<i>The Summer I Turned Pretty</i> Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: How Conrad Sees Belly

Spoilers below.

Last week, The Summer I Turned Pretty teased Conrad’s POV with a little voice over in which he asks, “What have I done?” as he tells Belly he will be Jeremiah’s co-best man at their wedding. Season 3, episode 5 brings us back to that moment in Conrad’s head, showing viewers exactly how he sees Belly. In his eyes, she’s bathed in idyllic light while Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” plays soulfully in the background. Yes, Conrad is suffering in Belly’s proximity. To avoid getting too close to her as they share the Cousins beach house, he’s staying up on the roof and hammering away at loose shingles (while peeping on her by the pool).

Conrad’s attempts at home improvement and celibacy are interrupted when his dad, Adam, calls to discuss the wedding. Conrad plays defense, lying that he and Jere haven’t discussed it. In more V.O., Conrad considers his dad issues. Adam was once someone he looked up to, but the way he treated Susannah (and cheated on her!) has made him a fallen hero. Conrad obviously doesn’t want to be an Adam 2.0 and resolves to avoid Belly as much as possible before the wedding.

In Boston, Taylor is picking up Jere for a trip to Cousins for 4th of July weekend, but he has to stay a bit later than expected to impress his dad. He teases her about Steven, who is heading to New York for the holiday. Jeremiah asks how Belly is doing from her best friend’s perspective. Taylor tries to be diplomatic, but she clearly thinks Belly has a lot to handle. And then, Steven pops up—with seemingly the only female intern, Denise, who wisely keeps it moving. Taylor and Steven get left alone to chat awkwardly and she thanks him for help with her mom. He guesses accurately that she used her New York money to save Lucinda’s salon. They bid adieu with flirty smiles as Taylor gets a call from her mother.

Unfortunately, Lucinda was calling because the salon’s inspection got moved up and now Taylor has to go help her and skip Cousins. Taylor calls Belly and promises to make the engagement party a blast. And Steven said he’d come, which is a big win for both girls.

As Belly finds some Pop Tarts in the cupboard for breakfast, she and Conrad finally end up in the same room at the same time. More awkward conversation from former lovers ensues. Belly finally asks when Conrad is going back to California. He doesn’t give a straight answer, but tells her to eat whatever he buys. What’s his is hers.

At the office, Jeremiah waits for his dad to leave so he can catch the train. Unable to stay out of mischief, Jere picks up on a vibe between Denise and Steven. But Steven is not noting their obvious chemistry because his mind is on someone else: Taylor. Adam pops in to ask the interns to look at the financials for a huge project and Jeremiah volunteers, delaying his return to Cousins. After several hours going over spreadsheets, Jeremiah admits to Adam that the numbers aren’t adding up.

In Cousins, Belly sets off to do wedding errands on her bike after Conrad refuses to give her a ride, trying to stick to his promise to avoid her. His V.O. considers how usual it is that when Belly has a problem, he rushes to fix it. He remembers a day from when they were kids when he lent her his bike so she could keep up with the boys. He decides to go after his childhood friend and try to help her after all.

Belly visits a bakery and describes Jeremiah’s dream wedding cake to the baker who says a dark chocolate mirror-glaze treat will come out to $750. Jeremiah isn’t available to talk budget, so she downgrades their dream to cupcakes.

Conrad finds Belly on the street laden with packages and picks her up. The atmosphere is tense as they discuss plans, leading to more childhood memories around Conrad’s precious stamp collection. He admits he was a “geek.” The joking weakens Conrad and he agrees to go with her to the flower shop, extending his time by her side.

Having learned from her bakery experience, Belly tries to hide the fact that she needs flowers for a wedding, but Conrad blows her cover. It turns out there’s a $5,000 minimum spend for weddings. Conrad suggests they use Susannah’s hydrangeas instead, but Belly is still bummed. Conrad tries to cheer her up more as she samples cupcakes in the car, suggesting cake adjustments to bring down spending. Jeremiah calls to say that he won’t be there until very late, which means he and Belly will miss a big sale on wedding decor at Michael’s.

Jere shows badly on the call, complaining about not getting the exact cake he wants, being a snob about cacao and coulis, and telling Belly he’ll put it on a credit card. Then he hangs up. Once again, Conrad tries to support his brother and says he’s sure it’s “killing Jere not to be here.”

Belly gets emotional, saying she is stuck in Cousins making decisions about stuff she doesn’t care about and can’t afford. What matters to her is making a commitment in front of people they love, even though many of them won’t be there (like their moms). Conrad caves again and takes her to Michael’s.

“I’m so fucked,” Conrad thinks.

