The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 begins after a four-year time jump.
This leap moves the characters from the immediate aftermath of season 2 into their college years. Belly and Jeremiah are now older and have built a more serious relationship, while Conrad has spent time away at college and continues dealing with his unresolved feelings for Belly.
The time jump also changes the series’ setting and tone. Instead of focusing mainly on teenage summers at Cousins Beach, season 3 follows the characters through college, engagement plans, career uncertainty and decisions about adulthood. The change allows the season to adapt the later stage of Jenny Han’s story while showing how the characters have matured.
A common mix-up is confusing this opening jump with the later one-year progression near the finale. The four-year jump is the major transition that establishes the season’s initial timeline.