Juggernaut teen TV show The Summer I Turned Pretty has ended with the release of its third and final season, wrapping up messy storylines between, well, all of its characters. From love triangles to cheating scandals, the show seems to have used every stereotypical plot point seen in media targeted at young adults.
Created by Jenny Han based on her novel trilogy, there’s something frustratingly addictive about it. Despite the show’s subpar quality, people keep watching and will likely keep watching, especially when the movie — announced hours after the season finale — hits theatres.
I can’t count the number of times minor problems blown way out of proportion tested my patience. I found myself pressing the pause button multiple times an episode to get through unrealistic scenes, but I still tuned in every Wednesday to find out what was going to happen next.
That’s because for all its cringe-worthy moments, the show draws fans in with its sense of relatability.
The Summer I Turned Pretty manages to capture the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence through its ever-present themes of love, family and self-identity, supported by a soundtrack curated to the experiences along the way.
Throughout the show set at a luxurious beach house at the fictional Cousins Beach, Isabel “Belly” Conklin, played by Lola Tung, is torn between family friends and the Fisher brothers: her brooding first love, Conrad, played by Christopher Briney, and the charismatic Jeremiah, played by Gavin Casalegno.
Belly and Conrad’s relationship is built on longing glances and slow-motion cinematography. The moment the audience meets him, he is bathed in sunlight as Taylor Swift’s “Lover” swells.
While Belly’s relationship with Jeremiah starts off platonic, their late-night kiss in season one shifts the dynamic between them, driven home by Tyler the Creator’s “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” in the background.
From then on, the relationships between Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah are changed: tensions run high whenever they are together, mirroring the real confusion and frustration that comes with young love.
Maybe that’s why people find themselves shouting at their screens every week, because — for better or for worse — they can relate.
In The Summer I Turned Pretty’s final season, while Belly is engaged to Jeremiah, Conrad delivers a passionate confession fans have waited three seasons for: he has always loved Belly, and will always love her no matter what.
Belly rejects him, despite his romantic, reassuring actions and words, leaving him alone on the moonlit beach — the most symbolic backdrop of their love story. Waves crash against the shore as James Blake’s cover of Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” creeps into the background noise, heightening the passionate tension.
Still, Belly is filled with doubt.
During adolescence, everything starts to feel a bit more fragile, raising caution when trying to accept whether something is real or true. Many fans can see themselves in Belly expressing the uncertainty that’s been brewing since the beginning of the show.
While The Summer I Turned Pretty mainly revolves around the love triangle, it is also very family-oriented, diving into the dynamics between the rest of the Conklins and Fishers.
Conrad and Jeremiah’s mother Susannah, played by Rachel Blanchard, is a primary figure in all the characters’ lives. She is Belly’s role model, a second mother to her brother Steven, played by Sean Kaufman, and best friend to their mother Laurel, played by Jackie Chung.
Susannah’s death early in the second season, causes grief to seep into the cracks of their relationships.
Almost every character argues with one another or has some sort of Susannah-related breakdown; Belly and Conrad’s entirely inappropriate explosion at her funeral among the most notable. Backed by Fleetwood Mac’s emotionally-charged “Silver Springs,” the two throw petty insults at one another in front of the crowd mourning their beloved Susannah.
Even after characters make amends, Susannah haunts the narrative of the show.
Her presence looms as they reach life’s milestones, like preparing for Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding. Susannah is even a major player in the fallout of their relationship. The individual letters she addressed to Conrad and Jeremiah for their respective wedding dates get mixed up, with Jeremiah receiving the one meant for Conrad that delves into his love for Belly.
The psychological turbulence across frustration and sadness throughout the show emulates that of real-life grief, grounding the emotions amid the often exaggerated situations in the show.
Belly experiences perhaps the most pivotal influence of Susannah’s death on a character. The event acts as a catalyst for Belly to figure out who she is outside of the summer house: first in college, then abroad in Paris. After breaking things off with Jeremiah, her impulsive decision to move to Europe leads her to new friends and experiences.
While juggling multiple jobs, dealing with inconsiderate roommates and working her way through online school, Belly shares the same struggles as many university students: balancing a hectic work and social life, all while trying to establish a unique, adult identity.
University tends to be where people become more comfortable with themselves while studying topics of interest, meeting like-minded individuals and often living on their own for the very first time. Although Belly’s experience is not a conventional one, audiences can still relate to her loneliness turned independence.
While the characters can range from annoying to infuriating, there is no denying the realization of shared experience invites a strange sense of comfort.
Tackling the interconnected nature of love, family and self-identity during the transition from adolescence to adulthood is what has kept fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty hooked for so long.
It will likely be what brings them back every summer.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/the Charlatan
