The Summer I Turned Pretty has always rewarded eagle‑eyed viewers, and season three, episode 10 was basically a pop‑culture puzzle box crammed with little nods, movie homages and book references.
The penultimate episode didn’t just set up the finale — it loaded itself with Easter eggs that had us working over time. If episode nine had fans sulking over the lack of emotional payoff, episode 10 came through with character growth, Parisian drama, and some big foreshadowing moments.
Here are the clever little details you may have missed in “Last Year”.
1. The Sabrina parallels
Jenny Han really said ‘let me hammer this metaphor home ‘cos ya’ll just aren’t getting it’. From the framed poster hanging in Belly’s (Lola Tung) Paris flat to Belly literally telling her mum that her new apartment “has a view of the Sacré‑Cœur, just like in Sabrina”, the episode leaned hard into Audrey Hepburn parallels from the 1954 movie.
The classic film follows a young woman who goes to Paris, finds herself, and winds up torn between two brothers. Case closed: Sabrina ends up with the older brother and Conrad (Chris Briney) is apparently Bogart‑coded.
2. The Home Alone Christmas callback
When Belly danced around to Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, she wasn’t just being festive, she was dropping a nod to Home Alone. That’s the same film she watched in season one when Conrad turned up in Cousins. The homage feels deliberate — Kevin McCallister walked so Belly could two‑step alone in a Paris apartment.
3. The wallet reference for book readers
For anyone who actually finished We’ll Always Have Summer, this one hurt. In episode ten, Conrad tucks Belly’s postcard into his wallet. This nugget is lifted straight from the book’s final pages, where Belly explains that he held onto her letter for years. I’m not crying, YOU ARE!
4. Numbers, numbers everywhere
Because it wouldn’t be TSITP season three without fans putting on their numerology goggles, this ep sprinkled some numerical chaos for TikTok theorists. Conrad’s new flight is at 10:45pm (an “angel number” apparently about destiny, per Astrology.com). His ticket change costs $473, which connects to twin flames and inner trust (also from Astrology.com). If that sounds very Taylor Swift coded… it’s because it is.
Fans even zeroed in on “A12” scrawled on Belly’s moving boxes, linking it to Swift’s infamous “A12” tease.
Some delusional hopeful fans think the 12 may actually mean we are getting an extra TSITP episode. This theory really amped up when Prime deleted the official episode list from The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Instagram account. It is feeling a little tin hat territory, but I’ll allow it because I too would do anything for another episode too.
5. Belly’s haircut equals closure
The haircut was not just fashion. Belly lopping her hair comes right after Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) tells Conrad he can pursue her. Jere had begged Belly at the start of the season, “Don’t ever cut your hair.” So… she did. Call it reclaiming herself, or just a really Paris thing to do, but this chop = moving on. Side note: this is another nod to Sabrina, as Hepburn’s character also cuts her hair in the movie as a sign of maturity.
6. Is John Conklin okay?
Eagle-eyed fans spotted Belly’s dad, John (Colin Ferguson), while he was in the kitchen annoying Laurel with Laurel (Jackie Chung) clutching his chest. Although he was complaining about heartburn in the scene, fans who know by now that nothing is a coincidence in the TSITP world are convinced this could be foreshadowing a health crisis for John, which could even serve as a plot device for Belly to finally come home.
Look as long as they’re not killing off John I’m fine with it. Hasn’t Laurel been through enough?!
7. Red poppies and Denise
Rumour has it Denise (Isabella Briggs) and Jeremiah are supposed to end up together and since the pair have essentially moved in together, it’s looking very likely.
TikToker @bookswiftie noticed that in Denise’s apartment there is a painting with red poppies. The restaurant that Belly works at, Coquelicot, actually translates to poppies. Book Swiftie notes that the poppies are supposed to symbolise resilience “due to their natural ability to bloom in disturbed and devastated soil”. So you could say that these two places — Denise’s home (aka Denise) and the restaurant (aka Paris) — are significant when it comes to everyone’s healing era.
Plus the two girls are wearing almost identical red sweaters during Christmas, which has to mean something!! Personally, I think Denise deserves better than a fixer upper like Jeremiah, but who am I to go against the Jenny Han.
8. Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times”
The closing moment lands with Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times”, which blasts as Conrad boards a plane to Paris and Belly steels herself for a new season of life. Jenny Han loves a pointed soundtrack, and this one basically screamed, ‘Bonrad endgame incoming’. As Harry said, “we can meet again, somewhere far away from here”. Guess we’ll see if Paris is the place.
To conclude, episode 10 cooked. It tied off old wounds and then left Conrad literally flying towards Belly for one last cliffhanger.
I can’t believe the show is coming to an end with just one episode left. What will my personality be without it?!
Lead image: The Summer I Turned Pretty / X
The post 8 Genius Easter Eggs You Missed In The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 10 appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
