‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 2 Ending Explained: Does Belly Choose Conrad or Jeremiah?

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 finale aired on Prime Video Thursday, August 17, bringing tears, screams, cheers, and a roller coaster of emotions — from stomach-churning anger to joyous relief. And that’s just what went down on my couch!

On screen, in an episode aptly titled “Love Triangle,” Belly finally chose between her dearly beloved Fisher boys — though I hesitate to say “once and for all,” because this girl is one of TV’s most indecisive characters (she could never work for Decider.com) and as TSITP fans know, there’s a third book in Jenny Han’s bestselling series, plus a third season on the way that could change everything.

For now, though, Belly’s made her choice, which means one Fisher boy was left sulking while the other was co-starring in an epic kiss scene set to Beyoncé. That’s right, people! We got two more Taylor Swift needle drops in the finale, but let the record show that Queen Bey herself accompanied Season 2’s big kiss, which some (me) might argue solidifies TSITP‘s superior ship! But more on that in a bit.

So who did Belly choose at the end of Season 2? Does Jeremiah finally give her a second chance? Or does Conrad successfully reignite their flame? And how do we leave Taylor, Steven, Laurel, and the Cousins beach house? Decider’s ending explained has all the finale answers you crave, plus a detailed recap of TSITP Season 2, Episode 8, “Love Triangle.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 Ending Explained: Does Belly End Up With Conrad or Jeremiah?

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 finale kicks off withs a different viewpoint of the penultimate episode’s end. A cheery Conrad floats through campus after crushing his final exam and securing his spot at Stanford. He calls Steven to say “Plan Belly” is a go, but before he gets a chance to shoot his shot (a callback to the famous Shoot Your Shot! boardwalk game that even Team Jer can’t deny is cute as hell), he finds Belly and Jer in the middle of their steamy car make-out sesh, his stomach drops, and he clears his throat to get their attention.

“Please don’t stop. I’m clearly the one who was interrupting you,” he says before rushing off. Jeremiah quickly asses the situation, begs Belly (who’s still wearing Conrad’s Brown sweatshirt) to go after him, and we witness the first of many mortifying displays of immaturity. Conrad accuses Belly of kissing Jer to get his attention, but after she assures him her feelings for his brother are genuine, he says he no longer wants her and storms off again. Belly and a newly self-conscious Jer wait by the car, assuming Conrad will have to return eventually, and he does — after he finds Belly’s infinity necklace in his dorm room.

In an unexpected twist, Conrad is Mr. Perfectly Fine back at the car. But his performative indifference towards Belly and Jer’s budding romance quickly fades on the drive home, and it’s replaced by a selfish, petty, immature, deeply toxic display of jealousy that earned him a spot on my Most Punchable TV Characters list. As Jer and Belly strive to keep their cool in the front, the backseat brother taunts, interrogates, and shames them, all while flexing his Belly knowledge in an effort to get inside their heads and prove he’s her better match. (While I’m not Team Conrad in these scenes, I AM Team Christopher Briney, because he’s so darn good at being bad.)

Meanwhile, Steven and Laurel are driving back from Cousins talking all things Princeton, Taylor, and Cleveland. In the car, Steven encourages his mom to go to a literary meet-up in Brooklyn to step outside of her comfort zone. And the next time we see him, he’s stepping out of his own comfort zone, showing up to a restaurant with roses for a date with Taylor, only to find she invited three of her friends and Milo wrote an entire diss album of songs about him. (Drop all the tracks, Jenny Han!) When the two finally get some alone time, their Cousins Honeymoon Phase ends and they immediately start fighting over…Conrad and Jer, of course! With Steven on Team Conrad and Taylor on Team Jer, the date ends with her walking out in a huff and Team Staylor (?) shaking. But things with Belly and the boys — who are stuck in traffic during a major storm — aren’t going any smoother.

