The Summer I Turned Pretty Finale Has Fans Divided

That’s it, everyone! After fans spent one last summer debating the love triangle between Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah, The Summer I Turned Pretty series finale ended their story on a sweet and hopeful note. Of course, the YA series has a way of inspiring quite spirited discourse — and as ever, fans were split when it came to the last chapter.

A Fateful Night In Paris

If you’re reading this, you probably stayed up very late (or woke up very early) to watch the finale in the wee hours of Sept. 17. So if you need a quick recap with fresh eyes, here’s what happened.

After Conrad took a surprise trip to Paris for Belly’s birthday, the pair spent the day exploring the sights. While things were a bit awkward between them at first, the erstwhile couple warmed up during a dinner with Belly’s friends. She then brought him home, where they shared a passionate encounter set to Taylor Swift’s “Dress.”

The #Bonrad afterglow was short-lived, though, as Belly urged Conrad to leave and catch the earliest train to his work trip in Brussels. Her doubts spilled out, wondering aloud whether she and Conrad were only ever drawn together because of Susannah’s influence and the grief of losing her. He assured her this wasn’t the case — “If I met you for the first time tonight, I would love you,” he said — but Belly said she lacked his certainty.

After the tearful conversation, Conrad left, but Belly, looking at an old childhood photo and holding Junior Mint, realized she was wrong to doubt her feelings. “All this time I wanted to believe I changed, that I’m not the same girl I was. But I am still her. And was that girl so bad?” she narrated. “She followed her heart, no matter what. And despite all her mistakes, I have to believe she’s still worthy of love. I still love her. And I still love him.”

Cue Swift’s “Out of the Woods,” which played as Belly ran out of her apartment Bridget Jones-style to catch up with Conrad. She finally found him on the train and declared her true feelings — all while wearing her infinity necklace, for good measure. “Conrad, I choose you of my own free will,” she declared. “If there are infinite worlds, every version of me chooses you. In every one of them.”

The pair shared a kiss and told each other, “I love you.” The show skipped ahead to show them returning to Cousins and looking out at the water, set to the dreamy outro of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Scott Street.”

#Bonrad Shippers Were Happy

Many fans celebrated the finale and Belly’s epic rom-com run through the streets of Paris. “So perfectly done and a good cry sesh,” as one viewer put it on X (formerly Twitter).

“THEY GOT THEIR HAPPY ENDING,” cheered another.

Belly’s declaration to Conrad belongs in the “romcom love confessions hall of all time,” one fan wrote. “like who else can get the classic chasing down the airport (train station in this case) with out of the woods playing.”

Indeed, many viewers praised the finale’s needle drops. As one fan said, “HER CHASING DOWN CONRAD AFTER REALISING HER TRUE LOVE TO OUT OF THE WOODS. THIS IS CINEMA.”

Another was reminded of “This Love,” the de facto theme song for Belly and Conrad in Season 1. “WHEN. YOU’RE. YOUNG. YOU. JUST. RUN. BUT. YOU. COME. BACK. TO. WHAT. YOU. NEED,” they captioned a clip of Belly finally catching up to Conrad.

There Was Something Missing

While the finale had a warm reception, several fans of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty books noted that key scenes were missing, in particular, a joyful glimpse ahead at Belly and Conrad’s wedding.

“Wish they showed more of their scenes honestly cuz they’re so freaky and in love,” one user wrote. “we needed the wedding but we move regardless!”

Another fan posted snaps of Belly and Conrad’s final pages in We’ll Always Have Summer, which include Susannah’s sweet letter to Belly and a scene in which the newly married couple jump in the ocean together, with Conrad telling Belly: “I go wherever you go.”

“If you haven’t read the books, this was the ending for them,” the fan wrote. “And that’s why I wish we had a tad bit more from this ending.”

Others said Jeremiah’s storyline in Cousins — he’s putting on a big dinner as “Boston’s hottest up-and-coming chef” — shifted too much focus (and time) from Belly and Conrad. “Jeremiah is getting far too much screen time in the finale. Jere and Denise? Don’t care. LESS COUSINS MORE PARIS,” one fan wrote, with others joking that his storyline felt like something out of The Bear. But hey, it looks like he finally got his cake!