How Jenny Han’s ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has managed to divide the Internet

Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? The outstandingly popular binge-worthy series that in its final season has the internet up in arms.

The third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty began airing in July and boy has it been popular, accumulating an unprecedented 25 million views in its first week. Written and directed by Jenny Han, this coming of age romance series is so good it literally has the internet divided. The reason for it? Han’s detailed cinematography and meticulous character development, enabling her to deepen the emotional connection and reactions viewers feel toward the story line and main characters. As a result viewers develop their own perspectives igniting a passionate and fierce response online.

“TSITP” follows Belly (Lola Tung), as she navigates her first and second major loves, those being the brooding Conrad (Christopher Briney) and the charming Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), Who happen to be brothers and extremely close family friends of Belly’s family. Conrad is Belly’s childhood crush and after years of ups, downs and mixed messages they finally started dating. Eventually Conrad broke up with Belly leaving her heartbroken. After the breakup Jeremiah declares his enduring love for Belly which eventuates into…  you guessed it! Jeremiah and Belly dating. It is crucial to add here that Belly has always held a place in her heart for Conrad.

Before I continue, I am very aware that this is one hectic story line. Please note I am very broadly describing it as I could go on about this series forever.

The love triangle plot escalates in season 3 (hard to believe I know) as it begins 4 years has passed. Belly and Jeremiah are in a solid relationship and are in college together. Everything goes south when Jeremiah cheats on Belly after an argument which leads to Jeremiah attempting to reconcile the relationship by proposing to Belly. Without spoiling too much the season follows the road to the wedding which as you might guess, gets especially messy the further we get into the season.

Han is known for her attention to detail cleverly putting “Easter Eggs” or hidden clues and subtle acknowledgements to her past work in the episodes of ‘TSITP’, making the viewing experience that much more special for viewers. The whole easter egg element adds extra fuel to the fire shall I say, as fans anticipate finding them and will watch episodes multiple times to pick them apart. The easter eggs also encourage viewer engagement across multiple platforms as fans take to social media or blogs to voice their theories and opinions, sparking all types of conversations across the internet. Some of the most popular easter eggs from season 3 thus far are Conrad’s crossword puzzle and the Peach stand scene with Belly and Conrad, both of which sent fans into an online frenzy deconstructing the deeper meanings. The easter eggs are so well received every week with online platforms like Tik Tok getting flooded with theory videos racking up thousands of likes, further increasing the popularity and awareness of the show and demonstrating Han’s dedication to her work and commitment to her fans.

Han also cleverly develops each character in specific ways to further provoke online conversations. As viewers are already paying close attention for hidden clues, dissecting and analysing all behaviours and actions of each character. Han knowing this strategically started incorporating traits she knew would be scrutinised, playing on ideals and unacceptable behaviours viewers wouldn’t want in a real relationship.

For example, Han has made Jeremiah increasingly more cringey and man childish this season, making him look like a terrible partner, viewers quickly noticed this. As a result, team Conrad had a field day posting slanderous content drawing on these qualities.

Whereas Han presented Conrad in a more thoughtful and understandable light this season, making him look like the obvious relationship choice, boosting his popularity amongst viewers. Conrad’s character development especially caused an uproar on the internet as his behaviour can be interpreted in different ways. Another great move from Han to generate attention on the series.

Whilst Han has strategically used character development and cinematography to fuel popularity and draw attention to ‘TSITP’, it has caused some backlash. The spirited opinions of fans have unintentionally blurred the line between fictional character and real-life actor with harmful comments being aimed at the actors. The series took to Tik Tok in a video calling out the behaviour reminding fans that “the show isn’t real but the people playing the character are”.

Overall, this series is a must watch, I could not recommend it enough. The way Han strategically used narrative techniques to encourage emotion and generate discussions between viewers is genius and a testament to her attention to detail and care for her work.