<i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i> Season 3, Episode 11 Recap: At Last
Spoilers below.
In the penultimate episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Conrad was heading to Paris with Jere’s begrudging blessing to see if he could win back the love of his life. This episode opens with Conrad finding his way to Belly’s house in the French city, and boldly ringing her doorbell. No one answers, so he waits. Conrad is sitting on a bench in prime position to see Belly arrive in a chic summer outfit on a red Vespa with her actual boyfriend, Benito. And yes, she has a lob now. He watches them smooch, a horrible reminder of past times. But instead of running away, he approaches her as Benito takes off.
Belly seems completely shocked, but gives him a hug. He says he took the train from Brussels for her birthday (which is tomorrow), but Belly is standoffish. She already has plans, but she decides to hang with Conrad until she heads out for dinner. She still doesn’t appear thrilled, however. Belly runs up to the apartment with his luggage to have a little freakout in private and touch up her red lipstick. In a voiceover, Belly questions herself and plans to send Conrad on his way as soon as possible.
Back in the U.S., Jeremiah is preparing some big meal in Denise’s apartment. He has apparently become something of a chef influencer and is making a private dinner to prove it. Conrad texts him to wish him good luck and Jere shares that he knows Conrad’s mission in Paris. He tells Denise he is actually okay with it now; it was the anticipation that sucked. Jere has also gotten Denise a new couch, which leads to some awkwardness.
Denise won’t need it, because she is moving to San Francisco to follow seed funding for her and Steven’s company. Steven has not told Taylor yet about the move, but she overhears Denise talking about it and she is pissed. She just moved to Boston for Steven and now he’s making secret plans.
On top of that, bar venue for Jere’s event tonight is flooded. Taylor and Denise talk Jere down from canceling the whole dinner and suggest they have the event at the Cousins beach house. He hasn’t been there since the non-wedding, but decides to do it. That settled, Denise begs Taylor to calm down until after the dinner, which might have an effect on her career, too. There’s a lot of logistics to organize and no time to yell at Steven.
Conrad and Belly are on a tourist bus taking in the big sights, but the vibe is very serious and strange. Conrad is having flashbacks of how they used to be, but they can’t seem to revive that old connection. Conrad finally tries to really talk, saying he has been imagining Belly’s life in Paris and wants to see the city the way she does. They finally get off the Eiffel Tower track and go up onto someone’s roof to see the view. Belly shares some of her struggles from her early days in Paris, and how her boss Celine showed her this rooftop. Going up there helped her click into her new life.
Conrad compares Paris to the human body—looking at it as a whole in concert, it suddenly makes sense. Belly is reminded of 10-year-old Conrad. She tells him that she thought of him during her earlier days in Paris and it helped her find her footing. He always believed she could do it. Belly is touched and invites him to her evening plans, a pre-birthday dinner with friends.
In Cousins, Denise and Taylor are working to get everything together and Taylor implies Denise is really there to help Jere, not her, wink wink. When Steven arrives, Taylor barely resists bringing up San Francisco. She finally breaks when her wait staff can’t make it to Cousins.
Belly and Conrad are getting ready for dinner and he is taking in her dreamy apartment...and some pics of Benito. But he also sees Junior Mint, remembering winning him for Belly so many years ago. Belly comes in all dressed up and she doesn’t look anything like that little girl anymore. She’s a beautiful grown woman. He helps her put on her bracelet and sparks start to fly—but Belly pulls back.
At the party, Belly’s mean old roommates and friends are there, and they all recognize Conrad’s name. They welcome him with open arms, including Benito, who seems pretty chill about the situation. He gives Belly a portrait of her looking gorgeous in bed that he clearly took as a birthday gift, so he is coming out on top in the love triangle—for now.
After a lot of wine, Gemma brings up Conrad’s confession of love and the failed wedding. Now Benito gets serious, asking why he is even here. Conrad admits he changed his ticket. Then it comes out that Belly (sorry, Isabel) dumped Benito six weeks ago, because she didn’t want to go with him to Mexico. Conrad is back in the game! The eldest Fisher mentions Cousins and how he wanted to bring a piece of the summer house to his old friend.
As Belly opens her gifts, her friends want to know if she will be unwrapping Conrad later. Celine has also given her a joint, and Belly takes a puff. She and Conrad both seem to be thinking about old times by the pool and he decides not to smoke in a nod to the past.
Back at the house, Jere’s frat brothers are coming to sub in as waiters. Steven seems to have noticed Taylor’s mood, finally, and Jere tells him she knows about San Francisco. Things get even worse when Adam shows up with a case of champagne from the wedding. Denise talks Jere down from another freakout as he contemplates canceling dinner again. He cools off and tells her he’s glad they met. There’s a vibe between the two of them, but Denise avoids it, running off.
Laurel and John are there with Adam, who admits that Kayleigh dumped him. He tries to get the Conklins to come with him on a single’s cruise. Rebuffed, he leaves them alone and they reminisce about Belly’s old birthdays. Redbird makes a welcome return and tries to play sommelier, giving Laurel a big pour of wine. They toast their daughter.
Conrad tells Belly he likes her friends before giving her a vial of sand he collected a few years ago at Cousins. He tells her he took it to California when he knew he would not return for a while. It gave him comfort and now he wants her to have some as well. She gives him a kiss on the cheek. The cake comes out and Isabel makes a wish after staring at Conrad and remembering past birthdays in Cousins.
