Summary
A return to form for the series, ditching the image obsession and providing some much-needed drama instead. The arrival of the fathers and Belly’s love triangle only adds to the tension.
Things are starting to heat up on The Summer I Turned Pretty, with a scandalous Fourth of July celebration providing all of the drama in a much-improved outing. Belly gets ridiculously drunk and makes multiple, regrettable comments, whilst the arrival of the two fathers only adds to the tensions. This downplaying of shallow looks and upping of the drama is a much-appreciated change of pace.
In Episode 3, Belly opened with a narration about birthdays at the summer house, and in Episode 4, she sets the scene with a monologue about their typical Fourth of July traditions. These include: the dad’s coming up for the weekend, Susannah decking the house with all the trimmings, the boys steaming clams, and of course, the fireworks. This year is different for Belly, though, who felt like a wallflower in the previous festivities; now she has friends and plans. Although this popularity is about to go to Belly’s head and backfire royally.
The arrival of the fathers sparks awkward tension and provides ample drama in “Summer Heat”. John (Belly and Steven’s dad) brings his new girlfriend, Victoria. Obviously, everyone has to comment on how hot she is, but ex-wife Laurel teases John about her youthful appearance instead. She’s 27-years-old, carrying a chirpy, upbeat temperament. Victoria teaches the teens how to make pomegranate margaritas, which leads to Belly’s drunken escapades. Laurel dresses up and wears makeup to impress her ex, although he’s clearly enamored by his hot new girlfriend.
Jeremiah and Conrad’s father, Adam Fisher, is apparently unable to make the celebrations, yet Laurel manages to convince him otherwise. His surprise arrival upsets his wife Susannah, who appears cold and cruel towards him, blatantly ignoring her husband. Conrad is also distant from his dad. There’s clearly something more to this story. Susannah tells Adam that she did not expect him to be visiting, but she doesn’t want him to leave and ruin the day for her boys, either.
Laurel plugs Susannah for answers, and she reveals that Adam cheated on her with his secretary three years ago, whilst she was having chemotherapy. The discussion turns into an argument, with Laurel worried that divorcing Adam at this crucial moment in time would be detrimental. Susannah doesn’t want him to be there when she dies, adding that she can cope fine without him. Laurel believes she would have to support the family instead, and Susannah is short with her oldest friend. Laurel storms off.
This isn’t the only drama of the party; Belly got herself more than a little tipsy, sipping all those margaritas, and accidentally tripped Susannah, whilst she was holding a cake. They both fell, and the cake was squashed, ruining the party. Belly managed to upset all the teens as well when she inadvertently explained to Shayla that Steven had kissed Taylor. This drunk teen really knows how to kill the vibe. The girls leave, and Steven rushes after Shayla, with them agreeing to keep things casual.
Belly brings even more shame upon herself when all the guests depart, and she tracks down Conrad, who is taking a shower. She tells him that his wet hair is romantic and asks about the necklace. Conrad doesn’t respond, but Belly can read between the lines. She leaves, happy in the knowledge that Conrad does care about her. The embarrassment comes later when she reflects on this encounter, although a shared moment by the lake with fireworks evens things out. Conrad and Belly are about to kiss when Jeremiah spies this exchange and fires a firework off in their direction, cancelling the embrace. The chemistry is rife for these two, and I don’t think poor Cam or Jeremiah stand a chance.
A much-improved episode from The Summer I Turned Pretty. The show works a lot better when it eases off on the image obsession and doles out the drama instead. The arrival of the fathers brings this fresh tension, and the Belly love triangle (or is it now a square?) finally starts to heat up.
Read More: The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1, Episode 5 Recap
