Conrad’s Return in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 4 Could Turn Belly’s World Upside Down — Because This Time, He’s Not Playing Fair
When the screen faded to black on The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 finale on September 17, 2025, fans thought they’d seen the last of Cousins Beach’s sun-drenched heartache. Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) and Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) sealed their love with a Parisian reunion, their kisses under the Eiffel Tower and cozy Christmas montage signaling an endgame for the ages. Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), the jilted brother, seemed to find peace with a new flame, Denise (Isabella Briggs), and a reconciled bond with his father, Adam. Jenny Han’s handwritten note—“Maybe we’ll meet again one summer in Cousins”—felt like a wistful goodbye. But just twelve days later, Han upended expectations with a bombshell: a feature-length movie, set to serve as Season 4, is coming to Prime Video in 2027, and it’s poised to unravel everything. The kicker? Conrad, the brooding heartthrob who finally won Belly’s heart, is returning with a darker edge—one that could flip her world upside down because, this time, he’s not playing fair.
The Season 3 finale, “At Last,” delivered the catharsis Team Conrad fans had craved since the 2022 premiere. After a rollercoaster of grief, miscommunication, and a near-miss wedding with Jeremiah, Belly chose herself, jetting off to Paris for a semester abroad. Conrad’s “chance” detour en route to a Brussels conference led to a day of rekindled passion—sloppy kisses, raw confessions, and a night in her apartment that screamed soulmates. The flash-forward to their joyful holiday in Cousins, set to Taylor Swift’s “Lover,” cemented their bond, with Belly’s voiceover whispering, “In every version of me, it’s you.” Social media exploded—X posts with 15,000 likes hailed it as “the perfect YA romance payoff,” while Reddit threads dissected every frame for clues of lingering tension. But Han’s announcement to Entertainment Weekly on September 29, 2025, hinted at a storm brewing: “Conrad’s always been Belly’s north star, but even stars can burn out. This movie explores what happens when love faces its toughest test.” The implication is clear: Conrad’s return isn’t a victory lap—it’s a calculated play that could shatter the life Belly’s built.
To unpack this seismic shift, let’s revisit the trilogy’s DNA. Jenny Han’s novels—The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009), It’s Not Summer Without You (2010), and We’ll Always Have Summer (2011)—charted Belly’s evolution from a starry-eyed teen to a woman navigating love’s complexities. Conrad, the tortured older Fisher brother, was her first love, but his emotional unavailability pushed her toward Jeremiah’s warmth. The books end with Belly choosing Conrad, their wedding a serene epilogue. The Prime Video series, however, amplified the stakes. Season 3 saw Belly call off her engagement to Jeremiah after his infidelity (a softened adaptation of the book’s spring break fling) and Susannah’s letter sparked a brotherly fistfight. Conrad’s Paris reunion felt earned, a reward for his growth in therapy and Belly’s newfound independence. Yet, the movie’s premise suggests this harmony is fragile, with Conrad’s darker impulses threatening to upend it.
What does “not playing fair” mean for a character defined by restraint? In the books and series, Conrad’s flaws—self-sabotage, suppressed grief over Susannah’s death, jealousy of Jeremiah—were tempered by his love for Belly. But Season 4’s setup, per Variety’s insider scoops, places the story two years later, with Belly and Conrad engaged and planning a low-key wedding at Cousins. Conrad, now a med school graduate, is grappling with the pressures of his career and the weight of being Belly’s “forever.” X posts with 8,000 engagements speculate he’s hiding a secret: perhaps a moment of weakness during a grueling residency, like a flirtation with a colleague that never reached Belly’s ears. “Conrad’s always been his own worst enemy,” one user tweeted, linking to a Season 2 clip where he pushes Belly away after Susannah’s death. “If he’s not playing fair, he’s probably lying to protect her—but it’ll backfire.” Another theory, backed by 3,000 likes, suggests he’s manipulating events to keep Jeremiah at bay, wary of his brother’s lingering feelings.
