris after the wedding with Jeremiah broke. And yet … she still walks away from all of it and ends up in Paris.
The Paris twist is one of the few things I actually liked about this season. Belly moving there on her own, trying to figure herself out and grow independently, was a bold choice and honestly, I respect her for it. But at the same time, I missed Cousins Beach and the original vibe of the show. Cousins and the house are such nostalgic, grounding spaces for the show, and seeing everyone back there is what made the series feel familiar and special. Suddenly, episodes 9 and 10 jump three months ahead. She’s been in Paris all that time, now debating whether to go home, and it just feels rushed and disconnected.
Then there’s Benito, the charming new character that Belly meets in Paris. Honestly, I was kind of shocked at how many people actually thought he was going to replace the Fisher brothers. Sure, I get it, the show needed some fresh energy, and we know the brothers needed to move on, but we barely knew anything about Benito.
Another thing that annoyed me this season was how Conrad got blamed for the wedding falling apart. Sure, his confession stirred things up, but let’s be real, the wedding wasn’t going to work in the first place because their relationship was never ready. And yet everyone’s mad at Conrad for speaking his truth? At least he’s keeping it real.
By the end, the season felt like it had completely lost its direction. Jenny Han seemed more focused on creating buzz and weekly talking points than on giving viewers a satisfying story. Sure, the finale had its moments, but for the last ever episode of the show, it was disappointing. When Belly and Conrad finally got together, we barely even got to see them make it work. And what about Jeremiah? Are we really supposed to believe he’s just going to be cool with it?
Even the almost-chance of Taylor and Steven not ending up together added to the chaos and the finale threw so many surprises that we never really knew what to expect. A lot of episodes this season dragged, and waiting a whole week just to see what would happen next only made it more frustrating.
The finale was satisfying enough to bring things to a close, but it didn’t live up to the show’s full potential. It felt rushed and I believe it could have used another episode. Belly and Conrad’s story might have finally wrapped up, but there were still plenty of unanswered questions … Maybe they’ll be answered in The Summer I Turned Pretty movie? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see like we’ve been doing.
At the end of the day, season three had its moments, but hype can only take a show so far, which is why I’m sticking with my take: not “high art.” But we can agree to disagree.
Header Image by Julia Kaminski
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