The on-screen adaptation of the masterfully written The Summer I Turned Pretty series began as a coming-of-age story addressing life’s inevitable hardships while navigating first love. Now, it has evolved into a mess of a plotline that leaves me wondering if the show has lost its purpose.
Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) sulks in his room. Taylor (Rain Spencer) and Steven (Sean Kaufman) are back together, thanks to Denise’s (Isabella Briggs) affectionate description of her brief romantic encounter with Steven (spoiler alert: it was “like kissing a plant”). Conrad (Christopher Briney) attempts to mend the relationship with nearly his only remaining blood relative, courtesy of the destruction that one girl has caused. Meanwhile, said girl, none other than Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung), is galavanting about Paris getting her belongings and a priceless ring stolen. The wedding is officially canceled, but we are nowhere near the end of this story.
Every Thursday, like clockwork, the school is abuzz with whispers of Belly’s latest shenanigans from the Wednesday night episode release. For me, every episode ends the same way: screaming as the credits roll, wondering why I wasted hours of my own life watching Belly ruin hers.
The first two seasons of the show began by bringing the beloved characters from Jenny Han’s bestselling novels to life, with Tung portraying a young girl experiencing the pains and joys of growing up, and Briney expertly playing the ideal love interest, while becoming increasingly more withdrawn as he grieves the loss of his mother, Susannah (Rachel Blanchard).
But with the release of this latest season, the show has strayed from these ideas and focused more on underdeveloped or completely nonexistent plot points from the book, including Steven’s workplace romance and Taylor’s growing jealousy, as well as Lucinda’s failed relationships and the resulting repercussions for her business.
Beyond dedicating precious screen time to irrelevant offshoots of the plot, Han has completely ruined what was meant to be the long-awaited slow-burn romance between Conrad and Belly.
At times, I’ll admit that the rekindling of their love for one another (or rather, Belly’s growing love for the loyal, exceedingly smart, and extremely accomplished of the two brothers) was mind-wrenchingly slow. The scene at the peach stand in Season Three, Episode Five was one such instance of this. Despite only clocking in at three minutes, it felt like hours had passed as Conrad stared intently into Belly’s eyes, intimately wiping peach juice dribbling down her chin.
While my desire for more meaningful dialogues was not fulfilled, I was still along for the ride. That is, until Belly destroys nearly every significant relationship she’s ever had in her life with a single decision: getting on a plane to Paris, and not looking back.
Instead of expressing her true feelings for Conrad as he had done for her, knowing full well the implications on the relationship with his brother, she chose to, quite literally, run away from her problems.
It is one thing for Belly to be independent and take time for herself, fulfilling her dream of studying abroad in the wondrous city that is Paris. But it’s something completely different to break Jeremiah’s heart by “choosing” Conrad, only to leave the hopelessly devoted Conrad unsure where they stand and left to pick up the pieces of the mess she made. Belly is not being a “girl boss” by getting drunk in Paris with her new friends, free from the burdens of the life she left behind. Honestly? She’s just an immature little girl.
While Han may have intended to tell the story of a young girl dealing with the pains and joys of growing up while discovering herself along the way, all she’s succeeded in is highlighting a great issue among young people in our modern society: their inability to commit, leaving what could be long-lasting romances in the balance of their whims.
