“The Summer I Turned Pretty” (2022) Recap and Ending Explained – The seven-episode series follows Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin (Lola Tung), a 16-year-old who becomes entangled in a love triangle with two brothers.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’ a coming-of-age romance drama on Amazon Prime Video, is based on Jenny Han’s novel of the same name. The seven-episode series follows Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin (Lola Tung), a 16-year-old who becomes entangled in a love triangle with two brothers. It’s a tale of first love, grief, and maturation.
The multigenerational drama revolves around a love triangle involving one girl and two brothers, as well as the changing relationship between mothers and their offspring and the enduring power of strong female friendship. Lola Tung, Chris Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Tom Everett, David Iacono, Sean Kaufman, Minnie Mills, and Alfredo Narciso star in the romantic drama. To find out how Season 1 concluded, scroll down.
Must Read: Do Conrad and Belly End Up Together?
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” (2022) Season 1 Recap
The narrative of Belly Conklin is told in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty.’ She wants to start her love affair with Conrad Fisher this summer, at the age of sixteen. However, she realizes that Conrad has changed when she arrives at the beach house where Belly and Conrad’s families spend the summer together. He isn’t as sweet as he usually is.
Instead, he is distant and aloof, as well as harsh at times. After a long period of pining for him, Belly decides to move on. This is when she comes upon Cam. When Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah, tells her that he wants more from their connection, things get complicated. Belly has remained in love with Conrad all this time.
Meanwhile, Conrad’s mother, Susannah, has persuaded Belly to attend the debutante ball. It introduces her to the Cousins Beach society, which she had previously avoided. As she meets new people and makes new acquaintances, she learns more about Conrad and Jeremiah’s interactions with others. Laurel, Belly’s mother, is struggling with her latest novel and meets a writer with whom she builds a bond while Belly is navigating these changes.
Belly’s brother Steven falls in love with a wealthy woman named Shayla, but a brief liaison with Belly’s closest friend Taylor gets him into trouble. Susannah, who has been diagnosed with cancer, strives to make everyone’s last summer ideal, but her husband’s disintegrating relationship threatens to ruin everything. As the date of the deb ball and the end of the summer approaches, everyone attempts to keep the things they value close to their hearts.
Everything goes wild when Susannah’s secret is uncovered, and Belly learns she’s been focusing on the wrong things all along. With both Jeremiah and Conrad vying for her affections, she must choose between the two before the summer ends and she leaves Cousins Beach, never to return until the following year.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” (2022) Ending Explained
Belly starts the summer hoping to fall in love with Conrad. She chooses to let go of her crush and move on when she realises Conrad does not see her in that light. Three boys have fallen in love with her before the end of the summer. While she is breaking up with Cam, she is torn between Conrad and Jeremiah’s love. However, at the end of the season, we see her with Conrad. Is this, however, a hint that we’ll see them together next season? Yes, most likely.
Belly had feelings for Conrad, but she didn’t want to waste time waiting for him if he didn’t fully show his love for her. She begins to reject all of Conrad’s advances once she kisses Jeremiah and decides to remain with him. She makes it clear to Conrad that she is now with Jeremiah, and she is not going to run back into his arms, regardless of whether he wins the volleyball tournament with her or gets her muffins in the morning.
Susannah later realises why Conrad has been behaving aloof all summer after learning about her condition. She sympathises with him, but when she understands he needs someone to talk to about his sadness, she makes it apparent that she is not that person. She understands the ramifications it will have on her relationship with Jeremiah, and she knows that if Conrad continues to be his distant self, it won’t be fair to anyone if she indulges him any longer. She informs him that he can no longer take her for granted. If he truly wants to be with her, he must fully commit.
Conrad, it turns out, wants to be dedicated to her as well. He’d been suppressing his emotions all summer, avoiding not only Belly but also Jeremiah and Steven. Nicole, his ex-girlfriend, was also affected by his unpredictable conduct. But none of this was possible since no one knew who Susannah was. Conrad’s anguish was eating him up on the inside, and he had no one to talk to about it. After the debutante ball, however, everything changes.
Now that Belly is aware of the situation, Conrad feels free to be himself and express his feelings to her. He’s willing to open up and be with her. Belly, too, takes a step forward when he agrees to everything. Finally, they have their first kiss, and the summer draws to a close. Belly appears to have gotten her desire, as she and Conrad are now together.
Why did Belly Pick Conrad at the End of Show?
From the start of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’ it is evident that Belly will always choose Conrad. He was her first love, and they’ve always had a strong bond. Even though she tries to forget him, even when she tries to move on from him, she can’t get rid of him altogether. She fantasises about going on dates and spending time with Conrad, even when she is with Cam.
She kisses Jeremiah when he admits his feelings for her. While she adores Jeremiah and considers him a best friend, we can’t help but believe that her decision is influenced by her dislike for Conrad. Conrad refuses to admit his affections for Belly after almost kissing her. He continues to push her away, which irritates Belly greatly. She promises him she won’t wait for him, but her affections for him have an impact on her decisions.
Jeremiah makes it seem like she jumped into a relationship immediately to get Conrad off her mind. But there is still something between them, as they demonstrate when they dance together at the deb ball. When all the misconceptions have been clarified and all has been said and done, Belly returns to her original love.
She likes Jeremiah, but their relationship is more like that of a close friend. She had never seen him in that light, and even when she chooses to be with him, she does not give him her whole heart. So, when she kisses Conrad at the end, it seems not only long overdue but also inevitable.
all episodes of #thesummeriturnedpretty drop tonight at midnight est, and to celebrate we're hosting a watch party tomorrow!
press play on episode one friday at 4pm pt / 7pm et and tweet along with us, @primevideo, and @ew!https://t.co/zR3MNfXkOo
— The Summer I Turned Pretty (@thesummeritp) June 16, 2022
Stream “The Summer I Turned Pretty” episodes on Prime Video.