Summer Tides

Summer Tides is the sixth episode of the first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. It airs on June 17, 2022.

Synopsis[]

Taylor comes back to town to play in the Cousins Beach charity volleyball tournament, and to help Belly, who's caught between Conrad and Jeremiah. When a yacht party with the debs ends in disaster, Belly's decision between the brothers becomes clear. Steven finds himself in over his head with Shayla's wealthy friends, and Cleveland helps Conrad through an emotional moment.

Plot[]

Belly lays in her bed as she wakes up. Jeremiah is laying in front of her. He says good morning to her. His presence surprises her, but before she can question him fully, he kisses her. After the kiss, he morphs into Conrad. He tells her that's it's okay, as they are meant to be. Jeremiah, now in the bed, tells her to wait as it's always been them. He questions how she can't see that. Belly wakes up with a start, musing that even her dream life is complicated. The truth is, everything's gotten more complicated since the kiss. She can't stop thinking about, nor will it stop invading her dreams - it's invading anything.

Susannah is outside when Conrad comes down. He doesn't have time to talk as Cleveland just texted him. She promises it'll only take a second. She wants him to be Belly's escort to the deb ball. He refuses and suggests she tell Jeremiah to take her instead. Susannah reminds him that it would mean a lot to Belly if Conrad took her. He's always been her Prince Charming and they all know it. He tries to refuse, so she brings up him being the only one who'd let her tag after her and the boys. She just wants it to go perfectly for him. She asks him - for her. He says he'll think about it. She reminds him not to be late this afternoon for the tournament, as they need help setting up. They repeat the "Play It Forward" mantra. It's still not too late for him to sign up, but he quickly shuts the idea down, though she smirks that it's a maybe.

Inside, Belly comes out of the bathroom in a towel as Jeremiah is coming out of his room. He asks how she slept, and she says it was fine, that she had no dreams. Steven rushes towards the bathroom with a cup of coffee. Jeremiah asks if she's excited about the volleyball tournament. Before she can answer, Steven shouts her name and emerges with a club of Belly's hair. He chastises her for leaving her hair on the bathroom wall as its gross. If she does it again, he's leaving it on her pillow. He tosses it at her and ducks into the bathroom as she shouts after him. Jeremiah softly says that he doesn't want to rush her, but eventually wants to talk about what happened the other night. She stammers out a yes, but with Taylor coming into town and the tournament, they agree to talk after things calm down.

Conrad pulls apart the side of Cleveland's boat, revealing wood rot within. He shows him how brittle it is. They have to pull apart bits until they reach clean wood. He yanks off another piece until to get a splinter, causing him to curse. Cleveland remarks that he's on edge, wondering if his bad week is because of his dad or the girl. Conrad admits things aren't looking good with her. He starts to become emotional as he pries off more wood - this isn't looking good either. It just keeps going and going. The whole goddamn thing is infected, and he didn't notice. His emotions, now brimming, are joined with tears as he proclaims that the infection is everywhere, and he didn't even notice. He starts to stand, and Cleveland asks what's going on. Conrad, through wheezing breaths, says that his heart is beating really fast and it's hard for him to breathe. Cleveland puts his hand on Conrad's chest, guiding him back to the seat as he assures him it's normal. He's having a panic attack. He instructs him to look at him, to take deep breathes, softly talking him through deep breathing exercises. Cleveland asks what's going on, as whatever it is, he can't keep it bottled up forever. Conrad, through strained words, admits that it's his mom.

Belly sits for Susannah's portrait in her deb gown. She's squirming so Susannah asks if she's okay. Belly blames it on the heat. She only has to sit for a little while longer. Susannah asks if she's ready for the tournament, and Belly is - she wants to raise the most money out of anyone. She is worried about Steven holding up his end. She's representing the charity Susannah helps with, the homeless women's shelter. Susannah is touched and then reminds her to sit still - she just needs a couple more seconds with the frills.

Cleveland continues to teach Conrad breathing exercises to help with his anxiety attacks. Four seconds inhale through his nose, seven to hold, and eight to exhale. The techniques were taught to him after his second book released. He had his first full-blown panic attack and went to the E.R. thinking it was a heart attack. Afterwards, he learned coping methods. He suggests that Conrad tell his mom that he knows. He wants to, he swears, but every time he tries, he just can't. She doesn't want him or his brother to know and finding out he does know would crush her and ruin everything. Maybe by him keeping it all inside, he's keeping her alive somehow. Cleveland understands - he doesn't want to step on a crack or be the one to make it real. But this isn't something he can control. It's happening whether he says it out loud or not. This isn't on him. Conrad looks up, as if realizing this for the first time, and repeats that it's not on him.

