“The Summer I Turned Pretty” actress Lola Tung supports the full circle ending of Season 2 for her character Isabel “Belly” Conklin.
Belly has navigated an emotional rollercoaster — from grieving Susannah and feeling isolated from the boys to confronting Conrad after two fallouts with him and then kissing Jeremiah — to reach the final scene of Season 2. Her now boyfriend, Jeremiah, supports her from the bleachers as she makes her case to her high school volleyball coach to let her back on the team. Once her coach accepts, Belly gets fired up playing the sport she loves surrounded by some of her biggest cheerleaders — including her best friend Taylor (Rain Spencer) in addition to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
“It’s really cool because the first time we see Belly in the present, besides the beginning flashback in episode one, she’s by herself. She’s at school in her own world. And the last time we see her, she’s again, in her world, separate from Cousins, she’s with her friends from her school,” Tung told TheWrap in an interview that took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “Her last voiceover line [‘The future is unclear, but it’s still mine’] has nothing to do specifically with the boys, and I think so much of the season was each individual character trying to figure out their own path that is uniquely theirs.”
Tung acknowledged the importance of the different relationships throughout the show, but she emphasized Belly’s last line and as important context for her character’s independent journey.
“Obviously, [the show]’s about the relationships as well, but also that individual growth and journey. I think it’s really awesome to see that for Belly and to see her ending in the scene where she’s doing something that she loves and she’s really good at with all of her close friends, and Jeremiah is there supporting her,” Tung added. “She’s able to move forward from everything that’s happened and get herself out of that grief that was weighing her down, which is such a big part of the season. It was so special to get to end it that way.”
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has been renewed for a third season, which will likely follow the events of Jenny Han’s third book in the trilogy, “We’ll Always Have Summer.”
All episodes of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” are now streaming on Prime Video.