The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 Review: A guilty pleasure that keeps you wanting for more

Episode Guide

Love Lost—| Rating – 3.5/5
Love Scene—| Rating – 4/5
Love Sick—| Rating – 3.5/5
Love Game—| Rating – 3.5/5
Love Fool—| Rating – 3/5
Love Fest—| Rating – 3/5
Love Affair—| Rating – 3.5/5
Love Triangle—| Rating – 4/5

Romance TV shows are at their peak in the present time with multiple contemporary novels being made into dramas and movies. After the success of Jenny Han’s trilogy, To All The Boys I Loved Before, another famous trilogy from the writer was made into a drama. The 2022 Prime Video original, The Summer I Turned Pretty garnered a lot of attention during its first season. 

However, it’s Season 2 which catapults the romance drama into one of the most popular releases of the year. Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty narrates the follow-up story of Isabella ‘Belly’ Conklin’s life after how it ended in Season 1.

Belly decides to start a relationship with Conrad but when Jeremiah learns that Belly is dating his brother, he is heartbroken. The season follows Belly on her journey as she experiences what a relationship with Conrad is like, copes with the loss of a loved one, and eventually learns to fall in love again after having her heart broken. 

Similar to its former season, this season of The Summer I Turned Pretty also follows a love triangle between Belly and the two Fisher brothers. The show is angsty and dramatic but it is the good kind of drama that is enjoyable. This season of The Summer I Turned Pretty starts on an emotional note as the characters deal with loss.

We see the characters on the show coping with loss in their way. While Conrad and Jeremiah are the most affected by this, it is Belly’s unreasonable reaction that is confusing. Belly is obsessed with making everything all about herself and we see that throughout. Conrad behaves just as immaturely as Belly which makes it seem like Jeremiah is stuck in the middle of two immature people. 

Despite so many flaws in the characters, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a guilty pleasure that makes you keep going for seconds. Every episode sets the stage for the next and after seeing the first three episodes of the season one after the other, waiting week after week for a new episode was torturous.

Similar to Season 1, this season sees Belly jumping between Conrad and Jeremiah as she struggles to make up her mind about her partner. While Belly struggles to make up her mind, it is the side story with Steven and Taylor that takes the cake. The two are great together and I hope to see them together in the next season of the show.

The OST of The Summer I Turned Pretty was just as good as the last season. We see popular songs from artists like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo feature in this season of the show. However from the looks of it, it is clear that most of the scenes were set up to make space for the songs instead of it being the other way around. The scene where Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Driver’s License’ plays proves this point and I wish for the next season of the show to feature tracks that fit into the story.

Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a very entertaining and interesting teen romance which becomes a guilty pleasure for many viewers.