TV Romance
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’: 6 Book Changes We Need to See Before Season 3 Ends
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 7, “Last Hurrah.”]
The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s final season is more than halfway over, and based on where the story is taking viewers so far, it’s clear that some changes are on the horizon for fans of Jenny Han‘s book We’ll Always Have Summer, the third and final novel from the trilogy upon which the show is inspired.
The seventh installment, which chronicled Belly (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) bachelorette and bachelor parties, ending with a love confession from Conrad (Christopher Briney) to Belly, teed up the beginning of the end regarding the book plot, as Han’s We’ll Always Have Summer concludes with Belly and Jeremiah calling off their wedding and jumping forward to the future where Belly travels abroad, reconnects with Conrad, and eventually marries him.
With four more episodes to Season 3 on the horizon, it feels like there’s a lot more room for the show to explore additional storylines, and we’re breaking down a few changes we’d like to see as those final installments unfold.
1. Give us a real wedding episode
Erika Doss
If the show follows suit with Han’s novel, Belly and Jeremiah aren’t going through with their wedding, but we wouldn’t mind getting the real deal with an installment offering a bigger glimpse at Belly and Conrad’s nuptials, should the show align with the book’s endgame. With so much talk this season about wedding plans, and Episode 7’s sentiments of having the day be what Belly imagines it to be, we’re curious what a wedding without Jeremiah’s dad, Adam’s (Tom Everett Scott), interference. While a wedding is briefly mentioned in We’ll Always Have Summer, it would be nice to see it represented on a larger scale onscreen.
2. Belly should write the first letter
In the book, Belly and Conrad reconnect when he begins writing her letters while she studies abroad. It’s a sweet avenue back into their romance, but after Conrad poured out his feelings in Episode 7, it feels like the metaphorical ball is in her court to broach the topic of their reconnection next. If that’s when she’s studying abroad, that’s fine, but we’d love to see Belly consciously make the choice for herself by reaching out to Conrad rather than the other way around.
3. New endgames
Prime Video
While we’re admittedly all-in on Belly and Conrad’s seemingly fated endgame, we’re not giving up hope that the show will deliver two more before Season 3 is through with her parents, Laurel (Jackie Chung) and John (Colin Ferguson), as well as her brother Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer). No major explanations feel required when it comes to Steven and Taylor; they’ve felt fated for a while as they exhibit new growth throughout the season individually.
But Laurel and John’s romance and potential endgame feel like an echo of what Belly and Conrad could be, as their split stemmed from Laurel’s feeling of not knowing her true self. Years after the couple’s divorce, it seems like Laurel’s more sure of herself, and that spark still remains, mimicking the path Belly may need to take before she can reunite with Conrad for an endgame.
4. Repentance from Adam
No matter which team you’re on when it comes to the Fisher brothers, it’s easy to agree that Adam is the worst. That being said, Adam bringing his mistress, Kayleigh (Emma Ishta), as his wedding date to Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding is another level of awful. How can we expect the characters we do like to change in a positive and meaningful way if Adam doesn’t acknowledge his wrongs or take responsibility for his actions to his sons? We can’t. Also, this isn’t so much a book change as Adam’s mistress didn’t play a role in the wedding, but he also never took accountability for his biggest shortcomings.
5. Genuine brother connection
It’s easier said than done, but we need to get a fuller glimpse at Conrad and Jeremiah reviving their brotherly bond once the love triangle drama is settled. While things are fairly sorted by the end of Han’s book, the show could have the right amount of time to repair lingering damage, while also removing any strain from the Fisher brothers being in each other’s orbits.
6. A full episode abroad
A change of scenery is always fun, and while Belly’s time abroad is mentioned in Han’s book, we’re dying to take a deep dive into her possible experience before the season is through.
What changes would you like to see before The Summer I Turned Pretty is through? Sound off in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more on Season 3 as it continues to unfold on Prime Video.
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Season 3, Wednesdays, Prime Video
