The second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” takes a significant turn and dives into a more mature and somber narrative that captures the delights, sufferings and changes of summer. The show’s protagonist, Belly (Lola Tung), finds herself navigating a bittersweet love triangle between her childhood friends, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), and the aftermath of their mother, Susannah’s (Rachel Blanchard), recent death.
Susannah’s passing takes an emotional toll on the characters in the show, including Conrad and Jeremiah who isolate themselves from the rest of the cast. Though this is a far step from the more lighthearted ode to summer that the first season is, it provides the cast a chance to further showcase their acting abilities. In particular, Lola Tung (Belly), shows much more range than she was able to achieve in the last season, highlighting her maturing talent. Belly’s close friend, Taylor (Rain Spencer), similarly benefits as her character shifts from a minor presence to an essential part of the plot this season. Her growing romantic relationship with Belly’s brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman), stands out as they are – without a doubt – the most engaging and least toxic couple in the show .
The first half of this season employs a series of flashbacks to bridge the gap between the two summers and explores Belly’s relationship and subsequent breakup with Conrad. These flashbacks often interrupt the pacing of the show, making them difficult to follow, and the show’s excessive use of narrative explanation makes the new season less engaging than the first, where the audience got to see the action unfold.
A unique strength of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is its willingness to portray its characters in an unflattering light. This season commits to showing grief in its most unfiltered state, even if it means its characters appear less likable . Throughout the season, both brothers have continual outbursts of anger toward Belly, their friends and each other as they continue to mourn the loss of their mother. Belly makes some of her most questionable choices thus far, including lying to her parents, throwing a destructive house party and flirting with her ex-boyfriend’s brother . Belly’s spiral is so pathetic that though she is difficult to support, viewers cannot help but feel bad for her. If the show is able to give her enough of a redemption arc going forward, the elevated stakes in this season will have paid off in taking the show to a new level of emotional depth.
