Laurel Park: The Summer I Turned Pretty's Fierce, Flawed, Wine-Drinking Matriarch Who Deserves Her Own Spin-Off
She's the mom who shows up with a tote bag full of snacks and emotional support. She's the writer who hasn't finished her book. She's the best friend who would burn the world down for Susannah Fisher. And she's the parent who, honestly, needed to ground Belly like three seasons ago. Let's deep-dive into the glorious, complicated woman that is Laurel Park.
In a show full of chaotic teenagers making terrible decisions, Laurel Park is the adult in the room. Usually. She's the one rolling her eyes at the love triangle drama. She's the one telling Belly to get her act together. She's the one who looks at Conrad and Jeremiah and thinks, "These boys need therapy and a nap."
But Laurel isn't just the "mom character." She's a fully realized woman with her own grief, her own career struggles, her own messy love life. And honestly? Her story might be more interesting than the kids' drama. Let's break down why Laurel Park is the unsung queen of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
1. The Best Friend Dynamic: Laurel And Susannah's Epic Love Story
Forget Belly and Conrad. Forget Belly and Jeremiah. The real love story of The Summer I Turned Pretty is Laurel Park and Susannah Fisher. They've been best friends for decades. They raised their kids together. They built a whole world in Cousins Beach that existed outside of husbands, outside of boyfriends, outside of everything.
And when Susannah gets sick? Laurel doesn't just show up. She moves in. She puts her life on hold. She fights for Susannah's health, for her dignity, for her peace. She's the one who sits with Susannah during treatments. She's the one who advocates for her when the doctors aren't listening. She's the one who holds her hand when everything feels hopeless.
🔍 The deeper truth: Laurel's grief for Susannah is one of the most honest portrayals of female friendship in modern TV. She doesn't just lose a friend. She loses her person. The one who knew her before she was a mom, before she was a writer, before she was anything except Laurel. And the show doesn't shy away from how devastating that is.
2. The Parenting Struggle: Laurel Is Not A Perfect Mom (And That's Okay)
Laurel Park is a great mom. But she's not a perfect mom. And that's what makes her so relatable.
She's not always emotionally available. She gets distracted by her writing. She struggles to connect with Belly during the love triangle chaos. She sometimes prioritizes Susannah's needs over her own daughter's. And when Belly makes terrible decisions like, say, getting engaged to Jeremiah at nineteen Laurel doesn't swoop in and fix it. She steps back. She lets Belly make her own mistakes.
Is that always the right call? Debatable. But it's real. Laurel is a mom who's doing her best while also dealing with her own grief, her own career, her own identity. She's not just a supporting character in her daughter's story. She's the main character in her own.
3. The Writing Career: Laurel's Unfinished Book And The Pressure Of Creative Dreams
Laurel is a writer. Or she was. Or she's trying to be again. The show doesn't make a huge deal of it, but her unfinished novel is a constant thread throughout the series. It represents everything she's put on hold her dreams, her identity, her ambition to be a mom, a wife, a best friend.
And when she finally starts writing again? When she finally sits down and finishes the book? It's a quiet victory. It's not a dramatic moment with a montage and an inspiring speech. It's just Laurel, alone, typing. Choosing herself for once.
That's the thing about Laurel Park. She's not a hero in the traditional sense. She's a woman who spent decades putting everyone else first and is only now, in her fifties, learning how to put herself first. And honestly? That's a story worth telling.
4. The Romantic Life: Laurel, Cleveland, And The Possibility Of Second Chances
Laurel's romantic life is... complicated. She's divorced from Belly and Steven's dad. She's had her heart broken. She's not looking for love. But then Cleveland Castillo walks into her life a writer, a professor, a man who actually sees her for who she is.
And Laurel, who's spent years being the responsible one, the practical one, the one who doesn't have time for romance, actually lets herself be vulnerable. She flirts. She dates. She lets herself feel something again.
The Laurel-Cleveland relationship is one of the most underrated storylines in the entire series. It's not dramatic. It's not full of screaming matches and grand gestures. It's two adults, both with baggage, both with careers, both with complicated pasts, choosing to try again. And there's something deeply beautiful about that.
5. The Iconic Laurel Moments That Live Rent-Free in Our Heads
- 🍷 Every single scene where she's drinking wine Laurel Park's love language is a glass of red and a sarcastic comment.
- 📚 The moment she finally finishes her book A quiet, powerful reminder that dreams don't have expiration dates.
- 💔 The scene where she tells Belly "That is how I know you're not ready" The moment every viewer screamed "THANK YOU, LAUREL."
- 🩺 Every scene at Susannah's bedside The quiet, devastating reality of watching your best friend die.
- 💕 The Cleveland date Proof that Laurel Park still has game, and we love that for her.
6. Why Laurel Park Deserves Her Own Spin-Off
Let's be real: Laurel Park is the most interesting character in this show, and she's not even part of the main love triangle. She's a woman who's navigating grief, motherhood, career struggles, and the possibility of new love all while trying to keep her daughter from making the same mistakes she did.
She's funny. She's smart. She's flawed. She's real. And she's proof that the "mom character" can be just as compelling as the teenagers making out on the beach. If Netflix or Prime ever wants to make a spin-off, "The Summer I Turned Fifty" would absolutely slap.
7. The Final Verdict: Laurel Park Is The Real MVP
Laurel Park isn't perfect. She's not always there for Belly in the way Belly needs. She's not always emotionally available. She's not always the best communicator. But she's trying. Every single day. And that's all any of us can do.
She's the friend who shows up. The mom who loves fiercely. The woman who's still figuring it out. And in a show full of people who are running from their problems, Laurel Park is the one who faces them head-on even when it hurts.
So here's to Laurel. The wine drinker. The book writer. The best friend. The mom who doesn't always get it right but never stops trying. You're the grounded, sarcastic, fiercely loving heart of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and we're so glad you're here.
💬 Is Laurel Park the best character in TSITP? Did she deserve more screen time? And should she get her own spin-off? Drop your thoughts we're ready to give this queen the appreciation she deserves.
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