Like the deranged and slightly obsessed fan that I am, I stayed up until two in the morning to watch the finale of a show that has taken hold of my brain for the past four years. To say I was disappointed in the final episode would be the understatement of the year.Ā
Without spoiling anything, this last episode didnāt satisfy me. As a strong member of Team Conrad since season one, I wish we got to see more significant events happen. Side note: if you were Team Jeremiah at any point during season three, donāt talk to me. Every time that face took up time on my screen I was upset. Say it with me folksā¦ Manchild!
Perhaps my opinion swayed slightly because I read the books first. In all fairness though, I read the first book before season one came out. After I watched season one I quickly read books two and three. If anyone is wondering, the books are slightly different from the show with the same endings. I highly recommend reading the books even after finishing the show; there are some details the books highlight that the show misses.Ā
Moving on to what I loved about the show: I have to give some credit to the soundtrack. The producers definitely knew what they were doing when choosing the songs. I lost my marbles when Sign of the Times by Harry Styles started playing. The Taylor Swift songs sprinkled in throughout also fed my soul while watching some of my favorite scenes, even if they were a little heartbreaking.Ā
Let’s move on to character structure/development. There are some character arcs I liked, and others I wished happened differently. The main character, Belly, didnāt have enough character development in the final episode to make her actions justifiable. In my opinion, she had a lot more work to do. Conrad, the love interest, had an amazing development throughout the series. His character shows raw emotions and struggling with loss and depression, as well as the healing process that follows that. Shockingly, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked Jeremiah towards the end. I by no means was rooting for him, but for the first time I wasnāt actively praying for his downfall. I was happy with the way both Taylor and Steven turned out; I think they both figured out who they wanted to be as individuals as well as what they wanted to be together.Ā
Christopher Briney, who plays Conrad, deserves an award for his performance. His line deliveries and emotion displayed was incredible. I had a running joke with some of my friends saying that the show should be called The Summer I Cried Every Wednesday, and that was largely due to his amazing performance.Ā
One of my bigger problems was the amount of time the cast spent at the beach house this season. There were times I almost forgot what show I was watching because of how little importance the house had to everyone. Even though I understand why the show was structured this way, I still found it odd that no one talked about it or missed it much. If I had access to that house you would have to drag me out because I would never want to leave.Ā
It feels strange that the show ended the way it did. To me, the last couple of episodes in the series were extremely boring and drawn out. I think they could have been condensed by a lot and given more screen time towards the main love interest (aka Belly and Conrad). I would have preferred the final episode to be an hour longer to add in some of the details and questions that havenāt been answered. As someone who loves sleep, I would have gladly given more of it up to watch a better resolution.Ā
With all of that being said, I still had a great time watching the show. There were moments when I was ready to throw my TV across the room, but those kinds of shows are the best. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” gained such a high media and consumer following that part of me is surprised they didnāt drag it out longer. Heavy emphasis on the word drag by the way.Ā
The final episode was a little bit of a sigh of relief. I finally got to see my couple end up together and the tension build up was amazing. Call me greedy, but I could not stop myself from wanting more.Ā
Recently learning about the new movie adaptation, I can only hope we get it soon and that it will bring us closer to fans such as myself. We donāt know much, if anything at all, about the film, only that it will cover more of what happens with the characters after the series finale.Ā
This show made me laugh, cry, yell, and giggle while kicking my feet. It comes to no surprise that I will be thinking about it for a long time. Itās time to plan my next beach trip.Ā