REVIEW: “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 2 - The Miami Hurricane (2024)
WARNING: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own discretion.
Teal ocean waves crash against the sand. Cornflower blue hydrangeas blossom as summer begins. The smell of lobster rolls and barbecue floods every corner of the neighborhood.
This picturesque imagery from the fictional Cousins Beach returns in the second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” which took viewers on an emotional rollercoaster throughout its eight episodes.
An Amazon Prime Video original, the series is based on author Jenny Han’s bestselling young adult trilogy of the same name. It follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) as she visits Cousins Beach each summer with her mother Laurel (Jackie Chung) and older brother Steven (Sean Kaufman). They stay at the summer home of Laurel’s best friend Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) and her two boys, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno).
Throughout the first season, fans decide whether they are Team Jeremiah, Team Conrad or Team Belly Needs To Be Single — also known as the Belly Hate Club, because Belly’s indecisiveness messes with a lot of boys’ hearts.
Although season two has a killer soundtrack and juicy love triangle plot, it lacks the joyful summer vibes of season one. However, the sadder undertones make sense given the death of Susannah, who passed away from cancer.
The first few episodes show both flashbacks and the present events, which gets confusing for viewers trying to follow the timeline. We learn more about Belly and Conrad’s relationship, which lasts for several months and ends after Belly’s prom night ends with Conrad running off and Belly sobbing into Steven’s arms.
The main storyline of the season is the Conklin and Fisher siblings’ attempt to save the Cousins Beach home from being sold, a storyline that plays out differently from the books.
New characters like Susannah’s sister Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) and her teenager Skye (Elsie Fisher) are unnecessary additions to the plot. Viewers especially dislike Skye for their cringe-worthy dialogue and odd wardrobe.
Meanwhile, Belly continues toying with the Fisher brothers’ hearts, ultimately ending the second season with Jeremiah instead of Conrad.
The real highlight of season two was the budding relationship between Belly’s best friend Taylor (Rain Spencer) and Steven. Following a messy situation between them in season one, Steven finally likes Taylor back, but she’s already found a boyfriend. After Steven confesses his feelings to Taylor and nearly fights her current boyfriend, Steven and Taylor finally get together. Many fans were more excited about this relationship than any of Belly’s previous relationships, of which there are many.
Another highlight of this season was the phenomenal soundtrack. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” must have a hefty budget, as season two featured songs by Taylor Swift, One Direction, Frank Ocean, Lana del Rey, Beyonce, Olivia Rodrigo, Fleetwood Mac and more.
The placement of “exile” by Taylor Swift and “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac was absolute perfection. When Belly sees Susannah for the first time, this emotional scene features “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” by Taylor Swift, the perfect track to say goodbye to Susannah.
My one complaint is that “Snow On The Beach” by Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey should have played during the scene where Belly and Conrad pranced around the beach as it snowed.
As a member of #TeamJeremiah myself, I was thrilled with this season. Having read the books, however, I am terrified of what season three will bring. Perhaps Jenny Han will slightly alter the storyline to soften the blow, or she will leave it as is.
In the final book, "We'll Always Have Summer," Belly and Jeremiah become a serious couple and even go to the same college. When Belly discovers he hooked up with someone else while they were on a break, she breaks up with him. He begs her to take him back and proposes, to which she agrees, much to her family's chagrin.
As for why Belly chooses Jeremiah in the season finale, Han says that, as always, Belly is following her heart. “I think part of what she loves about Jeremiah is his openness and the way he allows her to really see him and love him,” she says.
But after Susannah's death, Conrad's grief created distance between him and Belly leading to their breakup at prom. This summer, Belly and Conrad seek closure for their failed relationship, while she and Jeremiah resume their friendship, after she picked Conrad over him.
In another big change, Belly loses her virginity to Conrad in the TV series, which doesn't happen in the books. Considering all of these changes, you might be wondering if "The Summer I Turned Pretty" stayed true to its core story — the love triangle between Belly and the Fisher brothers.
In the second episode, it's revealed that Belly loses her virginity to Conrad by the fireplace in the house at Cousins Beach after the snow at the beach scene. “I felt like that's where Belly was in her journey,” Han tells Variety. “These two characters were very much in love and had known each other their whole lives.
But, fans of Belly and Jeremiah might want to look away now as in the books written by Jenny Han, Belly ends up marrying Conrad. Yes, really! In Jenny Han's third book, We'll Always Have Summer, Belly breaks up with Jeremiah after two years when she discovers he cheated on her while they were on a break.
This all leads up to his marriage proposal two years into their relationship. The series ends with Belly marrying Conrad, and the couple starting a new life together. Jeremiah "Jere" Fisher: At the outset of the series, he is the "golden" boy, the one who appears to be untainted in the eyes of everyone.
Belly and Jeremiah break up and Belly moves to Spain to study abroad. Conrad then begins writing her romantic letters. When Belly returns, she and Conrad begin dating again and the book ends with the couple getting married.
Belly and Jeremiah kiss passionately and often sleep in the same bed. They haven't had sex in the two years they've dated because Belly hasn't felt that the timing was right.
until Belly finds out Jeremiah cheated on her with another girl while the two are at a frat party one night. Heartbroken, she slaps him and spends days in bed crying. To prove his regret, Jeremiah proposes marriage to her. She hesitantly accepts on the condition he never hurt her again.
Steven cheated on Shayla early on in their relationship and was also very insecure about his family not being as wealthy as Shayla's. Even though they ended the season as a couple, whether they would stay together was one of the biggest questions that remained for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2.
Belly remembers how she and Jeremiah got into a fight before spring break and broke up. While Belly saw the breakup as only temporary, Jeremiah interpreted it as something more permanent, which is why he had sex with Lacie.
While the pair also staged a secret visit to Cousins during Christmastime on the page, Belly and Conrad did not have sex. But in the second episode, it's revealed that the couple are intimate for the first time in front of the fireplace. "Conrad, it's only you," she tells a sleeping Conrad after.
At the end of the novel, he and Belly become a couple. However, the relationship is short-lived when Conrad once again slips back into his emotional old ways. At the beginning of the second novel, he runs away from college to protect the beach house once he finds out his father intends to sell it.
Conrad then begins writing her romantic letters. When Belly returns, she and Conrad begin dating again and the book ends with the couple getting married. It rains heavily but Belly and Conrad couldn't care less. They run into the sea with their wedding clothes on, happy to finally be together forever.
The fireplace scene is a huge departure from the books. It's a crucial fact in the Summer series that Belly chooses not to have sex, a decision which is especially relevant to the plot of the third book (if I were Team Jeremiah, I'd be very scared for Season 3).
That's right, the momentous scene in episode 2 of the second season where Belly announces to Conrad, “I want to. I want it to be with you,” doesn't happen at all in the books.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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