The Summer I Turned Pretty episode 9 messes up

Apparently it says something about my age that I The Summer I Turned Pretty devour. Especially those over thirty – how wonderful that at 52 I belong to this target group – are fans of the series which is of course more aimed at younger women. The nostalgia, those long endless summers, your first crush, that moment when you replaced your glasses with contacts and got to throw your braces in the scrap… And then the friendship between Susannah and Laurel and their adult women problems – I love it all.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is addictive, even for 52-year-olds

So when I had a day of house arrest yesterday (my car has more of a craving for oil than I do for an Aperol Spritz on a sunny Saturday, so I had to go to the garage) and it was pouring rain outside, clicking on Prime at half past three for a fresh episode was The Summer I Turned Pretty a very easy choice.

Episode 9 starts with rain and ends in Paris

Season 3 is in full swing and nearing its end. SPOILER ALERT: the marriage between Jeremiah and Belly was called off at the last minute because Conrad had to declare his love for Belly. And Belly? She went, with her wedding dress in her backpack, spontaneously to Paris.

Getting married? No way, Belly grabs her backpack and heads to France

That in itself was already quite a radical plot twist, because how can you – in the most deplorable emotional state imaginable – whoosh book a ticket to Paris because you decided six months ago to study there? And had already canceled that? Quite something. But The Summer I Turned Pretty often has storylines that you shouldn't look at too critically. And I forgive the creators for that, because there is enough good stuff that keeps the balance right.

The backpack scene from episode 9: you won't believe your eyes

So that this Paris trip seemed a bit unbelievable was fine up to that point. But then came the scene we really need to talk about. Exactly: the backpack scene.

We see Belly paying for a cup of tea in a café. While she makes small talk with the man behind the bar, her backpack turns out to be stolen. Luckily, there's the AirTag, with which she can track her backpack with her phone. What follows is a chase scene of – I guess – about six hours, because we see Belly running, sitting on buses, taking metros to the dark side of Paris. By now it's dark and despite the wild journey, Belly's phone is still not dead. Interesting, especially after a flight of about thirteen hours. And I also don't think Belly had three charged power banks in her backpack – because she went spontaneously to Paris, remember?

The Summer I Turned Pretty vs. reality: power banks, code words, and clubs

But okay, okay, okay, I want to go along with this story. And I'm not alone, because people get so into the story that the actors of The Summer I Turned Pretty are being threatened.

Eventually, Belly arrives at a club where she can't get in because she doesn't know the secret code word. It's just like a Hollywood movie: when everything seems to be going well, the last obstacle follows. Then Belly sees a girl being harassed by a boy, pretends that she has an appointment with that woman, and together they enter the club – because this woman knows the password. And in that club stands a boy… with her backpack on his back.

She has to knock him out to get her backpack back, but then it's sorted.

Sounds all very logical, right? You steal a girl's backpack to then – I guess eight hours later – stand with it on your back in a nightclub. Sure.

Leave that ayahuasca alone, writers of The Summer I Turned Pretty

Anyway. This bridge was apparently hugely necessary to tweak the storyline to the fact that Belly finds friends in Paris and stays there.

My advice to the creators of The Summer I Turned Pretty? Stay away from ayahuasca during the writing process from now on. But otherwise, I remain a huge fan. I'm already looking forward to next week – and via which spaceship Conrad Paris will be reached.

 Want to know more?

Curious about who is who in this series? Check out the extensive cast guide of The Summer I Turned Pretty on ELLE

Image: © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC