Here’s Our Educated Predictions For ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3

Hello, it is I, your resident The Summer I Turned Pretty expert and historian. My credentials? I read the trilogy as a kid and haven’t been able to shut up about it since. I spent my teenage years absolutely fighting for my life defending the characters and their decisions, and since there aren’t any Nobel Peace Prizes free for the taking right now, these titles will have to do.

So, that being said: As a The Summer I Turned Pretty expert and historian, what can we expect from this next season? I have a lot of thoughts, but I’ll have to be careful—after all, I do know how the book series ends (even though, according to author and executive producer Jenny Han, things won’t pan out exactly how readers and fans might expect). But if you’re okay with a slightly spoiler-y take on what the future holds for our beloved Belly and the Fisher boys, then continue reading.

I repeat: If you’re okay with a slightly spoiler-y take on what the future holds for our beloved Belly and the Fisher boys, then continue reading. You’ve been warned.

Okay! Anyway! So what can we, as an audience, expect from the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty? It’s impossible to say, but here’s what our resident expect and historian (again, me) has to say:

There Will Be Several Time Jumps

When we started the show, Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) had just turned 16, but by the final season, it appears she’ll be solidly in her college years with boyfriend (soon fiancé) Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno). Another reason to believe there’s a time jump? Conrad (Chris Briney) seems to be studying medicine, something he would’ve still been years away from by the end of the second season.

But I’m proposing there’s going to be a second time jump, too—not because of the wedding (no pun intended) but because of the glimpses in the trailer we see of Belly traveling. While the original book trilogy mentions her travels, it doesn’t go too deeply into them, but I think the show might give us a little more time to see Belly’s world grow—and so that we can see the way she changes before she ultimately makes her final choices of the series.

The Theme Of This Season Will Be Romantic Reunion—Both The Good Side Of It And The Bad

Based on the trailer alone, it seems like a lot of characters will be forced to face their pasts—more specifically, their past loves, and maybe even who they used to be when they loved that person.

Aside from Belly and Conrad reckoning with being one another’s first loves, it seems like Belly’s brother Steven and her best friend Taylor might be reuniting after a stretch of time spent apart. Belly’s parents, Lauren and John, also appear together in the trailer, perhaps brought back together by their daughter’s life milestones and reminiscing on what used to be—and what possibly could be. It also makes me wonder if there’s a chance they’ll bring back Cam Cameron, Belly’s doomed crush from the first season. Even without him, though, there’s a lot of potential to talk about what was, what could have been, and what could still be—which I think will be a big theme of the season overall.

Belly and Jeremiah’s Engagement Will Be Under Very Different Circumstances—And Therefore Turn Out Differently

It’s hard to believe that the showrunners are going to follow the original plot of the trilogy when it comes to Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship, specifically in relation with the wedding. The book’s reason for the engagement not only feels outdated and irrelevant, but it also doesn’t feel true to the characters of the show (in case you’re not afraid of the possibility of being spoiled, here’s a summation of what happens in the book: Belly is saving herself for marriage, she and Jeremiah take a break in their relationship, Jeremiah hooks up with someone else, Belly is devastated, and Jeremiah tries to save their relationship by proposing).

Instead, I think there are several more likely theories: That there is insecurity in their relationship due to the uncertainty of their post-collegiate futures (and maybe even due a little bit to Conrad), and they’re both convinced marriage could fix that. It could also be due to a sentimental reason, like something regarding Susannah or the beach house, that makes them feel like they need to marry on a timeline. Or, maybe just as likely, they’re both just young and in love and truly believe that they’re meant to be—and because of that, they don’t see a problem with getting married young.

So all in all, despite the fact that the show is still going in the direction of Jeremiah and Belly getting engaged, I think the true surprise of the story will lie somewhere in there—and will perhaps lead to the next and final point of what I believe will happen.

Belly Will Choose Herself—And Then She’ll Choose One Of The Boys

Clearly writer Jenny Han and other showrunners don’t want their fans to think they can answer the ultimate question this season will be answering: Who will Belly end up with? And for the book lovers like me, it’s hard not to believe we know how it’ll end.

But I do think that, no matter who Belly ends up with (and I sure think that I know who that’ll be), the show is going to put a lot of emphasis on Belly first choosing her own life and her own independence. Do I think she’ll still end up with one of the Fisher brothers? Absolutely. I think that ultimately, everyone involved in the show knows there needs to be an answer for the fans who have rooted for these relationships since season one—but I think they’ll also want to spread the message that the people who are meant for you will always find you, even when you take some time to put yourself first.