Lola Tung, Christopher Briney on Their ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ending and What’s Next

Lola Tung, Christopher Briney on Their ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ending and What’s Next

[This story contains major spoilers from the series finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty, titled “At Last.”]

After four years — and even longer for book fans — Lola Tung‘s Belly and Christopher Briney‘s Conrad finally found their way back to each other at the end of the third and final season of Prime Video‘s The Summer I Turned Pretty.

But their journey was filled with ups and downs, including a whole other relationship (and almost wedding) between Belly and Conrad’s younger brother, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). As seen throughout this final season, Belly had to ultimately learn to follow her own heart, even when it seemed hard.

And once the wedding got called off, Belly’s heart called her to Paris, where she not only found her independence again — after growing codependent on Jeremiah during their relationship — but also came to the realization who her true love really was: Conrad. But only after he surprised her in Paris in the series finale, leading to a spicy night and some much-needed vulnerable conversations.

“A lot of care went into this last part because we knew it was really important to everyone, so it was making sure that it felt different than every other conversation they’ve had before and every other time that they’ve been in scenes together,” Tung says of the final scenes between Belly and Conrad.

Below, Tung and Briney unpack that epic finale of the Jenny Han-created series — how their characters finally reunited, the pressure to do justice to fans and learning how to forgive themselves for past mistakes — and they muse about what they would like to see in the just-announced Summer I Turned Pretty movie.

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Lola, what was it like exploring a different side of your character these last few episodes, as Belly found herself again in Paris, and meeting all these new characters?

LOLATUNG It was so much fun! I had a great time. I loved Paris. It was the perfect setting for the end of the story. Belly’s group of friends are so wonderful, and the actors who play all of them are so so lovely and wonderful and just completely delivered. I had such a blast!

When all this anticipation is building up to this final moment that’s quite literally at the end of the season, how do you handle that as actors? Do you find yourself getting excited or nervous as you’re leading up to this climactic moment fans have been yearning for?

CHRISTOPHERBRINEY There are always scenes you’re more or less nervous for, especially if they require a lot of emotion or if it’s something that doesn’t come easily. But honestly, when we’re working, I find that I don’t really have much time to fret because we’re working so fast. We were getting these episodes as we were filming other ones. There was one that I had hardly read before we were already shooting it, and I was really stressed about that. I was like, I need to do my work and I haven’t had time. 

TUNG When we’re filming the earlier stuff, I try to stay in the moment and think about what’s happening for that character at that time. Especially because for so long, it’s the Jeremiah wedding plot line and in order for you to believe that she’s going to go through with that, Belly has to be completely in that headspace. So you can’t really get ahead of yourself.

For the finale, what conversations did you have with creator Jenny Han about navigating those intimate moments and conversations between your characters?

BRINEY I think she trusts us to do our work. She’s always there for adjustments and notes and if we have any questions about why Conrad do this or that, she’ll always have that discussion with you. But we’ve been doing this for a while. I hope there’s a little trust. I do my work, you do your work, Sean [Kaufman] does his work and we show up ready to tell that part of the story. 

TUNG A lot of care went into this last part because we knew it was really important to everyone, so it was making sure that it felt different than every other conversation they’ve had before and every other time they’ve been in scenes together. They haven’t seen each other in a year. They’re different people, but the same at their core. 

In the final episode, Belly calls herself the villain. Lola, I know you’ve always said you’re Team Belly, so was it hard to villainize yourself in that moment, especially with fans also criticizing some of Belly’s decisions throughout the season?

TUNG In that moment, she says she’s the villain, but I think it’s just her taking responsibility for everything that’s happened. Because she did mess up a little, and she knows that and she feels badly. She’s had time to grow and to think about it, but I think a lot happened that all these characters have had to sit with for a while, and taking responsibility and knowing that you did something wrong is a very immature thing. They all are aware of that, but obviously Conrad later says, “You’re not the villain,” and I think that’s the point — nobody’s the villain. They’ve all made mistakes, they’ve all messed up in different ways and are dealing with that in whatever way they need to. I hope that people watching can also take that away and realize that. 

BRINEY As much as she’s had this time away and time to grow, that is also time away from these issues and I’m sure as you compartmentalize that, you don’t have anyone to tell you that it’s OK — that you messed up. And that doesn’t make you a villain. It’s easy to have that inner monologue be like, “You fucked up and hurt people and that’s wrong,” instead of like, “It happened.”

TUNG When she first gets to Paris, she meets her new friends and they’re all like, “We’ve all done stuff, too.”

