Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s almost time for a new season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Everyone has been looking forward to this season and seeing which Fisher brother Belly chooses, but what I am interested in is how accurate the series will stay to the text. Jenny Han has been teasing that there will be some unexpected surprises for those who read the source material, and that is making some of the fandom anxious.
Now I have to mention that I have read books two and three, but not the first one because I was interested to know how the story would develop from the end of the first season. What is unique about this show to me is that people consider Belly to be so insufferable that they do not want her to end up choosing herself. Naturally when a love triangle is built up for years with no conclusion it is disappointing, but due to there being time jumps, there is time for Belly to work on herself. I consider her to be naive in the books because of her lack of experience in relationships, which makes her not understand whatever emotions her partner is dealing with. I will get more into this later, but first, let me inform you where I stand on the love triangle.
Conrad represents what being in love with someone feels like, while Jeremiah represents the idea of what love is perceived to be. I find this interesting to analyze because Belly was in love with the idea of Conrad for years, but he is the brother who truly sees her for who she is. I am a huge Conrad defender, with a passionate hatred for Jeremiah. Even though I am clearly biased going into this conversation, I am pulling from both sides when trying to support my argument.
The first thing I address when talking about the show is not the love triangle, but rather how misunderstood Conrad is. I defend Conrad because he reminds me a lot of myself. He cares so much for Belly that he pushes her away when he needs her most. He does this to protect her, and he always puts others before himself. Conrad struggles from anxiety, which leads him to be more closed off and leads him to have trouble opening up to others about his feelings. The fact that Jeremiah takes any opportunity he can to talk bad about his brother is infuriating because Conrad has never tried to hurt him. Conrad has always looked out for Jeremiah and put his own feelings aside when Jeremiah says he is going to pursue a relationship with Belly. Conrad and Jeremiah are also a representation of what it means to have a physical versus emotional relationship. In the books, it is emphasized that Jeremiah has a desire to be sexually active in his relationships. When Belly says she is not ready to have sex, he goes off and sleeps with another girl instead of respecting her wishes. If he truly loved her, he would be able to put aside his wants and provide her with comfort. Instead, he makes a careless decision and suffers no real consequences to it. His “apology” is proposing to prove his loyalty, and he does this right as she is about to break up with him. This plot line disgusts me because it obviously exists to move the third book along, but the fact that Belly even considered it after her family told her she would be stupid to agree is really disappointing. That is proof that she has no respect for herself, and she should’ve taken that time to better herself. Conrad agrees with Belly’s family that she should have more self-respect, and she says that he treated her worse, which is a complete exaggeration. The fact that she is trying to excuse Jeremiah’s actions by accusing Conrad of pushing her away proves that she is trying to convince herself she is making the right choice. Conrad is an example of a relationship needing to be emotionally fulfilled because their relationship is more tender, and you typically see them discussing their feelings more than you see physical affection. A good relationship has a balance of both, but you can see how Jeremiah being so addicted to sex can easily become problematic.
Now that you understand where my hatred for the character of Jeremiah comes from, let me explain my thoughts on how Conrad has been portrayed so far. Nobody can deny that his biggest issue is communicating honestly with others, but it’s not like anybody goes out of their way to check up on him. Also, as the oldest sibling, I understand what it means to put others before yourself and how much that can mentally drain you. Conrad was doing the best he could to be there for his mom while she was dying, and Jeremiah accuses him of not doing enough. However, Conrad still had the responsibility of being at college during this time. This is the scene where Conrad says, “It physically hurts me to not be able to tell [Belly] I’m in love with her,” and it breaks my heart because you can hear in his voice how bad he wants to be with her. Jeremiah completely neglects his brother’s feelings, and still pursues her as if she is some prize to be won. Conrad steps aside to let Belly be with Jeremiah because he knows he cannot be the boyfriend she needs at that time. Relationships are all about timing, and in the show it never seems like the right time for them.
It cannot be ignored that Belly likely had an idea of what she wanted her relationship with Conrad to be like because she had a crush on him for years prior to the story. I do not believe their relationship is a representation of lust because that turned into genuine love for him when they started their romantic relationship. One of the most pivotal scenes in the show is when they break up at her prom, and I have a lot of thoughts about that scene.
The first is that Conrad is the one struggling with the idea that his mom is dying, so he forgets to bring her the corsage. Yes, that is disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. Conrad always has a lot preoccupying his mind, and even though he was struggling, at least he made the effort to show up for her. The breakup scene proves once again that Belly does not make the effort to understand Conrad like he does with her because she assumes he is breaking up with her when really, he is trying to offer an apology for how distracted he was. It was not because he did not care, but Belly still blames him for the breakup she instigated.