The Summer I Turned Pretty: Team Jeremiah
The Summer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age romantic drama TV series based on the popular book series written by author Jenny Han, and is aired on Amazon Prime Video. Her novel trilogy consists of: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, and We’ll Always Have Summer.
After experiencing a glow-up, 16-year-old Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) returns to Cousins Beach, shared with the Fisher family. Belly begins to find herself caught in a love triangle between the two Fisher brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalengno).
Conrad’s self-improvement and genuine love for Belly makes him a better choice than Jeremiah.
Throughout the show, Conrad shows that he is interested in Belly through all of his actions and gestures.
In season 3, right before Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding, Conrad confesses his love to her. His confession is very spontaneous and sweet, showing his deep feelings for her. Also in season 2, he gifts Belly the infinity necklace that symbolizes his never-ending love for her. When he gives it to Belly, she doesn’t get rid of it; instead, she hides it from Jeremiah, hinting that Conrad will always be with her, even though she tells Jeremiah she wants to be with him.
These actions and gestures reveal that Conrad is genuinely interested in Belly, showing that he is willing to take a significant step in order to make it happen.
In season 1, Belly talks about Conrad being her first love and how a piece of her heart will always beat for him. Showing that he will always have a long and lasting impact on her life.
Not only that, but he genuinely loves her as a person, unlike Jeremiah, whose feelings developed for Belly’s changing appearance. During flashbacks throughout the show, we can see that Conrad and Belly have had a profound connection since childhood, showing that their love symbolizes happiness and sacrifice for one’s own feelings.
Their love is also a reminder of true love, showing that love isn’t always going to be perfect and wonderful, but being able to be there for each other during hard times.
He also focuses on self-improvement after Susanna’s (his mom) death. He begins to attend therapy, concentrate more on academics to become a doctor, and wants to better himself. When Conrad went to Stanford, it was to make his mom proud, while Jeremiah went to Finch, joined a frat, and ended up being a super senior, which is something Susanna wouldn’t want. Susanna played an important role in both Fisher brothers’ as well as Belly’s life by being a good mentor and maternal figure toward them, so it was important for Conrad to better himself for her.
Throughout the show, we can see that he is trying to be better for Belly through his actions and decisions. We can see his growth by his ability to reflect on his past mistakes, his willingness to apologize and make amends, and his dedication to understanding and helping Belly grow. These qualities show that he is trying to make an effort to be a better person for Belly.
Many fans of the show argued that Jeremiah was better for Belly because he was more emotionally available than Conrad. Although during seasons 1 and 2, Jeremiah was more available, in season 3, Conrad went to therapy for the loss of his mom, allowing him to be more emotionally communicative toward Belly. This was shown in season 3 on the beach when he confessed his love for her.
As we can see, Conrad’s active interest, true love, and personal development make him a better choice for Belly.
