After the ending of episode two of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I wasn’t sure what to expect with episode three. There are a lot of things that were set up to have to come to light, and well, when things come to light, there are a lot of feelings that you can’t stuff things back in.
You see, in life, everything changes. Life is constantly evolving, and sometimes the evolution of things is easy, and some – well, it’s going to show you just how difficult life can be.
Jeremiah and Belly are in love. I get it. I get that they are happy that they are engaged and that they feel like this is the next step. Sometimes, though, your next steps aren’t always what you think they are.
And feelings that you think are reality are anything but that.
FIANCE
Just typing that Jeremiah and Belly are engaged makes me want to vomit. Why? They don’t belong together. Broken up or on a break – it doesn’t matter to me – Jeremiah Fisher was out of line falling in someone else’s nether regions twice. I don’t buy this on a break stuff.
Because if you love someone, you just don’t have sex with someone else.
These two, though – well – they seem to be able to move on like nothing happened. They’ve forgiven, are caught up in this relationship, and are celebrating their engagement. I actually cringed watching them in bed and fawning over each other. I stared at the two of them, and I wanted to be excited for them, but I couldn’t be.
Sure, part of that is I am team Bonrad. At the same time, it’s part because I am old enough to know that is not a smart choice and that they two are acting as though it is. Neither one of them have their c*** togehter. Jeremiah is a super senior and Belly is about to go off to Paris.
Belly decides to tell Taylor, and well, I knew I liked her for a reason. In a world of people who are always trying to make the best out of everything, Taylor is the bestie who is going to hit you with the truth.
She asks Belly what she is thinking. Hell, she even asks if she is pregnant. Everything that you shouldn’t say, Taylor says. She doesn’t stop herself from telling her bestie why this is a bad choice.
It may make Belly mad, and it may cause friction, but I am glad that Taylor dares to do just that. If she just told her best friend what she wanted to hear, she would have been wrong.
But telling her the truth, just with the delivery being wrong, was something that she needed to do. Just as with everything, Taylor does need to work on the delivery.
HOMEWARD BOUND
When Belly gets upset – luckily for Taylor – Belly gets a text message that her Dad is there. It is time for her to go; her Dad is there to bring her home.
At the house, Steven is being driven insane by Laurel, who is trying to help her own guilt for not being there when he got in the accident. He wants to return to work, and he doesn’t want to have to stay home.
Steven doesn’t know how to slow dow,n and I think that he in part gets that from his Mom. She is trying to get him to stop working while home. Steven’s just wanting to leave.
Belly and her Dad are on the way home, and the only thing she wants to do is tell him that Jeremiah proposed and she said yes. Telling him feels natural and safe. Telling him feels like something she needs to do because this is their last solo car ride – the last time she’ll be his baby girl.
I think that Belly is a romantic, and I think that is beautiful. I think that she’s known this life of pain, but I also think that she will grab onto anything that she can in order not to feel that pain. The whole idea of getting married, well, I get why it makes her happy. But if the only way that these two can be happy is by taking drastic steps, then well, that’s a sign that they are nowhere near ready.
There should be no sense of fear in telling people that you are engaged. It shouldn’t matter what people think. It’s that Belly and Jeremiah are scared to tell their families what is happening that they should recognize that it is not right.
I just hate that they seem to want to experience the worst of what life has to give in order to realize that they aren’t prepared for what reality is.
TAYLOR
Steven tells Belly something that hit me in the gut. He said that he’s never felt on even ground with Taylor. Part of me had to stop and catch my breath, and the other part of me felt so bad that I had to stop and take a second to think about what he said.
I don’t believe that you necessarily need to feel like you are on solid ground when you fall in love. I think that falling in love sometimes needs to knock you off your feet and challenge you. Taylor does that for Steven, but that also scares him.
Steven is used to having to be on his best behavior and live up to an ideal that has been set forth for him to live up to. He’s let down those walls for Taylor and Taylor only. So for her to put up walls when he tried to meet her halfway was a lot. And then, hey, if he’s a believer in signs, his accident may have been a big one.
