Every Wednesday after school I watched “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” a show where two brothers are in love with one girl. Its final season aired on Sep. 17, 2025, and received 25 million global viewers in the first week. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was full of teachable moments: don’t date two brothers, don’t follow your boyfriend to college, and definitely don’t get engaged at 21 years old.
The famous question, “Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah?” has finally been answered in the show’s final season, perhaps to its detriment. The ending felt incredibly rushed, especially in the last couple of episodes.
In the beginning of the season we see that Jeremiah Fisher cheated on protagonist Belly Conklin while they were on a “break” in their relationship. This shifted public perception in favor of Conrad, who had waited years for her. However, Belly forgave Jeremiah, so he saw his chance and proposed to her.
As the couple falls deeper into wedding planning, Belly becomes increasingly stressed and turns to Conrad for comfort. The two share a few romantic moments together as he helped out with the wedding and beach house. As tension begins to build, Belly starts to question her decision to marry Jeremiah.
Belly is a sweet girl but all she does is take turns dating the two brothers. This makes the show feel shallow and unrealistic. Instead of showing her growth and independence, it makes her seem perpetually immature. It is understandable to an extent, as many teens relate to her, but the show sometimes takes it too far. It was particularly frustrating to see how little accountability Jeremiah faced throughout the show.
Jeremiah ignored the signs that Belly wasn’t fully over Conrad. All of his mistakes were just brushed off in order to progress the story. This poor plot development takes away from the quality of the show. Important events happen too quickly or without enough buildup, so characters’ actions don’t always make sense. The dialogue can also feel cheesy, which weakens what are supposed to be deep moments.
Belly’s biggest mistake was the fact that she never stood on her own and instead always focused on which brother she was closest to at that moment. She should have spent the time to figure out what she actually wanted. Not only would that be a powerful ending, but it also would have given a stronger message to the teens who look up to her.
Despite its flaws, the show was an eye-opening experience about being young and looking for love in this generation. As a teenager, mistakes pile up, love is confusing, and it’s hard to know who’s “the one.” Maybe that’s why all of us kept watching week after week, even though it was frustrating sometimes.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” gave us a good ending, but we deserved better. It was satisfying to see Belly finally pick someone, but there are so many loose ends left unresolved. On the other hand, the show may have closed its final chapter, but the conversations it sparked about love and loyalty will stick with fans for a long time.
