The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 4 is Officially on the Horizon — and Belly’s Final Choice May Come Back to Destroy Everything She’s Built
As the credits rolled on The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 finale on September 17, 2025, fans were left with a bittersweet cocktail of elation, heartbreak, and insatiable curiosity. Prime Video’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s beloved trilogy wrapped its third and ostensibly final season with a poignant reunion between Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) and Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney), flashing forward to their joyful Christmas in Paris. It was the endgame many “Team Conrad” devotees had rooted for across three summers of sun-soaked longing, sibling rivalry, and inevitable heartbreak. But in a twist that has social media ablaze, showrunner Jenny Han announced just days later that a feature-length movie is in development as a direct continuation of the series. Suddenly, Season 4—or at least its cinematic equivalent—is officially on the horizon. This isn’t just an epilogue; it’s a promise of more Cousins Beach drama, where Belly’s hard-won choice between the Fisher brothers could unravel the fragile life she’s piecing together.
For those who binged the 11-episode arc, the finale, titled “At Last,” delivered closure laced with ambiguity. Picking up from the penultimate episode’s cliffhanger, Belly—fresh off calling off her wedding to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno)—finds herself in Paris for her junior year abroad. A serendipitous detour by Conrad, en route to a conference in Brussels, leads to a day of reconnection that crackles with unresolved tension. They share sloppy, eager kisses, tumbling into Belly’s apartment for a night of passion where Conrad confesses his dreams of her. The episode flashes forward to them in Cousins Beach the following summer, no ring in sight but undeniable endgame vibes. A slideshow of holiday photos underscores their romance, capped by Han’s handwritten note: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart… Maybe we’ll meet again one summer in Cousins.” It’s romantic, it’s hopeful—it’s everything a YA love triangle finale should be. Yet, as Han revealed in a statement, “There is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey, and I thought only a movie could give it its proper due.” This “milestone” teases not just marital bliss but the potential cracks in their foundation.
To understand why Belly’s choice might “destroy everything she’s built,” we must rewind to the trilogy’s roots. Han’s novels—The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009), It’s Not Summer Without You (2010), and We’ll Always Have Summer (2011)—center on Isabel “Belly” Conklin’s summers at Cousins Beach with her mother Laurel, brother Steven, and the Fisher family: matriarch Susannah (Kyra Sedgwick) and her sons, the brooding Conrad and sunny Jeremiah. What starts as innocent childhood crushes evolves into a torturous love triangle, pitting Belly’s first love (Conrad) against her best friend (Jeremiah). The books culminate in We’ll Always Have Summer, where Belly, now in college, accepts Jeremiah’s proposal despite lingering feelings for Conrad. Infidelity rumors fracture their engagement—Jeremiah’s spring break fling with sorority girl Lacie becomes the catalyst for doubt. On their wedding morning, after a physical altercation between the brothers, Jeremiah confronts Belly: “That’ll always be Con… You’ve got to see for yourself, or you’ll never be able to let him go.” The wedding is called off, and years later, Belly marries Conrad at Cousins, whispering in voiceover, “This is our start… We are infinite. Me and Conrad.”
The Prime Video series, which premiered in 2022, faithfully adapted this arc but amplified the emotional stakes with deviations that heightened the drama. Season 1 captured Belly’s “pretty” transformation and her kiss with Conrad at the senior prom send-off. Season 2 delved into grief over Susannah’s death, with Belly rebounding to Jeremiah after Conrad’s self-sabotaging withdrawal. Season 3, billed as the finale, mirrored the book’s engagement but introduced bolder changes: Belly’s Paris sojourn, a startup subplot for Steven (Sean Kaufman), and Taylor’s (Rain Spencer) evolving romance with a new flame. The infidelity reveal hits harder onscreen—Jeremiah’s “heartburn” in Episode 10 builds dread, only for it to fizzle into emotional resolution rather than tragedy. Belly’s choice to prioritize herself manifests in her solo European adventure, a far cry from the book’s more insular Cousins focus. As Refinery29 noted in their review, “Belly wasn’t perfect, and that made her the perfect teen TV character,” praising Tung’s nuanced portrayal of a flawed Asian American lead.
Yet, this self-actualization is precisely what the upcoming movie could dismantle. Han’s decision to extend the story beyond the books suggests unexplored territory: What happens post-reunion? In the novels, Belly and Conrad’s epilogue is idyllic—a wedding at Cousins, carrying her into the ocean with vows of eternity. The show, however, ends on a tentative note, with no onscreen proposal. Fans on X (formerly Twitter) are already theorizing fallout: One user lamented, “I really wanted to see Laurel’s reaction when she found out the ending for Conny and Belly 😭😭😭 Please, SEASON 4 😭,” highlighting the unresolved family dynamics. Another post dissected the finale’s implications: “Belly choosing herself… but ending up with Conrad is choosing the boy that loves her for herself even before she turned ‘pretty.'” The movie, per Han, will tackle “this final chapter,” potentially delving into marriage, career ambitions, or the Fisher brothers’ lingering frictions.
Imagine the peril: Belly, having built independence in Paris—studying abroad, forging paths beyond the beach—returns to Conrad’s orbit. He’s still the introspective med student, haunted by loss, but their history is littered with miscommunications and near-misses. What if Conrad’s insecurities resurface, pulling Belly back into old patterns? Or worse, Jeremiah—now single and thriving, perhaps with a new partner like Denise from the show—reenters the picture, forcing a reckoning. The books gloss over these post-choice struggles; the series amplified them, making Belly’s growth feel earned but precarious. As Marie Claire reflected, “The real triumph wasn’t which Fisher brother she wound up with, but the agency she stepped into.” A movie sequel risks retroactively undermining that agency, turning her “choice” into a catalyst for regression.
Fan reactions underscore this tension. On Reddit, threads buzz with debates: “There’s nothing hopeful about a love triangle for three seasons and then they all go their separate ways,” one user argued, while others celebrate Belly’s evolution. X posts from the finale’s airing night exploded with memes of Team Conrad victory dances and Team Jeremiah eulogies, but a common thread emerged: fear of dilution. “Season 3 ending explained – who does Belly choose, is there a season 4, and more,” shared one account, linking to breakdowns that echo the dread of extended storytelling. Han’s history with adaptations (To All the Boys trilogy) shows she’s unafraid of expansions, but The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s intimate scale—rooted in seasonal nostalgia—could fracture under cinematic scrutiny.
Beyond romance, the broader world Han built offers ripe ground for destruction. Steven’s startup dreams? Taylor’s post-Jeremiah glow-up? Laurel’s reconciliation with Adam? These threads, tied neatly in the finale, could fray if the movie prioritizes Belly-Conrad drama. The BBC called the finale “emotional,” noting fans’ desire for “what happens next not just for them, but for Jeremiah and his new flame.” A poorly handled sequel might alienate viewers by resurrecting conflicts for shock value, eroding the finale’s catharsis.
Still, the horizon gleams with possibility. Tung, Briney, and Casalegno have expressed eagerness to return—Lola Tung told EW, “If I was ever asked, I’m there.” Han’s note hints at spin-offs, perhaps exploring Jeremiah’s solo arc or a Taylor-Steven wedding. As The Summer I Turned Pretty transitions from series to screen, it mirrors Belly’s own journey: from girl to woman, choice to consequence. Her decision for Conrad was a victory, but in extending the story, Han risks reminding us that love, like summer, is fleeting—and its echoes can upend everything.
Will the movie deliver a triumphant coda or a cautionary unraveling? Only time—and another beachside bonfire—will tell. For now, fans cling to Paris snapshots, wondering if infinity truly awaits, or if the tide will wash it all away.
