Photo: Erika Doss/Prime Video
Since season one of The Summer I Turned Pretty, the fans have been conditioned to focus on one relationship. Well, two, actually — the love triangle between Belly (played by Lola Tung), Conrad (played by Christopher Briney), and Jeremiah (played by Gavin Casalegno). But citizens of Fandomville, USA, have had enough. After a season of pining between Steven (played by Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (played by Rain Spencer), the characters finally made their gushy proclamations of love to each other in the finale. In the book, there is no relationship between Steven and Taylor beyond a flashback where they kiss, as reflected in season one of the show, so the slow burn was a huge, welcome surprise to viewers. And now, the people are dissenting against the propaganda that President Jenny Han has been spreading and speaking their truths — Steven and Taylor (Staylor, if you’re so inclined to use ship names in 2023 …) were the best couple this season.
This whole season has had the slow burn between this couple in the background, with Steven performing the most man-in-love act of attempting to crowd-surf (unsuccessfully) to impress his crush, the “Party in the U.S.A.” dance, the (again) very male thing of asserting dominance for love by fighting her boyfriend, slow-dancing to Frank Ocean, bringing her roses because she’s a (bad) bitch. And now, they’ve made it official. I mean, it was pretty official when he let her use his car and remembered her middle name. They’re an “It” couple and that bar is in hell. Season three of the series was confirmed on August 3, but production has been delayed due to the ongoing writers and actors strikes. We know that Steven will be off at Princeton, but hopefully the long-distance relationship won’t deprive audiences from more Staylor content. While Conrad continues to pine for Jeremiah’s new girlfriend, Belly, Steven and Taylor will be communicating their feelings in a healthy, effective way. Get well soon.