After about a month of fresh episodes every week, the popular Prime Video TV series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has recently concluded its second season, leaving behind it an abundance of angst, heartbreak and swoon worthy romance.
Originally written as a book trilogy by Jenny Han, the same author credited with writing “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” “The Summer I Turned Pretty” (often referred to as TSITP) follows the incredibly complicated love life of Isabel “Belly” Conklin, who gets caught in the center of a love triangle between the two brothers she has known for most of her life. Belly, her mother Laurel and her older brother Steven travel to the small town of Cousins every summer to stay with Laurel’s best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Last season followed the summer of Belly’s glow up (hence the name of the show) causing her to realize that boys were now more inclined to notice her– especially her childhood crush, Conrad. However, after a confession mid-season from his brother Jeremiah, it dawns on her that her feelings aren’t as straightforward as she thought them to be.
This season, however, things get a lot more complex for Belly and her friends.
Things don’t start off well when we learn early on of Susannah’s passing, due to the fact that she was battling cancer and ultimately lost. It was a hard blow for everyone— especially Conrad and Jeremiah, who were already struggling to get along with each other after a large falling out with Belly. To add to the mix, Susannah’s beach house ends up being put on the market, which brings Belly, Steven, Conrad, Jeremiah and Belly’s best friend, Taylor, back to Cousins to try and save their childhood summer home.
Many have long anticipated the second season of “TSITP,” including some of our students at Seminole High School (SHS). Kennah Lynn, a junior at SHS who had originally read the books prior to the show’s release, gives her approval of the new season.
“I really like season two because it does stay really close to the books,” she says. “They include a lot of the important scenes from the book that are important to the plot, and I think it is a different feel compared to the first season which moves the story along.”
The entire first season of “TSITP” was all about the dreamy romantic aspects of Belly’s summer with the boys and her first experiences with love and relationships. However, as summer fades away, as grief begins to sink in, and Belly’s “happy ending” with her first choice of interest, Conrad, bursts into flames, the show becomes real and way more emotional for both the characters and the viewers. As conflict after conflict arises (both physically and romantically) each character is able to persevere in the end and become stronger, as both their own individuals and as a group.
“I think Conrad had the most character development just because I think he is trying really hard, especially after his mother’s death, to be better for Belly,” explains junior Madisyn Blake, another fan of both the show and the books.
Lynn also argues that Taylor has the most growth throughout the show, especially after acting on her strong feelings for Steven and they become an official romantic pairing.
“As we see in the first and most of the second season, Taylor likes to deflect with humor, but I think her relationship with Steven really has helped her open up and talk through her emotions,” she says.
In the end, Belly essentially chooses to give up on Conrad and act on her feelings for Jeremiah; however, there is still much more to come for the three of them, as there is still one last season to be made. Until then, we can only wait patiently to see who will belong in Belly’s happy ending.