Author and screenwriter Jenny Han has amassed wide viewership in her ongoing series, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” in the form of one decisive internet debate: Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? By turning teenage romance into an internet battleground, the show uses provocation as a marketing strategy to hook the audience.
While many enjoyed the storyline and concept of the first two seasons, the new season keeps the audience on edge with unparalleled onscreen tension and unexpected secrets.
“The first season was good because there was a plot and there was a storyline that it followed,” senior Mackenzie Schaeffer said. “This season is just straight up rage-bait.”
Season one starts off at a summer beach house in the fictional town of Cousins with a sixteen-year-old girl named Belly, played by Lola Tung, anxious for a first love. In contrast, the third and final season follows Belly as she abruptly leaves her wedding, flying off to Paris to “find herself.” Many believe that the narrative’s tonal shift Han chose to pursue might have ruined the story. Instead of sticking to the coming-of-age beachside oasis that originally attracted viewers, the show now focuses on fueling conflict and emotional chaos.
Surprisingly, this method of storytelling largely works to keep the viewers hooked on the show. Belly’s indecisions has become the latest source of criticism among the fans. Many of them tune in eagerly every Wednesday for a brand new episode just to see how it all unfolds. Instead, they are left with more complaints and built up frustration.
“I just wish that Belly wouldn’t have made the decision to agree to marry Jeremiah after he had cheated on her,” senior Sarah Welch said. “Forgiving him as if it was ok. I think Belly should move on and find someone else and leave the brothers alone.”
Beyond the never ending love triangle of the three main characters, another point of contention of the show is the faulty character development. Some fans feel that the new season leans more towards dramatic plot twists and unexpected conflicts at the expense of the character’s growth throughout the show.
“[Belly] just keeps making the same mistakes and choices over and over again,” senior Isabella Jones said. “She hasn’t really made any progress yet. It feels like they’re dragging it out just to keep people watching. But at this point, enough is enough, she needs to make a decision already”.
Unlike the book on which the show is based, the show series progresses to the point of people disliking the individual characters. Belly’s character in the last season has received a lot of hate in comparison to how she was originally portrayed in the book. This led many to question Han’s direction of the show and whether its reception would have been more favorable if it followed the source material.
“The ending for season three felt really rushed,” junior Isa Regal said “They could’ve added another episode or covered some of it in last week’s episode. I was just expecting a little more after all the frustration the show caused me all season.”
