The Summer I Turned Pretty invited fans to Cousins Beach for another great love story with a three-episode premiere on July 14, and we’ve not been able to stop thinking about the sophomore chapter of this story since then.
There’s something inherently special about Jenny Han’s work in The Summer I Turned Pretty; from the storylines to the characters and the dialogue they share, she’s not just written a story — she’s crafted something magical. Cousins Beach isn’t a real location, but it’s a place that feels like a home away from home for readers and TV-lovers, and Han recently shared some emotional behind-the-scenes snaps of the journey so far.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-watched The Summer I Turned Pretty, and even if I could, I might take the number and divide it by two before telling you. There’s something comfortable about the series, something that feels like visiting an old friend, cuddling up with your favorite blanket; it’s a series that makes you want to watch it more than once.
Even in the moments that hurt, that sentiment rings true, and the first snap in Han’s Instagram post is sure to pull on your heartstrings.
Whether you read Han’s books or not, fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty have faced the confirmation that Susannah passed away. After promising Jeremiah and Conrad that she’d take part in a clinical trial at the end of season one, there was a moment when we were hopeful that she’d make it, that the books and the series would differ regarding her death.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, and seeing her hold a pitcher of one of her signature summer drinks was enough to make us miss her magic. Susannah described everything in her life as a poetic masterpiece, even pain — she spoke of it in such a way that you almost wanted to remember every syllable she ever said aloud, holding onto them as if they’d ignite that kind of magic in you.
In addition to Susannah, Han’s snaps also pointed at everyone’s favorite television relationship next to that of Beth and Rip Wheeler: Conrad and Belly. However, that’s pulling at our heartstrings right now, too.
The road to love has never been easy for these two, and the reasons why aren’t silly little things. Conrad was hiding a secret from everyone he loved, including his mother, about the knowledge that her cancer had returned; that took a toll on him last summer. This summer, we’re seeing flashes of him as he realized that his mom’s cancer treatments weren’t working, all while he was struggling with something else too.
The series hasn’t touched on what else Conrad is working through, and if you’ve not yet read the books, we won’t spoil it, but it’s once again a heartbreaking notion that makes him want to pull away from Belly. The moments that he fights that, however, and pulls her closer instead are some of the best that television has to offer, and I’d be willing to debate you on it.
Christoper Briney himself said it best in an interview before the SAG-AFTRA strike: what Belly and Conrad are experiencing together pulls on two parts of love and life:
“I think it just feels very pure; it feels, at the same time, like two kids who are discovering something beautiful and also two young adults who are feeling something very mature. That balance of it is what makes it, at least in my mind, something so specific and unique and interesting.”
In feeling things both beautiful and mature, there’s a lot of heartache for Belly and Conrad to work through — and this time, they’ve both hurt one another. Belly told Conrad something terrible on the day of his mom’s funeral, on the day she buried someone significant to her too. It wasn’t just Belly at fault, either. Conrad was pretty awful to her too, and they’ve not yet figured out how to get past hurt when it comes to one another.
So as we look at dreamy BTS snaps, it’s also a journey for fans. We’ve seen these characters go through so much already, and this summer’s story is just beginning.
You can see new episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty each Friday, with the first three of season two streaming on Prime Video now, and it certainly is pretty to think about that invisible string pulling us to Cousins.