Forget Team Conrad or Jeremiah, I’m Team Everyone goes to Therapy. Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on the book by Jenny Han, returned to Amazon for its second season on July 14th. This season consisted of 8 episodes, with the last one airing on August 18th. Unlike Season 1, when every episode was released on the same day, subsequent episodes were released every Friday after the first three were released on the initial launch date.

The storyline of Season 2 goes back and forth between the present (the summer after Season 1), and the past (the school year after Season 1). 

Season 1 introduces us to the main characters Isabel- AKA Belly- Conklin (Lola Tung), her brother Stephen (Sean Kaufman), and her mother Laurel (Jackie Chung). We follow the family of three as they travel to Cousins Beach in Massachusetts to visit Laurel’s best friend Susannah Fisher (Rachel Blanchard). This summer tradition, as we learn, began when protagonist Belly was a child and is the origin of her unrequited love for Susannah’s oldest son Conrad (Christopher Briney). The first season followed the summer before, in which- surprise, surprise- she had “turned pretty”. 

During Season 1, Belly dealt with her long-standing infatuation with Conrad and her developing feelings for his younger brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). The season followed the trials and tribulations of Belly’s life- from her short-lived relationship with “Cam Cameron” (David Iacono), her brother Stephen’s love life, and Susannah’s breast cancer diagnosis. 

Belly grows close to both love interests during her summer vacation but ultimately decides to pursue a relationship with Conrad. I really enjoyed the first season, the cinematography was fantastic and I felt transported to Cousins Beach. Additionally, the storyline was accessible and relatable for a teenage audience. While some of the storylines introduced more serious topics and conflicts, the throughline of the show was light-hearted, funny, and escapism at its best. I enjoyed that the story was told through the eyes of a teenage girl trying to figure out how to navigate her feelings and insecurities. I certainly became invested in her relationships, and when one episode ended on a cliffhanger, I could immediately get a resolution from the next episode. 

As with many shows, the second season did not match the quality of the first. This is not to say I didn’t watch and enjoy every episode, I did. However, the joyful and laid-back nature of Season 1 was replaced with episodes laden with conflict and loss. Belly and Conrad’s relationship crashes and burns so quickly that we never even get to revel in the fact that Belly was dating her lifelong crush. Additionally, between the seasons her friendship with Jeremiah was broken and Susannah died from breast cancer. Although this season follows Belly back to Cousins Beach, the youthful exuberance and freedom of summer and experiencing a first love was gone. The plot in its place- Belly’s mission was to help Jeremiah look for Conrad, who disappeared while at college- felt abrupt for the first episode. I would’ve liked to see more of the boys coping with the loss of their mother and Belly dealing with her emotions. Even after Belly and Jeremiah restored their friendship and found Conrad, their return was met with the sad news that their Aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) was selling their beloved summer home. 

I was frustrated with Belly’s indecisiveness at many points throughout the season. She was going back and forth between both brothers during a vulnerable time in their lives, only a month after their mother had passed away. I preferred the more lighthearted storyline, my favorite being the romance between side characters Taylor and Stephen.  The two characters had great chemistry and whenever they had an onscreen moment, I was 100 times more engaged in the show..

While I’m supposed to be team Conrad, given that’s who she ended up with in the books, I would prefer the love triangle storyline to take a backseat to allow the characters to grow and heal. Belly’s complicated relationships with both brothers will likely never end well and someone will undoubtedly be hurt. The brothers should be allowed to mourn the tremendous loss of their mother without having to grapple with relationship drama. All three need to sit down and have a mature, sober conversation to settle the mess that they have created.

Despite this extremely irritating storyline, I have to say that once again the show did a great job with the overall aesthetic, cinematography, and styling of the location, sets and cast. Overall, this season was enjoyable and kept me interested in what was to come in the next episode. Despite the negative aspects I mentioned, the season was overall enjoyable and engaging. 

I will certainly tune in for the third season- although I hope that Season 3 is less emotionally fraught and returns to the youthful whimsy and playfulness of Season 1. More fun, less drama.