If you’ve been watching The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 religiously, you’ll know Taylor Swift’s discography has been used multiple times through the episodes we’ve seen so far. Frankly, her songs made the perfect soundtrack for a sordid teen love triangle that continues to make bad decisions the more that time goes on.
As it stands, Belly (Lola Tung) is set to marry burnout Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), despite almost everybody in existence agreeing that it’s a bad idea. Meanwhile, Jeremiah’s brother Conrad (Christopher Brine) is still hopelessly in love with her, and at season 3’s halfway point, that’s starting to pay off.
This week, there’s also something pressing developing in the Swiftie world. Thanks to social media clips, we know Swift is set to fully reveal her twelfth album (TS12, as it’s known) on today’s episode of the New Heights podcast, co-hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce. She’s given away the title, The Life of a Showgirl, but nothing else, with the cover art blurred until the episode itself drops. It’s the biggest news of the day, with pre-sales of the album crashing Swift’s site mere seconds after the teaser clips went live on August 11th.
Entering a new era is exactly where my attention should be, right? I thought so, until I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 6. My heart was already in pieces after seeing things from Conrad’s perspective in episode 5, but the sheer level of yearning between Belly and Conrad while soundtracked by one of Swift’s most devastating songs sent me over the edge this week. If I’m being completely honest, The Summer I Turned Pretty has completely overshadowed TS12’s full release, and I’m totally here for it.
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 episode 6 sends Belly and Conrad yearning into overdrive using Taylor Swift’s False God
i heard false god and immediately went like mama a jeremiah fisher behind you💜 #TheSummerITurnedPretty pic.twitter.com/5HLVEdbKRWAugust 13, 2025
Let’s dig deeper into what happened in season 3 episode 6 of the hit Prime Video show. Conrad’s got a nasty old wound that needs cleaning, and as luck would have it, Belly is on hand to clean it up. He’s wet from the pool, meaning he’s wearing as few clothes as humanly possible, with Belly leaning in to do the job she’s assigned for herself. Their eyes are locked, their breathing is heavy and the tension is palpable.
Cue False God (from Swift’s Lover album) as the two lean into each other, quietly yearning while begging to kiss one another. Conrad breaks out of the moment, getting up and leaving while Belly is left sitting by the sink, dumbfounded. It’s the closest will-they-won’t-they moment we’ve had towards full reconciliation since Conrad returned in episode 3, and I think it was played to perfection.
Of course, we’ve already had the peach stand scene, and that was always going to be hard to beat. However, I think the shrewd use of Swift’s songs acts as the perfect ribbon to tie a moment of tension together in The Summer I Turned Pretty, encapsulating the ideal balance of teen romance and eternal optimism that someday, somehow, you’re going to get the person you love the most. I’m fully convinced that by the time the season 3 finale rolls around, Belly’s wedding to Jeremiah will have been called off and she’ll be back in Conrad’s arms (though if you ask me, she needs to ditch them both for her own good).
I’ve been so wrapped up in the fleeting moment of true love, which I’ve been waiting for for the last six weeks, that I suddenly no longer care about whatever picture is going to be on the front of TS12. I’m sure when I wake up tomorrow and the full podcast episode has been released, the internet will have gone feral enough for me to do little work to enjoy it, scrolling through clips and TikTok deep dives thinking nothing more than “oh, that’s nice”. Prime Video clearly stays winning, and it’s a streak that I want to see maintained for the second half of season 3.
Read the full article here
