I’ve long believed that Korean American author Jenny Han–best known for her To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before book and film franchise–has single-handedly been bringing back the rom-com for Gen Z and young millennial audiences. Her reigning achievements in the teen romance space are many, not least of which include popularizing K-drama tropes with Western television in XO, Kitty, and turning Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky into the best teen couple of the 2010s.

This has only been more solidified with the third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime Video. Only two episodes were released back-to-back on July 16, leaving fans in suspense about how the rest of the 11-episode season will turn out. However, it has already captured my interest and investment as an emotionally captivating closing to one of my favorite drama series streaming right now.

The first two seasons of the show followed Belly (Lola Tung) as she struggled to choose between pursuing a romantic relationship with Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), who happen to be brothers. Now, two years after the second season premiered in 2023, we open the third season with a four-year time jump. Belly is a college junior and dating Jeremiah, who is about to graduate, and Conrad is thousands of miles away in California, enrolled in medical school and still yearning for Belly.

While Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship is at first presented as sweet, idyllic, and perfect, the cracks quickly begin to show thanks to Jeremiah’s emotional maturity and manipulative practices and Belly’s constant flashbacks to when she first loved Conrad. And, oh yeah, Jeremiah cheating on Belly with a sorority girl named Lacie while on vacation in Cabo during their past spring break.

The drama is ten-fold this season, especially compared to the books (for example, Jeremiah and Belly were dating for two years before he cheated on her in We’ll Always Have Summer, which makes his behavior in the show that much worse). And yet, one of the aspects of the show that I most appreciate is how Belly’s feelings and experiences are never treated as melodrama. Her anger and grief at the discovery of Jeremiah’s infidelity isn’t played up for laughs, nor is her constant pining for the better brother made into something ridiculous, despite how she tries to convince herself that she’s even more in love with Jeremiah.

I also enjoyed how we were able to enter Conrad’s point of view for the first time in the show. I practically melted at how he experiences a flashback of Belly from that first summer in Cousins, where she’s more glowing and golden in his memories than in the original footage. It was also refreshing to see how his character has developed and matured from an anxious, depressed teenager into a protective, intelligent, and healing young man, whose only hobby seems to be completing crossword puzzles and yearning for the only girl he has ever been in love with.

What’s also special about this show is how the songs on the soundtrack tell their own parallel story. As a Swiftie, Han is no stranger to incorporating hints and Easter eggs, which hint at the story to come and her feelings towards her characters. “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan plays while Conrad realizes he’ll never be able to let go of his love for Belly no matter how hard she tries. “lacy” by Olivia Rodrigo is Belly’s break-up balm after learning of Jeremiah’s betrayal. And of course, there are numerous Taylor Swift songs from across her catalog of albums that manage to speak volumes about each character’s interior monologues, feelings, and growth.

All that said, there were subplots and storylines that I found myself tempted to skip over. While I’ve always loved the will-they-won’t-they romance between Belly’s brother Steven and her best friend Taylor, their emotional immaturity, inability to make up their minds, and their deceptive cheating behaviors on their respective partners make me wonder if their story has simply run its course. Taylor feels like a copy of herself from Season Two: stagnant, selfish, emotionally distant, and without growth, despite the four-year time jump. This time around, I don’t appreciate how she enables Belly to make decisions as poor and ill-conceived as her own, how she makes excuses for her and Jeremiah’s behavior while giving none of the same grace to Conrad.

Cheating and sexual rendezvous seem to be the central theme of the season thanks to Jeremiah, Taylor, and Steven, as well as Belly’s parents, Laurel and Adam, who are hooking up again after being divorced for years. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season unfolds, especially if it continues to follow the original plot from the books and shows how Belly and Conrad reconnect.

The first two episodes of the final season have left me with much to think about, but most of all, have left me invested, waiting for more romance, truth, and drama this summer.