Belly makes a smoothie when Conrad enters the kitchen, greeting her. He asks if she's feeling good about the tournament, and she feels ready. If she stays ready, she doesn't have to get ready. She chuckles as that's super cheesy. He suggests she try coming up with a motivational phrase with no cheese. She tries for a moment but can't do it, making them both laugh. He apologizes, not for being cheesy, but for being a jerk the other day and pretending her didn't remember when he did remember everything. He keeps replaying it in his head. He knows it's too little too late but asks if he can take her to the ball. This catches her off-guard. He already knows all the dances so it's not a problem. The doorbell rings so she stammers out that she'll think about it.

Belly goes outside where Taylor waits on the porch. They embrace happily, glad to be reunited. Taylor's ready to kick everyone's asses. Belly takes her inside through the kitchen, where Conrad greets Taylor coolly as he leaves. She asks for the latest between them - there's a lot to catch up on.

In her room, Belly gets Taylor up to speed on her relationship dilemma with the brothers. Taylor hopes that Conrad was begging to take her to the ball, or at least was nervous. This just makes it all the more exciting when she tells him no. Belly's silence prompts Taylor to remind her of the bullshit Conrad pulled last week. She reminds her of the emotionally available, fun, sweet, better-looking brother who is at her feet right now waiting for her. Laurel knocks on the door to take them over, denying Belly's eager request to drive. When she walks away, Belly tells Taylor they don't have to talk about it right now - this isn't why she came. Taylor begs to differ, as she's here to get her on Team Jeremiah, which she is the very enthusiastic CEO of. She puts on her sunglasses and proclaims they're ready.

At the tournament, team's warm-up for the big events yet to come. Conrad sets up the umbrellas as Taylor walks over to Steven and Shayla, complimenting their florescent green visors. Shayla happily thanks her - Steven picked them out as they make their eyes pop. Steven nervously asks how long she's in town for, but she's only playing it by ear. Shayla is happy to finally meet her and put a face to the name. She kisses Steven before going to get sunscreen. After a moment of awkward silence, Taylor tells Steven that they look cute together, and she'll see him on the court.

Susannah opens the tournament with a speech about Play It Forward. She encourages the attendees to give money to those who are less fortunate, as Play It Forward will match pledges for the winner of the tournament. Taylor skips over to Jeremiah, greeting him as Jeremy once again. She notices him looking over at Belly and Conrad, so she assures him that he's in the rearview. She's team Jelly and has her back.

Conrad finds Nicole to give her a heads up that his mom is freaking out that Belly doesn't have an escort to the ball. She asked him to take Belly. Nicole wonders why she doesn't just go with Jeremiah. Conrad nervously admits that Jere hates this kind of thing and plus, he remembers all the dances. She remembers that he's very good at dances. They chuckle over the memory, and he offers to get her a drink, which she accepts.

Taylor and Belly take their places and do their signature shake. They expertly volley and perform, beating out their opponents as Jeremiah and Conrad cheer from the sidelines. Taylor dives for the ball and lands hard on the ground. Belly asks if she's okay, though Taylor says her ankle is twisted. She looks over to the sidelines where Jeremiah is nervously watching. She asks him to please sub, which he eagerly agrees too. He takes Taylor's spot, and she limps off the court, tossing her "Team Belly" shirt to him in the process. She winks at Jeremiah as she passes him. Jeremiah and Belly begin to play, and she teaches him her secret shake. Nicole hands Conrad a drink as he watches them play. Team Belly wins their match, and she jumps into his arms in a victory hug.

Team Belly faces off again with new partners, though Jeremiah continues to miss spikes, dives, and returns. Belly grows increasingly frustrated as she wants to win. She tells him to focus and watch the ball, but he's watching her more. She calls a time out and looks over to Conrad who is standing behind the fence. She apologizes to Jeremiah as she has to win this, as they'll match her pledges. He gets it so she gestures to Conrad, telling him that she needs him to sub in. As Jeremiah walks off the court, he tosses the shirt to Conrad, who catches in. The new Team Belly takes their positions. They catch up to their opponents and successfully win with a serve from Conrad.

