TV Romance
Were Laurel & Susannah in Love on ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’?
The Summer I Turned Pretty fans know that Belly’s (Lola Tung) love triangle with brothers Conrad and Jeremiah (Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno) is the main focus of the series, but their parents have their own romantic entanglements going on.
In Season 3, Belly’s mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung), has been getting closer to her ex-husband, John (Colin Ferguson). “I wasn’t expecting it, but you can understand it,” the actress told People of her character’s development. “Laurel’s lost her friend. He’s a comfort. He is someone who understands her, who gets her, and who is the parent to the same children and close to the other children as well, and is a good support for her.”
Of course, the friend Chung is referring to is Susannah (Rachel Blanchard). Before she dies from cancer between Seasons 1 and 2, Conrad and Jeremiah’s mom separates from their adulterous dad (Tom Everett Scott). Other than that, Susannah doesn’t have any serious romances — none that viewers see anyway. However, some fans have guessed that there was more to Susannah’s love life than meets the eye.
What is the Laurel and Susannah theory?
Fans have long speculated that the deep love Laurel and Susannah had for each other wasn’t platonic. They think they actually had romantic feelings for each other, even if they never acted on them when Susannah was still alive.
In fact, Chung recalled Blanchard bringing up the theory during filming. “I do remember, I can’t remember which season it was, but Rachel said she had heard that,” she said, later revealing that her costar is her “other half.” She added, “I can understand how people could interpret it that way, I guess. But yeah, no, I just always saw it as a really, really deep friendship.”
Were Laurel and Susannah ever together?
The characters met in college, with Laurel first assuming Susannah was just another stuck-up rich girl. They would go on to become best friends, eventually treating each others’ kids as their own. When we catch up with them later in life in Season 1, their bond is as strong as ever. The duo has their fair share of low moments, but they always patch things up.
In Episode 5 of the first season, we see their chemistry in full-force when they have night out on the town. They get drunk, they dance, they reminisce on the past. At no point did they mention ever being lovers, and the show as a whole has never explicitly stated that Laurel and Susannah were once an item. It doesn’t come up in author Jenny Han‘s book series, either.
Chung herself has never considered it a possibility. “I just think that it’s rare to see this kind of love on screen where these women just wholly support each other and care about each other and have a decades-long friendship,” she told People. “And I think you can tell from Laurel that she keeps her world small, and the people in her life are very important to her, and Susannah is her person.”
Many fans are calling for a Summer I Turned Pretty prequel that delves into Laurel and Susannah’s past, and we’re totally here for it. In fact, we’ve already picked out the actors we’d want to play a younger Laurel and Susannah. This would give viewers the backstory about the best friends we’ve been theorizing about for years.
What do you think about the fan theory? Should they remain friends or get a romantic backstory? Let us know in the comments!
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Season 3, Wednesdays, Prime Video
