The latest chapter of The Summer I Turned Pretty doesn’t just tug at the heartstrings; it wraps them around its fingers and gives a good, deliberate pull. Episode 6 is a careful mix of romance, nostalgia, and emotional turbulence, placing Belly squarely in the middle of a storm she might not be ready to weather.
We open with Belly and Jeremiah sharing a quiet morning at Adam’s place. The domestic calm doesn’t last long. Adam makes it clear he’s less than thrilled about Belly’s extended stay, dropping subtle complaints about her hair in the drain and her experiments with his coffee maker, his suggestion that she head back to Cousins Beach is met with Jeremiah’s relieved expression, hinting that even he’s ready to move forward. They decide to start looking for an apartment near Finch, their planned home after the wedding.
The apartment hunt quickly becomes a test of patience. Their first stop looks promising, with bright countertops, fresh paint, and even a washer-dryer, until Jeremiah’s admission of credit card debt dampens the mood. Belly is caught off guard by this revelation, especially since the debt comes from an impulsive Bruins ticket purchase. The landlord doesn’t seem impressed by their finances or student status, and the next few showings are worse. One has an unidentified animal darting through the shadows, another reeks so strongly of cat urine that Belly refuses to step inside. She’s determined not to settle for a place that feels wrong, while Jeremiah is anxious to cut the search short for a meeting with his father; their differing priorities leave a faint crack in their united front.
Conrad is alone at the beach house, his solitude thick in the air. When Belly returns from her frustrating day, their interaction is stilted. He offers leftover chicken from the fridge; she politely declines. It’s a small moment but carries the weight of everything unsaid between them.
The next day, Belly tours the wedding venue with Paige, the event coordinator. What was supposed to be an intimate celebration has ballooned into something grand and impersonal, with multiple bartenders instead of a simple keg, over a hundred RSVPs for people she doesn’t even know, and a plated lobster entrée replacing her dream of casual lobster rolls. The whole thing feels like it belongs to someone else. Overwhelmed, she calls Jeremiah to voice her doubts. While he assures her that the scale doesn’t matter as long as they love each other, there’s still a note of unease lingering in her voice.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Steven is navigating the complicated waters of his own. Working alongside Taylor, his ex, and Denise, who seems to share a subtle spark with him, he tries to maintain balance. It’s revealed he’s agreed to be Jeremiah’s best man, a detail he’s deliberately kept from their mother, Laurel, who remains sceptical of the wedding.
Conrad takes matters into his own hands, meeting Laurel at a diner in a bid to persuade her to attend her daughter’s big day. She’s hesitant, but he clearly shows Belly struggling without her, barely eating, drowning in wedding plans. Laurel asks Conrad a pointed question: when does he get to be happy? His answer sidesteps the heart of the matter, saying he’ll be fine once the wedding is behind him and he’s back at Stanford.
Later, suit shopping with Adam brings another disclosure. Adam casually shares that he’s dating Kaye, the woman helping coordinate the wedding. The news unsettles Conrad, and the reason becomes clear when he tells Steven that Kaye once had an affair with Adam while still married to their mother. It’s yet another fracture in an already fragile family dynamic.
The emotional centrepiece of the episode arrives with Belly’s bridal shower, hosted by Taylor. Laughter fills the room as games begin, including a trivia challenge about Jeremiah. Belly aces every question until one about Jeremiah’s first pet - a dog named Rosie. Belly insists Jeremiah found Rosie on the beach, but Steven corrects her: it was Conrad. The exchange is brushed off in the moment, but it sticks in Belly’s mind.
The celebration takes a poignant turn when Laurel appears unexpectedly. Mother and daughter embrace, their reunion filled with tears and unspoken relief. The gesture makes it clear that Conrad’s visit to Laurel had an impact. Later, when Belly receives a gift of monogrammed stationery bearing “Isabelle Fisher,” she hesitates. She admits she assumed she’d keep her last name, much like her mother, underscoring her desire to hold on to her identity.
Laurel gifts her airline vouchers for a honeymoon trip, noting that while Paris is no longer in the cards, she still wants Belly to explore the world. Belly chooses to stay at her mother’s house that night, a small but meaningful sign of healing in their relationship.
The quiet after the shower is shattered by a scene that will no doubt fuel endless fan debates. Belly finds Conrad at the beach house, bleeding from a cut sustained while surfing. She insists on tending to the injury, the proximity between them charged with emotion. As Taylor Swift’s “False God” highlights the scene, there’s a moment where their eyes lock, and a kiss feels inevitable until Conrad breaks it, asking her to help him up so he can rest.
Later, Jeremiah calls to correct the Rosie story. It was indeed Conrad who found the dog, not him. Belly’s internal voice reveals how deeply this rattles her. She’s always prided herself on knowing Jeremiah completely, yet she got this simple fact wrong. The mistake feels symbolic, stirring questions about where her heart truly lies.
The episode closes with Belly reflecting on the moment with Conrad. Unlike a past incident with peaches, she knows this time the choice and the feelings were entirely her own. Her troubled expression says it all: the certainty she once had about marrying Jeremiah is slipping.
Subplots weave in and out of the main story - Steven and Denise’s possible secret business venture, Adam’s attempts to involve Jeremiah in golf and the family business, and Taylor and Steven managing post-breakup awkwardness. The editing smartly contrasts characters: Belly reconciling with her mother while Conrad faces uncomfortable truths about his father; Jeremiah’s rush to please Adam juxtaposed with Belly’s refusal to compromise on their future home.
Small moments, like Belly keeping her last name, the disastrous apartment tours, and the misremembered Rosie story, carry large meaning. Each detail reflects bigger questions about love, identity, and the difference between choosing stability and following your heart. By the final shot, one thing I can say is that this wedding is less a certainty than a ticking clock.
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