The Big Picture
- Belly's affections shift from Conrad to Jeremiah in Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty , but she fails to consider the boys' feelings and the impact of her actions.
- Conrad's lingering feelings for Belly are clear, but she dismisses their past relationship and fails to acknowledge the wrongness of moving on to his brother.
- The writers treat the love triangle as if Conrad and Jeremiah are separate individuals, ignoring their brotherly bond. Belly's lack of consideration for this causes tension and conflict and makes her difficult to root for.
Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty, which is gearing up for its third season, is all about Isabel 'Belly' Conklin (Lola Tung) and her love triangle with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno). Season 2 sees Belly's affections shift from Conrad, whom she picked at the end of the first season, to Jeremiah, his younger brother, and Belly's oldest friend. Their will-they-won't-they is a clear trope of teen dramas – Belly's indecision is central to the story, and in a way, we can't really fault her for that. However, her lack of awareness and basic compassion towards the boys this season, especially considering their grief about losing their mother to cancer only a month before, is entirely on her (or, more accurately, on the writers.) It's clear that, above all, we're supposed to be rooting for Belly's happy ending with whichever boy she chooses. But as the season continued, it became hard to keep that mentality in mind.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
TV-14RomanceDramaA love triangle between one girl and two brothers. A story about first love, first heartbreak, and the magic of that one perfect summer.
Release Date July 17, 2022 Creator Jenny Han Cast Lola Tung , Christopher Briney , Jackie Chung , Rachel Blanchard Seasons 2In 'The Summer I Turned Pretty,' Belly Gives Up on Conrad First
At the end of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1, Belly made her choice between everyone's two favorite brothers, riding off into the hypothetical sunset with Conrad Fisher, whom she claimed to have loved her whole life. Season 2 starts on a much darker footing: We find our teens struggling after Conrad and Jeremiah's mother, Susannah (Rachel Blanchard), loses her battle with cancer, leaving everyone devastated in the aftermath. Conrad and Belly are no longer together following a dramatic breakup at Belly's prom just a few months before Susannah's death. The story Belly tells – to herself, to the audience, and to her friends – is that Conrad simply walked away from her and that he gave up on them. She claims that he hurt her and that he never really cared. In reality, he was a 19-year-old kid losing his mother, and struggling through his first year of college without the skills or tools to cope. Even Susannah, in her emotional final scene with Belly, begs her: "Don't let him push you away." Belly, in the end, did just that. At the beginning of Season 2, she's not on speaking terms with either one of the Fisher boys.
When Belly reconnects with the boys in Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, it's for all the worst reasons. Belly calls Jeremiah in the middle of the night, ready to confront him about their lack of communication (again, she broke his heart and dated his brother, and then his mother died). Instead, she finds out that Conrad is missing, and immediately heads out uninvited to help look for him. The two reunite in their hunt for Conrad and manage to put their conflict behind them. Little by little (and also, all at once), we see Belly's perspective of Jeremiah shift. And before you know it, Belly's made up her mind – she picked the wrong brother. The two find Conrad in Cousins, at the beach house they grew up going to every summer, which is now devastatingly up for sale. Before they know it the entire gang is back together, and the rest of the season is a mix of teen hijinks and family drama.
Belly Never Considers the Fisher Boys' Feelings on 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'
CloseAt every step, the chemistry between Belly and Jeremiah keeps growing. But when Jeremiah tries to slow things down – continually bringing up how Belly broke his heart just the summer before, occasionally (though not enough!) bringing up how she just ended things with his brother – Belly pushes forward with full force. One of the most ridiculous moments is when she gets upset when Jeremiah doesn't kiss her in a game of Truth or Dare, even though Conrad is sitting right beside them. Belly approaches their romance as if it is brand new, completely ignoring the very relevant history that is quite literally surrounding them. Everyone is grieving, and everyone is hurt. But to Belly, this marvelous thing is happening, and that's all she can see. She at no point takes any responsibility for her feelings or actions, nor does she stop to consider the impact they might have. To the audience, it is clear that she is actively pursuing Jeremiah. But in her eyes, everything was simply falling into place.
RelatedBelly Made the Wrong Choice in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 2
Sorry, team Jellyfish.
Season 2 of The Summer I Turned Pretty shows a much fuller side to Conrad Fisher. Where in Season 1 he was simply the moody, broody, older brother, Season 2 shows him fighting to save his family home, devastated by the loss of his mother, and, most relevantly here, mourning the end of his relationship with Belly. Conrad's lingering feelings for Belly are clear, as is his hurt at the way things transpired between them. But every attempt to discuss what happened is met with a stoic Belly, who continually repeats that their relationship is in the past. All of her emotions seem reserved for Jeremiah, so much so that the exes' truly heartbreaking confrontation at the end of Episode 6 feels completely out of place. Excluding that moment, Belly seems to be clear: she has moved on. However, at no point does she acknowledge the wrongness of her having moved on to his brother.
Belly Seems To Forget That Conrad and Jeremiah Are Brothers
Season 2 does a great job of setting up the love triangle between Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. But at many points, it seems that the writers treat the three as if they were all separate individuals with no deep ties to one another. If Conrad was replaced with, say, Cam Cameron (David Iacono), with whom Belly had a light flirtation at the beginning of Season 1, the characters' behavior might make more sense. In that situation, it truly would be Belly's choice as to which guy was right for her – she wouldn't owe anything to anyone. That's the attitude Belly brings with her to her relationships with Conrad and Jeremiah, but here, it doesn't quite apply. Conrad and Jeremiah are brothers, and that is not something that can be ignored. They're aware of it, and each has tried to make concessions and take the other into consideration to keep their relationship intact. Belly, on the other hand, who claims to love them, never does.
In the emotional climax of the season, after pulling an all-nighter to help Conrad study for his Biology final and dropping him off at Brown University, Belly and Jeremiah finally kiss after spending the day together. It could have been beautiful, but the moment is tainted given that Belly is wearing Conrad's sweatshirt. Even worse, Conrad, who was on his way back to the pair with a plan to win Belly back, sees the whole thing play out. Afterwards, Jeremiah is clearly distraught at the pain he's caused, and deeply worried about his brother. Meanwhile, Belly just seems angry that Conrad's pain has ruined her moment. With this choice, along with her many other unconscionable ones, Belly became nearly impossible to root for.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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