Love Sick – “Love Sick” picks up with an aggrieved Jeremiah Fisher, (Gavin Casalegno) expressing his hurt over his brother’s lackadaisical attitude to his reaching out. Still ignoring him, Conrad Fisher turns his attention to Belly Conklin (Lola Rung) and her being in with Jeremiah. Belly’s immediate response is to ask why Adam Fisher (Tom Everett Scott) would sell the beach house. Conrad shocks them both when it reveals that it’s Susannah Fisher’s (Rachel Blanchard) half-sister, Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) that’s put the home up for sale. Susannah’s recent passing left Julia the sole proprietor. Jeremiah starts spitting out solutions while Conrad has a rebuttal for each. When Jeremiah grows tired of being demeaned, he storms out and leaves Belly to apologize to Conrad for making things even more awkward. At Conrad’s insistence that Jeremiah doesn’t care about the home, Belly attempts to get him to see how concerned they were over his sudden disappearance and unavailability. Ignoring her claims, Conrad attempts to explain how seeing the “For Sale” felt like losing Susannah all over. With plans to use his trust to cover the down payment, he harshly points out to Belly that he has things covered.

Later that evening after a stroll on the beach, Belly has a brief interaction with Jeremiah who is having problems grasping the enormity of their current predicament. Returning to a spare room, Belly chooses a bikini rather than the PJs. Conrad later startles her by the pool and the two share a quick conversation about how swimming clears Belly’s mind.

Conrad rises early the next morning and is already in the kitchen making moves when Jeremiah and Belly join him. Both can read the frustration on his face and they soon find out it’s because Aunt Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) is already here. Jeremiah can’t resist highlighting her quick response despite being a no-show at the funeral. Once left to themselves, Jeremiah pleads with Belly to speak to Conrad.

In a flashback, Jeremiah’s insistence that only Belly can get through to Conrad sparks a prom flashback. Belly and Conrad had made huge plans for the blowout event months in advance. Now, as the event grows closer, Belly learns that Conrad is even yet to order his tux. Conrad’s focus is on the recent change in his mother’s medication. The switch for him is a stark realization that the previous meds are no longer working. Belly attributes this moment to the start of Conrad’s pulling away.

Back to the present, Belly tells him whatever influence she had over Conrad is likely completely gone. A rumbling stomach draws Belly to the scant cupboard and two additional stark memories. The first is the cocoa that she and Conrad enjoyed on the night they decided to sleep together. The second is how Susannah always had the home stocked and ready for summer. Seeing that the local grocer is right next to Julia’s current accommodations, Oceanside Harbor, Jeremiah proposes they kill two birds with one stone.

Conklin House – Despite being at odds, Steven Conklin (Sean Kaufman) covers for Belly while seeing his mother, Laurel Park (Jackie Chung) off to the New York book event. Laurel can’t resist leaving him a long list of chores. Steven, however, has different intentions to occupy his free time. Seeking confirmation of his decision, he interrupts Taylor’s (Rain Spencer) run. Taylor’s loyalty to letting Belly deal with the Fisher brothers inspires Steven to concoct the quick lie that Conrad asked him to come to Cousins. Taylor can’t resist thinking that Steven’s desire to emotionally protect Conrad is sweet. This leads her to not only give Steven a long list of supplies to grab for Belly but also an offer of sharing the drive.

Trip To Visit Julia –Over half-eaten doughnuts, Belly and Jeremiah plan their approach for Aunt Julia. Jeremiah reveals that Susannah and Julia weren’t exactly close. In fact, he hasn’t seen her or Skye (Elsie Fisher) since he was 7 or 8. Belly remembers and believes that Julia’s encouragements for Susannah to pursue her art indicate they had to once be close.

Conklin House Flashback – Despite Susannah’s worsening condition, Laurel directs the mobile device so that she can enjoy the dazzling dresses and fancy hairdos. Conrad’s 1000-yard stare says it all and the night goes from bad to worse when Belly realizes he’s forgotten the corsage. Things don’t improve at the dance when Steven finds himself reminding Conrad to ask Belly to dance. That, however, only makes Conrad realize what a damper his mood is putting on Belly’s big night. His remedy is to remove himself from the equation and that ultimately leads to an argument outside where Belly returns the gifted infinity necklace.

Oceanside Harbor – Jeremiah takes the lead and greets Aunt Julia like an old friend he hasn’t seen in ages. She doesn’t even recognize him until he mentions Conrad. As an attempt to lessen the awkwardness, Belly introduces herself as the daughter of Susannah’s best friend while giving Julia the blue hydrangeas grown by Susannah’s own hands. Now that Julia knows who Jeremiah is, she can’t resist pointing out the likeness between him and her father. With limited resources and only a week to oversee the selling of the house, Julia wants to make it known she doesn’t have time to linger. Jeremiah attempts to embarrass her by asking if that’s why she wasn’t at the funeral. Any attempt at a response is cut off by the approaching Skye (Elsie Fisher). Even though Skye is cordial and immediately recognizes Jeremiah, Julia has all the initiative she needs to end the encounter by shutting the door.

