Jenny Han unpacks The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2, episodes 1-3 revelations

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty, season 2, episodes 1-3.

Much like how the sunny days of summer eventually turn into the frigid chill of winter, Belly's (Lola Tung) romantic happy ending in The Summer I Turned Pretty's first season doesn't last forever.

When season 2 begins (the first three episodes are now streaming on Amazon), fans are thrown into the deep end immediately as Belly's narration reveals that not only is she not in Cousins, but she and Conrad (Christopher Briney) are no longer together, and Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) has died. Yeah, talk about a brutal reality check! From there, the premiere flashes back to the morning after Belly and Conrad's first kiss, as Belly immediately confesses to Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) what happened with his older brother. Jeremiah's crushed since he thought he and Belly were going to get together, so Belly decides to hit pause on her relationship with Conrad so the brothers can be there for each other while Susannah goes through her treatment.

Erika Doss/Prime Video Christopher Briney as Conrad, Lola Tung as Belly

Of course, Belly and Conrad can't stay away from each other, despite their intentions. From long phone conversations to him surprising her at her house, they just can't "hit pause" on their feelings. They take a secret trip to Cousins in the winter and spend the night alone in the beach house together, taking their relationship to the next level. But things cool off as Susannah's health gets worse and Conrad pushes Belly away, ultimately breaking up with her at her prom. At Susannah's funeral, Belly walks in on Conrad with his head in another girl's lap, causing Belly to get into a loud, emotional fight with him in front of everyone.

In the present, we learn how Belly's grief over Susannah has had a negative impact on all aspects of her life — her grades are suffering, she lost her volleyball co-captaincy, and her relationships with her mother (Jackie Chung) and brother (Sean Kaufman) are more strained than ever. After a particularly rough night, she calls Jeremiah and discovers that Conrad's gone missing, so the two embark on a road trip to find him, giving Belly the chance to finally apologize for not being there for him after Susannah's death. Eventually, they find Conrad at the beach house, and he reveals their aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) has put their beloved house up for sale.

Below, author/creator Jenny Han breaks down all the pivotal moments from first three episodes of season 2.

Erika Doss/Prime Video Lola Tung as Belly, Christopher Briney as Conrad

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The first three episodes have so many iconic moments from the book when it comes to Belly and Conrad's relationship, like the cocoa scene, their breakup at prom, and their fight at Susannah's funeral. What was your favorite to bring to life?

JENNY HAN: Wow, there's so many. I loved being able to show the world of Belly's home life, because I think getting a glimpse into what her life is outside of Cousins was really important into understanding who Belly is. Within that, we get to see the run of phone calls between her and Conrad when she's back at home, and that's something I felt the fans were really going to enjoy. And then of course, the cocoa scene, which I knew was really important for the fans as well.

When we previously spoke about the cocoa scene, you teased a big musical moment at the end that turned out to be Taylor Swift's "Invisible String." Why did you choose that song as the backdrop for that pivotal moment in Belly's life, as she takes a major step forward in her relationship with Conrad?

The moment is so joyful and almost childlike in the way that they make that run onto the beach. I know that the fans were expecting "Snow on the Beach" for that moment. But "Invisible String," there's something about that song in that moment. There's a lightness to it. At the same time, if you really listen to those words, it just fits because we're going back and forth in the present and the past, and it fits in both timelines. There's something about the lyrics of, "Time, mystical time, cutting me open then healing me fine / Were there clues I didn't see?" about looking back on that moment. It's a really wonderful memory.

But then also when you look back on it, you sort of second guess yourself too, and wonder, "What was I missing in that moment too?" There's something sad in it as well, because as she's coming out of it and she's in the present, she's feeling very far away from him, and also thinking so much about Susannah and grief as well, because I think that so much of it is that she had that perfect summer, and it did give her those blues and purple pink skies. But then it also gave her incredible sadness and pain as well.

I always aim to surprise and delight. I don't think people were expecting "August" to be the teaser song either. I think people were hoping for "Back to December," and then they were surprised by "August." So I think people will probably be surprised that the song is "Invisible String," but that's just how I saw it in the moment.

Erika Doss/Prime Video Lola Tung as Belly, Gavin Casalegno as Jeremiah

Season 1 star Minnie Mills recently announced on her Instagram that she wasn't returning as Shayla in season 2, but the character is mentioned a few times in the first three episodes. Why didn't you bring her back this season?

There was one episode that we were trying to get her for, but it didn't work out, which is unfortunate because we would've loved to have given a proper send-off to Steven and Shayla's relationship. There are a lot of characters from season 1 that we really wish we could have seen more of this season, but the challenge of season 2 is the tight timeline, which is just over a week. The other challenge is the really narrow focus of the book storyline — it's a story that's about Belly's grief and her journey to forgiving herself, and every other story in the show has to radiate out from that. Grief can make people turn inward and really look at the people that are nearest and dearest to them, people that have been there all along, and this season is going to reflect that.

Did the passionate fan response to Minnie's announcement surprise you?

Shayla has been a really special and lovely character. For me, as the creator of a character, it's always really wonderful to see any of the characters being so warmly embraced. So no, if anything, it's really an honor for fans to care about the characters so deeply.

We learn in the premiere that not only are Steven and Shayla broken up, but so are Conrad and Belly, and Laurel and Cleveland. Why did you want to start off this season with all three couples no longer together?

None of the three relationships from season 1 have lasted. Season 1 is about the dream and the fantasy of summer love, and then season 2 is learning that nothing lasts forever, not summer romance and sadly not life either. It's a really hard lesson, and it's where Belly and all of our characters are having to grow up. I really tried to hit to the themes of season 2 in the teaser — if you listen to the lyrics of "August," it's, "So much for summer love and saying 'us' because you weren't mine to lose." Last summer and last season, it really was a moment in time, and the lesson there is that life is not always going to be that beautiful, but that's what really makes those sweet moments all the sweeter.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 debuts new episodes Fridays on Prime Video.

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