The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Premiere Recap: Time Jump, Cheating, And A Tragic Accident In Episode 1

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 finally arrived on Prime Video on July 16, 2025, kicking off the final chapter of Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah’s iconic love triangle. The premiere, which included both Episode 1 and Episode 2, immediately shattered the romanticized vision of Cousins Beach we'd grown to love, thrusting Belly into a new, complex reality marked by a significant time jump and devastating betrayal. This opening episode, titled "Last Season," was anything but a gentle return, setting a dramatically darker, college-era tone for the series finale.

The anticipation for this final season, based on Jenny Han’s third novel, We’ll Always Have Summer, was immense, and the showrunners delivered a high-stakes, emotional gut-punch right out of the gate. From the immediate shift in setting to the shocking revelations about Jeremiah’s fidelity, Episode 1 ensured that no fan was left comfortable as Belly navigated her freshman year of college and the inevitable fallout from the Fisher brothers' history.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 1: "Last Season" Full Recap & Plot Details

The third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty consists of 11 episodes, making it the longest season yet. The premiere, which included the first two episodes, dropped on Prime Video on July 16, 2025, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly. The first episode, "Last Season," immediately established the new reality for all the main characters.

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Belly’s New World: Finch College and the One-Year Time Jump

The episode opens with a significant one-year time jump from the end of Season 2. Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) is no longer a high school student but is starting her freshman year at Finch College. This is the same university that Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) is attending. The narrative establishes that Belly and Jeremiah are still together, having chosen each other at the end of the previous summer, but the college environment quickly proves to be a pressure cooker for their relationship.

The shift in setting from the idyllic, sun-drenched Cousins Beach to the bustling, competitive, and less-than-charming college campus is a deliberate move to signal the maturity and gravity of the final season's themes. Belly is clearly struggling to find her footing, and her internal monologue suggests she’s not fully committed to her studies or her current relationship, a stark contrast to her confident demeanor from the previous summer.

Jeremiah’s Betrayal: The Cheating Revelation

The central conflict that detonates in Episode 1 is the revelation of Jeremiah’s infidelity. While Belly and Jeremiah are together at Finch, a devastating truth comes to light: Jeremiah cheated on Belly during a brief period when they were on a break. This moment is a massive turning point, mirroring the emotional climax of the third book and immediately throwing the entire love triangle dynamic back into chaos.

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Belly is understandably shattered. The trust she had placed in Jeremiah, the stability she thought she had found, is completely destroyed. This betrayal serves two critical functions: it forces Belly to re-evaluate her entire relationship with Jeremiah, and it sets the stage for her inevitable emotional return to Conrad, who is also at Finch, though their interactions are initially tense and awkward.

The Fisher Brothers’ Separate Struggles: Conrad and Jeremiah

While Jeremiah is dealing with the immediate fallout of his actions, Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) is facing his own set of adult-sized problems. The time jump reveals that Conrad has lost his job, adding a layer of financial and professional stress to his already complicated life. He is also attending Finch, which means all three central characters are now operating in the same close-quarters environment, maximizing the tension.

Conrad’s storyline in the premiere focuses on his struggle to maintain his composure and his future plans while dealing with the emotional weight of seeing Belly and Jeremiah together. His job loss and the underlying stress from his mother Susannah's death continue to plague him, making him more withdrawn and moody. The proximity to Belly, especially given Jeremiah's actions, creates a powder keg waiting to explode.

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Steven and Taylor: A Breakup and a Car Accident

The premiere also focuses on the supporting cast, particularly Steven Conklin (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer). In the first episode, the status of their relationship is complicated. Taylor, ever the protective one, initially tries to keep things "casual" with Steven, fearing the commitment, but Steven, finally realizing his true feelings, breaks up with his current girlfriend to pursue Taylor seriously. The emotional push-and-pull between them provides a necessary counterpoint to the central drama.

A shocking secondary plot point is Steven’s involvement in a car accident. While the details are initially sparse, this event adds a significant layer of tragedy and urgency to the narrative, forcing the Conklin and Fisher families to briefly put aside their romantic drama and rally around Steven. This accident serves as a catalyst, pulling the characters back together in a moment of shared crisis, and may be the event that finally forces Belly to confront her true feelings.

Topical Authority: How Episode 1 Sets Up the Final Season’s Stakes

Episode 1, "Last Season," masterfully adapts the beginning of We’ll Always Have Summer, making key changes to heighten the drama for television. The immediate time jump and the quick reveal of Jeremiah's cheating accelerate the plot, moving away from the slow-burn romance of the previous seasons and into a more mature, high-stakes emotional thriller. The show is now firmly rooted in the "Belly must choose" phase, but the choice is complicated by real-world issues like college stress, financial strain, and deep-seated betrayal.

Key entities and themes established in the premiere:

• The Cheating Scandal: This is the unresolvable issue that makes a future with Jeremiah nearly impossible for Belly, regardless of her current feelings.
• Finch College: The new, claustrophobic setting that ensures Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah are constantly in each other's orbits.
• The Fisher Family Legacy: Conrad's job loss and the ongoing maintenance of the Cousins Beach house (a key entity) serve as reminders of the financial and emotional burdens the brothers inherited from Susannah Fisher (Rachel Blanchard).
• The Infinity Necklace: While not explicitly featured in the first moments, the weight of the necklace and what it symbolizes—Belly's connection to Conrad—is palpable in their brief, charged interactions.

The premiere episode delivered on its promise of a dramatic conclusion. It successfully transitioned the series from a nostalgic teen romance to a complex young adult drama, ensuring that the final 10 episodes will be filled with the emotional turmoil and difficult decisions necessary to bring Belly’s journey to a satisfying, definitive end.

What to Expect After The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 1

With the foundation of betrayal and crisis laid in the first episode, the rest of Season 3 promises to be an intense ride. The official episode release schedule, which continued weekly after the two-episode premiere, suggests a slow, deliberate unraveling of the main storyline.

The focus will now shift to Belly’s emotional recovery and her ultimate decision. Will she forgive Jeremiah and try to rebuild a future on shaky ground? Or will the renewed proximity to Conrad, especially in a time of family crisis following Steven’s accident and Conrad’s job loss, reignite the undeniable spark between them? The events of "Last Season" have made it clear: the summer is over, and the time for tough choices has finally arrived.

Fans should prepare for a season filled with confrontations, emotional breakdowns, and the final resolution of the "Team Conrad" vs. "Team Jeremiah" debate, all leading up to the series finale on September 17, 2025.