Belly’s attempts to liven Jeremiah’s mood are unsuccessful on their return trip to the beach house. Jeremiah considers himself a fool for thinking he could change anything. Everything hinges on Conrad’s ability to talk Adam Fisher (Tom Everett Scott) into letting them access the trust. Jeremiah doesn’t see that ending well but promises to make it a brotherly event at Belly’s insistence that Conrad is sometimes too bullheaded for effective communication. The group volleyball chat invite discussing camp necessities isn’t a welcome respite for Belly. Turning down the invite forces her to dwell on the breakdown she experienced during regionals.

Trip To Cousins – Steven and Taylor’s road trip quickly grows awkward when their conversation reveals that Taylor places little emphasis on last summer’s kiss. That and her boyfriend, Milo’s (Will Spenser) inquiries about her return put a damper on Taylor’s mood. Both feeling rejected, leads to a slight spat between the two. Steven can’t resist poking at Milo’s unimpressive IQ, while Taylor attributes his attitude to that of an academic snob.

Beach House – Belly quickly busies herself with the unpacking while Jeremiah breaks down his encounter with Julia for Conrad. Taking Belly’s advice, Jeremiah pleads with his brother to be included in the conversation with Adam Fisher. Conrad shocks him by promising to include him in everything from there on out. The brother even makes promises to each other to side aside some time for surfing later.

Trip To Cousins – A quick stop on their journey to Cousins proves extremely beneficial for Taylor and Steven. They not only swap out driving arrangements, but they mend fences. Taylor is touched, once again, by Steven’s emotional side as he points out how much it affects him that Belly thinks he doesn’t care about Susannah’s death. He even shocks her as he reveals that he thinks of her as an academic equal. In the spirit of sharing, Steven reveals that he lied about Conrad asking him to join them at the beach house. The Fishers don’t even know they are coming. Taylor isn’t concerned but insists they can’t show up empty-handed.

Beach House – Joining the brothers on the phone call with Adam and his adamant denials about tapping into their trusts launches a flashback for Belly. The memory is one from Susannah’s funeral. Belly has managed to remain composed until during his eulogy Conrad busts into his acoustic rendition of “The Cavaliers’ Last Kiss.” That hurt intensifies when she later walks in on Aubrey (Mohana Krishnan) comforting Conrad alone in the rec room. He soon finds himself wishing he didn’t chase after her as they get into a very huge public blowup in front of the mourners. Conrad berates himself for ever getting involved with her while she declares that she’s grown to hate him. Amid the debacle, things only get more embarrassing when Belly’s stamping away leads to her tripping over Conrad’s feet. Awkward stares and leers don’t improve the event for anyone.

Belly’s attention is drawn back to the current conversation when Adam reveals that he’s had his lawyers working overtime on the deed. Adam’s revelation that he’s had his legal people searching for loopholes indicates that he’s known about the sale before the funeral. Jeremiah is more drawn to that realization than Conrad, as he accuses Adam of not caring about Susannah. Although Adam continues to shoot down any suggestions about the trusts, he is extremely civil. Thanking them and admiring their combined efforts only lead to Jeremiah prematurely ending the call. Despite the pall in the room, Taylor and Steven burst in like they just pulled off the biggest surprise party in history.

Beach House Dock – Joining Jeremiah at one of his favorite locations, Conrad attempts to lighten the pall. Jeremiah didn’t honestly think he had big chances with Julia, but he thought convincing Adam would have been a snap. Jeremiah might not have swayed Adam, but he is the only thing preventing Conrad from ripping into him. They are also newly united and two heads are better than one. Maybe they can crash the open house and scare away the prospective buyers.

With everyone gathered at the beach house, the gang takes advantage of the situation by ordering pizzas and digging into some of the all-time movie greats. Steven notices that Conrad is more focused on his texting that watching the movie. His spying also leads him to witness Conrad’s demeanor transform as he gets up and rushes outside.

 

The Summer I Turned Pretty Review

I have to admit that the more I watch this show the more I get into it. There are no doubt times when the flashback and dialogue are a bit drawn out, but I can’t complain about the way everything is unfolding. There are a lot of interesting side stories and I find myself wondering if the boy’s trust money isn’t already gone. Once again, I haven’t read the books or even seen the first season, but season 2 seems to be shaping rather nicely.

The suspense is building, new characters are coming into play, and the past is being revealed intriguingly. Above all else, the pall of Susannah’s death seems to be dwindling. At least it seems that way to me, which is shocking considering this episode showcased the funeral. Either way, I am actually looking forward to more. I would have to give the series a solid 5.5 thus far.

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