Fans were both happy and unhappy with the ending. Via Instagram @thesummeriturnedpretty
The long-awaited third and final season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” or TSITP, has taken action on screen, wrapping up its finale on Sept. 17. The series, which is based on the novel of the same name, has received nothing but love since its debut in June 2022, and season three was no different with 25 million people worldwide tuning into the finale.
The show follows Isabel Conklin, also known as Belly, who portrays the hardships of a coming-of-age teenage girl who’s been in love with the same boy ever since she can remember. The question remains throughout all three seasons: will she ever get over Conrad Fisher? Not only does she struggle with her first love, she also ends up in a messy love triangle when she catches feelings for Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah.
The show’s premise revolves around the death of the matriarch of the Fisher family, Susannah, who battles breast cancer and later dies. The Fisher boys struggle with her loss, while also both competing for Belly’s love and affection. As their lives unfold in season three, Belly begins her college journey; a fresh start. She’s been pining over Conrad for far too long. Jenny Han, who is the show’s creator and co-writer, precisely constructs the series to display the “messy nature of growing up.”
The awkward love triangle from their teenage years follows them into their 20s, and some into Paris in the final season.
The third season of the show reveals a four-year time jump, and the long–lasting relationship between Belly and Jeremiah. They both attended Finch College, growing together through their day-to-day activities instead of a summer romance. They’re both extremely devoted to each other, or that’s what Belly thought until Jeremiah cheated on her with Lacy Barone in Cabo, during their so-called “break.” Although this happened, in the midst of the moment, Belly forgave him. Not so long after, he proposed, and she said yes.
Although Jeremiah and Belly are engaged in the final season, the obvious tension between Conrad and Belly did not go unnoticed by fans. Han specifically directed Episode 5 in this new season, wanting to capture the excitement in her creative vision for the many viewers who love Belly and Conrad together, feeding into the “ship” that many fans so desperately hung onto.
Many fans even criticized the engagement between Belly and Jeremiah throughout the third season, especially slandering the ring he proposes with. Jeremiah and Belly’s wedding goes wrong in every possible way, specifically with Conrad confessing his love for Belly the weekend of the wedding. Belly runs off to Paris with no plans to get away from the mess.
A year passes, and when Conrad visits for the first time since the confession, it leads them eventually being together.
While it is the ending that many fans wanted, the ending also left fans wanting more; some even thought the final season was rushed and sloppy. We didn’t get any glimpse of future Conrad and Belly, only a time skip to when they returned to each other. Jeremiah had an entire season, while Conrad had an episode. Many fans spiraled due to the lack of screen time for the couple.
However, not all fans are unsatisfied with this ending, though; many believe it was the perfect ending because of the growth shown between Conrad and Belly’s relationship.
Although the final season is wrapped, “The Summer I turned Pretty” isn’t quite over yet, despite the third season being the “last.” Quickly after the episode was released, Han announced a movie that will have everything that this ending might not have had for fans.