THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY: Episode 3.1
College grows up the love triangle — and the content along with it.
Should You Watch It?
Belly's love triangle has moved from beach house to college dorm, and the show's writers still know how to make you care. Season 3 opens with real emotional weight — a mother honoring a late best friend, a boyfriend's academic setback, a sister's torn loyalty over a dream opportunity abroad. The characters are, for the most part, kind to each other, and when someone strays, the show doesn't pretend it's fine.
But this is a college story, and it plays like one. Sex is implied often, near-nudity is frequent, drinking is constant, and drug references come up more than once — all treated as ordinary college life rather than anything worth questioning. Thirty-four obscenities, including several harsh ones, run through a single episode.
If you're an adult who can watch mature content with your eyes open, there's a genuinely well-told story here, with a moral center that hasn't entirely dissolved. If you're choosing for a teenager, know exactly what's in the water before you let them swim in it.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESBelly follows her boyfriend Jeremiah to college, convinced he's the one — even as his brother Conrad, her ex, remains part of the family orbit. As the school year winds toward finals, a life-changing opportunity abroad puts Belly's certainty about her future to the test, just as Jeremiah's own plans hit an unexpected snag. Old loyalties, new temptations, and a family still grieving a loss all crowd into one college semester.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this episode does its job well without reaching for greatness. The season premiere juggles several storylines — Belly's romance, Jeremiah's academic crisis, Conrad's new job, Taylor and Steven's secret — and keeps them all moving without feeling cluttered. The emotional beats, especially around the mother's tribute to her deceased friend, land with real feeling.
The source material doesn't give us much to go on beyond plot, so we can't speak in detail to performances or direction here. What comes through clearly is competent, purposeful storytelling that trusts its characters' feelings to carry the hour.
The Worldview
This episode holds two worldviews in tension, and it doesn't fully resolve them. On one hand, it takes infidelity seriously: when a character admits to cheating, the show frames it as a betrayal, not a shrug, and another character's mother warns bluntly that becoming "the other woman" is a place you don't climb back from. Belly herself is committed to loyalty and honesty, even while she wrestles with a decision that could cost her a relationship she believes is perfect.
On the other hand, the world around that conviction treats sex, drinking, and drug use as simply how college works — background noise rather than anything worth examining. That's the show's real tension: individual characters can be praised for choosing rightly, while the culture surrounding them assumes there was never really a question.
Parents in the story are mostly supportive, with one exception — a father whose anger at his son's tuition trouble curdles into an unfair comparison to his brother. It's a small but honest picture of how quickly frustration can turn into cruelty.
Underneath the romantic anxiety is a familiar longing: to be certain that one love is safe, permanent, and worth every other sacrifice. Scripture doesn't dismiss that longing — it answers it with something sturdier than certainty about a boyfriend: "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled" (Hebrews 13:4).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
A moral and romantic mixed worldview exploring the teenage relationships through the eyes of a young, inexperienced girl and her friends learning about life and love. Belly’s overly simplistic romantic ideals are often challenged. She is committed to her relationships and friendships and being good/moral in most aspects, however she is learning that life is not always so black and white, and she is faced with making difficult decisions. The characters are generally kind and moral to each other, except for the adulterous behavior which is depicted as wrong. Overall, the amount of sex, drinking, and drugs in general is seemingly considered normal in this series, which does not align with Chrisitan values. The characters are all struggling with their respective issues and some are more moral in their actions than others, such as Taylor and Steven sneaking around and lying to everyone while still dating others. The parents are generally supportive of the younger generation, except for Jeremiah’s dad who is understandably upset with him over tuition but unfairly puts him down saying that his brother would never be in a situation like this – which may not necessarily be true.
Foul Language
34 instances of obscenities (including 5 f*** and 21 sh**)
Violence
No violence
Sex
Many instances of teenagers kissing and making out. Several scenes implying sex but not shown more implied
Nudity
Many instances of characters in bed in underwear or less. One scene where a girl flashes a boy from a window, but it is blurred out and no nudity shown, upper male nudity
Alcohol Use
Discussions about binge drinking, teenagers drinking at a party, people drinking at a bar. A character is shown vomiting at a party, but unclear if alcohol is a reason, at least in part
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drug use is shown, but smoking marijuana is mentioned a couple times. Taylor mentions doing bong-hits. Belly talks about how she wishes Jeremiah wouldn’t smoke so much weed
Miscellaneous Immorality
Steven and Taylor having sex outside of their relationships for months in secret and lying to everyone about it. Another character admits to adulterous behavior after lying about it. Taylor’s mother mentions that once you degrade yourself as the “other woman” you can never “climb back up” from that. Songs mentioning sexual deviance (ie. Whips, chains, choking).
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Taylor's mother warns that being "the other woman" is a place you can't climb back from. Does Scripture agree that some choices carry lasting weight — and how does grace meet us there anyway?
1 Corinthians 6:18–20 · Psalm 51Belly weighs a dream opportunity against her relationship. How do you tell the difference between sacrificial love and losing yourself in someone else?
Proverbs 3:5–6 · Philippians 2:3–4Jeremiah's father lets frustration turn into an unfair comparison between his sons. What does it look like to correct someone in anger versus in love?
Ephesians 4:26 · Colossians 3:21The show treats drinking and casual sex as just part of college life. How do you help a teenager see clearly when a culture assumes something Scripture doesn't?
Romans 12:2 · Hebrews 13:4The Final Word
This is a well-told chapter in a story that still knows the difference between loyalty and betrayal — even while the world around its characters shrugs at things Scripture doesn't. Our answer stands as given: worth watching — adults only. If you're picking something for the whole family instead, start here:.
