‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ | Prime Video
Anyone who grew up in the course of the late 2000s is well acquainted with the thought of shipping wars. We are, in any case, the generation of Team Edward and Team Jacob, Team Peeta and Team Gale, Team Stefan and Team Damon. It’s clear that The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken notes and has leaned hard into the concept of affection triangles, even having its own characters take sides within the Conrad and Jeremiah shipping wars—Belly’s best friend Taylor is enthusiastically “Team Jellyfish”, while Belly’s brother Steven thinks Conrad is the fitting guy for her. It’s clear that the viewers are alleged to pick a side just as enthusiastically.
Admittedly, it’s all a bit too on the nose, and I couldn’t help but cringe as Taylor and Steven spent a piece of the season two finale arguing about which “ship” is correct. But here’s the thing: I like drama, so after all, like each Taylor and Steven, I even have an opinion on who Belly should find yourself with anyway.
So let’s discuss this past season and why Jeremiah is likely to be Belly’s alternative for now, but he isn’t her ceaselessly.
Belly Constantly Compares Jeremiah To Conrad
“I spent a lot of my life dreaming about what it might be wish to be with Conrad,” Belly tells Jeremiah within the penultimate episode of the Summer I Turned Pretty’s second season. “But dreams aren’t real, and now I would like something real. I would like you.”
This is how the 2 ended up making out on Conrad’s automobile. While Belly wore Conrad’s sweatshirt. While they waited for Conrad to get out of his final. And where, ultimately, they were interrupted by a crestfallen Conrad.
It’s… not the best career of affection. Somehow, in attempting to convey that she wants to this point Jeremiah, she still makes all of it about Conrad. Worse, she’s not even saying, “Oh, I such as you higher,” she’s literally just saying, “Conrad is who I all the time dreamed of being with, but you’re a more realistic option.” Oof. And while Belly can say that she didn’t do it to make Conrad jealous, which I can consider, I believe there’s something to be said in regards to the proven fact that she just so happened to make her move when she was surrounded by things that reminded her of him, even subconsciously. At the tip of the day, she still sees Jeremiah as a alternative between two various things—not the right alternative in his own right.
So yes, Belly does select Jeremiah, even knowing how Conrad feels about her—but her next scene with Conrad seems to imply that the alternative was made partly because she felt hurt by his past actions as an alternative of simply feeling 100% about Jeremiah.
Jeremiah’s Actions Weren’t As Selfless As They May Have Seemed
Jeremiah spent lots of the season attempting to distance himself from Belly, despite his feelings. But here’s the thing: It’s clear that lots of that got here from the proven fact that he had been hurt by Belly previously and never because, oh, I don’t know, Belly is literally his brother’s ex-girlfriend.
Look, I get it, Jeremiah did form of have his feelings played with by Belly in the primary season when she kissed him but ended up selecting his brother. I’m not going to pretend that’s not a slap within the face. That being said, Jeremiah also tried to position himself because the more mature and valiant option here, though he’s no less selfish than he claims Conrad is.
He criticizes his brother for not treating Belly well (for… forgetting to bring a corsage to prom while his mother was dying?) while being just as thoughtless toward Conrad—because, taking a look at the timeline, it’s only been a couple of months (at most) since Conrad and Belly broke up, and it’s only been one month since their mother passed away. What’s worse, Jeremiah and Conrad had a late-season heart-to-heart promising that they’ll start communicating with each other in regards to the essential things, just for Jeremiah to right away turn around and make a move on Conrad’s ex—when even Conrad had the decency to attend months to this point Belly (and even asked for Jeremiah’s permission!) after the 2 kissed (and didn’t even officially date!).
So sure, Jeremiah could also be positing himself because the chivalrous alternative, however the facts don’t lie: Conrad is far more thoughtful in his actions toward everyone, not only the girl he wants to this point.
