The Summer I Turned Pretty is a teen drama based on the books of the same name written by Jenny Han. The show and books follow a girl named Isabel "Belly Conklin and her teenage years hanging out with her mom's best friend, Susannah Fisher, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, in their summer house. The show deals with relationships, love triangles, and family issues from the perspective of Belly. The show stars Lola Tung who plays Belly, Gavin Casalegno, and Christopher Briney. Season 2 aired July 14, 2023, and ended August 17, 2023. There are 8 episodes in season 2 with each episode being 1 hour long.
Season 2 picks up where season 1 ended, with Conrad and Belly getting together at the end of the summer. This upsets Jeremiah, which causes Belly to stay friends with Conrad. There is a time jump to the end of the school year, where we learn that Susannah passed away from cancer and the kids are no longer speaking to each other. In each episode, there are flashbacks to Belly and Conrad's relationship and demise, which leads to the present day and how they act towards each other. In the present day, it's learned that the summer house is being sold by Susannah's half-sister, Julia. Conrad leaves school, without anyone knowing, to try and stop her. Belly and Jeremiah make up and go to Cousins to find Conrad and stop the sale.
There is only one word that comes to mind to describe this season which is angsty. Last season was more romantic and didn't focus heavily on family issues since it was just the kids figuring out their feelings for one another. This season has lots of dark tones to it, with grief being the main one for every character. Each character is affected by the death of Susannah. Belly's mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung), deals with her best friend's death by not talking about it, shutting herself out from her family. Both Conrad and Jeremiah deal with it the worst, making reckless decisions and causing the Conklins to come down and help out with the house. Belly and her brother, Stephen, are also in shock over the death, with Belly losing her relationship with Conrad over his mom's death.
There are a few light-hearted moments in the season, one being when the kids go to the boardwalk and spend the day reconnecting and remembering old memories. However, each episode always ended on a cliffhanger or some dramatic moment, pushing the story. Each episode literally never ended well, except for the season finale where Belly chooses one of the brothers to be in a relationship with. One dramatic ending that I enjoyed was from episode 6 "Love Fest", where drunken Belly calls her mom for help. When an adult has to step in, you know it's serious.
This season shows a lot more of the consequences of the actions from last season. The biggest one is between Belly and the brothers but there is also the dilemma between Belly's best friend, Taylor, and her brother Stephen. Last season, Taylor admitted her feelings to Stephen, which he rejected. This summer, Stephen is trying to win back Taylor before he goes off to Princeton. Taylor keeps pushing away but she finally comes around in episode 6 and they start dating.
Season 2 does end with happy endings for everybody. Belly chooses Jeremiah, Taylor and Stephen start dating, Laurel accepts Susannah's death and can talk about it, and the house is saved, with Conrad taking care of it. Some of my favorite things from this season are when Belly and Conrad go to the summer house during Christmas time, all of episode 6, and the soundtrack. Even last season's soundtrack was amazing. One thing the show does right is choosing the right music to play. Of course, one thing I disliked from the season was how they dressed Belly. Her makeup was very dull and just made her look flat. My guess for doing this is because of her grief. All the color was drained from her life when she lost the Fishers to the point where she looked unhealthy. But other than that, the season was so good and captivating.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 was one of the highlights of my summer. I love watching it during the summertime because of how it puts you in the summer mood and makes you feel carefree and happy. It shows the emotions of summer really well with the setting, music, and storylines. Summer is a time to find yourself, go out, and be happy. Even watching it last year just made me feel so good. It fits in so well with the teen drama genre. It just does everything right, from the plot to the tiny details. Perfect. I will be tuned in for Season 3. (After the strike) Also #TeamConrad.
Rating: 10/10
