The Summer I Turned Pretty – Season 2 Episode 1 “Love Lost” Recap & Review

Love Lost

Episode 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 starts with Belly thinking about the day she got together with Conrad. She recalls how worried she was about how Jeremiah would react to the fact that she’s with Conrad now. Conrad promises to talk to Jeremiah about it.

The new couple sneak inside the house and Susannah is happy to see them together. Belly goes to Jeremiah’s room to have a chat with him. She tells Jeremiah that she kissed his brother and understandably, Jeremiah is upset given what he’s going through.

Belly is upset about the way Jeremiah reacted to the news and tells Conrad all about it. He reassures Belly that everything will be fine but notices how much Jeremiah’s reaction has upset Belly. Conrad gives Belly the infinity necklace and tells her that this was always for her. She is touched by the gesture.

Belly meets Susannah who talks to her one-on-one for the first time since she told everyone about the cancer. Susannah claims that Belly is the only person she trusted with the Beach House asking her to take care of it when she is gone. Belly demands that Susannah stay to guide her forever.

Belly then recalls how Conrad had called her for the first time, three weeks after she came back home from the Beach house. The two talk on the phone as friends and chat about Conrad’s college life. Steven is shocked to learn that Belly was talking to Conrad but she dismisses him and the pair continue to talk on the phone. As they do, Conrad claims that his dad cheated on Susannah. He recalls watching his mother cry and how he had kept knowing about the cheating a secret from Susannah. Conrad tells Belly that he is used to bottling things up because he would rather face the consequences later than in the moment.

The two chat for a long time that night and Belly tells Conrad that she was going to be elected as the Captain of the Volleyball team. After a few nights, Belly and Conrad talk on the phone again where she tells him that her parents did not have a passionate relationship, adding that Laurel would not care if her dad cheated on her.

She tells Conrad that she wants a spark with her partner. Belly then asks Conrad about Jeremiah and tells him that he did not text her back after summer. Belly tries to clear the awkward air about their conversation by wishing she could be with him in person.

Conrad wishes he was with her too and claims that he wanted to be with someone whom he felt an electric connection with. A few days before Halloween, Conrad shows up at Belly’s house and tries to talk to her about Jeremiah. She learns that Jeremiah was over the fact that Belly kissed Conrad while being with him. Conrad tells Belly how much he missed her and kisses her. 

Present Day

Belly wakes up in class, dreaming about being at the Cousins beach, as Conrad’s girlfriend while Susannah and Jeremiah tell them how perfect they were together. However, things are not the same anymore as Susannah passed away a few months after the last summer.

Belly has dissociated herself from everyone around her all year. Taylor asks Belly to join the volleyball camp but she is not interested. Steven is going to graduate and brags about the fact that he has gotten into Princeton. Belly is called in to discuss her grades and Mrs Holzman tells her that her grades were looking very bad.

The counsellor tells Belly that rejoining the volleyball team was her only shot at getting into a decent college, let alone Ivy League or state universities. Belly decides to change the way she is looking at Susannah’s death and tries to get back on track.

The next day, a gift basket is sent to the Conklin house for Steven on his graduation. Steven claims that it was from Susannah, and Laurel is not surprised because she knows her friend had planned all of this before her death. The family heads out for Steven’s graduation and he is valedictorian.

Steven’s speech reminds Belly to live in the present and live her life on her own terms. She tells Taylor that she will be joining the volleyball camp and coming to the senior year graduation party later that evening. The Conklin family have lunch together while Belly and Laurel tell the family that she was not going to promote her new novel.

The kids get up leaving John and Laurel to discuss the promotion of Laurel’s novel about Susannah. Laurel shares that she did not want to discuss her trauma about her friend’s death and use it for publicity. He claims that Susannah would want the world to know her story and pushes Laurel to promote it.

Taylor helps Belly get ready for the party that evening and claims how glad she was that Belly was finally back to being her old self. Belly spots Conrad’s T-shirt in her closet and is reminded of him. Taylor pushes Belly to move on as the two girls and Steven goes to the party.

At the party, Belly is shocked to see Taylor’s boyfriend who is a lot older than them. The volleyball girls discuss the idea of Belly rejoining the team and Belly claims that she is yet to talk to the Coach about it. The girls are more than excited about Belly rejoining the team while Taylor pushes Belly to make out with guys from her class.

Belly talks to Cory for a while and tells Taylor and Steven about it. Taylor claims that her boyfriend, Milo was her soulmate but Steven seems jealous as he watches her. Steven tries to stand out and does a crowd surf but no one catches him. He falls on Belly, making her angry as she leaves. She goes out to talk to Cory and they discuss the Venus star.

Belly claims she spends the summers at the Beach house and tells Cory that she wasn’t sure if she was going to go that year. Cory invites Belly and her friends to a party at their house. She tries to kiss him but he pulls back. Belly tries to get away but Cory asks her to set him up with her friend, Marcy.

Embarrassed, she goes back inside and Steven spills beer on her. Belly gets angrier and claims she was going back home. Steven tells her that he was not ready to go home yet and asks her to wait because she was his and Taylor’s designated driver. The siblings have a fight and Belly mocks Steven for forgetting about Susannah so easily.

Steven blames Belly for ruining his friendship with the Fisher brothers. Belly claims that she got together with Conrad because she was in love with him. She breaks down and leaves, but Taylor follows after her. Belly asks Taylor to back off and let her deal with her feelings alone as she leaves to go back home.

On her drive back home, Belly sobs and finally gets home. At home, Laurel discusses Belly’s academics but she blames it all on Susannah’s death. Belly blames her mother for abandoning her to be there for the Fisher boys. Laurel claims that Belly had to take responsibility for her actions but the daughter tells her mother how she was not even a parent to her all year.

With Belly back home, Milo drives Taylor and Steven home. He gags at Milo and Taylor making out every two seconds and blames Belly for taking away his car. Taylor claims that he needed to give Belly some time to process everything that’s happening with them.

At the Conklin house, Laurel reads the note Susannah wrote for Steven in his graduation present. She breaks down reading it and finally realises that promoting the novel and talking about Susannah’s death would be the right way to say goodbye to her.

Belly is in her room as she thinks about losing everything about the beach house and the Fisher family with Susannah’s death. She calls Jeremiah to talk to him. Jeremiah tells Belly that Conrad has been blowing him off and not responding to his texts. The episode ends with Belly asking to join Jeremiah to look for Conrad.

The Episode Review

The season picks up right where we left off but I would rather enjoy seeing it at a linear pace than seeing it through Belly’s flashbacks. The flashbacks make the timeline a little confusing but I am glad that Belly and Conrad found their way back to each other eventually.

I love the OST of this show and despite using trendy songs, I feel like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo’s songs really do make sense for Belly’s story. Belly driving her car when Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘driver’s license’ plays was so ironic. I really want her to jam to ‘good 4 u’ in case she finally moves on from Conrad and falls for Jeremiah. 

The scene with Laurel forgetting about a detail Steven had told him about seems like neglectful parenting but I am hoping it does not mean that Laurel is also going to be sick. She is having a hard time processing Susannah’s death. I feel like Belly is trying to let her life derail and blame it all on Susannah’s death which is disrespectful.