As we all enjoyed these past 11 Wednesdays from July 16th to September 17th, some of us may have differing opinions. While some Team Jeremiah fans feel as though the storyline wasn’t given justice, Team Conrad fans feel the opposite. The longest season of the show, with 11 episodes, each averaging about 60 minutes, told the story of a 4-year relationship and how it all broke down in one summer at a beach house. 

Let’s recap. 

The first season goes over the main character, Belly, and how she has a deep-rooted love for her mother’s best friend's oldest son, Conrad. The first season details how she attempts to repress her love for Conrad by getting closer to his brother, Jeremiah. Finally, at the end of season one, she and Conrad start dating. 

In season 2, her interests shift from Conrad to Jeremiah, with whom she spends 3 years at college. Season three opens with Belly finding out about Jeremiah’s infidelity and punishing him over it. The readers of this three-part series already know the main love interest in Conrad, who, at the time of the cheating, is on the other side of the country in California, studying to be a doctor. As Jeremiah starts showing red flags, Belly’s brother, Steven Conklin, gets into a dangerous accident. This accident compromises Belly’s decision-making, and she accepts Jeremiah’s marriage proposal with NO ring. 

They decide to have their wedding at the beach house where she, her brother, Conrad, and Jeremiah grew up. At Conrad and Jeremiah’s mothers’ memorial dinner, they announce the marriage, much to the detest of Conrad and Belly’s mother. However, Conrad heartbreakingly realizes its what Jeremiah truly desires is his father and Belly’s mother’s approval and helps them with the wedding. Unfortunately, Jeremiah is working as an intern in Boston, leaving Belly and Conrad alone at the beach house, where they rekindle their love. 

The night of her bachelorette, Conrad confesses his love for Belly, which Belly confides to Jeremiah. Furious, Jeremiah calls off the wedding, sensing Belly’s feelings for Conrad. Belly then runs off to Paris to escape the horror, which leaves us to episode 11. 

Episode 11 was much too rushed for the season finale, and could’ve been better developed if it were stretched over episodes 9 and 10, two very unnecessary episodes. Each episode this season started with “Last,” signifying the end of the season, with the last episode called “At Last.” The episode starts with Conrad coming for Belly’s birthday, them professing their love, and a chain of events that show glimpses of their life together as a married couple.

 It ends with a beautiful scene at the beach house, depicting them at the same spot Conrad’s late mother would want them to be. The Summer I Turned Pretty comes to an end just as it began, with love, heartbreak, and the unforgettable setting of the beach house. While some may argue the finale was rushed, it ultimately tied the story together in a way that gave Conrad and Belly the ending longtime fans had been waiting for.