This twist promises the most chaotic love triangle yet. Jeremiah, now a rising chef in Boston and seemingly content with Denise, could be drawn back into the fray if Conrad’s actions alienate Belly. Han hinted in her EW interview that “Conrad’s choices ripple beyond the couple,” suggesting he might undermine Jeremiah’s newfound stability—perhaps by revealing a painful truth about Denise or questioning Jere’s commitment to the family. A leaked script snippet circulating on Reddit shows Conrad confronting Belly at a beach bonfire: “You think you know me, but you don’t know what I’ve carried to keep us here.” The line, unconfirmed but widely debated, hints at a secret that could reframe his Season 3 heroics. Is it guilt over a near-betrayal? Or a calculated move to secure Belly’s loyalty by painting Jeremiah as unreliable? Vulture’s early buzz calls it “Conrad’s villain arc, but with heart,” predicting a narrative where his love for Belly curdles into possessiveness.
Fans are divided. Team Conrad loyalists on X, like @b3llyconklinfan with 2,500 followers, defend him: “He’s not a manipulator; he’s just scared of losing her again. Jeremiah had his chance.” Team Jeremiah, however, smells blood. A viral thread with 12,000 likes argues, “Conrad playing dirty means he’s threatened by Jere’s glow-up. Watch him sabotage the wedding to keep Belly on a leash.” The discourse echoes Season 3’s debates, where Jeremiah’s cheating sparked 20,000 X posts overnight, but this time, Conrad’s the one risking fan ire. Refinery29’s Season 3 review praised Briney’s “quiet intensity,” noting, “Conrad’s always been the one who loves hardest but hurts deepest.” If the movie leans into his flaws—say, withholding a career opportunity that could take Belly away from Cousins—it could alienate his base while thrilling fans of messy drama.
The broader canvas complicates things. Belly’s Paris arc established her as a woman forging her own path, balancing art history studies with personal growth. Her engagement to Conrad, per Marie Claire’s finale breakdown, symbolizes “choosing love without losing herself.” But if Conrad’s actions—like pressuring her to prioritize his career or hiding a truth to “protect” her—undermine that agency, her world could indeed flip. Add in the supporting cast: Steven (Sean Kaufman), now running a startup, might side with Jeremiah, straining his bond with Belly. Taylor (Rain Spencer), fiercely loyal to Belly, could call out Conrad’s tactics, echoing her Season 3 clapbacks. Even Laurel (Jackie Chung) and Adam, reunited in the finale, might fracture under the brothers’ renewed rivalry. BBC’s Season 3 recap, which logged 10 million views, noted fans’ love for the “found family” dynamic, warning that “extending the triangle risks breaking what made the show special.”
Yet, Han’s track record suggests she thrives on bold swings. Her To All the Boys sequels expanded beyond the books, and this movie—filming slated for summer 2026 in Wilmington—could redefine Conrad’s arc. Briney, in a Vanity Fair profile, teased, “Conrad’s not a saint, but he’s not a villain either. He’s fighting for something real, even if it looks ugly.” Tung echoed this to EW: “Belly’s ready for forever, but forever’s messy.” The movie’s rumored title, One Last Summer, hints at a climactic showdown where Conrad’s unfair play—perhaps a lie about his mental health or a deliberate wedge driven between Belly and Jeremiah—forces a reckoning. Will Belly double down on her choice, or will Conrad’s missteps push her toward a life untethered to either brother?
The numbers speak to the stakes: Season 3’s 25 million global viewers and 30,000 X posts on finale night prove the fandom’s hunger. Han’s Instagram, flooded with 5,000 comments begging for “justice for Jere,” suggests the triangle’s revival will polarize. If Conrad’s gambit backfires, it could mirror the books’ warning: love built on secrets doesn’t last. But if Han threads the needle, showing Conrad’s flaws as human rather than malicious, Season 4 could deliver the trilogy’s truest lesson: love isn’t fair, but it’s worth fighting for—even when it turns your world upside down.
