This year, Prime Video released a slate of new action thrillers and each of them found their audience. This included Jensen Ackle‘s Countdown, Daniel Dae Kim‘s Butterfly and the Maggie Q Bosch spin-off, Ballard. Despite all of them making Prime Video’s Top 10 in streaming, only Ballard was given a green light for a second season, while the other two faced the chopping block. Butterfly, in particular, was a head-scratching cancellation, especially as it surged in the streaming charts just days after the announcement of its lack of renewal. It’s clear that fans are still re-living the non-stop action of the show, so don’t let its cancellation dissuade you — Butterfly‘s single season has all the wall-to-wall espionage and heart to make for a fun binge.

‘Butterfly’ Climbed Up Prime Video’s Charts After Its Cancellation

Kim, as David Jung, is in the lead of this spy thriller meets family drama, turning into a retired spy who is presumed dead, but returns to his former stomping grounds to save his daughter from the same fate. Reina Hardesty‘s Rebecca had been groomed into a heartless, elite assassin by David’s former partner, Juno (Piper Perabo). When Rebecca finds out he is still alive, she is torn between her loyalty to her mentor and her father, leading to a cat and mouse chase that also acts as family therapy.

After Butterfly premiered on the streaming service, it hit its peak at #6 on Nielsen’s Top 10 Streaming Originals in the U.S., an impressive feat that made it look like the show would have a future. Combine this with an Audience Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, and it’s clear that the series has resonated with audiences. So, the news of the cancellation was shocking, to say the least, even if the show dropped from the charts just beforehand. Prime Video cited a broader “slate reevaluation” as the reason for not renewing the series, but what happened a few days after the news probably points to this as being an unwise or rushed decision.

Butterfly rocketed to #3 on Prime Video’s global charts, once again, finding an even bigger audience only after Amazon MGM studios pulled the plug on the show. Whether this is a response to the cancellation or a mere coincidence, it points to the question: was the decision to cancel the show made too soon? The spy thriller is clearly hooking viewers in, and considering it also ends on a wild cliffhanger, there are probably more than a few unsatisfied fans yearning for some answers. However, despite some unanswered questions, there are enough thrills in the lone season to make the show worth viewing if you haven’t already.

‘Butterfly’ Wins Us Over by Blending Together Espionage, Culture, and Emotion

Butterfly may have had a middling critical reception, earning an RT score of 68%, but there was one thing critics collectively agreed on: Kim delivered a stunning performance. Kim’s David was naturally at the center of the show and all its contrasting elements, tying them together through his acting and characterization. He becomes the driving force of the series that makes it so bingeable, even if we know there’s no second season on the horizon. As an action lead, he participates in some of the most mesmerizing and adrenaline-pumping fighting sequences, and as a father, he portrays the vulnerability and guilt of navigating his estranged relationship with his daughter.

On top of this, Kim’s performance is what makes Butterfly a well-rounded cultural milestone. During SDCC 2025, he told Collider that “Korea is definitely a character in our series, and that’s one of the things that makes our show unique.” As such, through Kim and Hardesty’s performances and father-daughter chemistry, Butterfly is able to incorporate Korean culture in an organic way rather than a “token-istic” one. David is constantly introducing Rebecca to different aspects of Korean culture, like drinking Makgeolli or even through how they interact with different cities in the respective episodes titled after them, like “Busan” or “Seoul.”

So, even though Butterfly hasn’t been renewed for a second season, considering the show’s action-packed atmosphere and its importance as a cultural milestone, it’s still definitely worth the watch anyway. The six episodes are filled with so many twists and so much heart, that it’ll suck you in from the second you see Kim’s David skulking around in the shadows. Between its tumultuous pace and emotional storyteling, it is primed for a weekend binge. We may wish that Season 2 was green lit to, at the very least, address the final cliffhanger, but Butterfly’s first season alone is an enticing must-watch, rolling cutthroat assassins and family nuance into one gripping package.

After playing stubborn, anti-capitalist, one-of-the-boys Kiara “Kie” Carrera for four seasons on Outer Banks, Madison Bailey is entering her rom-com era. In Prime Video’s Maintenance Required, she plays Izzy, one part of an all-female mechanic shop who loves wearing head-to-toe pink as much as she loves giving manicures to people as they wait for their car repairs. Izzy’s best friend Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) owns the shop and is in a complicated situationship with Beau (Jacob Scipio), her anonymous online crush she doesn’t realize is also her corporate rival IRL. While sparks fly on and offline for Charlie and Beau, her besties Izzy and Kam (Katy O’Brian) provide the comedic relief and humor often lacking in recent romance movies. The movie is a classic rom-com (a nice modern twist on You’ve Got Mail) that allows Bailey to show off, as she puts it, a “more feminine” side we have yet to see from her onscreen.  