They advance through the remaining teams and come up with their own team gesture. Team Belly faces against Team Shayla - compromised of Shayla and Steven. Both teams are good, exchanging scores and shots, constantly neck-and-neck. Belly scores the winning point and Conrad picks her up in a hug, spinning her around. He puts her down and they twirl about. Susannah rushes out with the trophy and asks Conrad if he asked Belly yet. This confuses Belly, so Susannah explains that he's supposed to ask her to the deb ball, per her request, since it's taking her so long to decide. Laurel runs out to hug Conrad and Belly.

On the way out of the tournament, Nicole stops Belly and Taylor to invite them for pizza and rose on her dad's boat. Taylor asks if "Kayla" will be there, with Nicole correcting that "Shayla" has other plans. The girls agree to try and stop by.

Susannah and Laurel go to the dry cleaners, where Susannah instructs the employee to steam them once more. Once steamed, the bags are handed over. Laurel stops to admire the simple deb dress that Belly saw on their first trip.

Belly and Taylor walk along the shipyard as they discuss Conrad. All Belly has ever wanted was for Conrad to ask her to go somewhere, let alone to an actual ball. But it was because his mom asked him too. It proves Taylor's point that Jelly thrives and Bonrad blows. Belly dismisses the terrible couple's name of "Bonrad", which Taylor uses to further her point. "Jelly" is cute and catch. She even made a Team Jelly finsta. She shots her the page which has photos of the pair from the tournament. Belly asks what she's supposed to do. She doesn't know how to fully jump into something with Jeremiah if a piece of her heart will always beat for his brother. Taylor admits that a piece of her heart will always beat for Steven, but that doesn't mean she won't allow herself to fall for someone even more incredible if comes along. The girls suddenly stop to look out at the massive yacht where Nicole's party is being held.

Back at Beck's, Steven and Jeremiah play videos games. Steven tries to convince Jere to come with him and Shayla to the party tonight. Jere is distant and doesn't feel like going out tonight. Steven needs him there as it's not going to be any fun without him. Jere reassures him that Shayla will be there and everyone's scared shitless of her. He looks over at the trophy on the end table, which Steven uses to win the game. Conrad comes into the room so Jeremiah leaves, claiming he has stuff to do. Conrad asks Steven what's going on with Jere, and Steven doesn't know, so it's just going to be them tonight. Conrad is contemplating bailing too, but Steven will be mad if he doesn't, which makes Conrad cave. Steven admits that Conrad's really neglected him that summer. He wins his match and shares a high five with Conrad.

On the yacht, the party plays "put a finger down". Belly doesn't have any fingers down yet, so the girls try to lower the game from sex to second base, but it doesn't assist Belly. Taylor tells the group to put a finger down if they've ever made out with Jeremiah Fisher, and Belly reluctantly lowers a finger. The group responds to the news with Gigi deeply surprised. She admits Jeremiah is her best friend and about a week ago they kissed in the pool at their house. Nicole always thought something was going on between Belly and Conrad, but surmises she had the wrong brother. Belly fumbles over her response until Taylor dismisses the topic of Jeremiah to get back to the game. She brings up skinny dipping, with Nicole all-but daring Taylor to go skinny dipping in Hopper's Cove.

Jeremiah finds Susannah, asleep on the couch watching a movie, and turns the TV off to play games. He inadvertently wakes Susannah up and she asks why he didn't go with Steven and Conrad. He didn't feel like partying, which she knows isn't like him, but he's just tired from the tourney. She's also tired and offers to watch a movie. He invites her to try her hand at the video game. She agrees so he talks her through the controls. She tells him they raised $5,000 for the women's shelter. She was proud of him and then Belly won. She'll be the literal belle of the ball. He asks if she's mentioned who she's taking. Susannah told Connie to take her, since she knows how much Jere hates formal events. She has her fingers-crossed that they're going together. Connie seemed like his old self today, just so happy, but she hopes the storm cloud over his head didn't wander Jere's way. He isn't sure and she reminds him that she can help if he needs her, as she's right here. It's just been a weird day. He decides to go to the party after all, inviting her to join him, but she's ready for bed. She lays down on the couch and he looks over his shoulder at her.

Jeremiah gets changed in his room and ready for the party. He tries a pearl necklace but rejects it, along with a pair of sunglasses. He picks up a picture of him, Conrad, Belly, and Steven as kids. He admires it for a moment.

