Two boys love one girl: the love triangle of the century, called The Summer I Turned Pretty.
If you have been around any Gen Zers recently, you are likely familiar with the phrase “Team Conrad or Jeremiah?” Originally a book series written by Jenny Han, the blockbuster teen romance television show The Summer I Turned Pretty is a hot topic among the teenage girl population. Airing on Prime Video, a new episode is released every week for season three. And boy, is the wait torturous.
For those unfamiliar, the show begins by following teenage Isabel, or “Belly” Conklin, during her summers in Cousins Beach. Yearly, she stays with her mother, brother, the Fisher boys (Conrad and Jeremiah), and their mom. As the show progresses, the audience experiences a rollercoaster of intense emotions as she grapples with her love for each Fisher brother. Here is where the debate crescendos. Which brother will Belly choose? Who is hotter? Who treats her right?
Season one ends with Belly choosing Conrad, but Jeremiah steals the spotlight in season two. The love triangle becomes more entrenched after Conrad admits his unflinching love for Belly after she commits to Jeremiah. Nevertheless, in the beginning of season three, “Jelly” (Jeremiah and Belly) still goes strong. This is where the real drama begins.
I will keep it brief: after Jeremiah found out about Conrad and Belly staying in Cousins together during Christmas, they briefly “broke up,” and Jeremiah cheated on her. As if matters could not get worse, later, Jeremiah asked Belly to marry him. She said yes. In the wise words of Annie Bailey, “He proposed because he was overcompensating for his stupid mistake.” Jeremiah knew that the only way to keep Belly from leaving him was to put a ring on her finger before she got any second thoughts regarding the cheating mishap. If I could sum up Jeremiah with one harsh word, it would be selfish.
We see this when Belly was accepted into a school program that allowed her to travel to Paris for a semester. At that same time, Jeremiah found out he would not be graduating with his peers and would have to repeat another semester at college. As Colleen Donnelly stated, “Jeremiah even admitted that he let Belly give up Paris because he wanted her to be with him. He didn’t care that she was giving up her dream…Jeremiah let Belly completely lose herself to be there for him.”
By now, you might assume my stance on which Fisher brother I favor. Anyone who is a true fan of the show would agree with me that Conrad is Belly’s only true love. And yes, I realize he has made some controversial decisions in the past. For example, he acted broody, left for California, and inevitably broke up her wedding. But let us all agree with Donnelly that, despite Conrad loving Belly, he realized that Jeremiah needed her more. How considerate of him. Conrad would not drag Belly down with him in his time of grief regarding his mom’s sickness. As for the wedding debacle, I would say that he was acting in Belly’s best interest. She always knew that marrying Jeremiah would never feel right with Conrad still around. Also, for once, Conrad was confronting his own feelings rather than tending to the needs of others. Finally, let us not forget how Jeremiah, while Belly was already anxious and balancing the responsibilities of the ceremony, had a tantrum because they couldn’t afford his chocolate wedding cake with raspberry coulis. He was childish and immature. On the other hand, it was Conrad who went shopping, fixed up the house, made her dinners, and was there for her when she was overwhelmed.
To the fellow team Conrads, we all know the truth lies in the infinity necklace he gave Belly for her birthday: their love will be infinite.
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