One of the most unfortunate side effects of the streaming era is an overabundance of options, which sometimes leads to films from major directors slipping through the cracks in terms of pre-release buzz. Last year, Charlie Kaufman wrote the Netflix animated film Orion and the Dark, which was clearly no KPop Demon Hunters. A couple of years before that, Joe Carnahan directed the time-loop action movie Boss Level, featuring Frank Grillo, Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Watts and Mel Gibson. It debuted on Hulu to minimal fanfare. The trend continued this week with the release of Prime Video’s Play Dirty, the new movie directed by Shane Black, starring bona fide A-lister Mark Wahlberg.

It’s Black’s first film as director since The Predator, which was released back in 2018. Black made a name for himself with his self-aware buddy movies in the 1990s, with films such as Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He made his directorial debut with the cult classic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and followed it up with the $1.3 billion hit Iron Man 3, to which he brought his unique acerbic sensibilities. Black cashed in his black check with another cult hit, The Nice Guys. Each of these movies has its set of fans; many of them were even critically acclaimed.

However, Play Dirty has opened to rather middling reviews. It currently holds a 49% critics’ score, and a slightly lower 46% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In his review, Collider’s Nate Richard recommended lowering expectations. “If you watch Play Dirty expecting something on the level of The Nice Guys or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you will be disappointed. However, the latest action-comedy from Black proves that he’s still capable of delivering an equal parts funny and action-heavy comedy with all the trademarks that make us love him as a filmmaker,” he wrote.

Jason Statham Previously Played Wahlberg’s Character

Also starring LaKeith Stanfield, Play Dirty is an adaptation of the “Parker” novels by Richard Stark, with Wahlberg playing the central character. Incidentally, the character was played around a decade ago by Jason Statham, in a film directed by Taylor Hackford. Wahlberg is coming off of a string of forgettable action movies designed for streaming, such as The Union and The Family Plan; he also headlined the theatrical release Flight Risk, which debuted earlier this year. You can watch Play Dirty on Prime Video, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

This recap will contain spoilers for Prime Video’s Gen V, Season 2 Episode 4, “Bags”.

---

Hello and welcome back to our Gen V recaps, where I’m here to break down all the supe-r happenings on the GodU campus.

Previously on Gen V: Emma found herself a little group of Starlighter buddies in Harper and Ally; Jordan blasted Cate into a wall, which crushed part of her skull and put her powers on the fritz; Starlight told Marie to look into Project Odessa, which turned out to be related to her own birth at which Cipher aka Dr. Gold was present; and Jordan gave a speech that was supposed to be about their #1 ranking at the school but ended up being them confessing to being the one who hurt Cate.

This week, we open on a newscast where Firecracker is using her garbage platform to talk about a “woke plague” at God U, accusing Jordan of lying: about Andre being dead, and about Cate being attacked. Cate backs this up, making a video claiming it was definitely Starlighters that attacked her and that Jordan is a liar. Of course, Firecracker and her fellow Homelanders waste no time turning this into a transphobic attack against Jordan, saying their gender switches so obviously they’re duplicitous, even having Justine make a video with her eyes full of crocodile tears about the time they were in the same bathroom as Jordan and how traumatizing that was for her.

Poor Jordan is waiting for their meeting with Cipher, watching all this on their phone, and freaking out a little, doubting whether or not they did the right thing. Marie tries to comfort and reassure them, promising that, no matter what, SHE is on their side. Also, she knows what I said last week: God U JUST made them #1 in the rankings they hold so dear. There’s no way they’re going to kick them out of the school (or worse) and admit they made a mistake. Jordan almost laughs when Marie mentions the ranking…it used to feel so important to them, being #1, but now it all just feels so fake.

Just then, Cate comes storming out of the dean’s office, Cipher hot on her heels, telling her to “know her place.” He recovers his calm, cool, collected demeanor when he sees Marie and Jordan and calls them into his office.

Waiting there is Seth from Marketing (who was also on The Boys and was behind all the Brave Maeve marketing), who is here to help restore Jordan’s image by way of a 1v1 battle between the “Gender Bender” and “Blood Bender.” Marie and Jordan don’t want to fight each other, but Cipher says they have no choice. They’re going to fight, and Marie is going to win. Marie takes even more umbrage with that — she says she couldn’t kick Jordan’s ass even if she wanted to. Which, she will remind everyone, she does not!

Cipher says it’s either this or the two of them plus Emma all go right back to Elmira, so they reluctantly agree, with Cipher promising Marie private lessons to help her get ready.

When Emma finds out about this, she is none too pleased.

Marie is still trying to think of any way out of this. Her first suggestion is to recruit Cate to use her powers to get more information. Read his mind, find out what his powers are, and “push” him to call off the fight. After all, they saw their little tiff this morning; the two aren’t as entangled as they previously thought. Emma disagrees, saying Cate has a “butthole timeshare” and that the enemy of their enemy “is extra enemy” and I just love Emma so much.

However, no one has a better idea, so they have to go with Marie’s, and off to Cate’s they go.

Cate isn’t exactly thrilled to see her old friends who left her for dead at her doorstep, but when Marie and Jordan say they’re on the same side and want her help to take Cipher down, she decides to hear them out. After all, it’s not like she has any other friends or allies left.

