Viewers of The Summer I Turned Pretty are in turmoil after episode nine of the third season dropped this week, sparking furious debate over how Jenny Han’s beloved coming-of-age drama will wrap up. While some fans are convinced the show has finally revealed its endgame, others insist the writers are leading everyone down a completely different path.
The series, which premiered in 2022 and quickly became one of Amazon Prime’s biggest romantic hits, returned in July with its long-awaited third season. Once again, it follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin (played by Lola Tung) as she navigates love, heartbreak, and growing up while caught between the Fisher brothers — moody, complicated Conrad (Christopher Briney) and loyal, charming Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
Amazon teased fans with a synopsis promising high drama: Belly, now at the end of her junior year in college, looks forward to a summer with Jeremiah, her supposed soulmate. But life has other plans. Conrad reappears, reopening old wounds and throwing Belly back into the same emotional storm she thought she had escaped.
A Wedding That Never Happened
Episode eight ended with Belly and Jeremiah set to get married, but Jeremiah stunned everyone by calling off the engagement. A heartbroken Belly then headed to the airport, determined to leave everything behind and start fresh in Paris.
But nothing ever runs smoothly in Cousins Beach. At the airport, she crossed paths with Conrad, who had no idea the wedding had been canceled. She boarded the plane without telling him the truth, leaving him to receive the news secondhand in a phone call from his father. For Conrad, it was a moment of clarity — Jeremiah’s decision had reopened a door he thought was permanently shut.
Conrad’s first instinct was to comfort his brother, but Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer) reminded him that he was probably the last person Jeremiah wanted to see. Instead, Jeremiah drowned his sorrows at a bar, while Conrad wrestled with hope he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in years.
Belly’s Paris Dream Turns Sour
Meanwhile, Belly’s Paris adventure quickly collapsed. She learned the study abroad program she had signed up for didn’t exist. To make matters worse, she realized her engagement ring had been stolen, leaving her stranded in a foreign city without her fiancé, without her future plans, and without closure.
Jeremiah waited for her to call, convinced she’d eventually regret leaving. But when her silence stretched into the next day, regret hit him instead. He admitted to himself he had made a terrible mistake.
Eventually, Belly did reach out, only for Jeremiah to lash out in pain. “Never call me again,” he snapped before storming off — a devastating end to a relationship that once seemed unshakable.
Adding salt to the wound, Jeremiah then boasted to Conrad that Belly had called him, instructing his brother to do the same — to cut her out of his life for good. The Fisher brothers’ rivalry, simmering since the first season, had reached boiling point.
Fans Pick Sides
With the series now straying from Jenny Han’s original novels, speculation has run wild. Viewers are scouring every scene for hidden clues, convinced the writers are deliberately planting breadcrumbs.
On TikTok, some pointed out that Jeremiah’s sexuality had been hinted at in earlier episodes, reminding others that he once kissed a boy named Luke in season one. “Jenny Han is too intentional for that to be a throwaway moment,” one fan argued, suggesting Jeremiah could end up in a relationship with newcomer Redbird (Tanner Zagarino).
Others insist the show is steering Belly back to Conrad. They point to the airport scene, insisting it was too significant to be meaningless. “Airports are transitional spaces,” one fan wrote. “The fact that Conrad is there shows that no matter where Belly runs, she always finds her way back to him. That’s the real endgame.”
The debate has spilled onto X (formerly Twitter), where opinions are just as divided. Some fans argue Belly deserves to choose herself and walk away from both brothers. “She already did,” one user wrote. “She chose herself, and that choice still led her back to Conrad.”
A Story About Growing Up
Part of what makes The Summer I Turned Pretty so addictive is the way it mixes nostalgia with raw emotion. For many, Belly represents the uncertainty of youth — that messy stage between teenage innocence and adult responsibility. Choosing between Conrad and Jeremiah is about more than romance. It’s about choosing who she wants to be, and what kind of future she sees for herself.
Episode nine made that choice even murkier. Jeremiah’s outburst closed one chapter, but his heartbreak showed he’s still deeply tied to Belly. Conrad, on the other hand, is once again a looming presence in her life, offering the possibility of a rekindled first love. And then there’s the idea of Belly choosing no one, forging her own path. That ending would feel empowering to some fans but unsatisfying to others who crave a traditional love story.
What Comes Next
With just one episode left, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Will Belly follow her heart back to Conrad, stay loyal to Jeremiah despite their broken engagement, or walk away from both brothers altogether? The writers have deliberately blurred the lines between the books and the show, ensuring that even die-hard readers can’t predict the finale with certainty.
What’s clear is that The Summer I Turned Pretty has sparked passionate conversations online and off. The love triangle that began in the lazy summers of Cousins Beach has grown into a storm that feels impossible to untangle. And for fans, the wait for the final episode has never felt longer.
Whatever happens, season three has proved one thing: Jenny Han’s story is no longer just about first crushes and beach house summers. It’s about heartbreak, resilience, and the painful choices that shape who we become. And as Belly prepares to take her final step into adulthood, fans around the world are holding their breath, waiting to see where her heart will finally land.