Steven is stirring sauce for Jere while on the phone, but he can’t get through to Taylor. She finally returns with ramekins, ready to fight. The chef kicks them out as things blow up, on the stove and between the couple. Outside, Steven says he’s not sure he will say yes to going to San Francisco yet. Despite her anger, Taylor encourages him. Steven doesn’t want her to give anything up, like she did for Lucinda. But Taylor says she is good to go, for herself as well as for him. The couple celebrates with some kissing on the dock, in classic Cousins style.
Conrad walks Belly home late after the party and asks if she wants to be called Isabel now. (The now 22-year-old Belly welcomes her old nickname.) He tells her that before he came, he thought she might be putting herself in exile over the wedding because that’s what he had been doing in California. He gets how wrong he was now. She has an amazing life in Paris. She does admit that at first, it was a bit hard and lonely, which felt deserved.
Conrad latches onto her earlier comment about being “the villain” in his and Jeremiah’s story, but he says it wasn’t her fault. They were kids. He then mentions that Jere knows he is in Paris with her and wished him good luck.
In Cousins, dinner is going okay and Jere is almost done with dessert, a melting chocolate cake. He offers a taste test to Denise. It’s delicious. But Jere still talks badly about himself, noting Conrad’s medical pursuits and Adam’s favoritism. Denise tells him to stop obsessing, because he’s a “fucking ten.”
The two friends discuss Jere potentially being by himself when everyone goes to SF. He admits he was wrong to ask Belly not to go to Paris way back when; he was afraid to be alone. He also regrets never trying to hook up with Denise. So he tries it with a kiss and she is very happy to kiss him back. When they’re done necking, Jere gives a speech to the group, thanking them all for coming. Adam is suitably impressed and manages to intercept his younger son alone.
They discuss how Adam cut Jere off for being a “fuck-up,” and the business man dad clarifies he has always been proud of Jere—he just never said it out loud, which has obviously created a lot of problems. They hug it out.
Belly brings Conrad down by the Seine to check out the full moon. Could things get more romantic? Actually, yes. Conrad asks Belly to dance and she takes his hand. The last time they danced was at Belly’s disastrous prom. She apologizes for being a “brat” at the time. He says he was a “little bitch.” They both laugh about the past, for once. Then they talk about the horrible funeral fight, again letting things go with grace.
“That all feels like a million years ago,” says Belly.
She then tells him that the letters he wrote her (that she never answered) kept her going through her early days in Paris. She tells Conrad she couldn’t respond for so long because she had to move on.
“Have you moved on?” he asks.
She answers with a kiss.
They kiss all the way home in the cab back to Belly’s house, up the staircase, the hallway, and into the bedroom. Conrad appears to be having a religious experience when he finally gets Belly’s bra off and tells her he has dreamed about this and her.
After making love, they giggle in bed together. Belly says she used to wish for him every birthday and Conrad says she is stuck with him forever, which seems to make her uncomfortable. Belly asks when he’s supposed to be in Brussels and he wants to stay another night. She discourages him, saying he can’t change his plans for her and she won’t change hers—she has a life here in Paris.
Conrad tells her he gets that, but things seem unsettled. Belly gets out of bed to go to the bathroom, reading texts from home on the toilet. When she comes out, she tells Conrad he should get the next train to Brussels. She wants him out. When he asks what’s wrong, Belly wants to know what he thinks is happening.
Suddenly, Belly seems angry with Conrad’s presumption at showing up at her door. He tells her he loves her.
“And?” she asks, a good question.
“I wanted to know if any part of you still loved me,” he says.
Belly isn’t sure if they love one another because they really do or because of their epic history. Maybe if Susannah had never gotten sick, they would have never hooked up. Their connection might not “loom so large.”
Conrad is appalled by Belly’s analysis. He cries, saying he has tried everything not to love her, for Jere’s sake, for her sake. She has always been precious to him. Conrad is sure he would love Belly even if he met her for the first time tonight. No matter what changes about him, his feelings stay the same.
Belly wants to feel as sure, but she can’t. He gets dressed to catch the train, wishing her a happy birthday as he goes.
In V.O., Belly thinks about how she wanted to think she has changed, but she hasn’t. She also appreciates who she was before—doesn’t that girl deserve love, too? She runs to the window, calling Conrad’s name, but he’s gone. Belly runs for the train, catching a taxi.
She gets to the station, running for the Brussels train, moving desperately from car to car. She finally catches Conrad, weeping in his seat.
“I choose you of my own free will,” she tells him. “If there are infinite worlds, I choose you in every one of them.”
They kiss and confess their love again.
In Cousins, everyone is enjoying a late night together after Jere’s successful dinner party. All is well with the world. Denise and Jere hold hands under the table. In V.O. Belly says she didn’t go back to Cousins that summer, but they did eventually. Jumping ahead to some unwritten time, but long enough for Belly’s hair to grow back, she and Conrad are on the way to the house.
The couple drives down the road to Cousins, like always, but now finally together and happy. They walk into the home and appreciate where they came from, where they’re going, and where they are right now: enjoying another summer of possibilities.
The episode also offered a little epilogue in the form a photo album of Conrad spending a romantic Christmas with Belly in her Paris apartment. Junior Mint was there, too. But it seems like we’ll get to see even more from the couple after all. Hours after the finale debuted, Prime Video announced that The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Movie is on the way, written and directed by Jenny Han. We don’t have to say goodbye to Belly and Conrad just yet.
elle
