SPOILER ALERT: This piece spoils Episode 8 of Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, which is now streaming.
No wedding bells will ring for Lola Tung’s Isabel “Belly” Conklin and Gavin Casalegno’s Jeremiah Fisher, at least not by the end of Season 3’s eight episode.
Much like in Jenny Han’s third book of The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, We’ll Always Have Summer, Conrad’s (Christopher Briney) confession of love to Belly throws a wrench in her planned wedding to his younger brother Jeremiah. Belly’s choice to tell Jeremiah that this happened prompts him to realize that he can’t have all of Belly if part of her will always love Conrad. Luckily, Belly’s mother Laurel (Jackie Chung) is there to catch her daughter in the aftermath of the called-off ceremony.
“Laurel, and any parent, realizes that there are some lessons that people have to learn on their own. She tried many different avenues to get through to Belly, talking to her, taking a hard, hard line with her, and those didn’t work,” Chung said of Laurel’s previous hesitation to approve of the wedding. “And I think she realizes that this is a lesson Belly had to figure out on her own, listening to her heart and figuring out what she truly wants in her life and in a relationship.”
In the below interview, Chung breaks down another fan-favorite moment Laurel shares with Conrad in Episode 8, her being there for Belly let alone Steven and the Fisher boys with Susannah gone and what Laurel does and doesn’t know about the status of the messy love triangle between her daughter and two brothers.
DEADLINE: Another fan-favorite scene from the books made it into Episode 8 with Laurel talking to Conrad the night before the wedding. What was your approach to that scene especially after the diner moment in Episode 6?
JACKIE CHUNG: I love that scene, both of those Conrad and Laurel scenes. I remember them sticking out to me when I read the books and I was very excited that they made it onto the show. I know they’re very pivotal moments and really important in showing their relationship. I just love them because Laurel and Conrad are so similar, and they understand each other so deeply. I was just thinking about it, I feel like they could be friends.
They have a close relationship because of their families, and he feels like part of her family, an extension of her family, one of her sons slash nephews, but that they could hang out and get a beer together and talk about their lives and other topics that are interesting to them. We would hear each other and accept each other. In these moments, it’s so lovely to see one of them reaching out to the other and being a support and saying, “Hey, I see you. I see what you’re going through. And this is my response,” which is for Laurel, “I am here for you always.” If you ever want to come to me and talk, I will listen and I will lend you my ear and give you my advice, but I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just here as a friend and a guide.
DEADLINE: Conrad says, ‘I wish.’ And then he stops and goes to bed. I read that as either, I wish my mom were here, or I wish I were the one marrying Belly, Laurel seems to know what he’s might say. What are your thoughts on that moment and how it’s unspoken?
CHUNG: I feel like Laurel could guess, but she’ll never really know. I feel like she never wants to push Conrad too much. She lays her cards out and says, “Hey, you know I’m here for you,” but that he, like her, finds it difficult to share their feelings, and so she never wants to overstep with him, so that he can feel open and not pushed to express too much.
But yeah, I’m sure he’s feeling a whole lot of stuff. I’m he has a lot of wishes.
DEADLINE: Laurel obviously she knows what Conrad’s going through. Does she know that he and Belly have talked and that her daughter is having this internal crisis?
CHUNG: I don’t think she knows that. I don’t think she’s aware of so much. She knows how Conrad feels, but I don’t think she knows the turmoil that is churning in the pit of Belly’s stomach.
DEADLINE: I was curious if knowing Conrad’s feelings informed Laurel’s hesitation for Belly to get married to Jeremiah?
CHUNG: I really feel like it’s just too early for Belly. Laurel wants her to finish school. She wants her to get a job. She wants her to build a life before committing to another person. Because, as she knows in her experience, you can sometimes lose yourself in it, and if a child comes quickly after, and then all of a sudden, your life has changed so dramatically.
I think she just wants belly to be on steady ground before she makes that kind of commitment to someone. I do think she knows how Conrad feels, and she wants him to express himself and really find what makes him happy. She does just want all of them to be happy and to feel fulfilled within themselves. So I feel like she isn’t thinking, “Don’t marry Jeremiah, maybe it could be Conrad.” I still think it’s all about [Team] Belly.
Conrad (Christopher Briney) in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
DEADLINE: Have you seen the fan theories online that Laurel and John could have taken over the wedding if it didn’t happen? Obviously, that’s not what happens in Episode 8. Their rekindling takes a bit of a back seat this episode.
CHUNG: It’s so interesting. I didn’t know people would be so invested in Laurel and John.I did see that theory too, and I was like, “Hmm Hmm Hmm. [Rubs hands together.] You’regonna be disappointed and surprised, but I love it. I love seeing theories, and I love when they’re wrong, because then I feel like it makes for a more exciting viewing for fans.
