When ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ season 3 wrapped its final chapter, it didn’t exactly land with the emotional clarity or girlboss energy we wanted. Instead, it gave us more of the same: indecisiveness, romantic whiplash, and a questionable “happy ending” that feels less like love and more like a consolation prize. If you, like me, are still side-eyeing Belly’s final choice and wondering why Conrad Fisher — the walking emotional novella — keeps getting dragged into her drama vortex, then welcome. This one’s for you. Let’s unpack the finale — with sass, skepticism, and just a dash of rage.
Belly’s Parisian era: Bob cut, new life, same old boys
When Belly moved to Paris, we all exhaled. FINALLY, a fresh start. She’d cut her hair (and maybe the nonsense), ditched the Fisher brothers, and was trying to build a life where her identity wasn’t tethered to a boy, or two, or their dead mom’s dream wedding. But just when we thought she was entering her “Eat, Pray, Paris” era, Conrad shows up on her doorstep like a French movie cliché with sad eyes and a train ticket to Brussels. Now, I’m Team Conrad all the way, but let’s be clear: showing up unannounced? Emotional ambush in a foreign country? Très toxic.
Benito: Meet Belly’s baggage
As if the uninvited ex wasn’t enough, Belly’s Paris squad gets front-row seats to the drama when Conrad crashes her birthday dinner. Enter Benito, the rebound with a Vespa and a tendency to photograph Belly half-naked in soft lighting. (Yikes.) Conrad, understandably, is giving third-wheel energy as Benito peacocks his way through dinner, dishing out passive-aggressive commentary and ex-boyfriend tension like it’s the plat du jour. But even as the shade flies and the past looms, it’s obvious: Belly’s not over Conrad. The joint not smoked? The little black dress moment? The vial of sand from Cousins Beach? Honey, it’s a whole vibe.
Let’s talk about that kiss (and that other thing)
One riverside waltz later, Belly and Conrad go from “awkward nostalgia” to full-blown romantic fan fiction. Cue Taylor Swift’s “Dress” and a montage so sensual it had more chemistry than the entire love triangle combined. But after the deed is done (yes, that deed), Belly does what she does best: spirals.
Because nothing screams “I’m emotionally stable” like questioning the entire foundation of your relationship post-hookup. She accuses Conrad of only loving her because his mom did, and not gonna lie, we all flinched. The guy flew across continents just to be ghosted at dinner and psychoanalyzed after sex? Justice for Conrad, truly.
The running-through-Paris redemption (ugh)
Despite the emotional landmine she just set off, Belly gets her big rom-com moment. Cue another Taylor track, please. After dumping Conrad at the train station like last night’s escargot, she has an identity crisis (with the help of a childhood photo) and suddenly realizes she’s still that “brown-eyed girl” who loved him all along.
So, naturally, she runs through the streets of Paris (because metaphors), finds him on the train, and delivers a dramatic monologue about infinite worlds and infinite versions of herself choosing him. Not going to lie, it would’ve hit harder if she hadn’t chosen literally everyone else first. But sure, girl. Slay.
Meanwhile, back in Cousins: Everyone else is winning
While Belly was busy setting fire to her emotional stability, Cousins was serving up actual growth and resolution. Jeremiah, surprisingly thriving, becomes a TikTok chef, hosts a dinner party, and finally gets the validation he’s craved from his father. Steven and Taylor? Moving to San Francisco, in love, communicative — you know, the healthy kind of relationship that doesn’t require train chases or identity crises. So while everyone else is building careers, making moves, and evolving emotionally, Belly is over in Paris playing kiss-tag with her trauma.
The Cousins return: Tied up in a pretty little bow?
In the final minutes, Belly and Conrad stroll back into the Cousins Beach house hand-in-hand like they haven’t been emotionally torturing each other (and us) for three seasons. The series closes with a dreamy montage of their Christmas in Paris, soft lighting, cozy sweaters, handwritten notes — the whole warm-and-fuzzy fantasy.
But let’s not pretend this is the fairytale ending it wants to be.
Belly chose Conrad. Again. And not because they built something stable, not because their love matured — but because everyone else was moving on, and she couldn’t let go of the idea of him. Or worse, the idea of them.
Final thoughts
Here’s the tea. Conrad deserved better. He loved Belly with the kind of deep, unwavering affection that’s rare in teen drama land — even if he wasn’t always perfect at showing it. Belly? She strung along both brothers, called off a wedding, self-sabotaged, and then ran back into the arms of the same boy she doubted mid-post-coital cuddle.
This isn’t romance. It’s rinse and repeat.
And let’s not forget the giant red flag in the room: she’s been romantically entangled with two brothers. The audacity. The family therapy bills. The inevitable Thanksgiving awkwardness. ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ finale wants us to believe that Belly and Conrad walking hand-in-hand into the sunset is a full-circle moment. But in reality? It’s just a new season of the same messy weather.
We were promised a story about growing up, finding yourself, and making hard choices. Instead, we got a recycled fantasy dressed in Parisian aesthetics. Belly didn’t just turn pretty — she turned messy, conflicted, and frustratingly indecisive.
So sure, she got her fairy tale. But for the rest of us? We’re still waiting for justice for Conrad.
PS: Jenny Han, if you’re reading this: if there is a next summer in Cousins, can it please be anything but another round of “Which Brother Will She Emotionally Drain Next?”
I beg.
ALSO READ| ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’: Are you Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? I’m Team Anti-Belly