After pulling into a rest stop, the brothers have a brutal snack showdown in a convenience store, where Jer picks up Swedish Fish and Conrad goes for Sour Patch Kids, because he knows Belly likes sour. “Why are you acting like this?” Jer asks him. “Relax, you big fucking baby. I’m just messing with you,” Conrad says. Jer reminds Conrad he never stopped liking Belly, he just backed down because he wanted everyone else to be happy. But now that Conrad and her are over and she’s showing interest in Jer, he’s UNDERSTANDABLY trying to shoot his own shot again. When the two return to the car and Belly grabs the Sour Patch Kids, she and Conrad quickly clock Jer’s disappointment. With roads closed, the three head to a nearby motel (which predictably has one room left), and Conrad hangs back, giving Jer and Belly a much-needed moment alone. Belly assures Jer nothing has changed for her, but he says his brother is still in love with her. “You two need to have a real conversation, and if you still feel the same way about me after, then I’m yours,” he says before finding Conrad and telling him the same.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re acting like a dick so no one can see how badly you’re hurting,” Jer tells him. “She deserves to know how you feel…If she picks you then I’ll let her go. If it was anyone else in the world, I’d fight like hell. But if you’re what she needs, then I wont get in the way again. I just want her to be happy. I want you to be happy too.” Hear that, folks? That’s maturity and growth straight from the mouth of Jeremiah Fisher.

The three meet back in the room, which of course has one bed, and the brothers take spots on the floor on opposite side of Belly. She spends a portion of the night tossing and turning, giving us visual symbolism of her turning from brother to brother. And finally, Conrad whispers his feelings, saying, “Belly…I didn’t mean it, what I said earlier. I din’t mean it. I still want you. Of course I do. You don’t have to say anything. Not right now. I just wanted you to know that.” A light shines on him and Belly, leaving Jer in the dark and igniting memories of, “For Belly, Conrad is the sun. And when the sun comes out, the stars disappear.” Belly flashes back to a final visit with Susannah, where she found her writing letters to Conrad and Jer. (Sidenote: The letter are accidentally switched before they’re put in the envelopes, so that’s likely a Season 3 storyline.) Susannah tells Belly not to be mad at Conrad after their breakup because he’s having a hard time with her sickness. She asks her to look after him, then Jeremiah walks in for a moment, sees Belly, and flees. “You’ll come back together. I promise,” Susannah tells Belly. “All of you.”

In the morning, Belly runs outside to find Jeremiah. She’s afraid he left for good, but he just went to get breakfast. When she sees him, she tells him he was right…Conrad still loves her. “Just know it wont be a repeat of last summer. I want you to be happy. You and I are good. We’ll always be good,” he selflessly says, assuming Conrad changed her mind. Instead of professing her love of his brother, she looks him in the eyes, asks “What am I thinking?” Then, the two share a world-altering kiss to Beyoncé’s “XO.” SWOON!

Back in the room, Belly and Conrad clear the air. He claims he doesn’t want to get between her and Jer anymore and returns the infamous infinity necklace, noting that their break doesn’t feel like the last time. As Taylor Swift’s “exhile” plays, a Belly voiceover explains, “I can’t even be mad at him, because this is who he is who he’s always been. He gives and then he takes away. So I release you, Conrad Fisher. I evict you from my heart.” The three plan to meet in Cousins for Susannah’s favorite holiday, Fourth Of July. And Conrad leave the motel room strong, only to round the corner outside and fall to the floor in defeat.

Outside of the Belly bubble, Laurel goes to her writer meetup and and finally opens up about Susannah. And Taylor and Steven make up, sharing a steamy car kiss of their own. Steven takes Taylor to volleyball camp, where Jer and Belly arrive shortly after. Belly apologizes again to her team and coach, taking responsibility for her actions and asking for a second chance to make things right, just as she did with Jeremiah. She gets the green light to join, and Jer takes a seat in the bleachers to cheer her on. 

“When I used to picture forever, it was always with one boy,” Belly says in a voiceover as we cut to Conrad in Cousins painting over graffiti and unpacking her room (specifically Junior Mint and her glass unicorn. GASP!) “In my dreams, my future was set — a sure thing. This isn’t the way I pictured it,” she continues as the camera focuses on Jer. “The future is unclear, but it’s still mine,” she said as she spiked the volleyball over the net and the screen faded to black. We’ll have to wait until Season 3.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is now streaming on Prime Video.