Jeremiah Uses Belly To Get Back At Conrad
I’m not saying that Jeremiah’s feelings for Belly (and his want to this point her) are directly related to his beef with Conrad, but that doesn’t change the proven fact that Jeremiah clearly has a nasty relationship along with his brother and isn’t afraid to make use of Belly as ammo. Just take a look at their confrontation in the course of the party on the beach house: “When things aren’t perfect, as an alternative of attempting to fix it, he just decides to throw it away,” Jeremiah says. “It’s not only the home—you probably did it to Belly, too.”
It’s a fairly low blow, especially since Jeremiah clearly doesn’t know what happened in Conrad and Belly’s relationship and is making a bunch of assumptions. Even Belly is frustrated at Jeremiah for bringing her into an argument that’s clearly about something else entirely. ANd it’s worse once you do not forget that Conrad spent most of his relationship with Belly also grappling with the grief of knowing his mother was dying. Not to say Jeremiah was there when Conrad’s college roommate talked about how badly Conrad handled their breakup and his subsequent heartbreak—Conrad was struggling, but Jeremiah still uses a very painful moment in his life simply to attempt to win an argument.
I don’t learn about you, but when I were Belly, that will be an enormous turnoff. Who knows how this can come up again in the long run, however it’s not off to an ideal start!
Jeremiah Sees His Relationship With Belly As A Competition
The way Jeremiah handles his brother’s past relationship is telling, more so than one might originally think after watching the scene. Jeremiah’s relationship with Belly is directly tied along with her relationship with Conrad—not only is he continually jealous of Belly’s affections toward Conrad, but he’s continually comparing Conrad’s actions to what he thinks he would have done within the situation. Even his hesitation to this point Belly at the tip is less selfless than it might sound once you realize that his stipulation to finally make things official with Belly is for her to select him over Conrad, even knowing Conrad’s feelings for her.
That’s a part of what makes Conrad’s relationship with Belly so far more compelling—it’s not about Jeremiah. He remains to be respectful toward his brother—he waits months to this point Belly in hopes that Jeremiah might be less heartbroken about it after which asks for his blessing before making a move—but ultimately, Conrad’s relationship with Belly is about Conrad and Belly.
So sure, Belly can have chosen Jeremiah, just as he hoped, however it doesn’t bode well for the long run that his standards for the connection is essentially just “higher than Conrad.” It also lends to an incredibly unstable relationship dynamic going forward, especially since Conrad will clearly be a part of their lives going forward, giving loads of opportunities for Jeremiah’s insecurities to flare up.
Jeremiah And Belly’s Relationship Lacks The Depth She Wants
Steven said it best when he said, “Jere’s easier. But that’s the entire thing. You know, he doesn’t challenge Belly. Not the identical way Conrad does. She is deeper than lots of people give her credit for. She deserves someone who sees all of the amazing, complex things that she has to supply.”
“And you think that that’s Conrad?” Taylor asks him.
“I understand it’s not Jeremiah,” he replies.
It’s true—Belly’s relationship with Conrad was all the time about depth. It was about that soulmate feeling, such as you’re tied to someone by an invisible string. The two of them were in a position to spend hours a day talking on the phone about anything and every thing and connecting over the immensity of what they felt in regards to the world. Jeremiah, then again, seems less concerned about deeper conversations. Even his relationship with Belly seems far more physical than emotional—we never really see him and Belly interacting in any way that isn’t just surface-level flirty, and though that isn’t inherently bad, it clearly isn’t what Belly values.
Conrad Is Belly’s Sun—And It’s Unlikely To Change That Quickly
Belly tries to persuade Jeremiah that every thing has modified for the reason that summer before, but the reality is that she had been in love with Conrad all her life and continually let her feelings for him eclipse every thing else. And while her current heartbreak might make her resent Conrad to a certain extent, it also seems unlikely that her feelings for him could be squashed that quickly.
Because here’s the thing about shipping wars: More often than not, it’s clear who the winner goes to be. There’s all the time that one relationship that has a gravity that doesn’t compare to any of the others. After all, Bella all the time knew Edward was it for her, and Belly has all the time known it might be Conrad—because regardless of what happens, they’re infinite.
