The Summer I Turned Pretty mess is a coffee break for millennials after OC, Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl agony

The Jenny Han universe is cosy. Some of you might have entered through All The Boys universe, you would have squabbled over team Kavinsky, team John Ambrose and later the spinoff, team Minho or not? It’s what Han does: She has a way of drawing the romantics into this home covered in fluffy candy and cakes.

 And then, there are sudden bursts of intense drama that you can’t leave, immediately. Too late, this is your home now. If you aren’t debating Kavinsky, muttering about Minho, then you have been wrecked by team Conrad and Team Jeremiah. It’s the escape; it’s so much fun to be absorbed in something that is so far removed from you---you know whether Kitty chooses Minho or not, or whether Belly wants Conrad or Jeremiah doesn’t really affect your life, but it’s just somehow addictive to watch the wheels turning.

 No doubt, it’s always fun to see a show send fans into conniptions, when it comes to romance. Right now it’s Jenny Han’s series. But, there was a time when it was the OC, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210 shows that dominated the millennial teen life.

 We millennials almost feel like sighing and asking, what do you know about pain and frustration, TSIPians?

We survived The OC, watching Ryan and Marissa crash and burn (literally and figuratively) season after season. By Season 1 alone, there were enough ex-lovers, dangerous strangers, and life-or-death plot twists to make you forget they were supposed to be in high school. We debated whether Ryan should become a teen dad, we mourned Marissa’s death at the end of Season 3, and we stuck around long enough to see Seth and Summer get their happily-ever-after wedding. Four seasons — and we still have battle scars.

 The OC was only four seasons. One Tree Hill  was nine, with failed weddings, car crashes, school shooting, kidnapping, people falling off the bridge more than once, but we took it all in. At the time it was Lucas-Brooke, or it was Lucas-Peyton that caused the wars.

But few shows caused fights like the Vampire Diaries.

 You might remember the nerve-wracking journey Vampire Diaries that had nine seasons, which was well, our TSIP back in the day, as it was a girl trapped between two dashing and smoldering brothers, Stefan and Damon. She chooses the one who snapped her brother’s neck and killed her best friend, but we wouldn’t go into details, because their chemistry was just that good. *Laughs awkwardly*.  Ah, Damon and his speeches: 'I would rather die than be human. I would rather die right now than spend my final years than remember how good I had it."

*Grabs tissues*

 The other ex was traumatised for quite some time and at one point even trapped in a coffin underwater for over four months, while she and his brother ‘played house’ in their terms. And unfortunately, Stefan, despite finally finding love again, still got the raw end of the deal in Season 9.

There was so much fan-service, that the plot didn’t matter. Klaus, the dashing vampire who killed Tyler’s mother, has good chemistry with Caroline, Tyler’s ex-girlfriend? Sure, give the fans what they want, for an episode and then never give them closure again. But shows like the Vampire Diaries loved showing ‘human’ sides to people we would probably run a mile from in real life.

 Really, TSIP, you got off easy.

And just when we thought we’d seen it all, Gossip Girl took chaos to couture levels. We endured Blair striking cosmic deals to save Chuck after a car crash, only to marry a literal prince. We watched Chuck “sacrifice” Blair for his empire and then get shot shot later. Everyone dated everyone — it was practically a rite of passage.

Through it all, we waited week after week for new episodes. Not eight or twelve — twenty-four a season. Holiday episodes, prom episodes, mid-season finales designed to emotionally ruin you.

So, TSIP stans, enjoy your streaming drops and your TikTok ship edits. We’re happy for you — really. But just know: we walked so you could binge.