Meanwhile, Emma goes back to her new rebel buddies and gets high, debriefing them on the Cipher situation. They think that they need a backup plan in case Cate won’t help them, and decide sabotage is their best option. While trying to strategize, Emma asks Ally what her power is, and finds out that she can manipulate her pubic hair. Because of course she can.

Knowing what they’re working with was step one, but step two is having Harper help her figure out how to use her powers. Because Emma has never been able to shrink without throwing up or emotionally berating herself, and Harper seemed to be able to do it no problem when she used her chameleon abilities to “borrow” Emma’s powers for 60 seconds.

Before they can start their lessons, Ally’s brother shows up, and it’s the cute boy Emma flirted with in Modesty Monarch’s class. Emma gets cute and shy and is delighted to learn that he’s a Starlighter, too.

Back in Cate’s room, Marie and Jordan tell her their plan for her helping them, but Cate says she’s tried to read his mind before but has never been able to, and that Cipher has never let her physically close enough for her to push him. He’s clever like that.

HOWEVER, she still might be able to help. Cate tells them about the weird door in his house that wasn’t there when the previous dean lived there, and that she heard a machine-like humming coming from it. They decide blackmail is their best way forward, so they make a plan to break in while Marie is in her private lessons.

While they wait for Cipher to leave so they can break in, Jordan watches a deep fake commercial Vought made for the Bender Contender fight and is getting in their head about it again. Cate and Jordan sort of fight, but within that fight are some buried apologies, and they end up sharing memories from their time together as Freshmen. And I had almost forgotten how much longer they were friends than what we’ve seen. We entered this world by way of Marie when she was a Freshman, but Cate and Jordan were Sophomores at the time, and they had already spent two semesters together, which is basically a lifetime at that age. So it was nice to be reminded of that, for us and for them, because they do end up laughing together in the end.

Jordan admits sadly that they might never be able to fully forgive Cate, and that it actually breaks their heart. But hopefully they’ll be able to find something like friendship again. Cate says she’s glad Jordan told the truth about Andre, no matter the consequences.

Cipher leaves for his training session with Marie, and Cate and Jordan approach the guard. The plan is for Cate to push him into giving them the keys and leaving, but when she tells him to “fuck off” he instead turns around and starts fucking a garden gnome. Cate then sheepishly admits to Jordan that her powers aren’t exactly working correctly and they’re pissed that she hadn’t told them earlier. But the guard is still distracted enough for them to take the keys and go inside to snoop around. They go through the mysterious door and find a hyperbolic chamber with a crispy looking old man in it. They snap a photo and the man opens his eyes and the medical equipment starts beeping so they get the hell out of dodge.

In her one-on-one training, Marie is feeling a bit uneasy. Cipher tells her that her first assignment is to move a blood bag from one table to the other without breaking it, which she tries and fails.

He coaches her, telling her to stop holding her hand out like a stereotypical superhero because that’s not how that works (even though it LOOKS cooler, just ask Wanda Maximoff). Instead, she closes her eyes and feels her way through the task, moving all the rest of the bloodbags over without a hitch.

Elsewhere, Harper is trying to teach Emma how to get small without puking or feeling like shit, but it’s not working. Harper tries to get her to get big instead, but Emma barely even tries before giving up, deeming herself hopeless. Harper tries to reassure her that she’s an inspiration, to both her and Ally, who had never shared her secret about her powers before now. Emma looks genuinely moved, but Harper is sad that motivational speech didn’t make Emma get big. They giggle together, and I know they’re very obviously trying to set Emma up with Ally’s brother, but Harper is RIGHT HERE and they’re so cute together! Just saying!!

Marie’s next assignment is similar to the first, but this time she has to move a goat without exploding it. (The goat’s name is Elon though, specifically after an asshole, just in case. To ease the blow.) Marie asks what would happen if she refused to play his games, and Cipher says she’ll do what he asks because she wants to know about Project Odessa and this is the only way to get answers. Marie does not have a great poker face though, so when she tries to feign ignorance, Cipher blows her off. He says the whole point of God U was to make supes like Marie and that she could be the most powerful supe ever. Marie asks if she could be more powerful than Homelander, and Cipher doesn’t answer, which I think speaks volumes. And oh would I love nothing more than for this series to end with a queer Black woman making Homelander’s blood literally boil until he explodes. But we have to get Marie to survive to the finish line for that to happen. And for her to learn to control her powers, because while she’s floating Elon, she gets distracted by Cipher’s bulging throat veins and sure does pop him like a blood balloon. (Also I don’t know who on the writing staff she pissed off, but the next goat’s name is Julia Fox.)

The Gen V squad regroups, and even though Emma is still not loving the idea of working with Cate, she sucks it up while Cate and Jordan fill her and Marie in on what they found at Cipher’s house. Marie also shared what she found: There’s no Compound V in Cipher’s blood. She says this means they don’t know what his powers are because he has no powers. He’s not a supe at all. Marie thinks this opens up their options, saying Cate doesn’t have to be afraid of getting close enough to him to push him, but Cate confesses about her busted powers.

