<i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i> Season 3, Episode 8 Recap: The Wedding Crashes
Spoilers ahead.
The last episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty could not have ended more dramatically. After Conrad learned Jeremiah cheated on Belly, he begged the love of his life to ditch his brother and be with him instead. Disgusted by the last-minute confession, Belly dismissed their past as nothing, before running down the beach to show him how little she cares.
Belly then starts season 3, episode 8 by responding to a voice memo from Jeremiah in which he apologizes for missing their beach meet-up the night before. He is headed to a boat with the boys, and Conrad is supposed to be aboard, too. After pulling herself together and taking a shower, Belly unfortunately finds Conrad in the kitchen. The elder Fisher boy also has an apology, saying he’s sorry for his confession and claiming that he was drunk. Belly can’t take it; she tells him he can’t play with people. Once again, he has taken back a confession of love, and she doesn’t want him at her wedding.
Conrad refuses to bail and then finally breaks, admitting that while he is lying, he is also just trying to maintain some dignity.
“You broke my heart last night, Belly. Is that what you want to hear?” he asks.
He tells her he will never not love her, and she knows that. Belly correctly points out that they only dated for a few months in high school, but he reminds her of their secret Christmas rendezvous, their surfing accident connection, and all the other little moments he’s collected as she’s been with Jeremiah the last four years. In her V.O., Belly is aware of how electric their connection is even as she denies it out loud.
“I will never be able to completely let him go,” she thinks, as Conrad drives off. But she reflects that dumping Jeremiah to be with Conrad would mean betting her whole life on him, and based on his past record, that would not be wise.
Taylor runs into Conrad on his way back to the house with breakfast and demands to know what happened the night before. She admonishes him for treating Belly like a toy to pick up and put down at will. Conrad is worked up and insists again that they are meant for each other, but Taylor doesn’t think he’s capable of being there for her long term. She tells him to let her go.
Belly and Taylor head to day two of the bachelorette at the spa, where Anika is getting an off-camera massage. The bride is anxious to be reunited with her fiancé. Taylor pushes Belly to discuss what happened, which just makes her worried that Conrad will continue making love announcements all throughout the rehearsal dinner. She is hoping he’s taken off already.
Dressed in white, Belly greets her parents, Laurel and John, at the club for the rehearsal later that day. Laurel is now “all in” on supporting the wedding. Inside, to her dismay, Belly finds Conrad with Steven. She focuses on Jeremiah, but they’re separated by the wedding planner. The group rehearses the ceremony, which means Conrad is standing by Jeremiah’s side as she practices walking down the aisle.
At dinner, the Fisher brothers deal with their dad, Adam, bringing his former affair partner, Kayleigh. Conrad graciously compliments her on the table design she had a hand in planning. Taylor’s mom, Lucinda, is being extremely uncool about Steven flirting with Denise. Taylor distracts her by suggesting they go out for a singles’ party weekend; however, Lucinda is already dating someone. They end up discussing how Lucinda let her former boyfriend drain her credit and Taylor had to bail her out. Lucinda promises to turn over a new leaf as a present mom.
In V.O., Belly is thinking about Conrad, considering how he might still sabotage the wedding. Jere interrupts her musings for their speech to the group, thanking everyone for being so supportive in the end. They call out their friends and family, and Jere ironically thanks Conrad for his loyalty. He then thinks of his mom, Susannah, comparing her to Belly and then calls her his soulmate.
Adam immediately ruins all this goodwill by revealing that Jeremiah is taking a job at his dad’s office the next month. Surprise! He didn’t ask Belly before making this huge decision, and she is rightfully annoyed. He says he won’t take it if she is unhappy about it. Put on the spot, she says it’s okay.
After dinner, the couple goes to get ice cream, and Jere pressures Conrad to join. He has noticed his brother pulling away and is pissed off. He may not know about his brother’s confession, but he recognizes something is definitely up. Conrad heads home instead.
At the house, Conrad and Laurel bond over beers by the pool. She is aware of how Conrad is suffering and encourages him to open up, promising it will get better eventually. They both miss Susannah.
Denise and Steven enjoy ice cream, and she notes that she was the only non-family member there—aside from Kayleigh. After some sweet flirtation, they finally kiss. Except it feels like nothing for either of them. Denise says, “It’s like kissing a plant.”
They decide to see this as a positive and move forward with their business plans. They are now partners in video game design, and the path is clear for Taylor. Speaking of, Belly is tossing and turning next to her best friend, unable to sleep the night before her wedding. She decides it’s time for one of her signature late-night solo swims. Belly tries to do laps until she falls out of love with Conrad. Instead, she thinks about Jeremiah marrying her without knowing this massive secret.
