By Ashlyn Kinley, Staff Writer
The season finale for The Summer I Turned Pretty has finally aired, and girls on campus have made their feelings known about the ending that Jenny Han has produced. The grand finale of this on-going series has jaw-dropping reactions from people across the Internet. Belly, the main character, has finally made her long-awaited decision between the Fisher brothers; she chooses her life in Paris, and then eventually allows herself to fall for her first love and chooses Conrad “over her own free will.” Conrad travels to Paris to reconnect and readmit his infinite love for her, and they share moments together that have girls experiencing “on the floor” reactions. One of these girls was Charlotte Wood, who has been a die-hard fan of the show for years now.
“Not to sound dramatic, but the first time I watched the finale, I was physically on the floor multiple times throughout the series, and specifically in season three; we’ve waited so long for Belly and Conrad to be together,” Wood said. However, she was not surprised by the ending, because she knew that it would all tie together in the end and Belly would end up with her true love.
“I feel like it was pretty clear throughout the whole series that was going to be the ending,” Wood said. “I just wasn’t sure how that was gonna happen, and I loved the way that Jenny Han wrapped up every character in the series’ finale.” Wood finds the slow drag of Belly trying to “find herself” in Paris a really positive concept that the producer put together, even though it had the viewers yearning and waiting for several episodes. Wood had a watch party for the finale, and she even bought themed snacks to celebrate the season being over.
Other girls on campus stayed up until two o‘clock in the morning to wait for the show to be released, and watched the episode until the late-hours of the night, debriefing the episode and all of the parallels that Jenny Han has included in this series. There is no doubt that this series has brought friendships closer, and provided a way for college girls to create lifelong memories of obsessing over the teenage boys on a screen. As silly and fun as it may seem, The Summer I Turned Pretty has given Ouachita a small aspect of community, and the season finale has brought physical dramatic reactions that girls share, providing an element for late-night memories and experiences in dorms, apartments, and even classrooms.