Oh also? Cipher has security cameras in his house and knows damn well that Cate was snooping in his secret room. Marie says they can use this to their advantage, have Cate wear a wire or something, but this is all getting a little too spycraft for Jordan. Marie insists though, saying she can just use her phone and get Cipher to admit he’s human on tape so they can blackmail him into stopping the Bender Battle.

Emma gets on board, saying she has a crew that can help, so they devise a plan and off they go.

The night of the battle, Marie and Jordan are doing their fight prep while Emma and her Starlighters kick off their side of the plan. They put a tiny camera in a tiny backpack and give it to Emma. Ally (dubbed “The Bushmaster” by Emma) and Harper sneak into the boiler room and turn the water off so Emma can get little and sneak through the pipes to plant the camera. They run into a few hiccups along the way (including toilet-up view of a man I will never be able to scour from my brain) but eventually Emma gets the camera to Cate in the VIP lounge where she’s meeting with Cipher.

Down in the locker room, Jordan can hear the crowd chanting about how much they hate them, and Marie can tell it’s starting to get to them. Marie tells them they don’t have to pretend to be tough for her, and Jordan confesses that this whole situation is kind of a nightmare come true for them. They actually learned about their shifting powers when they were six, but hid it for years, having nightmares about everyone pointing and screaming at them, like even at that age they knew that being different could be dangerous. It’s an all-too-familiar story, and it’s heartbreaking.

Marie says that their nightmare isn’t real, and that this whole battle is fake, but that Marie is real, Jordan is real, and together, what they have? That’s real, too.

Marie says “I love you,” and makes sure Jordan hears her, and really believes her, before they have to go out into the ring.

Cate doesn’t end up being able to read Cipher’s mind, but she does learn a few things. For one thing, the man they found in Cipher’s house is his father. Cate apologizes but admits they were all curious about him. She lies and says her powers are back and better than ever, and that she knows his secret. She says she knows he’s human and doesn’t have powers and that if he wants to keep this a secret, he should call off the fight.

The fight which, by the way, is being stalled by Marie and Jordan, who ignore the boos and jeers of the crowd and kiss.

Cipher and his uncanny ability to know things calls Cate out for having a camera, and realizes from a slip of Cate’s wording that Marie is the reason she thinks he knows he doesn’t have Compound V in his blood and therefore thinks he’s powerless. And while the first part might be true, Cipher soon proves that he is more powerful than they realized when he pushes into Jordan’s consciousness and uses them like “a meat puppet” to start fighting a very confused Marie.

“Jordan” echoes something Cipher said in training and Marie knows what’s happening and ends up floating Jordan up in the air like she did the goat, but it’s not Cipher she’s fighting, and it seems to take everything in her to not explode Jordan, but it’s the person she loves so she tries and she tries.

And then Cipher returns Jordan to their body, who starts begging Marie to stop, so Marie drops Jordan, leaving them hurt but blessedly in one piece with all their blood still on the inside of their body.

Cate stares at Cipher, confused, wondering what this all means.

Because it could mean so many things. We know from The Boys that sometimes supes don’t age the same way regular humans do, with Stormfront looking the same as she did during World War II, so is it possible he knew Godolkin personally? Is he the original supe? Does he not have Compound V in his blood because his blood was used to make the first doses of Compound V? If he is that old, how is his father still alive — is he a supe, too? One of the early experiments? Also, how often does Cipher use his powers? Has he used it already this season and we just didn’t realize it?

So many questions and I can’t wait to get the answers, and to hopefully eventually watch Cipher get his.

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 3.The war between the Fisher brothers is officially over! Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty may have ended on a happy note, but the journey the show took to get there was long and emotionally taxing. Ever since they were kids, Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) has always had her sights on the broody Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney), but it seems like no matter how hard they try to connect, they’re just not on the same page.

As Belly tried to pick up the pieces broken by Conrad, the more cheerful Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) had come in to save Belly’s day. However, Jeremiah has had his ugly moments throughout the show, especially in how he treats Belly in the relationship. Remembering why he wouldn’t make a great match for Belly from the start, here are the worst things Jeremiah did in The Summer I Turned Pretty, ranked.

10

Jeremiah Makes Fun of Belly in Front of Cam

Season 1, Episode 3 “Summer Nights”

Boys will always be boys. As the show once said, “Boys at school never looked at me.” This summer is about to change that. While going to a party at Cousins Beach, she unexpectedly reunites with an old friend, Cam (David Iacono), who happens to be a local of the area. As they reminisce over a Latin contest the two once entered before, sparks begin to appear.

Belly decides to bring Cam over to the summer house to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Over a scrumptious dinner, Cam mentions that he’s a vegetarian. Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Jeremiah butt into the conversation by calling Belly “pig lips,” making fun of her for eating meat. It might not be vicious of Jeremiah, but it’s definitely rude dinner etiquette.

9

Jeremiah Disrupts Belly’s First Date

Season 1, Episode 2 “Summer Dress”

This summer, Belly wants to be a more confident, and arguably a “girlier” version of herself. Now that she has a romantic interest in Cousins, she wants to look her best for their first date. Besides summer crushes, Belly decides to get out of her comfort zone by entering the debutante as a full-fledged deb.