This episode, was all about the lead up to the wedding, so Laurel and John were not the focus. They were there as parents and support systems for their family. But yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
DEADLINE: After Jeremiah calls things off, Belly says “Lemon Jelly Belly” that code word with her mom from back in Season 1. What does that callback bring to this moment? Obviously, Belly’s in distress.
CHUNG: I tell my boys that they will always be my babies. And they’re like, ‘I’m so big now. You can’t call me a baby. I’m not a baby.’ But I feel like that’s what this moment is, is that Belly will always be Laurel’s baby and Steven too, but she will always be there to catch her and hold her in whatever feelings she’s having. She would never abandon her, no matter what.
I know it felt like for a time she did, and there was a divide between them, but she would never abandon her daughter. And I feel like in that moment, I can’t speak for her Belly or Lola, but seems like she’s just so sad and just needs a hug from her mother. And Laurel is more than happy to be there for her.
DEADLINE: Fans are also anticipating Laurel finding out about Jere cheating, but that hasn’t happened yet. I’m curious what you think her response would be, and also if she might actually cry at Belly’s future wedding despite being so eager to take that bet with John?
CHUNG: Oh, yeah I think Laurel would get emotional. I don’t know how much she would show in that context. For sure, John would be bawling. Tears would just be streaming down his face, but you see in that little scene with Belly that it is a big rite of passage, and at that point she thought it was happening, and Belly is her only daughter. It is emotional, I think for a parent, I haven’t been there yet, but to see your little girl grow up and move into her own marriage. It’s a big relationsip.
DEADLINE: At the end of 8, when John is on the phone and Laurel is packing up. Are they like arranging Belly’s travel to Paris? Can you speak to that? Belly makes a call before she gets that ticket. What do they know about this as of this episode?
CHUNG: I think at that point, the wedding has fallen apart, and so they’re just managing cleanup and arrangements. There’s guests, there’s people, there’s so much money and flowers and planning that has gone into this event, so I think all the adults are just managing logistics of wedding at that point.
L-R: Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
Prime Video
DEADLINE: Rachel Blanchard showed up as Susannah earlier this season. How does the absence of Susannah affect Laurel in terms of being the mother figure accessible to the main trio?
CHUNG: I think she always feels Susannah, particularly in these big moments. Susannah was the wedding person, not Laurel, the person who loves events and parties and gathering people. That was Susannah, not Laurel. And I think you can see too in the scene with Conrad, Laurel says, “I wish your mother were here.” She would know how to handle people’s emotions and to talk to everyone, because that’s not always Laurel’s strong suit. She can really connect with Conrad, but clearly, not always everyone else.
I do think throughout the season, she does feel like “I know John and Adam are there,” but that she has to be the person for the kids and Susannah isn’t there. She has to be both of them for her kids and for Susannah’s kids. I think there is a bit of pressure to keep the connections with all of the children, to make sure that they can feel that she is a support for them and always present in their lives.
DEADLINE: I wanted to ask too about, when John says, “You’re not upset that Kayleigh’s here. You’re upset that Susannah is not.” I’ve seen like some chatter saying that both can be true. And I’ve seen a lot that people forget that Laurel dated Adam first, technically in college. So what if that, if anything, does that adds to this whole situation?
CHUNG: I think both things can be true. I think she hates that Kayleigh is there, hates that Kayleigh and Adam were ever together and are currently together.
But also she wishes that her friend were there for this momentous occasion and that, yeah, she probably would say, “Let’s go tag along [at] these pre-wedding festivities,” and that they would have such a good time together celebrating their children. I do think Susannah was that person for Laurel who pushed her out of her shell a little bit and said, “Hey, let’s go out.” Laurel will probably just stay home and watch a movie or read a book, so she definitely misses Susannah’s presence in her life.
DEADLINE: I know you can’t talk about future episodes, but is there a hope of a final flashback moment between Laurel and Susannah? I know fans really miss their dynamic too in Season 3.
CHUNG: I miss their dynamic too.They’re such good buddies and really joyful. The moments are really joyful when they’re together. We’ll just have to see.
DEADLINE: With these final three episodes coming up and having more room than in the books, can you say anything broadly about what you’re excited for fans to see besides the conclusion?
CHUNG: I actually haven’t seen the last three episodes. I didn’t get a complete script for one of the episodes. The other two, I did read. But sometimes things change in the edit. Things can change, so I’m sure there will be a lot of more of the same drama, and I’m assuming more cliffhanger episodes, but I’m not sure.
DEADLINE: I’m thinking Laurel will be proud of Belly for going to Paris no matter what.
CHUNG: Yeah, I am happy for her that she’s going.
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