False God played during the Belly-Conrad moment on The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 is more than background music and hints at something deeper

False God by Taylor Swift was used by Jenny Han during the bathtub scene, which changed everything in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 and will pivot the ending before the finale. However, this was not just a random choice, but a well-thought-out selection. Jenny Han returns as the showrunner for this season and selected the music for the various scenes, and Taylor Swift features heavily in the same.

With her hits like "You're Losing Me" describing the situation with Jeremiah and how they have become so distant, a renewed spark with Conrad only felt right. But why False God? What does it represent? 

For starters, False God is a song about how the person you are in love with is not right for you. They are a "false god," a false religion that you have found in their love. With lyrics starting with, 

"We were crazy to think, crazy to think that this could work, remember how I said I'd die for you."

It represents the complexity that Belly and Conrad have been going through since season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and it has not stopped yet. This song rejuvenates what she had thought was long lost inside of her and brings back the feelings for Conrad. 

False God by Taylor Swift portrays the relationship between Conrad and Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3

Then there is the scene where the two have their faces only inches apart and Taylor sings, 

"We were stupid to jump in the ocean separating us, remember how I'd fly to you?"

And then, when Conrad walks away after putting his hand on her shoulder and Belly is sitting there, questioning herself about what she "almost" did, Taylor comes back again in the background, only this time, she sings,

"But we might just get away with it, religion's in your lips, even if it's a false god, we'd still worship..."

This signifies the "almost" kiss that happened between the two and how it was wrong because Belly is an engaged woman, and the fiancée of Conrad's brother, Jeremiah. A kiss would mean cheating, yet, was everything that she wanted to do in that moment. 

What is the significance of False God by Taylor Swift during the Belly-Conrad scene on The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3? 

For this, we have to rewind to season 1 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, where Belly and Conrad were standing on the patio, and were "almost" about to kiss. This is an homage to that scene, the first scene where they both truly felt comfortable being with each other. However, it was interrupted by Jeremiah as he saw the two of them getting close and felt jealous.

He fired up a cracker and aimed in their direction. As it burst in the sky, Conrad and Belly were released from the trance they seemed to be in and did not kiss as the moment had passed. 

The same thing happened during the bathtub scene on The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, and thus, False God by Taylor Swift was a pretty smart choice. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 episodes drop weekly on Wednesdays at 3 AM Eastern Time on Amazon Prime Video.