Episode 9 of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 begins with quiet devastation. The cancelled wedding between Belly and Jeremiah looms over everything, and the show wastes no time setting the mood. Instead of starting with shouting or chaos, the episode opens in silence. Empty chairs, neatly folded linens, and the untouched beach sit frozen in place as if nothing happened, even though everything has changed for the characters. It’s a haunting reminder that while the world moves forward, Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad are stuck in the wreckage of broken promises.
Belly in Paris
The focus first shifts to Belly, reeling from the collapse of her engagement, she makes a decision to leave. She escapes across the ocean to Paris, hoping a study abroad program will give her the reset she desperately needs. But almost immediately, that dream is shattered. When she arrives, she learns that her spot in the program has been given away due to a clerical error. What was supposed to be a fresh start is gone in a moment.
Defeated, Belly calls her mom, Laurel; Belly fears everyone back home must hate her for how things ended, but Laurel comforts her, insisting that isn’t true. Laurel’s words provide the small lifeline Belly needs, reminding her she’s still a daughter trying to figure things out in the middle of heartbreak.
Just as Belly tries to regain her footing, things go down again. While sitting in a café, her backpack is stolen. Inside is more than just her passport and wallet; it’s Jeremiah’s engagement ring, the last physical reminder of the relationship that fell apart. Determined to get it back, she tracks the bag using an AirTag. The chase leads her into a crowded Parisian nightclub, and the scene quickly takes on a symbolic weight. Belly isn’t just chasing a stolen bag; she’s chasing her past, clinging to something she knows she can’t truly reclaim.
When she recovers the backpack, the ring is still there, but its meaning is gone. She holds it but doesn’t put it back on, a detail that speaks volumes about her state of mind. The ring is now just an object, no longer a promise.
Inside the club, Belly meets Gemma, a confident expat who helps her recover the bag. Gemma quickly becomes more than just a stranger; she’s a glimpse of who Belly could be. Independent, secure, and living life outside the shadow of Cousins Beach, Gemma offers Belly a different model of adulthood. For a moment, Belly considers flying home, but she changes her mind. Instead, she chooses to stay in Paris. It’s a small decision on the surface, but it marks her first act of independence. For the first time, Belly is defining herself not as someone’s girlfriend or fiancée, but simply as herself.
Jeremiah’s Breakdown
Back in Cousins, Jeremiah is falling apart. He isolates himself in the summer house, drinking too much and lashing out at the people who care about him. Steven tries to reach him, but Jeremiah pushes him away. Even Laurel can’t get through. His grief doesn’t just come out in anger, it also shows up in the quieter moments. The drinks he doesn’t finish, the vibrating phone he refuses to answer, the hollow look on his face when no one’s watching.
In a rare moment of vulnerability with Taylor, Jeremiah admits that ending the engagement was the biggest mistake of his life. He confesses that Belly was his everything and doesn’t know how to move forward without her. For a brief second, it looks like he might still hold out hope.
That hope shatters when Belly calls him from Paris. At first, Jeremiah is desperate, asking her to come home, but his tone changes when Belly tells him she needs more time for herself. His desperation turns to anger, and he cuts her off with a harsh dismissal: “Don’t bother calling me again.” With that, their relationship truly ends not in a dramatic explosion, but in a cold, final shutdown.
His anger doesn’t stop with Belly; when Conrad shows up to check on him, Jeremiah unleashes years of buried resentment. On the porch of the summer house, he tells Conrad that Belly didn’t choose either of them. His words are sharp and cruel, designed to wound. Then he takes it further, telling Conrad to leave Cousins for good. For Jeremiah, burning bridges feels easier than facing his pain, but in the process, he risks destroying the last pieces of family he has left.
Conrad’s Quiet Strength
While Jeremiah coils, Conrad shows a different kind of coping. When he first hears that the wedding has been called off, he doesn’t react with smugness or satisfaction. Instead, he feels fragile hope and concern for his brother. That’s why he comes back to the summer house, to look after Jeremiah.
But every attempt at kindness is met with hostility. Still, Conrad doesn’t lash back. Instead, he responds with quiet gestures. He leaves a Gatorade for Jeremiah, a simple act of care, even though it’s immediately rejected.
Unable to speak his feelings aloud, Conrad turns to writing. He begins pouring everything into letters—apologies, memories, and confessions he has carried for too long. The act of writing is his salvation. Whether Belly ever sees the letters or not, Conrad has finally chosen honesty. He is no longer hiding in silence.
The Collapsed Triangle
By the end of the episode, it’s evident that the so-called love triangle no longer exists in its original form. Belly is learning to choose herself instead of defining her worth through Jeremiah or Conrad. Jeremiah is consumed by anger, realizing too late that rage only deepens his wounds. Conrad is quietly growing, discovering that love doesn’t mean possession but truth.
The geometry has collapsed, leaving three people on three separate journeys. The triangle has become three lines moving in different directions, each carrying the weight of heartbreak, responsibility, and the slow process of healing.
Read more: The Summer I Turned Pretty
