With 3 Episodes Left, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Is Going Beyond the Books, and This Is the One Thing the Show Shouldn’t Do

August 29, 2025 | by ltcinsuranceshopper

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 8 and for Jenny Han’s book We’ll Always Have Summer.The main storyline of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 so far has been the buildup to Belly (Lola Tung) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) wedding, and sure enough, the day is as messy as promised. In Season 3, Episode 8, “Last Kiss,” Conrad’s (Christopher Briney) love confession to Belly two nights before upends the entire wedding. Jeremiah goes missing after Belly tells him about it, and multiple fights break out due to the tension of the day.

For all three of its seasons, The Summer I Turned Pretty has pretty closely followed the events of the Jenny Han books on which it’s based. The series has certainly added more storylines and characters, but it is also a faithful adaptation of the trilogy, and it has been for Season 3 as well. Most of Book 3, We’ll Always Have Summer, has already been adapted in the first eight episodes of Season 3. As it stands, the TV series still has three episodes to go, and there is only a short epilogue left to cover. The Summer I Turned Pretty has officially passed the timeline of the books, and while it’s exciting to see new scenes, the show shouldn’t change anything about the book’s ultimate ending.

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Final Epilogue Sees Belly and Conrad Finding Their Way Back to Each Other

The main events of We’ll Always Have Summer end right after Belly and Jeremiah call off the wedding, and the epilogue then jumps forward several years to Belly’s second wedding day in the future. After reading Susannah’s letter, Belly fills in the blanks of what happened in the meantime. She describes her time studying abroad in Spain (although it’s been changed to France in the show), and how she got her first letter from Conrad while she was abroad, a little over a year after the wedding. Although Belly avoided responding to Conrad’s letters for a while, she eventually started writing her back, and they reunited in person for the first time a year later at her college graduation. From there, Belly and Conrad got back together. Their wedding ultimately concludes the series, and it’s the perfect ending.

In the show, Belly’s time abroad takes place right after the wedding, so her and Conrad’s reconciliation will likely be happening much sooner. Beyond the barest outline as described at the end of We’ll Always Have Summer, though, there’s no telling what the last three episodes have in store. “Last Kiss” has already diverged from the book in a major way with its ending. After calling off the wedding, Belly goes back to the Cousins house to pack up her things, then she goes to the Boston airport to book an impromptu flight to Paris. It has not yet been revealed whether Belly officially gave up her spot to study abroad, or whether she will be able to get it back if she did.

Still, Belly is finally getting away from Jeremiah and pursuing something that she wants on her own. While at the airport, Belly sees Conrad sitting there, presumably waiting for a flight back to California. She starts to move towards him, then the episode ends. From here, Belly and Conrad could have one more conversation before she goes abroad, or she may choose not to say anything to him just yet. Still, if the show follows the book, it’s not time for Belly and Conrad to reunite quite yet, but it’s only a matter of time before they do.

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Shouldn’t Change Belly and Conrad’s Ending

Belly Conklin and Conrad Fisher standing in front of a peach stand in The Summer I Turned Pretty TSITP Season 3

With the additional three episodes after Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding, The Summer I Turned Pretty has the opportunity to give more focus to Belly’s growth after ending her four-year relationship with Jeremiah. As Taylor (Rain Spencer) points out in “Last Kiss,” Belly has changed herself so much to be everything that Jeremiah needs, and she’s lost herself in the process. Belly needs to take the time to make new friends, explore Paris, and figure out what she wants out of life now that she no longer has to make Jeremiah her first priority. This arc would be a welcome addition, but the show shouldn’t change the eventual outcome of Belly and Conrad’s story in the process. Belly’s journey of self-growth could easily lead to her deciding to stay single for now, but that would be a mistake. Belly certainly needs to be single for a little while, but by the end of the show, she and Conrad should get back together.

The Summer I Turned Pretty has never really been a true love triangle. It’s always been clear that Belly and Conrad are meant to be together, but that life circumstances and miscommunication have kept them apart from each other. Jeremiah has only ever been an obstacle in Belly and Conrad’s romance, and now that he’s out of the way, they can finally find their way back to each other. Because The Summer I Turned Pretty is first and foremost a romance, it would be dissatisfying for the show to disregard its main romance in its ending. Instead, these additional three episodes may be exactly what this story needs in order to set the stage for Belly and Conrad’s eventual reconciliation. Conrad has already done the work to grow. He let go of the pain that Adam (Tom Everett Scott) caused him, started therapy, started pursuing a medical career, and is even playing football again. Jeremiah has stifled Belly’s growth for the past four years, and she hasn’t had the chance to really grow like Conrad has. Belly can now do her growing up in Paris, making her return to Conrad all the more sweet.

New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty are released Wednesdays at 3:00 A.M. EST on Prime Video.