The final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty starts in a new place: fall. The Conklin family is driving up to Finch College to drop Belly off at her dorm, where she’ll be reunited with both her best friend Taylor and her boyfriend Jeremiah. In a voiceover, Belly names Jer her soulmate just before her mom gives her some good advice: Don’t limit yourself and be open to new experiences—and people. 

But as the show flashes forward three years in “Last Season” (Season 3, Episode 1), Belly and Jeremiah stay wrapped around each other’s fingers. He’s set to graduate at the end of the year while she’ll be a rising senior who had to give up volleyball after an injury, but the couple have already figured out how to manage long distance. Jeremiah will be in Boston, a short drive away, and Belly is ready to follow him there after she graduates. She even gets into a study abroad program in Paris for the following fall—a dream opportunity for her. 

Everything seems so blissful and perfect that it’s only natural for a few cracks to begin showing. First, Jeremiah finds out that he hasn’t completed enough credits to graduate after transferring into a new major, which means he’ll have to stay an extra semester. He gets chewed out by his dad who is footing the $20,000 tuition bill and compares him to Conrad who, by comparison, has his shit entirely together in med school across the country at Stanford. Jeremiah is understandably emotional about the news, and Belly chooses to keep her lips sealed about Paris as she weighs her options between spending a semester in Europe or missing out on more time together at school. 

Taylor, meanwhile, is still hooking up with Belly’s brother Steven even after he graduated early from Princeton and took an entry-level job as an analyst. It’s a messy set-up as they’re both dating other people and cheating on those significant others with each other, but for some reason they can’t quit each other. Taylor’s mom warns her that once she downgrades herself to the side chick, it’s not easy to rise back up in someone’s mind, but Taylor doesn’t want to hear her advice. 

For his part, Steven seems more interested in trying to make inroads on their relationship—or at least, is more comfortable acknowledging his feelings for Taylor. He makes romantic gestures like throwing rocks at Taylor’s window and bringing her breakfast after spending the night together in her sorority house, but she keeps pushing him away. This time, she cites a “Finals Freakoff” Greek life day-drinking tradition that she has to rush off to, and doesn’t give Steven a proper send-off. 

Belly is an honorary Greek life member for the day as she joins Taylor and Jeremiah at the Finals Freakoff party, running the three-legged race with Jer to victory (scored to the first of two Chappell Roan needle drops in the episode, “HOT TO GO!”). Taylor introduces Belly to one of her sorority sisters Lacie who also studied abroad, but Belly changes the subject quickly even when Jeremiah is out of earshot. Taylor, always the straight shooter, calls her best friend out for changing her Paris plans because of her boyfriend, which is honest advice that Belly needs to hear. 

Jeremiah is still in his own world sulking about the extra semester and opts out of going to dinner that night with Belly and Steven, which gives the siblings some much-needed bonding time. They’re brutally honest with each other, saying the harsh truths they both need to hear. Belly chastises Steven for cheating on his girlfriend Mia, but he says he feels like it means something that he and Taylor keep coming back to each other. Steven, meanwhile, calls Belly a hypocrite for not telling Jeremiah about Paris. Belly explains that she feels like she’d be abandoning him and the promise she made to Susannah, but Steven rightfully points out that she’s not giving him the opportunity to step up and support her.

Across the country, Conrad’s move to San Francisco seems to be treating him well: He’s thriving in school; got selected for a prestigious summer clinic job with a notoriously difficult doctor; and is attending therapy, where he’s working through the grief about his mom Susannah’s death as well as the grief attached to losing the love of his life, Belly. Those are demons he’ll have to face soon, as Susannah’s dedication ceremony is coming up, and he and Jeremiah are preparing to give a joint speech about their mom. But as he works through it with his therapist, Conrad realizes that more than anything, he’s not ready to see Belly—especially when she’s so happy with his brother. He uses the new summer job as an excuse to get out of going back east for the dedication, and Belly’s mom Laurel doesn’t fight him on it, but cautions him to let Jeremiah know sooner than later that he’ll be giving the speech alone. 

Conrad’s closest friend is a girl named Agnes, a classmate whom he was once romantic with but has settled into a platonic friendship. (Someone needs to tell Conrad to bring this pattern up in therapy next week.) Over drinks to celebrate their placement in the summer clinic, Agnes digs deep into Conrad’s past. When she asks if he’s ever been in love, he admits the entire story about Belly, the scene partially soundtracked by “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan. She’s rightfully shocked by his feelings for his brother’s girlfriend (even when Conrad points out that he dated her first) before softening when he reveals that he regrets never telling Belly that he loved her. This conversation puts things into focus for Conrad and on his way out of the bar, he gives Jeremiah a ring and leaves a voicemail: He won’t be coming back to Cousins Beach for the dedication.

But Jeremiah is a bit preoccupied at the moment. After dinner with Steven, Belly meets him at a party and comes clean about Paris. Jeremiah is over the moon for her and so supportive of her following her dreams. Team Jeremiah and “Bellyjere” shippers had a lot to celebrate for a brief moment, but it’s the calm before the storm. Inside, Jeremiah has an awkward encounter with Lacie that probably set off alarm bells for every audience member. And sure enough, when Belly is in the bathroom, she overhears Lacie talk about hooking up with Jeremiah on spring break in Cabo.

Fuming, Belly storms out of the bathroom and confronts Jeremiah, who comes clean immediately, but with an asterisk: According to him, they were on a break. He pleads for her forgiveness and says it was a mistake, but she dismisses it saying they can’t get what they had back after this. The jam-packed season premiere ends with Belly running away crying, her entire world seemingly crashing down around her. 

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vulture and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.