Unfortunately, her date is anything but romantic — no thanks to Steven, Conrad, and Jeremiah. Belly and Cam were enjoying themselves with a movie at the drive-in. All of a sudden, the three boys drove past Cam’s car and started wreaking havoc. Not only was it immature, but all that came from her own brother and childhood friends is just disappointing.

8

Jeremiah Gives Belly the Cold Shoulder

Season 2, Episode 2 “Love Scene”

Conrad’s gone AWOL — not even his own brother could reach him. Last time Jeremiah checked, Conrad was living in a dorm in Boston with his roomie. Apparently, he’s been skipping classes and has taken off without notifying anybody else. Although Belly and Conrad were no longer dating at the time, she feels obliged to help out Jeremiah in his investigation — much to his reluctance.

Realistically speaking, it’s understandable that Jeremiah is upset with Belly. Throughout The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1, Belly forms a special connection with the livelier Fisher brother. The two even shared a kiss. Jeremiah secretly knew that no matter how much he tried to get into Belly’s heart, it was, is, and will always be Conrad. However, in emergency situations like this, hostility is the last thing Belly and Jeremiah need.

7

Jeremiah Takes a Job Behind Belly’s Back

Season 3, Episode 8 “Last Kiss”

It’s a brief, tense exchange between Belly and Jeremiah, but it’s more than enough proof that they’re not ready to get married. After the rehearsal dinner wrapped, Adam (Tom Everett Scott) approaches Jeremiah and tells him how proud he’s been of him at work. He also looks forward to having him work in Boston, much to Billy’s surprise. She wasn’t aware that Jeremiah had taken a job behind her back.

True, there will always be fights and arguments in a marriage. But even the night before they’re supposed to exchange their vows, the two haven’t gotten their lives sorted out. They’re still hung up on the simplest things like communication, which is one of the key foundations of a healthy marriage.

6

Jeremiah “Broke Up” With Belly

Season 3, Episode 2 “Last Christmas”

In the aftermath of Jeremiah’s betrayal, Belly is holed up in her bed, crying since the night before. She tries to make sense of what Jeremiah meant when they “broke up.” What actually happened was that they had a fight, which, in Belly’s defense, is something that couples normally do. Not once did Belly think they were separated in the first place. Apparently, one fight is enough to convince Jeremiah that he’s free from Belly.

Their “breakup” is shown in a flashback to a previous winter. As the two were snuggling up in bed, Belly noticed Jeremiah had purchased a plane ticket to Cabo. When Belly asks Jeremiah why he didn’t tell her about it, he claims that it’s pointless since she’s not interested in his frat duties anyway. Buying a ticket to Cabo without letting Belly know is one thing, but the thing that happened in Cabo would later on bring devastating consequences for their relationship.

5

Jeremiah Changes the Wedding Venue

Season 3, Episode 5 “Last Dance”

Belly’s completely on her own with the wedding prep. With Jeremiah holed up in his office and Taylor stuck saving her mother’s salon, Belly has no choice but to head to the shops and go in blind. Even Conrad, who’s been living in the summer house with her, keeps his distance from her. But with the weight of the wedding crumbling down on her, Conrad reluctantly keeps her company.

Wedding preparations are no joke, especially since Belly has never planned one before. With exorbitant cake prices and endless decoration choices, it can be too much for any young bride. She also constantly consults with Jeremiah via phone, adding more to her already full plate. So when Jeremiah suddenly swoops in and guilts Belly to change the wedding venue to the country club, it’s no surprise she’s annoyed.

4

Jeremiah Proposes to Belly

Season 3, Episode 2 “Last Christmas”

Belly might’ve had a bad week, but it’s about to get downright worse. While Belly has been busy nursing her broken heart, Steven and Taylor (Rain Spencer) are trying to figure out their “friends with benefits” relationship. Steven clearly wants something more, which only panics Taylor more. As Steve tries to chase after her in his car, a truck hits his vehicle as he was making a U-turn.

By the time Belly reaches the hospital, Steven is completely sedated. Apart from Taylor, Belly was able to contact the rest of her immediate family; her parents were both at a conference out of town. Jeremiah eventually visits the hospital to console Belly, but he blows the moment of reconciliation by proposing to Belly instead. Struck by the reality of Steven’s death, Jeremiah believes that life’s too short for fights. He could’ve just apologized. Instead, he took advantage of the tragedy to get himself in Belly’s good graces again.

3

Jeremiah Asks Belly To Get Back Together

Season 3, Episode 9 “Last Call”

Following the failed wedding, Belly hops on a plane to Paris with nothing but her backpack and a blind sense of direction. She could barely speak the language, but Belly couldn’t stand another minute in Cousins. Unfortunately, her spot in the exchange program is gone, and she’s trapped overseas until her next flight. But when a group of vivacious Parisians suggests she stay, Belly has second thoughts about going home.

Back at Cousins, Jeremiah is devastated over his actions. After a night of too many shots and a handful of bad decisions, a sober Jeremiah is shocked when Belly calls him. The conversation started off civil and friendly. But when Jeremiah mentions that they should get back together, Belly becomes upset. It’s bad enough that Jeremiah called off the wedding. He absolutely doesn’t have the right to mend things or not.