Steven and Conrad arrive at the house as the former gushes over the grand displays of wealth. Conrad admits it is pretty crazy, with Steven brushing him off as being rich too. Conrad isn't rich like this, though. These kids grew up going to boarding schools and seeing their families once a year, which is why they're all such assholes. Steven calls him a buzzkill then sees Jeremiah over by a fountain drinking, which makes Steven cheer that his buddy rallied. Even Conrad cracks a smile at the scene. Conrad asks Steven who Jeremiah's hooking up with these days, though Steven says no one. He shares Shayla's crazy theory that Jeremiah is hooking up with his sister, which surprises Conrad. It sickens Steven, too, but Shayla has a lot of crazy theories and Jere knows he'd kill him if he ever touched his little sister. Jeremiah calls over to Steven to try the ice luge, so Steven walks off. Conrad pulls out his phone to text someone.

Shayla joins Liam and another boy to talk until Steven joins them. Liam invites him to a game downstairs, so Steven clears it with Shayla before joining them. She tells him to have fun and they kiss goodbye.

Nicole, Belly, and Taylor have taken to skinny dipping in the cove, splashing each other playfully. Gigi warns them to watch out for jellyfish as she doesn't want to have to pee on any of them. Nicole and Taylor talk about the other girls leaving. As Gigi strips, she sees a cell phone light up with a text message from Conrad. She shouts out to Nicole that she has a text from him. Nicole swims over to read the message, leaving Belly and Taylor in the water. Taylor admits to liking her friends, even Gigi, whose veins just about exploded when he heard about Jeremiah. She gasps, realizing that hashtag "Team JellyFisher" could be a new ship name. She thinks it's cute but Belly chuckles that it's dumb. As headlights hit the water, Taylor looks over her shoulder and exclaims that she knew they were bitches. She swims to the dock as Belly, who is confused, follows her. Taylor reveals that Nicole and Gigi took everything except for Belly's phone, which has an incriminating text from "Conbad". Belly asks what it says so Taylor reads it - "my mom did ask me to ask you to the ball, but that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to." Belly becomes flustered and excited until Taylor tells her to concentrate. They can't walk home naked, but Taylor remarks they don't have a choice. Belly points out something they can use for cover.

Meanwhile, at the party, Jeremiah finds Conrad texting on the stairs and sits with him. Jere asks him if he's noticed anything weird about mom as she's been sleeping more. Conrad plays it off as Susannah just sleeping more during the summer, so Jere taunts back with a "fuck you". He congratulates him on the win today. He knows how much Conrad hates to lose. It's not about winning for Conrad; it's about doing things the right way.

Belly and Taylor walk home with a tarp wrapped around them. Taylor suggests calling Jeremiah, but Belly thinks it would be too much drama. They have to walk two more miles. They chuckle over their misfortune. Taylor points out this is why Conrad's a disaster. He's hot and mysterious which she gets, but everything he touches turns to total shit. Belly doesn't know why she keeps letting him suck her in. Today, he was like the old Conrad, and everything felt like it used to. Taylor remarks that she was under his spell. Belly agrees, but then the spell broke, and she realized she kicked Jeremiah to the side for him. They stop walking and Belly turns to her friend. She used to dream about Conard and imagine what it would be like and felt safe. She knew it would never come true as he would never feel for her what she felt for him. When she and Jeremiah kissed, it was real - which was scary. Taylor adds that love is supposed to be a little scary. Belly notes that she right, with Taylor joking that she's right 98% of the time. They giggle before Belly decides to make a call.

Jeremiah and Conrad are on the steps still when Nicole angrily tells Conrad they need to talk. Jeremiah answers a call from Belly and is surprised by what she says. He immediately gets up and heads out of the party.

Conrad and Nicole talk outside. She was at Hoppers Cove and saw his text to Belly. He flat out lied to her - actively and passively. He used her like a backup, letting her think this could be something, making up a whole story about how his mom is forcing him to take Belly to the ball. He starts to respond but she stops him. She's been trying to figure this out the whole summer, whatever this is, but it's always been about Belly. She's annoyed with herself for getting caught up in this because she knows better. He insists he didn't mean to hurt her. She stops him as he didn't hurt her; he wasted her time and there's a difference. There's a lot of guys who want to be with her, even a hot-ass college guy from Oxford who's obsessed with her. He knows what he wants. Conrad isn't sure what to say. He gets it, he led her on, and fucked everything up. There's a lot of shit he's been dealing with and that's not excuse, but he is sorry, as it wasn't fair to him. Nicole hands him a bag with clothes in it, which his girlfriend and her friend are going to need.

Steven is downstairs playing with the boys, who have been playing much longer and more professionally than Steven. Though he won at first, he begins to lose all his money. The boys remark that everyone hits a wall at some point. They agree to a break but will return by upping the ante to another 200. Steven sits alone at the table. He takes a drink.

