‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Belly Made the Wrong Choice in Season 2

The Big Picture

• Belly’s indecisiveness and selfish desires lead her to make the wrong choice in picking Jeremiah over Conrad in
  The Summer I Turned Pretty
  Season 2.
• Despite her complicated relationship with Jeremiah, it is clear that Belly has been in love with Conrad since the first episode and their connection cannot be ignored.
• Choosing Jeremiah over Conrad is a mistake that will result in a relationship full of insecurity for Belly. The passion between Belly and Conrad cannot be replicated with Jeremiah.

Whether you loved the polarizing Season 2 finale or were left screaming angrily at your TV screen, nobody can deny that The Summer I Turned Pretty has given us one of the best love triangles we’ve seen in a long time. Between the dark and soulful Conrad (Christopher Briney) and the bubbly, bottle-blonde Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), messy protagonist Belly (Lola Tung) has had her work cut out for her as she tries to decide which Fisher brother she feels like making out with on any given day. After wrestling with her feelings all throughout the first season — and having a brief fling with both Jeremiah and the sweet Cam Cameron (David Iacono) — Belly finally bagged long-time love, Conrad, and it seemed like the two were set to live happily ever after.

Flash forward to the end of Season 2, and Belly has jumped recklessly off the Conrad train and is now full steam ahead with Jeremiah. While Belly’s indecisiveness isn’t malicious, there are many reasons why she undoubtedly made the wrong choice in picking Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2, and that if she needs to be with a Fisher brother, she should be with Conrad.

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Belly Deserves Sympathy Following Susannah’s Death

Before we dive in, it’s worth acknowledging that, despite her questionable behavior, Belly deserves some grace this season. Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) was family to the Conklin clan, and following her heartbreaking death, Belly is grieving an incredibly difficult loss. She’s also only 16 years old and being a teenager is hard at the best of times. However, Belly’s relentless, blind pursuit of her own happiness means that she constantly disregards the mess she’s leaving behind for others, including the two young men who’ve just lost their mom. While the brothers aren’t always the best either, Belly telling Conrad to go to hell at his mother’s funeral reception was a low blow that we hadn’t yet seen from either side. Now that she’s chosen to start a relationship with Jeremiah, she’s once again acting purely out of selfish desire, and unfortunately, Belly is becoming the villain of her own story.

Belly Has Been in Love With Conrad Since ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Pilot

Since the first episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty when Conrad sauntered in to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Lover,” it’s been clear that Belly’s heart has belonged to him from day one. Although their rocky love was disrupted by dazzling debutantes, crappy communication skills, and Belly’s pesky habit of hooking up with his brother, Conrad and Belly finally kicked off their romance with an ocean-side kiss in the Season 1 finale.

Despite the electric connection between Conrad and Belly, their romance was far from perfect, and her relationship with Jeremiah can’t be totally discarded. As we saw frequently in Season 1, Belly leans on Jeremiah when she feels rejected by Conrad. When Conrad found a new girlfriend, Belly settled for Jer and took him to the debutante ball instead. Now that Conrad is mourning the death of his mother and has distanced himself from Belly, she’s running back to Jeremiah again. The younger Fisher brother obviously cares deeply for Belly, whereas she finds a feeling of security with him that she always seems to be chasing with Conrad. While Belly repeatedly casts Jeremiah aside like an old cardigan when she thinks she has a shot with his big brother, she continues to foster a flirty flame with him, kept gently lit with fleeting touches and loaded glances even after their falling out in the wake of her and Conrad’s epic breakup and Susannah’s tragic passing.

If Belly Has To Be With a Fisher Brother, She Should Be With Conrad

After The Summer I Turned Pretty’s tumultuous second season where the teens had to grapple with losing Susannah and potentially their beloved beach house (thanks a lot, Kyra Sedgwick), some might say that the right thing for Belly to do would have been to let the brothers mourn in peace and give everyone some time to figure out their complex feelings. Belly, of course, can’t seem to go a single day without her Fisher fix, so when it appears to her that all is lost with Conrad, she sets her sights fully on Jeremiah. After spending an all-nighter at the beach house helping Conrad study for an exam, Belly and Jeremiah escort him to Brown, and then the two spend a flirty afternoon at the fictional Finch College.

When they return to Brown and sit on the hood of Conrad’s car waiting for him, Belly tells Jeremiah that while Conrad has always been her dream guy, she’s ready for something real, a.k.a. him. Although most people would take this as “I’m willing to settle for you!” poor Jeremiah takes it as the glorious green light he’s been yearning for, and the two engage in a steamy embrace until they’re interrupted by a shell-shocked Conrad. While Belly can make out with whomever she chooses, wearing one brother’s sweatshirt while sucking face with the other is just not a good look, and thus begins the most uncomfortable road trip home that you’ve ever seen.

Jeremiah Is the Wrong Choice for Belly in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’

No matter what Belly tells Jeremiah (or herself), it’s abundantly clear that in choosing him in the Season 2 finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly is making a mistake by settling for something she doesn’t really want while also dooming Jer to a relationship full of insecurity. The hopeful fate of this love triangle has been spelled out for us since the Season 1 finale when Conrad showed up to dance with Belly at the deb ball while Taylor Swift fittingly sang “The Way I Loved You,” confirming that while a love with Jeremiah is safe and easy, it will never have the passion of Belly and Conrad’s love.

Given that Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty was delayed by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and Lola Tung has just wrapped up a run on Broadway, production for the show’s probable final season (there are only three books in the series) has yet to begin. While filming is rumored to be commencing soon, this means that it’s going to be a while before we’re invited back to the summer house. Until then, we can only wait impatiently to see if Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah will win the day, and hope that Belly and the boys get the happy endings they long for after everything they’ve been through at Cousins Beach.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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