2

Jeremiah Calls Off the Wedding

Season 3, Episode 8 “Last Kiss”

Belly’s nightmare comes true in this climax of the season. The night before the wedding, Conrad confesses to Belly on the beach that he still has feelings for her. But Belly isn’t going to be swayed by his pleas anymore. Belly tells a sleeping Jeremiah about what Conrad did so that they could marry with a clean slate. However, this only angers Jeremiah instead.

Following a physical brawl with Conrad, Jeremiah confronts Belly about her true feelings once again. No matter how many times Belly repeats that it’s Jeremiah she chooses, he has a hard time believing her. Instead of continuing the marriage, he dumps her. It’s ironic, considering how the wedding was Jeremiah’s idea in the first place. Belly only wanted to make Jeremiah happy.

1

Jeremiah Cheated During Spring Break

Season 3, Episode 1 “Last Season”

Years after the events of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2, Belly and Jeremiah are officially college students. The best part is that they go to Finch together. Now in her junior year, Belly’s thinking of expanding her academic horizons. Just as she received the news of being shortlisted for a semester in Paris, Jeremiah is disappointed to learn that he has to stay back for one extra semester.

Belly considers pushing her dreams of studying abroad aside, but Jeremiah insists she move forward. With Jeremiah as her number one supporter, Belly’s certain that he might be the one for her. But Jeremiah’s picture-perfect facade crumbled when Belly discovered he had hooked up with Lacie Barone (Lily Donoghue) during a Spring Break trip to Cabo. Adding salt to the wound, Jeremiah insists he did it while he and Belly “broke up.”

Prime Video’s been feeding superhero audiences with The Boys and its Gen V spinoff, but the franchise has other shows in the works. Up on the docket is one set in Mexico that’s gone quiet since the initial reveal back in 2023.

But according to Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, that series remains alive and kicking. In a recent Collider talk, he promised the show is in active development and is “very cool. […] I think the script is good, and the world itself meets the standard of all our spinoffs.” He further teased it as offering something different from the usual proceedings found in its siblings shows: “It’s our world, but a totally different tone, and it’s super fun. Gael [Garcia Bernal] and Diego [Luna] are executive producers, which is amazing and [they’re] really engaged with it.”

Kripke’s previously talked about his aims of keeping The Boys franchise alive without making it the butt of its own jokes. They’re using other franchises at reference points, observing the places where they’ve failed and succeeded, and ensuring any extension covers territory the other shows can’t: the general plot of The Boys: Mexico is right there in the title, while Gen V is set in a superhero college and the upcoming Vought Rising is a prequel set in the 1950s. As for Kripke’s mention of Mexico having a “totally diffferent” tone, we’ll have to wait and see what that means.

While we wait to hear more about The Boys: Mexico, we have Gen V coming back on September 17, followed by the final season of The Boys in 2026 and Vought Rising presumably sometime that same year.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is known for keeping track of Easter eggs and subtle book nods — but some fans think season 3 just made a major continuity error relating to Conrad.

Belly’s (Lola Tung) relationship with fiancé Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) brother, Conrad (Chris Briney), got more complicated when he confessed his love for her before her and Jeremiah’s wedding. Some viewers, however, are still stuck on the August 13 episode where Belly bandaged up a surfing injury for Conrad. As they rewatch the now-viral scene, there are social media users who think they spotted an editing mistake: Conrad’s cut was a large gash across his leg but in subsequent scenes, it has been moved further up on his body and is more of a vertical shape.

“Can we talk about how Conrad’s injury changed direction lol,” read an X post showing the cut on Conrad’s leg when he initially hurt himself vs. a healed version shown on the Wednesday, August 20, episode of the hit Prime Video series.

The cut looked different side by side, which fans noticed while watching the show.

“I noticed too and I gaslighted myself into thinking maybe I was remembering wrong,” wrote another viewer while someone else said it “bugged” them.

Some questioned how the error happened, writing, “So we get so much hidden details about read and blue flowers, infinity signs, dates, posters and etc and they managed to forget how the injury looks like??”

Others, meanwhile, were more willing to “let it slide” for the sake of enjoyment. “My guess is they shot the scene on the right first and then decided to change the wound when they were shooting the bathtub scene for any number of reasons,” read a fan response.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, which premiered in 2021, is focused on a love triangle between Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah. The current season is slated to be the show’s last as Belly is expected to finally make a decision between Conrad and Jeremiah.

Over the years, viewers have taken their passion to the next level by pointing out any hidden details or Easter eggs that they can find.

“People are always picking up on stuff,” creator Jenny Han told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. “There’s definitely some that people have not picked up on, which I wouldn’t discuss until after everything’s out, and then you could look carefully for some of those little breadcrumbs.”

Han did acknowledge that not every theory was correct. “I saw something today that was not true,” she added. “There’s definitely intentional things, and then there’s also things that were not [intentional]. I feel very flattered that people spend time thinking about what we made and giving it that level of attention and time in their own lives.”

