The Summer I Turned Pretty – Season 2 Episode 3 “Love Sick” Recap & Review

Love Sick

Episode 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 starts with Belly thinking back on the time she hung out with Conrad at her house. The two discuss the fact that he was going to be her prom date and offers to order a tuxedo for him. Conrad finally tells her that he’s worried about Susannah’s health because her medicine has stopped working. Belly feels like Conrad is being distant from her.

On prom night, Conrad forgets Belly’s corsage and she is the only one left without it. She understands that Conrad is dealing with Susannah’s health but Conrad feels guilty. Belly sees that Conrad is not feeling like himself on the dance floor as he forces himself to dance. He eventually asks Belly if she wants to skip prom but she really doesn’t want to.

C0nrad tells her that he’s going back to college because he’s afraid he’ll ruin her night. Conrad takes Belly outside and the two have an argument. Conrad tries to pull away from her and leave without discussing things but Belly decides that things are over between them.

Belly gives Conrad the infinity necklace and goes back inside. Steven finds her crying and she turns around to see that Conrad has left in his car.

A few months later, Belly and her family are informed about Susannah’s death. She recalls seeing Conrad dishevelled while Jeremiah cried during the funeral service. Conrad sings a song in memory of his late mother as he plays the guitar which Belly thinks is out of character for him.

Belly promises to be there for Conrad no matter what. She tries to talk to Jeremiah but he seems distant and Laurel scolds Belly for wearing a dress too short. Belly tries to take some food for Conrad but finds him resting on the lap of a girl friend. She storms out of the room feeling betrayed and Conrad follows after her, making a scene around the guests.

Conrad believes starting something with Belly was a mistake and adds that he regrets it. Belly tells him he hates him and trips on her feet, as she storms out of the house after creating a scene and further pissing her mother off.

Present Day

Conrad tells Jeremiah that he’s trying to deal with the beach house being sold. He tells his younger brother that he wants to handle this on his own because he knows their mother loved the beach house. Conrad tells Belly and Jeremiah that their aunt Julia, Susannah’s half-sister, is selling.

Conrad claims that Adam, their dad, did not have the money to buy it from her. Jeremiah was there for their mother when she was on her death bed and the two brothers have an argument. Belly thinks about how she misses Susannah more at the beach house than anywhere else. She goes for a swim by the pool and finds Conrad sitting there.

The two have an awkward conversation and Belly senses tension in the air around them. The next morning, Conrad tells Jeremiah and Belly that their aunt was coming to the house that day to have it sold off that summer. Belly thinks about how this could be their last summer at the Cousins Beach.

Conrad asks Jeremiah to back off and decides that he’ll be handling their aunt. Jeremiah asks Belly to talk to Conrad because she is the only one to get through to him. Belly tells Jeremiah that things are not the same between them anymore and thinks back to how summers at the beach house were very different when Susannah was alive.

At the same time, Laurel asks Steven to take care of Belly when she is away on her book tour. Steven lies to his mother, saying Belly is still at Taylor’s and promises to be good until she comes back. Steven calls Taylor and tells her he’s going to Cousins Beach since Conrad invited him there. Taylor offers to join him, to be there for Belly, and asks him to pack her stuff up.

Jeremiah and Belly go grocery shopping and try to find Aunt Julia. Jeremiah plans on charming her into not selling the house but claims that Julia was not close to Susannah and that they hadn’t seen her for the last decade. Belly tells Jeremiah that Conrad loved to push people away when he needed them the most.

Jeremiah claims that people around him will soon get tired of him, leaving him alone if he keeps up with his act. The two finally make it to Julia’s hotel room and try to talk about the house. Julia tells him that she had started working on putting the house up for sale already and that the decision has already been made.

On their drive back, Jeremiah is heartbroken and thinks it was up to Conrad to talk to their dad about it. Belly tells Jeremiah that he needed to make things right with his brother to put up a united front to convince him to buy the house.

The two get talking about how Belly was kicked out of the volleyball team because she was distracted and could not focus on the game. Jeremiah promises to fix things with Conrad if Belly promises to go to volleyball camp. Meanwhile, Steven notices that Taylor was arguing with Milo via text. She tells him that their kiss from the last summer did not mean anything.

Taylor yells at Steven for belittling Milo for not going to college and claims that he berated her sister in front of the entire party. Back that the beach house, Jeremiah tries to talk to Conrad, asking him to put up a united front before their father to save the house. Conrad agrees to take Jeremiah’s help.

At the same time, Steven finally opens up to Taylor about how guilty he was for being excited about college over Susannah’s death. He was not trying to be a bad brother to Belly but was just trying to live his life.

Steven tells Taylor that he lied to her about being invited to the beach and adds that he wanted to be there because he missed his friends. Taylor admits that the Fisher boys missed him just as much as he loved them.

That day, Belly is with the boys when Adam calls and tells them that they did not have any money left in the trust fund. He claims to have known that the house was being put up for sale since Susannah’s funeral but adds that there was nothing he could legally do about it as Julia was the sole owner of the property now.

Conrad is angry about Adam’s betrayal and argues that their father never cared about Susannah. Both the brothers and Belly are upset after the call but Steven and Taylor show up to surprise them. Jeremiah tells Steven about the house being put up for sale and is shocked.

That evening, Conrad and Jeremiah sit out on the porch. Conrad thanks Jeremiah for being there when he tried to talk to their dad. Conrad tells Jeremiah that he’s not going to give up on the house and they can do something together to make sure their aunt won’t sell the house.

Later that night, Belly and Conrad talk and he thanks her for being there for them. Belly sits in the living room with Taylor and the boys, thinking about how she can make sure they continue to have their summer house forever. The group watches a movie together but Conrad slips outside to the beach after reading a text.

Steven follows after and notices that Conrad is having a panic attack. The episode ends with Conrad passing out on the beach.

The Episode Review

The show is turning into a cliche and Belly is the only one who can understand both brothers as she is stuck between them. As understanding as she is being now, she needed to be there for the boys when Susannah passed away. Belly is making Susannah’s death more about herself and she does not realise that Jeremiah and Conrad lost their mother – a bigger loss than hers certainly. 

The fact that she is the person who finally got Jeremiah and Conrad to communicate to each other makes the episode a cliche but it seems the boys are about to “f*ck sh*t up” just like they said as the episode came to an end. The ending to this one is troubling as it seems like Conrad may be suffering.

I’m glad that Steven is there for him but it feels like Conrad is hiding something else. I wonder if Belly and Steven can ask her parents to buy the beach house because that would help their case a lot. I am sure the boys are going to invite Julia over to stay and experience what it’s like living there to nudge her into not selling it off.