(Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”)
In Columbus, Ohio, Tina DiCenso prepared for her weekly television ritual alongside her daughter, Abbi. With a bowl of sliced peaches and apples in hand and a spread of homemade dirt bombs and pomegranate margaritas on the kitchen counter, the air was thick with anticipation. “I’m gonna throw up,” Ms. DiCenso declared, moments before hitting play on the series finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
Amazon Prime’s hit coming-of-age drama, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” chronicles the complicated romantic entanglements of Belly Conklin with her longtime family friends, brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) Fisher. The recent finale, followed by the exciting announcement of an upcoming movie, has kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Ms. DiCenso has become an unexpected and beloved figure within the show’s fervent online community. Her raw, unfiltered reactions to each episode, meticulously filmed and shared on TikTok by her daughter, have perfectly mirrored the emotional rollercoaster experienced by countless viewers. Her videos aren’t just commentary; they’ve become must-watch events in their own right, captivating an audience eagerly awaiting her next pronouncement.
“It is the end of an era,” Ms. DiCenso mused in Abbi’s latest video, which quickly garnered over 580,000 views. After a high-five and a few deep breaths, they dove into the final episode.
For nearly twenty minutes, Ms. DiCenso’s living room transformed into a theater of pure emotion. She jumped, clapped, cheered, spun in circles, screamed, and even shed tears as she witnessed the dramatic conclusion of the show’s central love triangle. “It just floors me still that people are that interested in what I have to say or how I react,” Ms. DiCenso, 54, shared in a recent interview. “It’s just me being me.”
@abbi.dicenso WELCOME TO THE FINAL SHOW ❤️ I can’t believe we are closing this chapter. Thank you @DoorDash for delivering our finale goodies and making our night one we will remember forever ♾️ We have had the most magical summer with all of you! We will always be infinite!😭 #tsitp #teamconrad #DoorDashPartner #DoorDash ♬ original sound – abbidicenso
Throughout the summer, Ms. DiCenso’s videos were filled with playful threats to throw pillows at her TV and sharp, sarcastic remarks – often directed at Jeremiah, whom she viewed as consistently disrupting Belly and Conrad’s burgeoning relationship.
This latest season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has resonated strongly with an older demographic, particularly women over 35. Ms. DiCenso’s weekly commentary has served as a delightful bridge between younger and older fans, offering a no-nonsense, relatable perspective on the show’s intricate melodrama.
When Season 3 opened with Belly four years into a relationship with Jeremiah, Ms. DiCenso’s eye-rolls were palpable. Her frustration escalated when Jeremiah proposed after cheating on Belly, prompting a stream of expletives aimed at the screen. Yet, her excitement peaked the night before Belly’s wedding to Jeremiah, when a high Belly confessed her lifelong dream of marrying Conrad. Ms. DiCenso leapt onto her couch, exclaiming, “That gummy worked miracles!”
“I watch it from a mother’s standpoint,” she explained, noting how she often had to remind herself that the characters were fictional, unlike her own children. Throughout the season, her unwavering support for Conrad to win Belly back was clear.
Her fervent loyalty paid off on Wednesday. As the characters rekindled their relationship and shared their first kiss in years, Ms. DiCenso erupted in cheers with an intensity typically reserved for a Super Bowl touchdown. “We went from 0 to 10,000!” she shrieked in her video. “Holy Hell, Batman! That’s five years — five years of sexual tension — all coming out!”
Abbi DiCenso, 26, began recording her mother’s reactions during Season 2 after being continually amused by her emotive responses during the first season. The “Summer I Turned Pretty” fandom has since exploded, with the show’s official TikTok even endorsing the weekly “TINA’S THOUGHTS™️” recaps.
Following Wednesday’s filming, the mother-daughter duo hosted a “Tina-themed” watch party in Ohio, attended by approximately 300 fans, some traveling from as far as Utah. Organizers even crafted macarons adorned with Tina’s face, capping off what both women described as a “surreal” summer. “I just couldn’t comprehend it,” Ms. DiCenso admitted. “I still can’t. I was like, ‘What do you mean you want a picture with us?’”
Miles away in Denmark, 22-year-old Caroline Thøgersen eagerly refreshed her TikTok for their final reaction video. She confessed that at several points, she found herself more excited for Ms. DiCenso’s commentary than the actual episode. “She’s so expressive and fun, and she’s so real,” Ms. Thøgersen said. “I relate to her in everything she says, and I love how she doesn’t hide anything.”
Fans frequently speculated about Ms. DiCenso’s reactions to Conrad’s trials. After a surfing accident left him nearly kissing Belly, X users humorously suggested an ambulance be on standby for their beloved Tina. Abbi DiCenso recalled, “I would open my social media, and I would have thousands of comments — ‘Tina is going to be sick,’ ‘Oh my god, Tina, we’re so sorry’ — like warnings before I even knew what the heck happened.”
It was only fitting, then, that when the show surprised fans with the announcement of a movie centered on Belly and Conrad’s future, one thought echoed across social media: “Somebody go check on Tina!”