Jenny Han is taking a page out of the Taylor Swift playbook for The Summer I Turned Pretty, sprinkling season three with an abundance of easter eggs. But is every little clue fans are picking up on intentional or are we over-analysing?
When we sit down with the author ahead of their Sydney Prime Book Club event, Han reveals it’s both, actually.
“Some things are intentional, some things are not,” Han tells marie claire Australia, “People are picking up a lot of things, and then people are picking up a lot of extra things.”
When we asked if there was anything in particular fans should pay attention to, Han said: “I think the fans are really paying attention to everything so I don’t even have any clues in that direction. People are locked in and looking at every single piece of it, I think I can probably speak more to it when everything’s out.”
The author of the series has previously revealed the show’s ending will differ from that of the book. So what hidden clues were intentional could ver well point to how the show will end.
“I wanted to approach it with fresh eyes and just see what sort of magic happened on screen. I am somebody who is always changing things up,” she told Elite Daily.
“People will be like, ‘Why are you changing that? That was working well!’ But to me, it could always be better.”
So, with that in mind, let’s unpack all the hidden TSITP easter eggs worth noting so far.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 5
Quick recap: Produced by author Jenny Han, episode five truly packed a gut punch for Conrad fans as we finally see the world rom his perspective. The elder Fisher brother finds himself, despite all attempts otherwise, roped into running wedding errands with Belly – a clear show of his unwavering love and desire to put her above all else. We see adorable and heartbreaking flashbacks to Conrad teaching Belly to ride a bike and his finals moments with Susannah as well as a heated moment with some peaches, all of which gave us an insight into his true feelings for Belly. And wow, did it hit right in the heart.
The Last Dance
While much of episode five was focused on Belly and Conrad galivanting around Cousin’s together, all Bonrad/Conny fantasies came to a crashing halt when Jeremiah finally made it out to the beach house. As the episode ends we see them discuss the wedding, specifically their first dance which Belly concedes (again) to Jere’s wishes, agreeing to the song ‘You Never Can Tell’ before getting up and dancing on the dock. It may seem as though all is relatively well between the couple, but fans think the name of the episode ‘The Last Dance’ may hint it’s quite literally Belly and Jere’s last dance before their ultimate relationship demise.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 4
Quick recap: It’s Belly’s 21st birthday, but any celebration is overshadowed by tension with Laurel about her impending nuptials to Jere. Depsite their best efforts to win Laurel over, she can’t be swayed. In fact, the conversation ends in disaster and leads to Belly moving out and into the house at Cousins where Conrad is currently residing.
Adam’s Assistant, Kayleigh
Kayleigh, Adam’s assistant who he cheated on Susannah with makes an appearance and is still working at the firm. It’s clear by Kayleigh and Jere’s interactions that the youngest Fisher is oblivious to the past deceit. Whether the choice to include Kayleigh in a larger role in the show will play out further in future episodes, remains to be seen.
The Red & Blue Colour Symbolism
The red v blue colour symbolism has been a huge point of conversation amongst fans this season. Taylor Swift’s song “Red” was used in the trailer for season three, and ever since fans have been pointing out interesting outfit choices by Belly when she’s around each brother – often wearing blue around Jeremiah and red around Conrad.
For context, the lyrics read “Losing him was blue, like I’d never known,” and “but loving him was red.”
In episode four we see the symbolism switch, while the brothers are out surfing with Conrad on a blue board and Jeremiah on a red – does it signify where they both stand currently, Connie having lost Belly and Jere with her?
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 3
Quick recap: In the third episode of the season, we see Steven is back home and recovering after his terrifying (for us, at least) car accident. Meanwhile, Conrad makes a surprise return to Cousins and Jere and Belly share their engagement news, which goes down like a lead balloon.
The Carrots
The adorable photo of a little Conrad with carrots in his ears wasn’t just for giggles.
“Remember when Conrad told you if you ate enough carrots you’d get x-ray vision and you believed him?” Laurel says to Belly.
Eagle eyed fans may have noticed earlier in the episode that Taylor had a wedding planning book for Belly which included carrot cake. The easter eggs don’t stop there – in the books, Jeremiah calls the cake flavour unconventional for a wedding. Interesting…
The Season One Conrad Reference
If Conrad’s surprise appearance at Susannah’s dedication looked familiar, that’s likely because you’ve seen a very similar shot used in season onoe, episode one. The scene plays out similarly to Belly arriving in Cousins and seeing Conrad for the first time that summer. If that doesn’t give ‘Bonrad’ fans butterflies, we don’t know what will.
The Radiohead Song
In the final scene of episode three we see Conrad left standing alone in the carpark as he digests the news of Belly and Jeremiah’s engagement. In the background, Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ play, the lyrics to which have a subtle Belly reference.
“This is my final fit, my final bellyache with no alarms and no surprises…” it plays. Bellyache? There’s no better way to describe how Conrad must be feeling, if you ask us.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 2
In episode two, a flashback to Christmas shows one of the rare times Belly and Conrad found themselves reunited – back at the beachhouse alone, of course.
After a few days hanging out at the house together, Conrad leaves and Belly walks in to the kitchen to discover a note saying good bye. Under it, a crossword with a little nod to Han’s other series, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, is listed in the clues.
The answer which asks the full title of the series’ sequel is of course: P.S. I Still Love You. But, what really got fans talking was the fact that if you look close enough you can see that Conrad had filled the answer out and then erased it.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 1
There’s more than one nod to Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before in the show, but the first fans spotted was a photo in Belly’s college dorm of her and Jeremiah dressed as the film’s titular characters, Lara Jean and Peter, for Halloween.
Is this Han trying to say she think’s Belly and Jeremiah are end-game like our beloved Covey and Peter? Eep. That sure would be a big twist change from the books…
Pssst. We have the full schedule for when every episode of season three drops
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