On Friday, July 14, Amazon released the first three episodes of season two of their hit show, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — with this season being based on the second book in author Jenny Han’s series, “It’s Not Summer Without You.”
I was initially really excited to dive into season two after remembering how voraciously I binge-watched all seven episodes of season one in one night last summer, but when I stumbled upon a random clip on Twitter on release day, I kind of had my world rocked.
I was — cringed out. It was honestly hard to come to terms with. There I was recalling season one as practically the best time of my life, only to now be suddenly sat staring at my phone and genuinely questioning my taste.
I could not even bring myself to watch those three episodes on release day, and had to give myself a full 24 hours to mentally prepare for what was potentially to come — and in hindsight, I am glad I did.
While I was initially swayed by the brutal onslaught from the whole of Twitter regarding the quality of acting in just those three episodes, I soon realized I am not watching this show for the acting — let’s be real. I am here for drama, love triangles and lighthearted roasting, so that is what I will give you.
Beware of possible spoilers ahead — even though the main one is what propels the entirety of season two forward.
Episode one begins on the last day of school, and serves the purpose of catching us up on the tough year that has occurred since we had seen these characters last. This episode also introduces the new central device used to guide this season — flashbacks.
While the introductory dream sequence made it seem like the promising ending of season one might have come true, it was soon revealed that was anything but the case. Belly summed it up perfectly in her narration, “I wasn’t in Cousins. Conrad and I weren’t together, and Susannah was dead. Nothing would ever be the same again.”
Episode two relied on the tried and true plot device to reunite a previously estranged friend group — someone goes missing and the gang has to get back together to find them.
While lying in bed yearning for her now-lost friendship with the Fisher brothers, Belly randomly calls up Jeremiah who reveals Conrad is missing. Enter a tension-filled road trip to find the missing estranged brother/ex-boyfriend/brother of an ex-boyfriend — there are many layers.
I also need to note the perfect irony of One Direction’s “Steal My Girl” playing in a flashback scene where Belly is sneaking off to a beach house with Conrad after also dating his brother, Jeremiah.
This also feels like the perfect time to note every trending song in existence is in this show. I have never craved a mundane filler instrumental more in my life. It is like a never-ending playlist made by a Swiftie with rare interruptions for acting — their music budget must be off the charts.
Episode three introduces the final step of getting the gang back together — having a common cause. The trio finds out their Aunt Julia is planning on selling their beloved beach house, meaning they now have to — begrudgingly — work together to save it.
New episodes of season two of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” will drop weekly leading up to the season finale on Friday, Aug. 18.
