‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Fans Who Read The Books Are “Disappointed” With Season 3’s “Incomplete” Ending
After a fair share of tears, loss, and heartbreak, The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s third and final season delivered a happy, swoon-worthy ending. But despite the series leaving off on a positive, hopeful note, not all fans are satisfied with Season 3, Episode 11’s conclusion…
MAJOR spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 11 ahead.
In somewhat of a twist, the discontent surrounding TSITP‘s series finale isn’t solely rooted in the brother love triangle battle between Team Jeremiah vs Team Conrad. Even though Belly and Conrad end up together in the end, Bonrad fans who read Jenny Han’s books still felt the show’s ending was “incomplete.” Some were disappointed that Han made a major change to the ending, while others were upset she omitted several beloved book moments from the final episode. So what exactly changed from The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s third book, We’ll Always Have Summer, to the Season 3 finale of the Prime Video series?
We’re breaking down the ending of the series, along with some major upsets from fans who read the books. Plus, we’re giving an update on the future of TSITP and whether or not Han’s story could potentially continue down the line.
Before we look back at TSITP‘s final book, let’s break down the ending of the show. Decider has a detailed play-by-play of the finale for those who want it, but for the purposes of this piece we’re focusing on the final Belly and Conrad scenes.
After Belly and Conrad confess their love for one another on the train, the two kiss and start building their lives together off screen. TSITP flashes forward to the summer the couple returns to Cousins. And in her final TSITP voiceover, Belly explains, “I didn’t go back that summer. But eventually I did. Nothing beats coming home after a long, long time. And just as it always had, the beach house held a million promises of summer. And what just might be.”
Before the series ends, we see Conrad driving Belly (who’s wearing her infinity necklace again) through Cousins, the two return to the beach house, and the final shot shows them holding hands out back overlooking the beach — well, almost the final shot. The series actually ends with a “Christmas in Paris” scrapbook, which shows snapshots of Belly, Conrad, and Junior Mint enjoying the holidays abroad after declaring their love for each other.
How Did TSITP Books End?
Curious what the major differences between the endings of TSITP Season 3 finale and We’ll Always Have Summer? As we noted in an earlier article, Belly and Conrad are still endgame in the book, but the crucial difference is that THEY GOT MARRIED at the end of the original story.
In We’ll Always Have Summer, a couple of years after Belly and Jere called it quits, Belly reads the letter Susannah wrote her for her wedding day, which lets us know our girl’s finally getting married! Many fans who read the books were devastated we didn’t get to see Belly reading Susannah’s letter in the show, especially since we had eyes on the envelope on her and Jere’s wedding day. For those who are wondering what it said, here’s the text from the book:
Dearest Belly,
Right now I am picturing you today, on your wedding day, looking radiant and lovely, the prettiest bride there ever was. I picture you about thirty or so, a woman who’s had lots and lots of adventures and romances. I picture you marrying a man who is solid and steady and strong, a man with kind eyes. I am sure your young man is completely wonderful, even if he doesn’t have the last name Fisher! Ha.
You know that I could not love you more if you were my own daughter. My Belly, my special girl. Watching you grow up was one of the great joys of my life.
My girl who ached and yearned for so many things…a kitten you could name Margaret, rainbow roller skates, edible bubble bath! A boy who would kiss you the way Rhett kissed Scarlett. I hope you’ve found him, darling.
Be happy. Be good to each other.
All of my love always, Susannah
We go into greater detail on the book’s ending here, but viewers were also upset that we didn’t get to see some specific details of Conrad and Belly’s big day, like the creamy white, lace-cap sleeve wedding dress that her and her mom picked out, Belly and Conrad’s first dance to “Stay,” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, and Jeremiah attending their wedding with an unnamed date (who, in the series, would likely be Denise).
In the book, before heading to their reception, Belly and Conrad made an extremely on-brand detour to THE BEACH! Conrad ran into ocean while carrying her, and we got one of the book’s most iconic lines: “This is our start. This is the moment it becomes real. We are married. We are infinite. Me and Conrad. The first boy I ever slow danced with, ever cried over. Ever loved.” Following the flash forward to Belly and Conrad’s wedding day, Book 3 also took readers back and shared five letters that Conrad sent Belly while she was abroad, with some additional context.
Though this didn’t end the book, some readers were also upset TSITP‘s finale didn’t include Belly and Conrad’s fan-favorite Valentine’s Day flashback, which featured the iconic line, “…He gave me the moon and the stars. Infinity.”
While some fans genuinely adored and were satisfied with TSITP‘s Season 3 finale, others couldn’t help but wish Belly and Conrad ended the series married, reunited with their loved ones post-Paris instead of ending at the beach house alone, or referenced that important Valentine’s Day before the end credits rolled. So is that really the end of TSITP‘s story?
Is The Summer I Turned Pretty Over?
Despite confirmation that this was The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s third and final season, Han did say she’d be open to further exploring TSITP-verse down the line, should the right story and inspiration strike. She even went so far as to give fans hope via a letter she wrote and shared in TSITP Season 3’s final scene.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love you’ve shown The Summer I Turned Pretty all these years. Whether you’ve been with Belly since the very first book or joined us with the show I’m so grateful you’ve made Belly’s story part of your summers,” Han wrote. “We put our whole hearts into this show and we’re so thankful to you for coming along with us on the ride. Maybe we’ll meet again one summer in Cousins. Until then — All of my love always, Jenny.”
In a recent interview with LATimes, Han also explained, “It has to feel like genuine excitement for me, because showrunning is 24/7, 365 days a year… I feel I have to be there every day to make sure I can stand behind it. I’m definitely open to doing more stories in the universe, it’s just that I want to figure out what the story is that I feel so compelled to tell it that I’m willing to spend the next few years throwing my whole body into it.”
So maybe we’ll meet again one summer in Cousins for an epilogue? A spin-off? A MOVIE?! Some sort of revisiting of this beautiful beachy bliss that honors We’ll Always Have Summer‘s ending?! Only time will tell, but after that series finale, some fans will certainly have their fingers crossed for more.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Seasons 1 through 3 are now streaming on Prime Video.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
