'The Summer I Turned Pretty' season 2 finale sees Belly make a choice between Jeremiah and Conrad — but the ending isn't exactly like what happens in the book (2024)
"The Summer I Turned Pretty" season two took its plot from "It's Not Summer Without You," the second book in Jenny Han's popular trilogy. But the season two finale's ending wasn't quite the same as what book readers may have expected.
The second season finds Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) and the Fisher brothers — Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney) — on a quest to save their mom Susannah's (Rachel Blanchard) summer house after her death. Belly takes a trip to Cousins Beach with Jeremiah and learns through Conrad that Susannah's house is up for sale. Of course, the situation is more complicated than that, because Conrad is Belly's ex-boyfriend, and she is catching feelings for Jeremiah.
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Viewers who also read the books know that the small-screen adaptation of the popular series took some liberties with the plot throughout season two. For example, in the book, Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah only have to convince Mr. Fisher (the boys' dad) not to sell the house. But on season two of the show, we meet Aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick), who owns the house after Susannah's death. Julia and her child, Skye (Elsie Fisher), bring family drama with them to Cousins Beach and initially hate the house.
In another big change, Belly loses her virginity to Conrad in the TV series, which doesn't happen in the books.
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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. Well, the answer is slightly complicated.
How does 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' season 2 end?
Technically, the season two finale doesn't stay true to the ending of the second book in the trilogy, which has both an ending to the present-day timeline and a flash-forward "coda" after that. The actual ending of "It's Not Summer Without You" is a flash-forward to Belly on the beach in a white dress with a mystery man a couple of years after the present-day events the book covers.
"This wasn't how I pictured my future. Me, in a white dress in the pouring rain running for the car," Belly thinks in the book. "Him running ahead of me and opening the passenger door."
"Are you sure?" the man asks Belly. She tells him she's not, so the book ends with Belly stepping into an uncertain future.
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The present-day story in "It's Not Summer Without You" ends the morning after Belly spends the night in a hotel room with Jeremiah and Conrad. Though Conrad still has feelings for Belly, he doesn't tell her, because he knows his brother has feelings for her too. Conrad leaves the hotel via a ride from a friend, while Jeremiah and Belly drive home from the hotel together, holding hands.
"The Summer I Turned Pretty" season two also ends with Belly and Jeremiah as a couple, but it's slightly different from the book's present-day ending. The finale ends with Belly playing a volleyball game with her team and Jeremiah watching her in the stands like the supportive boyfriend he's just become.
This final scene ties up a plot that's specific to the TV series. On the show, Belly's coach doesn't want to let her join her team's training camp in the summer because she was unfocused during the year due to Susannah's death and her breakup with Conrad. By contrast, sports don't play a role in the book.
"The Summer I Turned Pretty" season two finale is streaming now on Prime Video.
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.
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.
Who does Belly end up with? Ok, so despite us thinking there could be a final scene in which Belly changes her mind and goes back to Conrad, season two ends with Belly choosing to be with Jeremiah in the motel parking lot.
“They really love each other. They really are best friends—and now more.” 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.
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.
As demonstrated in the first few episode of season 2, Belly and Conrad finally date each other in It's Not Summer Without You. However, Susannah dies in the second book and this causes Conrad to pull away from Belly. They breakup before Susannah dies after prom.
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.
The relationship is going well... 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.
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.
However, at the end of the book, Jeremiah calls off their wedding because Belly is still in love with Conrad. They agree that they just aren't meant to be together, and that's okay. A few years later, Belly and Conrad marry, and Jeremiah brings a date to the wedding.
Jeremiah asks Belly if she still loves Conrad, and she says yes. They cancel their wedding and break up. The book then flashes forward a few years later as Belly is now 24 years old. She reveals that she a year abroad in Spain after breaking up with Jeremiah, where Conrad wrote her letters.
The series concludes with Belly marrying Conrad, embarking on a new journey together as a couple. Jeremiah "Jere" Fisher initially portrays the "golden" boy archetype, seemingly untainted in the eyes of others. He serves as a supportive friend to Belly and a caring brother to Conrad.
Belly's indecisiveness and selfish desires lead her to make the wrong choice in picking Jeremiah over Conrad in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2. Despite her complicated relationship with Jeremiah, it is clear that Belly has been in love with Conrad since the first episode and their connection cannot be ignored.
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.
Conrad still loves Belly, though he's aware he has no right to discuss his feelings with her since he treated her badly when they were together and she's now in a long-term relationship with his brother.
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.
Jeremiah and Belly never kiss, unlike on the show (though, the first book mentions he was her first kiss during a previous summer's truth or dare game). Instead, she and Conrad do, and they become romantically involved at the end.
She finally has a heart-to-heart talk with Susannah, who asks Belly to take care of Conrad in the future. Belly finds Conrad sitting out on the beach, looking heartbroken over his mother's fate. She goes to sit with him as he cries. Belly kisses Conrad to comfort him, and he kisses her back.
It is only in The Summer I Turned Pretty that Conrad finally began returning her feelings after she "blossoms" into a beautiful young girl and he finally takes notice of her. By the end of the novel, the two enter into a relationship.
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