Han concluded: “It’s a privilege that people care enough to come up with their own theories about things. People should be able to look at the work and come up with their own opinions on it that are separate from me, in terms of being the creator. Those [theories] are all valid, and whatever you take away is what you’re taking away from it. So even if it may not have been intentional, I think that there’s validity.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty airs on Prime Video Wednesdays.

You’ve had a busy week, so now is the time to put your feet up and enjoy some quality entertainment. There is plenty on offer if you have an Amazon Prime Video subscription, but not all of it is actually worth watching.

To save you the endless scrolling, here are three TV shows that you should binge over the coming days.

3

We Were Liars

Unintentionally, all three shows I’ve selected are based on books. Kicking things off, We Were Liars is based on the young-adult novel by E. Lockhart. It’s about a teenager called Cady (Emily Alyn Lind) who spends her summers on a private island with her wealthy family; a group of them dub themselves the Liars. When Cady finds herself washed up on the beach with no recollection of the events that led up to it, she sets out to discover what happened.

The chemistry between the characters is believable, even if their privilege makes them tricky to root for, and the central mystery at the heart of the show is intriguing (well done if you figure out what’s happened before it’s revealed). It takes a little while to get going, and you might feel you’ve seen enough rich families bickering to last a lifetime, but stick with it because it will hook you.

Amazon hasn’t officially renewed the show for a second season, though the final episode ends with potential for more, and there is source material available. Lockhart published a prequel novel called Family of Liars in 2022, and a sequel to the original, called We Fell Apart, is due later this year.

2

Reacher

The first Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child was published in 1997 and it kicked off a series that is still going strong to this day. The title character is a former US Army military police officer who now drifts through the country and solves crimes on his terms. In 2012, director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise teamed up for a movie with their take on the character; some took umbrage with the fact Cruise was far from Reacher’s described dominating height. The movie was fine (and spawned a sequel), but McQuarrie and Cruise did better work with the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Enter Reacher, a TV show from Prime Video, which so far has adapted the books Killing Floor, Bad Luck and Trouble, and Persuader. The series stars Alan Ritchson, who certainly checks the “imposing presence” box and makes the fight scenes great fun to watch, but he also sells Reacher’s intelligence and morality. The show is just downright entertaining, with plenty of action and a welcome sense of humor, and the story unfolds in a way that keeps you gripped.

A fourth season was confirmed last year, so now it’s a waiting game until it’s released. There’s no word yet on exactly when that will be, but I’ll be streaming it as soon as it drops—and if you decide to binge Reacher this weekend, I suspect you’ll be hotly anticipating the further adventures too.

1

Good Omens

Good Omens began life as a 1990 fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. While adapted for other mediums like stage and radio, the story never made it to screen—director Terry Gilliam was attached to a film project that stalled for years. Then, almost three decades after the book’s publication, that changed with the release of a TV show as a co-production between the BBC and Amazon.

It stars David Tennant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale, who live on Earth and have come to enjoy their time on the planet. That comfort is thrown into disarray when they learn about the impending end of the world, said to be brought about by the Antichrist, who in this case is a young boy. The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable (watch Staged afterward for more) and their presence is the best part of the whimsical and sprawling show.

The first season remains faithful to the book, while the second goes beyond the source material but still retains its core appeal, with an amusing story of Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm, on great form) losing his memory. A full third and final season was originally planned, but Gaiman left the project due to assault allegations, so now the show is wrapping up with a 90-minute episode instead.

---

If you binge these shows over a weekend, that’s great bang for your buck, even if you’re not using all of Amazon Prime’s benefits. Grab the remote and enjoy!

If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber and haven’t really gotten your use out of its massive Prime Video library of shows and movies, then you really should start checking out what the streaming service has to offer.

Every month Prime Video refreshes its list of offerings, with movies coming and going, which is why I’m here to offer some suggestions for movies I’ve watched and enjoyed on Prime, and that I think you will, too.

5

Wicked

The smash-hit adaptation of the smash-hit Broadway musical of the same name is now streaming in all its glory on Prime Video. Wicked was nominated for 10 Oscars, and while it only took home hardware for two of those, the musical film was widely praised for its performances, costumes, and spectacular design.

You probably know the story already, but Wicked covers the origins of Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), better known as the Wicked Witch of the West (eventually), as they attend Shiz University in pre-Wizard Oz. With sweeping musical and dance numbers, an insane cast including Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, and Bowen Yang, among others, Wicked is a fun, visual spectacle you’ll want to watch with your kids.

Prime Video’s Wicked offers some cool special features, too, including a sing-along version you can buy, and bonus content you can check out via X-Ray.

4

The Vast of Night

It’s always refreshing to find an extraterrestrial film that still manages to create tension and thrills with story and character instead of gobsmacking special effects and people being vaporized (more on that in a bit). 2020’s Amazon Original film The Vast of Night achieved just that.

