ReadNOW

When a show gets into its third season, things can start heading in an odd direction. Some may accept it and indulge in the unhinged drama, but what if fans caught on and called out the fundamental problem instead of just going with it? The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on Jenny Han’s novel series of the same name and adapted into a series in 2023, is facing a similar issue.

The teen romance drama series, which is currently releasing new episodes of its third and final season weekly on Prime Video, has been a staple in the genre, and the fandom it garnered is certainly impressive. However, the overall dynamic of the series has tremendously changed. Instead of creating valuable interactions, the series streaming on Prime Video normalizes toxic relationships, builds problematic characters, and romanticizes cheating. To top it off, The Summer I Turned Pretty destroys its foundation with utter hypocrisy.

One Cheating Scandal After the Other

Two things you won’t find in The Summer I Turned Pretty are emotional stability and a healthy relationship. The entire point of the Prime Video series is to follow Belly (Lola Tung) as she navigates her feelings for Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), two brothers and lifelong family friends. However, while Belly is still indecisive, fans have decided for her after Jeremiah, the Fisher brother she is currently dating and suddenly engaged to, set their relationship on fire by cheating on her. Twice. Jeremiah cheating on Belly left Team Conrad stronger than ever. To top it off, Belly is also emotionally cheating on Jeremiah with Conrad, as she realizes that she still has feelings for the older brother. Come on, guys…

The Jellyfish cheating scandal isn’t the only one, though. Even more unexpected and unnecessary is the messy relationship between Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer). The Staylor cheating scenario has an entirely odd dynamic, though, because it turned out that Steven and Taylor had broken up and started dating other people. Both of them found new relationships, but then the two exes crossed paths in New York. Perhaps NYC is the new Paris, because it’s where their affair started, and it continued at university despite their respective romantic partners.

Steven and Taylor’s strange affair raises so many questions, because they hook up and behave like a couple, but aren’t officially dating. Instead, they argue, treat each other in a toxic way, and drag their partners along. So, where is all of this supposed to go? The Summer I Turned Pretty solely consists of cheating, at this point.

The Hypocrisy in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Is Insane

If all the cheating scandals already sounded confusing, then this is about to blow your mind, because it’s about to get even more complicated due to everyone’s hypocrisy. Jeremiah cheating on Belly changed the trajectory of the series, as Belly was convinced she would never be able to forgive him. We all know how that ended, but for the time being, the deep betrayal was at the center of the story. Taylor was at Belly’s side and was understandably furious with Jeremiah, particularly since she had always been CEO of Team Jellyfish. Taylor calling out Jer’s behavior is completely valid, and any good best friend would be there during such a rough time. Taylor bashes Jeremiah for his toxic behavior, but the entire interaction falls flat because Taylor isn’t any better, and it ruins the point.

Taylor is in a relationship with Davis. He is even introduced at the beginning of Season 3, and seems like a really great guy. He supports Taylor and treats her well, at least from what is shown. Taylor, on the other hand, clearly has no respect for him. She is stringing him along and wasting his time, as she has been continuously cheating on him. None of this is okay. Taylor is the last person who has the right to call out Jeremiah’s behavior, and that’s the overall problem with the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. It’s filled with toxic behavior to the brim.

The constant hypocrisy will likely ruin the entire rest of the chart-topping series on Prime Video, because none of their behavior is even slightly justifiable. The plot needs to be balanced out. If the Staylor cheating scandal had never been included, then Taylor would have been the perfect character to call out Jeremiah and turn this into a valuable lesson for fans of TSITP. How is anyone supposed to take something positive away from the series if it makes it seem as though cheating is inevitable and even normalized? Perhaps the creator wanted to go out with a bang, but The Summer I Turned Pretty might end with its worst season ever.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is releasing episodes weekly on Prime Video.