At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, I wrote an article on the differences between the book and show “The Summer I Turned Pretty”. A whole year has passed, and a new season of the show was released in July. Today I’m going to talk about the ships of the show, because some of them are not discussed enough.
Let’s start this off with a Laurel and Cleveland. Laurel went through a lot this past season due to losing her best friend Susannah from cancer, and she needed someone to support her. Although, Cleveland doesn’t get much screen time, when he is on screen, he always knows what to say, whether it’s witty or sentimental. I hope they have more screen time next season because Laurel deserves nothing but happiness.
Next up we have Steven and Taylor. For the majority of the season Taylor was dating an “interesting” guy named Milo. But she was flirty with Steven the entire time.. Their relationship was built on the little things. They grew up together, as Steven is Belly’s brother and Taylor is her best friend. While watching this season, I came to the conclusion that Steven is the standard and more guys need to be like him. This really shines through the night they get together. Milo and Steven get into a fight and Taylor is fed up so she asks Milo what her middle name is, trying to figure out if he even knows her. He doesn’t have an answer but Steven does. “Madison. Her middle name is Madison.”
Now, I think it’s time we jump into a ship I wasn’t too fond of, Cam Cameron and Skye. Cam Cameron was a returning character and he was and is a favorite of mine. Skye, however, was new this season and I wasn’t the biggest fan of their character. I think that both characters deserve to be happy and find someone, but I also think that the two are so different that they don’t work well together.
I think before I talk about the brothers I should tell you if I’m team Conrad or Jeremiah. I am team-Belly-needs-to-leave-these-grieving-brothers-alone. I’m team Conrad, but if you’re team Jere, don’t let that ruin your enjoyment of this article. I read the books, so I knew that this season would be a win for the Jere girls, but I still had hope. I think the best way to talk about this complicated triangle is to talk about the songs used. There were quite a few Taylor Swift songs featured this season, a few of them being “Back To December”, “Last Kiss”, “Invisible String” and “Sweet Nothing”. All were featured in Bonrad scenes. Take that as you will.
One of my absolute favorite moments was the flashback to Belly and Conrad with ”Steal My Girl“ by One Direction playing. I literally had to pause the show because I was SCREAMING. The most iconic song used for Belly and Jere was “Delicate” by Taylor Swift. A lot of people, including myself, believe that “Delicate” (Taylor’s Version) was used for shock value. To end this, I have to talk about the most iconic and painful song used this season— “Exile” by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver. This song was featured in the last episode to represent the love triangle and Conrad coming to terms with the fact that he lost Belly. This one hurt. When I heard the song start playing I started SOBBING.
Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely adore this series. From shedding tears over the amount of Taylor Swift songs in the show, to the hour long debriefs that occurred every Friday night after an episode aired, I love this show. I am not sure how I will pass the time waiting for season three to come out, but I can guarantee I will be writing an article about it.
Sabrina Chaney • Mar 4, 2024 at 11:31 PM
Loved your take on it