Honestly, if you were watching The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 episode 5 and didn't feel a physical ache in your chest during that boardwalk scene, I'm not sure we’re watching the same show. It’s titled "Love Fool." Fitting. This episode is where the nostalgia of Cousins Beach finally hits a brick wall. The fantasy of the first season—the debutante balls and the soft-lit swimming—is officially dead.
Jenny Han, the creator and author of the original books, has this uncanny knack for making teenage heartbreak feel like a high-stakes thriller. In this specific hour of television, she moves the pieces on the board in a way that makes the "Team Conrad" versus "Team Jeremiah" debate feel almost secondary to the grief of losing Susannah.
The Cousins Beach Boardwalk and the Weight of the Past
The plot is basically a heist movie, but with more feelings and fewer getaway cars. The kids—Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah, Taylor, and Steven—are essentially squatting in the beach house while trying to stop Aunt Julia from selling it. They end up at the boardwalk. It’s a classic Cousins staple. But it’s different now.
You’ve got this huge contrast between the bright, neon lights of the arcade and the heavy, suffocating silence of what’s missing. Susannah isn't there. The "moms" aren't there. It’s just them.
Belly is stuck. She's stuck between the version of herself that loved Conrad unconditionally and the version of herself that is starting to see Jeremiah as a viable, steady anchor. There’s a specific moment during the "Junior Mint" scene that fans of the books absolutely lost their minds over. If you remember from the first season (and the first book), Junior Mint is the polar bear Conrad won for Belly years ago. In The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 episode 5, we get a flashback to that day.
It’s a masterclass in "show, don't tell." We see a younger, slightly more awkward Conrad actually putting in the effort. It challenges the narrative that he’s always been cold. He wasn’t. He was a kid who cared. But the present-day reality? It’s messy.
Why the "Love Fool" Flashbacks Change Everything
Flashbacks can be a lazy writing tool. Here, they are a scalpel.
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The episode weaves in these memories of Belly and Conrad at the boardwalk when they were younger, specifically focusing on Conrad winning that bear for her. It’s bittersweet. It’s more than bittersweet; it’s devastating because you can see the exact moment the pedestal Belly put him on started to crack, even if she didn’t realize it at the time.
Conrad’s anxiety is also at the forefront here. Chris Briney plays Conrad with this sort of vibrating stillness. You can tell he’s about to break, but he’s trying to be the "man of the house" now that his mother is gone. He’s trying to handle the legalities of the house sale. He’s trying to study for his exams. He’s trying to push Belly away because he thinks he’s poison.
Then there’s Jeremiah.
Gavin Casalegno’s Jeremiah has evolved from the "golden retriever" brother into something more complex. In this episode, he’s observant. He sees the way Belly looks at Conrad, and it kills him, but he stays. He’s the one who is actually there. The show is doing a lot of work to make the Jeremiah choice feel earned, rather than just a rebound.
The Competitive Edge: Steven and Taylor
While the main triangle is suffocating, Steven and Taylor provide the oxygen. Their banter in the arcade is top-tier. It’s the "enemies-to-lovers" trope done right because they have years of history. Steven is trying to figure out his life post-high school, and Taylor is fiercely protective of Belly.
Their competition at the DDR machine (Dance Dance Revolution) isn't just filler. It’s a bridge. It’s showing that while the Fisher brothers are drowning in legacy and loss, life is still happening for everyone else. It’s a necessary tonal shift. Without it, the episode would be too dark to breathe.
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The Aunt Julia Factor and the Reality of Property Law
Let's talk about the house. The plot engine of season 2 is the looming sale of the Cousins Beach house. Aunt Julia, played by Kyra Sedgwick, isn't a "villain" in the cartoon sense. She’s a woman with deep-seated resentment toward her sister and a very practical need to settle an estate.
In The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 episode 5, the stakes get real. The kids find out the house has been "staged" for sale. All of Susannah’s things? Gone. Packed into boxes or hauled away.
This is where the episode moves from a teen romance to a story about the violence of grief. Seeing your dead mother’s favorite chair replaced by a generic, modern piece of furniture is a specific kind of hurt. It’s the erasure of a life. Conrad’s reaction—panic, anger, withdrawal—is entirely earned.
Let’s Address the Soundtrack
You can’t talk about this show without talking about the music. It’s a character. This episode uses "Lovefool" by The Cardigans (obviously), but it’s the way the music underscores the tension that matters. The show has a massive budget for sync rights, and they use it to pinpoint exactly how it feels to be sixteen and convinced the world is ending.
It’s interesting to note that the show often uses Taylor Swift songs as emotional tentpoles. While this specific episode relies on other tracks to build its atmosphere, the "Swiftie" influence is all over the DNA of the series. It’s about the "Eras" of Belly’s life.
The Ending Shot: A House Without a Heart
By the time the credits roll, the group is sleeping on the floor of an empty house. It’s a haunting image. They’ve fought all day to reclaim their childhood, but they end up waking up in a hollowed-out version of it.
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The shift from the boardwalk’s sensory overload to the echoing silence of the beach house is the pivot point for the rest of the season. They aren't kids anymore. They can’t just play games to win back what they lost.
Practical Insights for Fans and Viewers
If you’re looking to get the most out of your rewatch or are preparing for the next chapters, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding the narrative structure of this season.
- Pay attention to the lighting. The boardwalk scenes use high-saturation colors to mimic a "fake" happiness, while the house scenes are increasingly desaturated and cold. This visual storytelling tells you more about Belly's mental state than the dialogue does.
- Track the "Junior Mint" bear. It’s not just a toy. It represents the idealized version of Conrad. Notice how Belly treats it or references it in the present versus the past.
- Watch Jeremiah’s eyes. While Conrad talks the most in this episode, Jeremiah spends the most time observing. His reactions to Belly and Conrad’s interactions set the stage for the blow-up that happens later in the season.
- Understand the legal stakes. Aunt Julia has the legal right to sell. No matter how much the kids love the house, the show is forcing them to confront the fact that love doesn't pay a mortgage or settle an estate.
The best way to experience the fallout of this episode is to jump straight into episode 6, but take a moment to sit with the "boardwalk blues" first. The transition from childhood to adulthood is never clean, and The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 episode 5 captures that messiness with brutal, neon-soaked accuracy.
Check the official Prime Video "Inside the Episode" features if you want to see how they built the boardwalk set; it’s actually a mix of real locations and clever soundstage work that makes the world feel much larger than it is. Keep an eye on the character arcs of Steven and Taylor as well, as their grounded relationship acts as the blueprint for what Belly is actually looking for: someone who stays.
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