Whether you’re Team Bonrad or Team Jelly, you have to admit that the third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has been a whirlwind – in the best way. The last time I saw so many people so invested in the outcome of a show was probably Game of Thrones – not bad for a summer romance TV show.
The show begins with Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Belly (Lola Tung) into their fourth year as a couple. They seem content and happy, until it all falls apart when Belly discovers Jeremiah’s indiscretion in Cabo. But they don’t want to let go of each other and their relationship, so when Jeremiah proposes marriage to Belly, she accepts. Both of them are in their own little bubble and refuse to deal with the reality of their problems. Before the whole Cabo fiasco, their incompatibility’s fairly apparent. Belly doesn’t like Jeremiah’s frat buddies, he doesn’t like when she spends too much time with her friends; so they use the prospect of marriage to power through and prove they can make things work.
Having read the books, some of the changes make things a little messier. In the show, Belly and Jeremiah have been together far longer than in the books, so when Conrad (Christopher Briney) swoops in still in love with Belly, it doesn’t feel as damning as it does in the show. This change makes Jeremiah more of a competitor in the love triangle, when in the books it was always obvious that Belly loved Conrad in a much deeper way.
It doesn’t help that Tung and Casalegno don’t really have the chemistry to carry the early parts of the season. Most of Belly and Jeremiah’s interactions are conflict-driven, and their conversations usually revolve around the problems Jeremiah’s dealing with. Moreover, Belly’s narration is missing for most of the first half of the show, so we aren’t privy to what she’s feeling and where she stands with both brothers. This is where the intricacies of Tung’s acting really helps us to understand Belly’s interior; there’s an almost manic quality to Belly’s happiness, like she’s doing so much to convince herself and everyone around her how happy she is. Their lack of chemistry impacts the pacing of the first half of the season. It all feels a bit draggy and slow, especially when we spend time on subplots we don’t really care about, like whatever’s happening with Laurel (Jackie Chung) and John (Colin Ferguson).
It’s only when Conrad fully enters the picture again does the momentum and the season start to pick up. Tung and Briney have insane chemistry together – it’s the kind of pairing that us TV romantics dream of. Briney makes Conrad’s yearning so palpable and combustible – my TV caught fire just from his mere gazes at Belly. The Bonrad moments is also when the show does its best work – the bright, rosy hues of the peaches scene, a sunlit Belly and Conrad in the bathroom, the comfy nostalgia of their Christmas together – it’s all so glorious and absolutely beautiful.
The music choices in episode 5 alone are fantastic and probably the best parts of the show. I didn’t think I could find any more of covers of “Linger” to love, but now I have Royel Otis’ version of the song on repeat. As much as I love Taylor Swift, I think there’s a bit too much of her music in the show this season, and sometimes it’s so on the nose that it doesn’t feel impactful. We got better Taylor Swift song pairings in season 1; think “Lover” and “The Way I Loved You”.
When the interactions between Tung and Briney are so effortlessly engaging, we feel the slump when they aren’t on our screen. Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer) are a sweet couple, and I appreciate that Spencer and Kaufman bring a softer kind of chemistry to the Staylor pairing – not every relationship has to be built on the infinity highs of Bonrad. But the couple needed better material than just the introduction of another love interest for Steven. There’s just so much time wasted on subplots that don’t pay off in a meaningful way, or redemption arcs given without any of the groundwork. Tom Everett Scott’s performance as Adam is probably why we don’t hate him as much as we should, but those ending moments with Jeremiah don’t feel earned after all his comments to his son early in the season.
Surprisingly, Adam’s conversation with Conrad is actually one of the better moments of the season. I didn’t think there was anything to be salvaged in that relationship, but Adam shows us that maybe he’s not the worst parent to ever exist. I like that the show doesn’t give us super parents in Laurel and Adam. They don’t always know what to do and they don’t always get things right, but they’re trying, well, Laurel more than Adam let’s be real.
Season 3 isn’t as solid on the pacing and narrative threads as the previous seasons, maybe because we have more episodes this season. I rewatched season 1 while waiting for the weekly episode drops for season 3, and it’s just a stronger season only because every single moment is watchable. I didn’t feel the urge to skip through content or that anything was mere filler.
All the Bonrad moments are top-notch, and that’s reason enough for most to tune in; I just wish the path getting there was less cobbled.
REVIEW SCORE: 4/5
