Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 7.In Episode 7 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, questions about whether Belly (Lola Tung) will go through with her wedding to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) continue. In this episode, the bride and groom reunite after some time apart and celebrate their Bachelor and Bachelorette parties with friends. However, as the countdown to the wedding looms over Belly, combined with a round of ill-advised tequila shots and weed gummies, her pre-wedding jitters begin to surface. More importantly for her well-being, she finally confides in her best friend Taylor (Rain Spencer).
Belly Finally Opens Up to Taylor in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
While Taylor has always been by Belly’s side, including after she did a spit-take when Belly told her about the engagement, Belly had been avoiding telling her about her feelings for Conrad (Christopher Briney). Instead, viewers only learned how meaningful Belly’s time with Conrad over Christmas break was through flashbacks and voiceovers. In Taylor’s eyes, Belly and Jeremiah were in love, and her past with Conrad was ancient history. That is, until this episode.
In one moment, Belly is dancing in a nightclub when flashes of her and Conrad’s best times together come flooding back. She then feels unsteady and goes to the bathroom with Taylor to catch her breath. There, while Taylor tries to soothe Belly’s seemingly normal wedding nerves, Belly admits that when it comes to her “dream wedding,” she’s only pictured Conrad. Taylor is understandably taken aback. Belly explains that these feelings, the confusion, the Conrad situation are relatively new. When Taylor asks why she never opened up about this before, Belly admits, “I lied.”
In fact, not only has Belly been wrestling with this inner turmoil for months, but she’s also refused to let anyone in on what she’s thinking. Despite having people by her side like Taylor, Anika (Sofia Bryant), her mom Laurel (Jackie Chung), and her brother Steven (Sean Kaufman), Belly kept her feelings buried, and it’s finally catching up to her. Talking to Taylor shows that confiding in friends can really be the solution or at least provide some relief. After their chat, feeling lighter already, Belly wipes off her tears and heads home.
Belly Continues to Hide After Conrad’s Confession
Despite opening up to Taylor in the bathroom, the night was just getting started for Belly. After getting home, she walks to the beach waiting for Jeremiah but finds Conrad instead. In a sudden change of heart, Conrad declares that he still loves her. Belly then shuts him down, minimizing their relationship and confirming that she not only loves Jeremiah but is going through with the wedding. Leaving the beach, however, she drops to her knees and sobs. Not knowing how to face Jeremiah back at home, she walks over to Taylor’s room and asks to sleep with her. Like the good friend she is, Taylor doesn’t hesitate to say yes and then asks if she’s okay. “It’s fine, I’m fine,” Belly says between tears. “Can we just go to sleep?” Once again, Belly refuses to open up about what happened and lets her mind spiral alone.
As Belly continues to get caught in this brotherly love triangle, her lack of trust in anyone might be the problem that tips her over the edge. After all, having your future brother-in-law confess his love for you days before your wedding is a heavy burden to carry—especially if you have feelings of your own to reciprocate. Most importantly, it seems like Belly herself has struggled to understand how she feels about it all. At the end of Episode 6, she shared a moment with Conrad after his accident and kept asking herself, “What just happened?” Maybe talking to someone and sharing her feelings out loud would finally help her piece everything together.
Taylor Has Always Showed Up for Belly in the Past
Taylor has always shown up for Belly despite her flaws over the years. Just this season, after going through her own heartache following her split with Steven, Taylor was one of the first people to support Belly’s engagement with Jeremiah. She went wedding dress shopping with her when her mother refused to help and helped plan a beautiful bridal shower just for her. With so many strong years of friendship behind them and the love and care Taylor continues to show for Belly,she deserves to know what’s going on in her best friend’s life.
So why hasn’t she already? It’s safe to say admitting to a love triangle between two brothers is quite an undertaking—especially for someone as unfiltered as Taylor. Moreover, Belly is still young and emotionally immature—therefore still confused about what she’s feeling herself. Perhaps if she can’t explain or own up to her own emotions, she sees no benefit in bringing anyone else into it either. By not admitting that she has feelings for Conrad, she could still go through with the wedding with Jeremiah without raising any eyebrows. By keeping her doubts private,she’s left alone with dealing with the consequences.
While readers of the original series know what will happen in upcoming episodes, Belly’s fate with the Fisher boys—including whether or not she’ll actually walk down the aisle—is still uncertain. However, if there’s one thing Episode 7 proves it’s that Belly needs to do a better job of relying on and opening up to her friends. If she continues keeping everything locked away, it might not just be the wedding that implodes.
Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