When Taylor runs into him at his mom’s, she tries to gauge how he’s feeling, and he’s as cold as ice with her. She’s trying to show Steven that she cares and that she still loves him, but Steven doesn’t seem to want to let her in.
Steven is terrified that if he lets Taylor in, he’s just going to be hurting even more than he already is. Steven has lived through a lot of pain in his life, but the pain that Taylor can inflict on him terrifies him. At least that is what I believe.
He needs to keep that space between.
Because the space between is all he has.
Her Mom tries to get them to speak by getting Steven to look at her books for her salon. Steven knows what she’s up to, but says that he will look. Unfortunately, looking means telling Taylor that her mom’s salon is going under and she won’t make it til the end of the month.
I don’t envy him having to call her. I think that it was something so painful for Taylor because when the phone rang, he thought maybe Steven had changed his mind. Instead, it was just some more bad news.
TO COUSINS
I am not sure why it was that everyone got dressed before the drive to Cousins, because it is a long drive. BUT, we didn’t have to see the drive. The Conklins arrive just in time for Jeremiah to give his speech about his Mom.
The speech was short and sweet, but it embodied who Susannah was. Jeremiah gave the speech, and all eyes were focused on him. He was focused on giving his speech and getting to Belly.
The thing that I have loved about the Fishers and the Conklins is that their family is there for each other, no matter what. Susannah may be gone, but her love is still the glue. It’s making Laurel sit there and take Adams’ crap. Their relationship is never really awkward, but well, Adam makes it really awkward fast when Conrad shows up.
Now, was I thrilled that he was there? Yes. I was. I think he would have regretted it in the long run if he hadn’t. The problem with Conrad showing up was that Adam was going to be even more of a jerk this time around. He treated Conrad like he walked on water, but was cruel to Jeremiah.
Adam is a big part of the issue.
When Conrad shows up, Jeremiah and Belly decide that they aren’t going to tell anyone. They are going to give it sometime. For me, it was another red flag that these two were waving, but I also hoped that they weren’t going to tell anyone. It just felt like if they didn’t, they could change their mind.
But the thing is – the truth always rises to the surface.
DINNER
After Susannah’s dedication, both families go for dinner. Laurel insists on paying and well, tand he Fisher boys can’t read the room. They order the most expensive things on the menu, and Belly, well, she decides to order soup.
She is the type of daughter who wants to protect her Mom and watches every dollar.
Adam is just horrible and decides to push Laurel’s buttons. She’s trying to get him to stop talking out of both sides of his mouth, but Adam doesn’t really know how to do anything but that.
The two had decided that they were going to each say something about the kids, and there’s some pretty nice stuff going around until Jeremiah. When it comes to Jeremiah, Adam doesn’t seem to be able to help himself. It’s as if he thinks shaming his son is going to change everything.
Belly, though, she can’t hear it. She is so tired of them all putting Jeremiah down, and so she bursts out with the news of their engagement. Everyone loses their mind and tells them how wrong they are. But Belly, in her stubbornness, stands tall with their choice.
Laurel is not going to let this happen. Adam thinks Jeremiah is stupid. Steven doesn’t want to hear what they have to say.
Conrad, though, is shocked and heartbroken.
As everyone is leaving, there isn’t a member of the family who isn’t mad. Laurel takes Belly, and Jeremiah goes to work on his Dad. I hope that someone talks sense into these two, because they need to find sense.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Taylor going back and apologizing to Belly, as well as bringing their book from when they were kids, was cute
- Laurel should not be pushing away her ex
- Conrad doing exposure therapy made me fall out of my chair
- Conrad is meant to be a doctor and help people. It’s who he is – giving and filled with empathy
- Steven, you need to get out of your own way.
- Jeremiah’s ring for Belly is adorable.
- Not sure why it is that Belly and Jeremiah have to yell out the window and tell everyone that they are engaged. No one needs to know.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is streaming now on Prime Video.