Chris, with so many fans rooting for your character Conrad, how did you approach doing justice to them with this finale, especially with how long book fans have been waiting?

BRINEY The best way I could do justice for the fans is servicing the script and the world and the story, I think if I do right and do my part in telling that story and doing my homework and coming in ready and grounded and open to notes, that I trust that what Jenny and the writing team have done with this character on paper will make people happy and fulfilled in the viewing of the story. I’m just trying to do my job… well, I guess (laughs). 

Chris, how do you process being this male lead in a hit show that is beloved by so many fans, and becoming this new it boy?

BRINEY I don’t really feel it. I stay away from most people (laughs) and social media as much as I can. That’s part of the reason people have such an easy time conflating you with your character. I know [about it] because I’ve heard that people have been really supportive and I appreciate that and that does mean a lot, but with good there’s always negatives. And I don’t like any of that, so I just try to do my own thing. 

The big reason Jeremiah called off the wedding is because he knew part of Belly still loved Conrad. But in the finale, when Conrad tells Belly that Jeremiah knows he’s in Paris, she seems concerned by what Jeremiah might think. Do you think she’s fully healed from that relationship by the finale, or still has some unresolved feelings?

TUNG When something like that happens, it’s been a year but it’s also only been a year. Sometimes things from past relationships, no matter how much time has passed, can just come up at different moments. That’s just how life is. She also still cares about him as a person deeply and doesn’t want to hurt him, and is still working on stuff from that. It’s a very complicated situation (laughs), so I think she just wants to be sensitive about that and make sure she doesn’t hurt someone else. I also think that’s a moment where, if it was such a big thing that he told Jeremiah that he’s here, we’re going have to have a big conversation at some point — which they do. Something’s going to happen and we’re going to have to have a conversation about it, but I think she still cares about him, of course. 

From your perspective Chris, do you think Conrad fears there will be a part of Belly that will always love Jeremiah, similar to his brother’s concerns?

BRINEY That’s a good question. I don’t know that I’ve really put much thought to that. We see him dealing with that for most of this season, and trying to accept the fact that they are what they are and they’re getting married and he has to be OK with that. I think he would take Belly at her word — I don’t even think he would ask — but I don’t think he would assume that she would always love Jeremiah, at least not in that way. Because they’re childhood friends, there’s always love. 

TUNG Part of the thing with Jeremiah and Belly was Jeremiah constantly saying he wanted all of her, and he wanted all of her love and he didn’t want any part of her heart to belong to Conrad — which doesn’t belong to anybody. I think you can never fully give yourself to one person, and you shouldn’t. You should save some of yourself for you, and I think Conrad is understanding of the fact that this was a very significant relationship in her life and that she has a lot of love for Jeremiah. I think he knows it’s a different type of love. 

BRINEY I don’t think he’s pressed about it. 

TUNG No, I don’t think so (laughs). 

With the Summer I Turned Pretty movie now announced, how long have you all known about it? 

BRINEY Not that long. We knew it was an idea for a while, but it sort of went radio silent for a while and then we’re doing it. 

TUNG And now we’re doing it! 

What can fans expect to see in the movie? Maybe more of Conrad and Belly’s love story together and potential journey to marriage?

BRINEY I have no clue. I don’t know. Jenny said earlier that she has a draft. 

TUNG She has a draft! So perhaps we’ll find out something soon. 

If you could give your input, do you have any specific ideas you would like to see for your characters in the upcoming movie?

BRINEY Yeah, but it’s not gonna be in there (laughs). 

TUNG Cool car? 

BRINEY Cool car. … And I want every scene to be in that car. I don’t want to see him out of it.  

Looking back on this final season and the series overall, what are you most proud of?

TUNG I’m proud of all of it. I’m proud of the journey and the work we put in, and how thoughtful everyone was about every little thing and how much everyone really showed up and did the thing when we were there. I’m just proud that it reached as many people as it did and it means so much to people. 

BRINEY So much work went into this. I mean, it’s really tough sometimes. There’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of people have opinions and that’s a good thing. But we did it. And we have a really talented crew and talented cast. 

Belly, I know you’ve always remained tight-lipped on whether you’re Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah, maintaining that you’re Team Belly. But since the show has wrapped, can you finally say who you were rooting for?

I really do mean it when I say Team Belly, and I know people don’t believe me. But I do mean it and I’m gonna keep saying it. So Team Belly! 

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The Summer I Turned Pretty is now streaming all three seasons on Prime Video.Read THR’s coverage here.