-Review-
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” season two may go down as the best television release of the summer. The popular Prime Video series, based on “The Summer I Turned Pretty” book trilogy by Jenny Han, is back with even more drama and heartbreak. Three of the eight total episodes of season two were released on July 14th, with the remainder of the episodes being released every following Friday.
The first season, which came out on Prime Video last summer, was an instant hit, mainly with the teenage demographic. The first season told the story of Lola Tung’s character Isabel Conklin, primarily known as Belly, and her last normal summer at the beach house she shares with the Fishers. One of the main aspects the show focuses on is the love triangle between Belly, Christopher Briney’s character, Conrad Fisher, and Gavin Casalegno’s character, Jeremiah Fisher. The second season, so far, is just as successful. The combination of the teenage love triangle, well-known songs, and a summer, beach-y theme pulled at the heartstrings of teenagers everywhere.
The story, this season, splits into two plot lines. One takes place immediately following the events of season one, and the other takes place months later, the summer after season one. The first plot line explores Belly’s romance with Conrad. The second shows Conrad strangely leaving his school, Brown University, with Belly and Jeremiah having to find him and get him back in time for final exams.
Lola Tung delivers an incredible, heart-shattering performance as the 16-year-old Belly. Her body language and overall emotion felt sincere. She handled her more challenging scenes facing the ups and downs of high school life beautifully.
This season, so far, felt a lot more emotional. The first season felt light and upbeat, while the second season discusses a wider range of emotions in further depth. Some viewers miss the more cheerful vibe of season one, but this change had to happen to keep the show in line with the books.
While Tung was incredibly entertaining to watch, some of the other characters deserve some recognition. Rain Spencer shone as Taylor Jewel, Belly’s best friend, in the more comedic, cheery scenes. Any time her character had a scene, I always ended up laughing. Taylor’s tendency to put Belly’s brother, Steven, in line was hilarious to watch.
One of the best scenes was when the cast was at a graduation party, and Steven, played by Sean Kaufman, tries to crowd surf to impress Taylor. His attempt failed and all he did was embarrass himself in front of her.
There have been many negative comments about this second season so far, specifically surrounding a new character, Skye, played by Elsie Fisher, and they aren’t deserved. Many viewers argue that Skye is very out of place, and doesn’t really fit in with the existing cast. While this may be true, Skye adds more inclusion and depth to the series, which was much needed.
Even with some criticism, it is clear this new season has a mostly positive reception. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” season two sits at 64% on the Tomatometer from the critics from Rotten Tomatoes, but has a high audience score with an 82%.