Taylor and Belly sit on the side of the road as two cars pull up. Jeremiah asks if they're okay, rushing over with Conrad following suit. Taylor sharply asks what Conrad is doing. He explains that Nicole told him what happened. She hopes he told her to watch her back. Conrad hands the bag to Taylor, and they have the boys hold up the blanket while they change. Belly asks Taylor if she's okay with her going with Jeremiah, which is fine. Conrad gets in his car and Taylor climbs into the passenger seat, buckling in. He remarks that it's a crazy night. It didn't have to be, if he could just stop playing all these games and just let her go, it would have been a great night. Conrad starts the car in silence.

Over in Jeremiah's car, Belly apologizes for her actions at the tournament. She got into her super competitive zone. She asks if he's mad but he's not, adding that Conrad's the better player anyway. After a moment of silence, he admits to hearing that Conrad might be taking her to the ball. She asks where he heard that, and he admits his mom told him. Belly clarifies that he's not, as she still doesn't have a date. She asks him to pull over, and he obliges. Once the car is stopped, she unbuckles and turns to face him. She thanks him for coming to get her. He'll always come and get her. They look at each for a long moment. She asks if he can hear that - her heart pounding. She picks up his hand and places it on her chest, over her heart, and he agrees that it's beating really fast. They kiss and she guides his hand to her breast. He asks if she's sure and she nods. They kiss again, this time longer, as he fondles. Belly was always so scared for when this moment would come, but weirdly, Shes totally fine because it's Jeremiah. When the kiss ends, she asks him to go with her to the deb ball. He merely smiles in response, and they kiss once again.

Once at Beck's, Belly lays in bed with Taylor sleeping next to her. Her phone chimes and opens it to find a "u up?" text from Conrad. She gets out of bed and goes to the dock where he's sitting. He greets her but she cuts right to the chase. To stop texting her as it's triggering, as bad things happen when he does. He knows that and is sorry. He hands her the infinity necklace as it's hers. She doesn't have to keep it or anything. She can throw it in the ocean or burn it. A moment passes as he steps closer to her. He admits that he just doesn't want to lose her. She looks up at him then down at the necklace. His hand touches her forearm, and she looks back up at him. She reveals that it's too late and walks away, leaving him with the necklace. He watches her leave, tears brimming.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Summer Madison as Nicole Richardson
Rain Spencer as Taylor Jewel

Co-Starring[]

Connor Hammond as Liam
Kelsey Rose Healey as Dara Jones
Nicole Marie Johnson as Clarissa
Lilah Pate as Gigi Boucheron
Shea Pritchard as Trevor
Jocelyn Shelfo as Marisa Pelzner

Soundtrack[]

Losing You by Solange
Now I'm In It by HAIM
Bad Girls by MIA
Lisztomania by Phoenix
I'm In Love by Mini Mansion
Is It True by Tame Impala
Levitating by Dua Lipa
Wsyaname by Tyler the Creator feat. Youngboy, Never Broke Again & Ty Dollar $ign
Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean
Fire For You by Cannons
Sedate Me by Virgins Suicide
Swag by Peyton
Together (Dumbing Down) by Maker & Qwuel
Outta Pocket by 24kGoldn
When The Party's Over by Billie Eilish

Notes and Trivia[]

The episode featured an "in memory of" end card to Yang Yang Liu, 1988-2021. She was a senior manager with the Original Series Content Strategy team at Amazon Studios. She worked closely with The Summer I Turned Pretty (TV Series) project. She was killed after a car struck her while she was running.^[1]
The board of teams during the volleyball tournament featured several pop-culture references.
- Pink Ladies references the girl group in "Grease". A song from "Grease" was previously performed in "Summer Nights".
- The Capulets references a prominent family in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".
- Team Swiftie is on the board - "Swiftie" is a term used to describe fans of Taylor Swift, and a reference to the multiple Taylor Swift songs featured in the series.
- Team Turducken might be a reference to the book series. Jeremiah's first kiss was with Christie Turnduck, who was often nicknamed "Turducken".
- Other names featured included "Team Chips & Guac", "Beach Bums", "Team Ava", and "Team Shayla". The latter belonging to Shayla Wang and Steven Conklin.
Taylor's Finsta handle is "GoTeamJelly" and features seven likes on the volleyball photo of Jelly.
The game Jeremiah plays with Susannah is called Zombie Death Plague. The profile names are "Philly Boi [indiscernible]", "DeezNutz" and a third indiscernible name.