The Summer I Turned Pretty Stars Talk Steven And Taylor's Romantic Moment, (Unintentionally?) Hilarious Fight Scene
Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2, Episode 6. Proceed at your own risk!
Dancing, fighting and kissing — the latest episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty had all the hallmarks of teenage fun and angst.
To say goodbye to the Cousins Beach house, which Aunt Julia had sold, Belly and the gang threw a rager at the empty home. And of course, the party featured some big developments for several would-be couples, including Steven and Taylor.
"I like you. Even when you were just my little sister's annoying best friend. Like, you were always just this person who was around, and now you're someone I miss when they're not around," Steven confessed after he and Taylor performed a synchronized dance number to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A."
"I don't know how it happened, or when it happened, but now, you're my favorite person," he added just as Taylor's boyfriend Milo showed up at the party.
A fight then broke out (more on that below), after which Milo insulted Taylor's friends, and she questioned if he even knew her. He couldn't supply an answer when she asked him what her middle name is, but Steven knew it. That was the final straw for Taylor, who broke up with her musician beau. After attempting to deny the pull between herself and Belly's older brother, Taylor finally gave in to her feelings and kissed Steven.
"What changed for Taylor is that she sees that Steven is serious," her portrayer Rain Spencer tells TVLine in the above video interview. "Her feelings really, really, really got hurt in Season 1, and so, I think that she kind of crawled back in her cave... She's, like, really protecting herself, and he's just like relentlessly chasing after her. He knows who she is. He really sees her, and I think that provides a sense of security and the ability to knock down some walls and really be herself. She's like, 'OK, we could do this. I trust you.' It's a level of trust that he's built over the season."
Now about that fight... Before Steven and Taylor had their big romantic kiss, he had to contend with Milo, who was ready to throw down with the guy who's been spending so much time with his girlfriend. Although it was a heated confrontation, the clash turned comical as Milo and Steven threw punches at each other that landed... nowhere.
"There was strict choreography, and I think it was very intentional," says Sean Kaufman, who plays Steven. "I think it's a credit to our stunt coordinator and [showrunner] Jenny [Han], as well. I think it just really showcases, like, 17-year-olds. I keep going back to this: they're kids. Both of them throw a punch and both miss. They end up on the floor. They're kids. They don't know what they're doing. They're just filled with, like, testosterone and anger and this weird, fragile, toxic masculinity."
Steven, in particular, is "so upset, he's so angry, and that is so funny because it's not life or death, but to him, it seems that way," Kaufman describes.
Meanwhile, an upset Taylor stood on the edge of the fight, neither impressed nor amused. But in real life, was it it difficult for Spencer to keep her composure while shooting the the boys' inadvertently hilarious battle?
"To be honest, I saw Sean's face, and I was like, 'Sean, what have you been doing?! Do you have, like, a past life where [you've been] fighting people?'" Spencer shares with a laugh. "I'm telling you, he was so just, like, heated. He's channeling some real anger. Maybe when you see it, it's funny... but like when I was there, I was like, 'He's mad.'"
Press PLAY above to hear what Spencer and Kaufman also had to say about their characters' choreographed dance number.
Note: This interview took place before SAG-AFTRA officially announced a strike on July 13.