The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 Episode 2: LOVE SCENE

This episode left me speechless. There were so many amazing moments here, I can’t wait to dive in. First of all, I was prepared for Taylor Swift. Jenny Han said that there would be 10 songs this season. But I was not prepared for One Direction. We got Steal My Girl. HELLO? I felt like this was so fitting. We saw this is the start of Christmas at Cousins and Conrad goes to pick Belly up and make their way to the beach house for the holiday season. They were so happy and just seemed SO in love here. I felt the anticipation of waiting for that guy to pick you up for a first date and having so many butterflies. That’s EXACTLY what this scene felt like. They were perfect and so in love. Then it goes back to the present.

Everything is so messy. Belly is lying about where she is. Conrad is nowhere to be found. Jeremiah is upset and is about to see the girl who broke his heart. But on a brighter note, Laurel is looking at her new book, It’s Not Summer Without You. When I saw this as the title, I internally screamed. I felt like this was special to the book lovers.

Going back to the book, I was really surprised with how the scene where Belly and Jeremiah go to Conrad’s dorm was adapted. You can feel the tension between Belly and Jere. He is SO upset with her. They meet Conrad’s roommate and he makes a comment about Conrad being so hung up on Belly. Awkward. When they’re about to leave, Belly sees the infinity necklace that Conrad got her for her 16th birthday. If you read the books, you know Belly takes it (which I HATED by the way), but she actually ended up leaving the necklace there. I was SHOCKED. Absolutely shocked. 

While Jeremiah and Belly are on their way to Cousins to get Conrad, Jeremiah makes a comment about how it’s weird being at Cousins when its not summer and we are immediately transported back to continue Conrad and Belly there during the holidays. Now, I am a Team Jeremiah girl through and through, but THIS. This is the Conrad I love. The Conrad who communicates and shares his feelings. When he told Belly “you have no idea how happy [Susannah] is that you’re my girlfriend,” I SWOONED. That was SO CUTE. I just think everything about this whole trip was so intimate. This was honestly one of my favorite scenes from the book and I love the way it was adapted. We get one cute moment like this and then it immediately goes back to the present. 

We get a little glimpse of Taylor and Steven, and again, these two are going to date. Their banter is incredible and I am loving the teasing. This is definitely a different vibe compared to what is going on with Belly and Jeremiah. This was Jeremiah’s moment to shine. He expressed to Belly that he needed his best friend and that she was not there for him. I cried at this scene and thought it was so powerful. They’re back to normal and you see how Jeremiah still has feelings for Belly. It’s written in the way he looks at her. *screams* 

This is so powerful because the parallels of Belly driving to Cousins with both brothers play and the dynamic between the two is so different, but you know they both love her so much.

Now that things are better with Jeremiah, they’re back to being best friends again. When they went to stop for pie and they brought up ESP, I could not contain my excitement. This was one of my favorite things that was mentioned in the book. In the books Jeremiah described this as Belly explaining everything as their ESP connection, but he really just knew Belly. 

They really paid attention to the books in this episode because after this was mentioned, we are brought back into the flashback and it’s the most PERFECT book adaption I have ever scene. The attention to detail was impeccable. From the Simpsons mug, the hot cocoa, the dialogue, to the mannerisms. This was the book brought to life. I absolutely adored this Bonrad scene and while I thought Snow on the Beach was going to play here, I was absolutely floored when Invisible String came on. This was so incredibly cute I could not contain my excitement. I really think this scene just does an amazing job capturing that happiness and that feeling of first love being so electric. I also felt like it was so powerful going back and forth from the past and present. We see how Conrad and Belly went from saying:

“You’re so cold hearted.”

“For everyone else maybe. But not for you.”

To essentially becoming strangers. Now this is where I was in complete disbelief. If you read the books, you know Conrad and Belly just had a sleepover at Cousins. That was it. But in the show, Belly actually loses her virginity to Conrad. I think this was so tastefully done and just adds so much depth to the story and their relationship. This just adds another layer that the book did not have and I really think that this was just so special for their relationship. 

After their special moment, Belly whispers to Conrad “There’s only ever been you.” And it immediately cuts back to the present with Conrad saying “What is she doing here?” Talk about a stab to the heart. I was completely speechless after this episode. I needed to watch the next episode immediately. 

Side note: I am obsessed with this selfie.