A self-financed indie gem, The Vast of Night, takes us to 1950s New Mexico where a radio DJ and a switchboard operator uncover a deep UFO conspiracy in their small town after they discover some unexplained sound signals that might not be of this world. If you’re into Close Encounters of the Third Kind or old episodes of The Twilight Zone, you’ll love the grainy period production and slow burn of this Toronto International Film Festival honoree.

3

Pulp Fiction

I was a young and naive 20-year-old dork when Pulp Fiction hit theaters in 1994. And when I left the theater, I was a man … is what I’ll tell my kids when they’re old enough to finally see it. All kidding aside, Quentin Tarantino’s indie masterpiece not only changed the face of filmmaking, but it (and 1992’s Reservoir Dogs) kicked off one of the most successful careers in Hollywood, and jettisoned so many of its cast to new heights.

If you haven’t seen it, Pulp Fiction is the interconnected tales of several players in Los Angeles’ underworld, including hitmen Jules and Vincent (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta), their gangster boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) and his wife Mis (Uma Thurman), an aging boxer with a gambling problem (Bruce Willis), and a pair of smalltime crooks (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer) who pick the wrong diner to rob.

Dark, gritty, violent, shocking, endlessly referenced, and infinitely quotable with some of the best dialog of any film, ever. If you haven’t seen this film yet, go get yourself a Big Kahuna burger and get to it.

2

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Before Steve Carell was a household name for his comedic and dramatic film and TV work, he was honing his improv chops at Chicago’s Second City. It was there that the sketch that The 40-Year-Old Virgin would later be based on was born. With the help of Judd Apatow, it was their script (and Apatow’s directing) that gave us this, now 20-year-old, piece of comedy gold.

It’s the endearing story of Andy (Carell), a mild-mannered employee of a local electronics store where he lets slip to his numskull bro co-workers (played by Seth Rogen, Romany Melo, and Paul Rudd) that he is, indeed, a 40-year-old virgin. The hilarity is largely gleaned from the horrible advice the boys give Andy on how to get laid, leading to some idiotic grooming (“Kelly Clarkson!”) and freaky bedroom antics, when all Andy wants to do is be with Trish (Catherine Keener), an older woman who Andy falls for.

There’s also a Director’s Cut of The 40-Year-Old Virgin available to stream on Prime Video, too.

1

War of the Worlds

While the internet is trying to forget the 0% Rotten Tomatoes score this film’s recently-released 2025 rendition just snagged, let’s just turn our gaze to just how good the 2005 version of War of the Worlds was.

One of, if not the best, recreations of H.G. Wells’s classic alien invasion sci-fi film stars Tom Cruise as an every-day Jersey guy named Ray, who’s just trying to keep his kids (played by Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) from getting vaporized by the towering, three-legged aliens. They’ve been dormant underground all over the planet, and have finally activated, blanketing the world to bring about the extermination of humankind.

War of the Worlds’ special effects were great for the time, and they still hold up today, but one of the best parts of the film is Tim Robbins turn as the creepy Harlan Ogilvy, whose paranoia makes him turn on humanity.

---

That Amazon Prime Video is a jungle (see what I did there?), and if you don’t know which vines to swing on you could find yourself lost and with nothing good to watch. I’ll stop with the ridiculous puns now, just check out this roundup of solid movies, now.

Emilia Clarke’s 2016 romantic comedy Me Before You is gaining worldwide attention once again, nine years after its release. The movie is currently among Prime Video’s worldwide top 10 this week, per FlixPatrol. Me Before You was an adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ bestselling novel. During its release, the film became a shocking blockbuster and earned over $208 million worldwide on a modest $20 million budget, while outperforming larger titles like X-Men: Apocalypse.

The heartbreaking romance features Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Lou, a caregiver hired for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), who becomes paralyzed after a tragic accident. The story unfolds when Will decides to end his life through assisted suicide; meanwhile, Lou tries hard to change his mind. With time, the two grow closer romantically, and Lou struggles to accept Will’s brave decision.

The movie has a 7.4 IMDB rating and a 74% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. However, despite driving strong box office numbers, it holds a 54% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and received mixed responses on how it tackled the controversial and sensitive topics of disability and suicide. The film’s 2025 revival likely stems from the word-of-mouth buzz and algorithmic push generated after the film was released on Prime Video on June 1.

John Cena’s ‘Heads of State’ Tops Prime Video Charts Worldwide

In addition to Me Before You, Heads of State is also rising on Prime Video’s chart, at No. 1 globally. The big-budget action comedy has a star-studded cast including John Cena, who continues to balance WWE appearances with major film roles, alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Idris Elba.

Heads of State is directed by Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, and has a 71% audience and critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has outpaced Ben Affleck’s The Accountant 2 on its debut day and has kept its lead across almost every region where Prime Video is available. Heads of State features Cena as the American President and Elba as the UK’s Prime Minister, who are known for their tense rivalry. The two leaders are suddenly forced to rely on each other after they end up stranded deep in enemy territory. As of today, other movies that are competing neck-to-neck on Prime Video are The Accountant 2, Follow, Dirty Angels, and Prey.

Me Before You is currently streaming on Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV. Viewers can watch Heads of State on Prime Video.

Source: FlixPatrol, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes