TV Romance
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’: Did Jenny Han’s Crossword Easter Egg Hint at Belly’s Endgame?
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 2, “Last Christmas.”]
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 is keeping the love alive for Jenny Han‘s other popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise with a special planted easter egg that could also hint at Belly Conklin’s (Lola Tung) endgame.
Before fans ever debated which Fisher brother was best for Belly — Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) — Han won them over with the romance of Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) in the film trilogy, the second entry of which is based on her book P.S. I Still Love You.
The book gets a shoutout in a crossword puzzle moment during The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Season 3 “Last Christmas” episode. But does the sweet nod have a deeper meaning?
In the episode, Belly remembers spending a Christmas at the beach house with Conrad unexpectedly. While her mom and brother are out of town with other plans, she decided to go to her favorite place and spend the holiday at Cousins Beach, only to have Conrad show up when his flight abroad was canceled because of the weather.
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At this point in time, Belly was fully dating Jeremiah, but she lied about being at the house alone, and in voiceover, she admitted that she still loved Conrad. After spending time at the house together, watching movies, playing crossword puzzles, and enjoying the cozy atmosphere, Belly woke up one morning to find Conrad had already left.
On the kitchen counter was an unfinished crossword puzzle with a sticky note attached to it. “Merry Christmas, Belly. It was good seeing you,” it read. In the puzzle, a clue read, “Novel by author Jenny Han, P.S. I __ Love You.” Belly found the spot in the puzzle and filled out “Still,” but before she did, it must be noted that it appeared Conrad had already filled that out before he erased it.
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Whether the easter egg was just a nod to the pair’s lingering love for one another or a hint at a potential endgame for Belly and Conrad is for the fans to speculate. If the show follows Han’s third novel in The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, We’ll Always Have Summer, then it could very well be pointing at their future as Belly and Conrad end up together at the end of the book series.
This crossword moment wasn’t part of the original book, but most of the Christmas scenes were exact translations from the book, which Han acknowledged to TV Insider. “I knew that one was very special for the readers, and so I was very intentional and detail-oriented when it came to that particular scene, and yeah… It’s one of my favorites of the season,” Han admitted. “It’s very cozy, and I hope that the readers will be happy when they see the scene.”
Were you a fan of the scene, and do you think the crossword hints at Belly and Conrad’s potential endgame? Let us know in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more on The Summer I Turned Pretty as the final season continues on Prime Video.
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Season 3, Wednesdays, Prime Video
