Season 3's eighth episode titled Last Kiss ended with the cliffhanger that is guaranteed to make you yearn for what might come next, anticipates Divya Nair.
A few months ago, I was introduced to The Summer I Turned Pretty by a colleague and binge-watched through two seasons without a break. Only to realise that for the third season, I'll have to wait until every Wednesday for the next episode to drop in.
The teen romance series is adapted from Jenny Han's book and premiered on Amazon Prime Video in June 2022. Back then, it was pitched as this dreamy, coming-of-age hopeless romantic fluff.
The story revolves around Belly Conklin (Lola Tung), who spends every summer at the Cousins Beach with her mother, brother and mother's best friend with her two sons -- the Fishers.
But this particular summer, something has shifted and Belly finds herself caught in a messy love triangle between the Fisher brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
Both Conrad and Jere have proposed to Belly at different times and tangled her in a web of love and guilt.
Now Belly has to make a difficult decision -- she has to choose between her friendship with Jere and deep love for Conrad.
Most of us got pulled in to the first season, crushing over first loves, bonding over beach houses, and of course, the magic of summer.
Sounds too perfect, right?
But after the first season, I realised that it's less about summer nostalgia and more about watching this grown up teen named Belly spend three seasons flip-flopping between the Fisher brothers mostly because she just can't seem to make up her mind.
Okay, we get it.
Belly was brought up by a strict single mother like Laurel, who was dealing with a separation from her lover-turned-husband she met in college. To top it, Laurel had to deal with the fact that her best friend Susannah (Conrad and Jeremiah's mother) had cancer and died.
But how confused and messy can one be?
Let's talk about the dishy brothers.
Conrad, the elder Fisher, is sulky, mysterious, emotionally unavailable and vulnerable.
He is also loyal and attracted to Belly from Day 1 but doesn't say it until it's too late.
The way he looks at Belly -- it's intense, like they're carrying the weight of their unexpressed emotions.
Jeremiah is the exact opposite. He is bright and fun like sunshine. As Belly's best friend, the two share warmth, freedom and love like no other.
Unlike Conrad, Belly can read Jeremiah like an open book except, of course, the time he cheated on her. And this was when they broke up for like what? Two days?
Conrad aka Mr Mysterious is the elusive prince charming you'd love to hate for brushing off Belly's feelings. But that's only until he pours his heart out and says the kind of things girls like to hear and swoon about.
Even when they are on a break, the sexual tension between Conrad and Belly is simmering.
In fact, distance somehow makes Conrad and Belly feel more magnetic.
Throughout the season, they are like tragic soulmates stuck in awkward silences, half-finished sentences and wistful glances. When he's not around, Belly looks like a lost puppy missing its owner.
But most of the time, instead of standing up and owning up his feelings, Mr Mysterious -- who loves tiptoeing in and around the house soaked in seawater and flaunting his damp hair -- is actually sulking in self-pity and exhausting your screen time.
The result? Lots of yearning. Endless frustration. And the inevitable heartbreak moments.
While everyone on the Internet, including Jimmy Fallon, wanted to know if you're on Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah, I want to scream that I am team Anti-Belly.
I mean, first she couldn't make up her mind with Conrad and then she turned every little event into a full blown episode about herself -- her silly breakup and her never-ending issues with Conrad, Jere and her mum.
In fact, when she breaks up with her childhood crush, instead of running away from him, she decides to fall in love with the younger brother and keep both of them dangling.
How is this fair?
And why is no one talking about the wedding prep?
She has the plainest, dullest white gown to her dream wedding.
Honestly, there was a point when I was more interested in Belly's brother Steve and her best friend Taylor's love story. They're confused too, but handle it better.
But Season 3's eighth episode titled Last Kiss ended with the cliffhanger that is guaranteed to make you yearn for what might come next.
Do Belly and Jeremiah get married?
How does Belly end up with Conrad?
With three more episodes to go for the Season 3 finale (the show ends on September 17), I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
So which team are you in? VOTE!
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
© 2025