She goes to his room to talk about Conrad’s confession. Jeremiah is immediately ready to fight, and he’s willing to argue with Belly if he can’t get to his brother. He accuses her of protecting Conrad, then asks if they are truly over. She says she just didn’t want secrets between them and Conrad doesn’t matter. Jere is still fuming as they cuddle up together for the night. When Belly awakens, he’s gone, and she knows that means trouble.
Jere’s buddy Redbird knocks on the door looking for him, and it is clear now that Jeremiah is missing. Belly leaves him a freaked-out voice message before Steven finds her. They are all late to the country club for the ceremony. She tells her brother about Conrad—and then about telling Jere about Conrad. Steven promises to find his sister’s fiancé, then spots Conrad instead. He angrily tells him about Belly spilling the beans: “What is wrong with you?” Steven asks. “Did you really think she was gonna change her mind?”
Steven has apparently been carrying a lot of resentment towards the brother who has been MIA the last few years. He demands Conrad help find Jere to make amends.
Belly is getting ready at the club, wondering if she’s about to be stood up. Laurel arrives and delivers a letter to her from Susannah, written for Belly to read on her wedding day. Jere has one as well, in the care of Conrad. Laurel also has some words, admitting this is not the way she imagined her daughter would get married, but she will always be there for her.
Conrad is driving around with Susannah’s letter to Jere, hoping to find his brother and get him to the altar. He finds Jere at Susannah’s garden, where he is absolutely steaming. Conrad offers him a free hit, but Jeremiah doesn’t take it—until Conrad brings up Cabo.
The punch finally rattles the truth out of Conrad: Belly might be the only girl he can ever be with. Jere tells him he had his shot. Conrad responds by handing over the letter, which immediately has Jere crying. He turns and tells Conrad, “You’re dead to me,” then sends him off. Jere passes the letter back, because it’s actually addressed to his older brother.
Taylor has thrown in the towel on this wedding. She can’t convince Belly that Jere isn’t showing, then says that maybe Belly shouldn’t marry him even if he does. Belly is not happy about this. Taylor says Belly’s lost herself in Jere.
“That’s not love, that’s codependency,” she says.
Belly turns on her bestie, saying she’s too selfish for a relationship. Steven walks in and defends his former lover, then announces Jeremiah is back. The groom has indeed returned, and he’s having an existential crisis as he gets into his suit. He ices his punching hand, then finds a note from Conrad about their mom’s ring. He got it for Belly and left it for Jere to give to her.
Belly is still not in her dress when Conrad comes into the bridal suite. She sees his new bruise and tries to get him to leave. He apologizes for screwing everything up and says he won’t stay for the wedding and that he won’t be seeing her for a long time.
“It hurts,” he says. “Being near you like this. And Jere, he’s the one who needs you right now. I need you to know that, whatever happens, it was worth it to me, being with you, loving you. It was all worth it.”
In V.O., Belly admits that she thought they’d always be connected in some way, but this felt final. A real separation.
Steven finds Taylor to talk her down after her fight with Belly. Taylor still thinks he and Denise are meant for each other, but Steven reassures her that they have zero chemistry. When she asks why not, he can only smile at her.
All dressed up, Belly and Jeremiah meet in her suite. She is frustrated by his disappearance, but he wants to blow past it. He brings up how Conrad is the one who leaves, then loses his mind again over Belly’s telling expression. He demands she say she doesn’t love his brother.
“I love you,” she says, and he says that’s not what he asked.
Finally, she admits, “I’ll always love him a little... But I choose you.”
Jeremiah answers, “That’s not enough.”
He then reveals he knows about their Christmas in Cousins. One of the neighbors snitched. Jeremiah pours out all of his anger, explaining that’s why he picked a fight before Cabo, hoping she would tell him about it. He thinks she has fallen back in love with Conrad, and the way she looks at his brother eats him up.
“I don’t think you’ve ever looked at me like that,” he says.
Jere reveals the contents of Conrad’s letter, in which Susannah waxed poetic about Conrad’s love for Belly. Making a case for co-dependency, Belly says she doesn’t know where she ends and Jere begins. She also knows that if she pushed him, Jere might still marry her, but she just can’t do it. He leaves.
Belly is comforted by her mom, and Jere is joined by a solemn Steven. Everyone packs up to leave Cousins, and it seems like the Conklins might not return for a while. Belly leaves her key behind, thinking of her childhood years at the special beach house. Then, thank the lord, she decides to fly to Paris for study abroad. Belly might start to have a life outside of the Fisher boys, just like Laurel wanted.
But wait! Before boarding her flight, she sees Conrad at the airport. Will Belly ever escape?
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