‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 4 Recap and Review: “Time Makes You Bolder, Even Children Get Older”

This will likely be the shortest The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 recap thus far, as Season 3, Episode 4, “Last Stand”, sees some developments in Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding storyline, but overall keeps the filler vibes going from Episode 3. The Staylor Side-Plot once again takes up about half of the runtime, despite the developments being quite small.

Steven (Sean Kaufman) uses his Sundays to go into the office and research Lucinda’s (Kristen Connolly) ex, discovering that he has opened several credit lines in Lucinda’s name, and now Lucinda owes $10,000 in debt. Upon hearing this, Taylor (Rain Spencer) cancels her PR internship in New York and uses the $5,000 that was going to fund her housing in NYC to pay off half the debt. She funds the other half by selling most of their material possessions, and thankfully, that storyline can be tied in a bow. Now, it’s time for the rest of the juicy details in our The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 4 recap below!

It’s Belly’s Birthday in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3 Episode 4

Get out the cake and candles, it’s Belly’s (Lola Tung) 21st Birthday! Her big day starts off with a weird Ginny and Georgia-esque FaceTime call from Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), some Mickey Mouse pancakes, and a bottle of red wine that her mother Laurel (Jackie Chung) saved for her from the year she was born. After the pleasantries, Belly immediately asks Laurel if she would like to accompany her wedding dress shopping, but Laurel says no, as it’s quite obvious she can’t bring herself to go.

Even without Laurel’s support, Taylor and Lucinda meet Belly at a prom dress store to find the perfect wedding dress. Unfortunately, you read that correctly, a prom dress store. Belly finds a simple and beautiful white gown, however, she spends most of the trip sulking that her mother is by her side. After finding the dress in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 4, she calls Jeremiah, asking through tears, “How are we supposed to do this without both of our moms?” Poor Belly.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah, the newest office nepo-baby, spends his entire day being roasted by his Dad’s (Tom Everett Scott) coworkers. After work, he surprises Belly with a store-bought ice cream cake and her own key to the Cousins Beach house. Hold on while you can, Jere.

Belly and Jeremiah Make Their Case to Laurel in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3, Episode 4

Jeremiah and Belly attempt to convince Laurel that this wedding is a good idea, but as expected, it fails miserably. Jeremiah claims that this is what Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) would want, that Belly “picked” him, and that Laurel “always wanted [him] as a son-in-law.” Bold claims, Jere. Laurel shuts down most of those claims, going so far as to say, “We will never know what Susannah would truly want.” Yikes.

Laurel storms off with Belly following quickly behind, and after a brief screaming match, Laurel puts her foot down and exclaims that she’s not attending the wedding. A tearful Belly and defeated Jeremiah then run off to Cousins. While Belly just wants her mother’s support, Laurel is doing everything she can to ensure her daughter doesn’t repeat her same mistakes in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 4.

Conrad Thwarts Jeremiah and Belly’s Escape to Cousins

After an agonizing twenty-seven minutes without our Conrad (Christopher Briney) on the screen, he’s finally back in focus in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 4. It turns out that Conrad never returned to California after the garden dedication, instead opting to go back to Cousins Beach. After a very awkward conversation among the main love triangle, Conrad discovers he has been offered a lab position in California, thanks in part to Agnes (Zoé De Grand Maison). Things are finally looking up for our boy!

Unfortunately, things come crashing back down for Conrad quite quickly. Jeremiah then basically forces Conrad to go surfing with him. Out on the water, Jeremiah asks Conrad to be his co-best man, with Steven, who has already happily accepted. Conrad swiftly rejects the offer, referring to the wedding as “kinda ridiculous.” Jeremiah furiously paddles back to the shore, and Conrad punches the water angrily. Conrad’s brother is marrying the love of his life, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

That night, Belly and Jeremiah watch a movie on a floaty, drinking wine and openly mocking Conrad’s “ridiculous” comment. In a heartbreaking moment, Conrad hears their conversation through the window and immediately books a flight to California.

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3 Episode 4 Leaves Belly Aching for Her Mother’s Support

The next morning, Belly says goodbye to Jeremiah, who has to return to Boston to work for his Dad. A few minutes later, Belly sifts through her closet and discovers her dress from Season 1’s debutante ball. Back then, Susannah insisted that Belly wear a ruffly ballgown that made Belly uncomfortable. On the day of the ball, Laurel surprised her with the dress she really wanted. We learn from Belly’s voiceover that she “never felt more loved or known by her in that moment.” As Belly meanders over to her bed, a flashback begins.

Susannah is back! Via flashbacks, of course. However, seeing the Fisher matriarch back onscreen is always a treat. It’s little Belly’s first night in her own room in the Cousins’ house, and Susannah insists that she’ll be okay to sleep alone despite Laurel’s doubts. That night, Conrad and Jeremiah are up to no good, knocking on the wall that separates their rooms and pretending to be ghosts. Belly goes downstairs and tells her mom that she can’t sleep alone, so Laurel goes upstairs with Belly, and as they snuggle up in bed, Fleetwood Mac‘s “Landslide” starts playing. Returning to the present day, all Belly wants is her mom in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 4. Cue the tears!

Connie Remembers Everything

As Conrad is about to leave for the airport, bags packed and all, he hears Belly’s sobs coming from her room. She has no idea he’s made his way toward her door, but he watches her, devastated. After the crying, Belly arrives downstairs to quite a surprise. Not only has Conrad agreed to be Jeremiah’s best man and cancelled his flight to be there for her, but he also baked Belly a batch of dirt bombs (her favorite dessert) for her birthday.

Belly smiles wider than she has all season upon realizing that Conrad remembered her birthday and hops right into his arms. As Billie Eilish‘s “Halley’s Comet” closes out the scene, a voiceover from Conrad echoes, saying, “What have I done?”

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Review: “Last Stand” Is the Last Straw

Jenny Han, I need to speak to your lawyers. Maybe it’s the Staylor Side-Plot taking up so much screen time, but having back-to-back filler episodes that don’t advance the plot is diabolical work! Back in the days of 20+ episode seasons of television, that’s acceptable, but not when viewers have too few episodes to work with. Perhaps it’s the clear Belly/Conrad bias, but I was bored out of my mind until Conrad arrived. When Belly and Jeremiah get to Cousins, the plot finally picks up in what looks to be the turning point in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3.

Chris Briney’s performance as Conrad continues to impress in “Last Stand”. The devastation on his face as he watches Belly sob is so wonderfully heartfelt. While most of the time, this show is fairly transparent in showing the viewer how its characters feel, Conrad is a complex character, and his emotional moments are often more subtle. Briney executes each of these moments with such depth.

As for Lola Tung, her final scenes in this episode are some of her best work of the season. Her childlike sobs as she laments her mom’s absence from her future wedding are gut-wrenching. Even as Belly has grown up, she has kept many of her youthful personality traits, for better or for worse. Even if Belly can be an infuriating character to watch at times, moments like this, combined with Tung’s performance, help to make Belly a character worth rooting for.

Best Moment: Jeremiah telling Belly that a coworker left a pacifier at his desk. So many layers. Alexa, play “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter!

Worst Moment: Belly and Jeremiah making fun of Conrad for calling the wedding “ridiculous”. Why are you booing him? He’s right!

Best Needle Drop: There’s no other answer besides “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac.

Episode MVP: The bowl that Conrad gripped like a basketball and placed down on the counter.

Quote of the Episode: “What have I done?”

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