WARNING: This article contains spoilers.
Prime Video’s adaptation of the book series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” written by Jenny Han has taken the world by storm. Season one was a huge hit, making it to the No. 1 spot. However, with all the changes made and the incredibly frustrating love triangle, how good was the second season? Here’s an honest review of the recently released season of this teen drama. Today episode one, “Love Lost”, will be covered.
The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of Belly, who visits a house on the beach called Cousins in Massachusetts every summer. She and her family stay with her mom’s best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has had feelings for Conrad since she can remember and hopes this will be the summer she will finally confess. Little does she know, Jeremiah has had feelings for Belly for years.
Fast forward a whole summer of running between Conrad and Jeremiah, and she is back in season two at home in Pennsylvania. Lots occurred the summer before, so much so that Belly messed up her and her brother’s relationship with Conrad and Jeremiah. Their friendships are destroyed even more after Susannah dies of cancer, and Belly’s brother, Steven, is angry at her for ruining everything.
Just when Belly has accepted that Conrad and Jeremiah are completely cutting her out of their life, she receives a call from Conrad. They start talking almost every day. Belly eventually realizes that just because Susannah is gone doesn’t mean her sons have to be gone. So Belly calls Jeremiah, to which he picks up only to say that Conrad is missing. Belly meets with Jeremiah, and they go off to find him.
Belly’s mother, Laurel, wrote and published a book about her friendship with Susannah and how her passing has affected her. She hesitates to go on a book tour because she fears her grief will be reduced.
Steven is head over heels in love with Belly’s best friend Taylor, but is afraid it may be too late since he is heading to college in just a couple of months.
Thoughts on this episode? Here are a few people who have seen the show and wanted to give feedback.
Student Hannah Bruce, a fan of the show and on Team Jeremiah, says, “I do not support Belly in any of her relationships. I feel bad for Jeremiah because he keeps being played with, while Conrad’s just annoying. She can’t even figure out who she’s in love with.”
Another scene Hannah felt very strongly about was a scene where Steven gets in a fight with Belly, telling her it’s all her fault Conrad and Jeremiah don’t talk to them anymore. Belly uses the excuse of “I was in love, Steven! Like out of my mind in love!”.
“This was pathetic. It seems like she wants to make everything about her, even when it’s about Susannah’s death. At the end of the day, she still played with the hearts of two brothers who also happened to be Steven’s best friends. He has a right to be mad.”
When asked about the same scene, Jeremiah lover and sophomore Maely Levie says, “I think Belly deserved the criticism. Her being a literal homewrecker destroyed Steven’s relationships with his best friends.”
Now, there seem to be a lot of negative thoughts about this episode, but there is some good.
When talking about Susannah’s death and how it affected others, Maely notes, “I like how they explored the characters’ grief. In a lot of shows, it’s like, ‘Oh, this person died, oh well!’. I liked how they showed how Laurel felt. Usually, the parents in shows aren’t important and are more like side characters. The story is also told in a cool way, with the flashbacks going in backward order. This way you don’t know how exactly everything began until the end.”
There is a lot of debate on whether Jeremiah or Conrad is better for Belly, but it seems as if they each have their negative and positive traits. Conrad is a pessimistic character and tends to be very apathetic. However, he is capable of loving and is a good friend. Jeremiah can have attachment issues, but he is very understanding and optimistic.
The way Prime Video presents this love triangle does get tiring after a while. She’s dated the same two guys over and over again, and it makes you wonder: why do Conrad and Jeremiah still want to be with her? An interesting theory is it could be because Susannah has always wanted one of her sons to be with Belly. This may make them feel as if they are obligated to be with her, whether they want to or not. However, the way they fight over her like little kids, this idea doesn’t seem to be true.
This episode gets a 5 out of 10 stars because it’s just starting and so far it’s not looking good. Hopefully, things improve as the show progresses.
All in all, this episode kicks off the second season with an interesting plot and unexpected occurrences, leaving viewers anxious for more.
Stay tuned, as there will be weekly reviews on each episode!