Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3, Episode 6.

After last week’s Episode 6, viewers are over halfway through watching the long-awaited third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. And while the show has continued to be a success with audiences and generated countless viral moments each week, the third season has been, to put it lightly, a tad disappointing. After all, while the series is all about Belly (Lola Tung) choosing between the two Fisher brothers, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney), some of the other plotlines are starting to fall flat. But, with that being said, one heartbreaking scene in Episode 6 might be enough to turn the show around.

In the episode, Belly, who’s getting ready to tie the knot with Jeremiah at the end of the summer, has an emotional reunion with her mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung). The moment, which catches Belly completely by surprise at her bridal shower, is sweet, heartwarming, and refreshingly real. It also showed exactly what the show has been missing: heart.

What Led to Belly and Laurel’s Reunion in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’?

Image via Prime Video

Before getting into the details of their reunion, let’s backtrack. Belly and Laurel first fought about the wedding in episode 4, shortly after Belly and Jeremiah announced their engagement to their family. From the very start, Laurel clearly disapproved. So, a few days later, Belly and Jeremiah sat her down and explained why they wanted to go through with it. Continuing not to give them her full support, Laurel and Belly begin their screaming match. “You’re just mad that you don’t get a say anymore, and it’s killing you,” Belly says to her mom. “Exactly!” she says back. “Watching you make such a stupid mistake is killing me.”

Of course, there’s a lot that goes into an explosive mother-daughter fight like this. Laurel herself married her kids’ father, her now ex-husband John (Colin Ferguson), when she was really young. It’s clear, from their fight and from their conversation about Belly’s study abroad program in Paris, that Laurel thinks she’s just too young for this, that she has so much life left to live before settling down. Most of all, it seems she’s afraid her daughter will make the same mistakes she did if she goes through with this wedding.

Belly and Laurel’s Reunion Was a Bright Light in Episode 6

Image via Prime Video

After their fight, Belly moved out of her house, and Laurel became completely uninvolved in wedding planning. But her change of heart made for one of the most heartwarming moments in the series. As she hugged her guests when she arrived, her mom peeked in from the back. Soon, the two walked toward each other and embraced. “I’m so happy you’re here,” Belly says with tears streaming down her face. “Me too,” Laurel replies. In an instant, all the insults and remarks they made during their fight are washed away.

After their party, not only does Belly decide to return to her mom’s house for the night, but they continue to share some sweet moments. As a gift, Laurel gives her daughter a passport and gift cards for her and Jeremiah’s honeymoon. “There’s a lot more of the world for you to see, Bells,” she says, hinting back to everything she’s been saying about the wedding.

Later on that night, the two cuddle up on the sofa together to have one of their traditional musical movie nights. All in all, they’ve finally returned to the mother-daughter relationship they once had, relying on each other and being transparent to one another about everything. Most importantly, their reunion gave viewers a well-deserved reprieve from the Jeremiah versus Conrad drama.

Conrad Played a Major Role in Belly and Lauren’s Reunion

But, of course, like everything else in the show, their reunion is still very much connected to the much-talked-about Jeremiah versus Conrad debate. After all, Laurel only agreed to attend the bridal shower because Conrad reached out and asked her to grab dinner. “I think that they love each other, that they’re gonna go through this regardless of what anyone thinks,” Conrad tells Laurel after ordering them cheeseburgers. “And I think that Belly needs her mom right now.”

While Laurel’s hesitant at first to what Conrad has to say, he knows exactly how to get her to listen. He tells her that Belly’s not eating and that she’s sad about the lack of Laurel’s involvement in the wedding, and that makes Laurel start to let her guard down and finally listen. He reaffirms to her that the wedding is going to happen whether she likes it or not, and she’s going to regret not being a part of it for the rest of her life. Hearing that his home for Laurel. She wanted to make her opinions clear when it came to the wedding, but not if it meant torturing her daughter as a result.

In one heartfelt conversation, Conrad shows how much he cares for Belly, even if it means helping the wedding take place. Not only that, but he’s the one who can communicate with Belly’s mom, and have her listen to Belly’s struggles and desires. Because, of course, when Jeremiah tried to do the same only a few episodes ago, the discussion backfired into Belly moving out. Unlike Jeremiah, Conrad was effective because he knew just what to say, and perhaps kinder than what Belly even deserves.

Overall, while the sixth episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty continued the storylines between Belly and the boys – like Belly getting overwhelmed with Jeremiah over the wedding and sharing some steamy moments with Conrad – it also did much more. With the reunion between Belly and her mom, viewers were reminded of how sweet and heartfelt the show used to be. After all, before Susannah’s passing in Season 2, Belly and the boys’ family were one big family. Luckily, their reunion gave a much-needed reminder of that.

New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty release on Wednesdays on Prime Video in the U.S.