Jeremiah, however, is doing well with his dad, who is impressed that he noted the issues with the new project. Adam says he’s proud of how Jeremiah’s been changing and says he supports the wedding, even offering to host it at the country club and pay for everything. Jeremiah seems to understand Belly wants to marry at Cousins, but he can’t say no to his dad.

On the drive to the craft store, Conrad asks Belly about how she’s studying for the GRE and they chat about her interest in sports psychology. She talks about her knee injury that took her out of volleyball and how discussing it with a psychologist helped her recover. Conrad opens up and says he has been speaking with a therapist to help with his panic attacks. Belly is impressed that he’s “all grown up” and has figured out his life in California. He praises her, too, even her driving.

Meanwhile, Steven has escaped work for the long weekend and runs into Denise on the train to New York. They bond over playing video games, including one of Steven’s own design. They’re also both going to the same gaming conference. Steven admits he wants to leave his internship after his brush with death, to do something more meaningful to him. Denise relates, saying she’s worked so hard to get where she is and it’s still not enough. These two have a lot in common, including a shared cab to the Javits Center. Will Steven finally get over Taylor through a train romance?

At Michael’s, Conrad thinks about how being in the craft aisle makes him feel like he’s the one marrying Belly. He takes an unusual interest in fake flowers and convinces Belly to go look at fabric decorations, trying to keep things platonic. But Belly keeps looking gorgeous and pulling on his heartstrings. On the ride home, Conrad considers how hard it has been to stay strong in front of Belly his whole life, before suddenly admitting to her that he got fired the day of Steven’s accident.

“You know nobody’s perfect, right?” Belly asks him. “Not even you.”

Conrad says he does know that, but maybe he’s just not cut out to be a doctor. Belly tells him to “knuckle up and stop being such a little bitch.” She gives him a pep talk about how making mistakes is part of being alive and he doesn’t have to be the hero all the time. He’s right where he needs to be. Conrad promises to talk to his therapist about his hero complex.

They discuss California and Belly says she’s never been so far away from home, thinking of her Paris study abroad plans that she has canceled for Jere. The perfect summer day then ends at the farmer’s stand, where they buy some fresh peaches. Conrad watches Belly sensually eat a peach. He wipes the peach juice off her chin with his shirt, which is not platonic behavior, and she quickly brings up Jere.

Conrad promises himself he won’t blow it as they arrive back at the house, thinking he should go to bed. But once again, he chooses to be close to Belly and cooks dinner. Grilled chicken and fries. Then the white wine comes out. Uh oh.

Conrad goes on a wine day dream to four years ago, when he was staying at Belly’s house when they were still together. Belly’s mom, Laurel, had sent him to the guest room, of course, but she snuck in to cuddle with him. At the time, Susannah was getting sicker and their prom was ahead. Conrad couldn’t talk to his girlfriend about how his mom’s health was deteriorating. But he could make out with her.

With thoughts of their love making on his mind, Conrad returns to the present in agony, wondering how things might have been different if they had stayed together all these years. Jeremiah arrives, disrupting the moment. He reveals the news that Adam is in for the wedding, to Belly’s delight. Conrad has to leave the room as they get handsy with each other. As he says in his V.O., he’d “rather have someone shoot me in the head with a nail gun repeatedly” then watch them be together.

Jere and Belly watch the fireworks outside and Jeremiah explains Adam is paying for everything, too. Belly feels strange about that, saying she thought they were gonna do the wedding on their own. She gets more upset when she finds out it will be at the club and that Adam wants to invite business associates to fill the room. Jere guilts her into it by saying he was happy that it felt like his dad was “trying” with him. Belly also thinks Susannah would have liked it. Plus, Adam’s secretary Kayleigh will do the planning so she can focus on GREs and visit him more—away from Conrad. (Belly looks uncomfortable at the sound of Kayleigh’s name—this is the woman Adam cheated on Susannah with.)

She has also conceded to Jere’s desire for a first dance song and they groove out together on the dock. Conrad watches them from his bedroom window, berating himself for messing up and luxuriating in a day alone with Belly. He then remembers a promise he made to his mom on her deathbed.

In a flashback, Susannah talks to Conrad about how beautiful he is to her and how much she loves him. She also says she trusts him to take care of Jeremiah when she’s gone and be a great big brother. Conrad promises to always look out for Jere, which he is now clearly interpreting as “don’t steal his bride.”

It turns out Conrad left for California to keep his promise to his mother, holding Belly at a distance. He decides that no matter what could have happened between them, this is how it’s meant to be: Conrad alone in his room, Jeremiah and Belly dancing under the fireworks.