The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 10: Paris Promises Freedom, but Conrad’s Voice Chains Belly’s Heart

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 10, which premiered on Prime Video on September 10, 2025, is a heartrending exploration of love’s unrelenting grip. Set in the intoxicating glow of Paris, the episode follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) as she chases freedom from her past, only to find Conrad Fisher’s (Christopher Briney) voice echoing through her every step. With the love triangle—Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno)—sharpened to a razor’s edge, this episode delivers an emotional unraveling that leaves no heart unscathed. Spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 10.

Paris: A Mirage of Freedom

Paris in Episode 10 is a dazzling paradox—a city that promises liberation but cannot fully unshackle Belly from her past. After calling off her wedding to Jeremiah in Episode 9, Belly arrives in Paris seeking a fresh start, only to face the harsh reality of a lost study abroad spot. Undeterred, she pieces together a life through grit, waitressing at a cozy Left Bank café and tutoring English to locals. The city’s charm—cafés aglow with candlelight, the Seine shimmering under moonlight—creates a backdrop of possibility. Yet, as Taylor Swift’s “My Tears Ricochet” plays during a montage of Belly wandering Montmartre, it’s clear her heart remains tethered to Cousins Beach.

Belly’s new friendships offer a glimpse of freedom. The episode introduces Gemma (Corinna Brown), a fiery artist; Julien (Fernando Cattori), a soulful poet with a disarming smile; Elise (Isaline Prevost Radeff), a no-nonsense student; and Leo (Jahz Armando), a street musician whose energy lights up any room. Their camaraderie—sharing crepes at 2 a.m., laughing through a rained-out picnic in Jardin des Tuileries—feels like a lifeline. In a quiet moment, Elise tells Belly, “You’re not running from your past—you’re building on it.” These words resonate, urging Belly to embrace her new life, but the pull of her old one proves stronger.

Conrad’s Voice: A Chain Across Oceans

The episode’s emotional weight hinges on Conrad’s presence, not in person but through a letter that cuts deeper than any spoken word. Delivered to Belly’s tiny Parisian apartment, the letter is a raw confession: “Belly, I’m lost without you, and I don’t know how to find my way back.” Accompanied by a flashback to a Cousins Beach summer—Conrad and Belly stealing a midnight swim, their hands brushing under the water—it’s a reminder of a love that refuses to fade. Christopher Briney’s voiceover, reading the letter, is achingly tender, and Lola Tung’s performance as Belly reads it—her face a map of longing and resolve—is devastating.

This letter, a creative expansion from Jenny Han’s novels, amplifies Conrad’s hold on Belly. Unlike the books’ more subdued correspondence, the show uses it to keep the love triangle alive across continents. Fans on X are abuzz, with some citing set leaks suggesting Briney filmed in Paris, hinting at a potential reunion. Belly’s reaction—clutching the letter as she stares out at the Parisian skyline—reveals her struggle. She tries to write back, her pen scratching out, “I want to be free, but you’re in every corner of me,” before she crumples the paper, unable to commit to either sending it or letting go.

Jeremiah’s Absence and the Triangle’s Edge

Jeremiah’s role in Episode 10 is defined by his absence, a silence that sharpens the love triangle’s stakes. After the wedding’s collapse, he’s back in the U.S., and his lack of contact leaves Belly grappling with guilt. A flashback to their engagement, where Jeremiah’s smile hid his doubts, underscores the pain of their unraveling. On Reddit, fans debate whether this silence signals Jeremiah’s exit from the triangle or a buildup to a dramatic return. Either way, it contrasts starkly with Conrad’s vivid presence, making the latter’s pull on Belly feel inescapable.

Julien, the Parisian poet, emerges as a potential new love interest, offering a fleeting distraction. Their chemistry—sparked during a poetry reading where he dedicates a verse to “the girl with the sad eyes”—is undeniable but fragile. Belly’s hesitation, captured in a moment where she pulls back from his touch, signals that her heart is still entangled with the Fisher brothers. The love triangle, as Teen Vogue noted in a Season 3 analysis, is “less about who Belly chooses and more about who she becomes.” Yet, Episode 10 makes it clear that her choice will leave scars.

The Unraveling: A Heart at Its Limit

The episode’s climax is a masterclass in emotional tension, what fans on X call “the unraveling.” Belly stands on the Pont des Arts, the city’s lights reflecting off the Seine. She holds Conrad’s letter, rereading his plea: “If you tell me to let go, I will, but I need to hear it from you.” Her voiceover, set to Phoebe Bridgers’ “Motion Sickness,” confesses, “I came to Paris to find myself, but all I found was you.” As she looks up, a figure approaches through the fog—too distant to identify. The screen fades to black, leaving viewers suspended in anticipation.

This moment crystallizes Belly’s breaking point: the collision of her desire for freedom and the chains of her past. The ambiguity of the figure—Conrad? Jeremiah? A stranger?—fuels speculation. Some fans, per posts on X, believe it’s Conrad, pointing to his letter’s urgency. Others argue it’s symbolic, representing Belly’s confrontation with her own heart. As Variety’s Season 3 preview noted, the show thrives on “making every choice feel like a wound.”

Themes of Freedom and Captivity

Episode 10 weaves a tapestry of freedom and captivity, with Paris as the stage for Belly’s struggle. Her new friends embody the former, encouraging her to embrace the present. Gemma’s advice—“You don’t owe your heart to anyone but yourself”—pushes Belly toward independence, while Leo’s impromptu guitar sessions remind her to find joy. Yet, Conrad’s letter and Susannah’s lingering influence—through a letter Belly finds, urging her to “love fiercely, even if it hurts”—chain her to the past. A brief scene of Conrad in California, writing another letter while staring at a photo of Belly, reveals his own captivity to their shared history.

The episode also hints at the fractured bond between Conrad and Jeremiah. Conrad’s confession to his father, Adam, about “breaking” Jeremiah adds a layer of guilt that mirrors Belly’s. This parallel, subtle but powerful, underscores the show’s theme: love, in all its forms, is both liberating and confining.

The Storm on the Horizon

As The Summer I Turned Pretty nears its finale on September 17, 2025, Episode 10 sharpens the love triangle into a blade no heart will survive clean. Will Conrad cross the ocean, as his letter suggests? Will Jeremiah’s silence break with a confrontation? Or will Belly, as her Parisian friends hope, choose herself? The cliffhanger on the bridge, with its shadowy figure, leaves these questions dangling, promising a finale that will be both cathartic and crushing.

Episode 10 is a testament to the show’s ability to balance hope and heartbreak. Paris offers Belly a taste of freedom, but Conrad’s voice—through his letter, his memory, his love—keeps her chained. As Belly unravels, so do we, caught in the storm of her heart’s truth.

Stream The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 10 on Prime Video now, and prepare for the finale on September 17, 2025.