The millennial teen drama is finally returning for its third and final season, and if you're too busy rushing through 16 hours of content to rewatch, let me help you remember all the details you need to know before jumping into Season 3. The show, which is based on a series of books written by author Jenny Han, tells the story of Belly, a teenager who has been spending her summers for years with the Fisher siblings at their vacation home in Cousins.
As you might guess from the show's title, one summer, Belly finally finds herself looking different and feeling more grown-up, ready to confront the love of her life, only for him to not care much at all. Except, does he really care? This back-and-forth is essentially the core of The Summer I Turned Pretty, but with a few added characters. What I enjoy most is that it also focuses on mothers and their relationship, showing us that friendships can be deep when you have children and also in your late 40s. That said, let's move on to the recap of seasons 1 and 2.
Creator: Jenny Han
Stars: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno
Let's start with a family tree to simplify things. Laurel and Susannah are mothers and have been best friends for years. Laurel has two children: Isabella, Belly for short, and Steven, the know-it-all. Laurel is also a writer. On the other hand, Susannah has two sons: Conrad, the older one, the brooding one, and Jeremiah, the golden retriever. Taylor is Belly's best friend and can't wait for her to finally get a boyfriend. They're also both very good at volleyball and on the school team. At Cousins, Belly is invited to a bonfire party, but she's only 15, so obviously it's not allowed.
Meanwhile, Susannah asks if she'd be interested in being a "debutante," but the boys tease her about it, and her mom certainly doesn't think it's something she'd be interested in. That night, Belly goes to the party, but it doesn't go as planned; she's embarrassed when she sees Conrad with a girl named Nicole. But all of this is important because she ends up meeting "Cam" Cameron, a sweet boy who recognizes her. Cam and Belly kiss at the end of the party, which means they'll be a novelty, before the police show up at the house and Laurel finds out about their elopement.
Belly decides to do the debutante thing, and that part is pretty hectic for her. She manages to buy some new clothes, including a very elegant dress for the dance, and then possibly make some new friends at Cousins. Nicole is quite nice, and now that Belly has Cam, she seems to be doing well. On the other hand, Steven is in love with Shayla, a super-rich girl, and they get along great. On Belly's 16th birthday, she receives the same stack of pancakes as cake, and it reminds her of when Conrad told her about the infinity symbol when they were kids. This is significant for their relationship because, later, for her birthday, Conrad gives Belly an infinity necklace, which he doesn't immediately give back.
Cam and Belly are sweet, but Belly knows he doesn't like her. Jeremiah starts being nice to Belly because, surprise!, he likes her too. Meanwhile, Laurel hooks up with Cleveland, a rival writer. Plus, Conrad is helping her with some things on the boat, so I guess he's also acting as a father figure to him. At a party, Nicole is especially nice to Belly, forcing her to blow out her birthday candles, and Taylor, who's come to visit, doesn't appreciate it. Bored, she ends up kissing Steven, but Belly sees them together and is disgusted.
You see, Conrad is also obsessed with Belly, but he's wasting Nicole's time instead. Plus, he's been having panic attacks because he knows his mom still has cancer. Susannah also tells Laurel about her cancer, but Laurel tells him she doesn't want chemo anymore because she's tired. Plus, we learn that Susannah's husband, Adam, cheated on her while she was going through chemo, and no one knows, but they're practically estranged.
However, Laurel invites him to the big Fourth of July party—Susannah's favorite holiday—and the whole thing turns into a disaster. Belly gets drunk and tells Shayla that her best friend Taylor and Steven are kissing (ugh!). Shayla forgives him, because what's a kiss? Oh my goodness, does he know! Long story short, Steven is too insecure to be with someone like Shayla, so they end up breaking up, but for some reason we don't see it onscreen. To top it all off, Belly accidentally pushes Susannah while holding the cake, ruining everything. Hey, 16-year-old heartbreak, I guess.
Comments
Post a Comment