Are you Team Conrad or Jeremiah?

Are you Team Conrad or Jeremiah?

Ava McKenzie

*This article does contain a few spoilers*

Recently the finale of the hit TV show, The Summer I Turned Pretty, was released leaving fans wanting more. I won’t spoil the series for you, but I will say it’s worth the watch.  

If you don’t watch The Summer I Turned Pretty, the synopsis of the show is that 16 year old Belly Conklin goes to a summer house on Cousins Beach every summer. During one particular summer, she becomes entangled in a love triangle between two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. The series was released in 2022 and since then the debate between who the better boy is for Belly has taken the Internet by storm. Fans are very dedicated to their “teams” and fight with people on opposing teams. There are also two other teams besides the two brothers, “Team Cam Cameron” who is a boy Belly dates in season one, and “Team Benito” who Belly dates in season three. 

One thing that encapsulated watchers into the world of The Summer I Turned Pretty was the side characters. We follow Steven, Belly’s brother, and Taylor, Belly’s best friend, have an on and off again relationship throughout the whole show. I really enjoyed watching Steven and Taylor’s relationship because they are the definition of friends to lovers trope. They fight a lot, and in the beginning they don’t even really like each other. But they bond over the fact they want what's best for Belly and end up having a very loving relationship. Other side characters in the show are Cam Cameron, Skye, Aunt Juila, and the parents of both the Conklins and Fishers.

This show also discusses a lot of heavy topics including grief, divorce, and mental health. In season one we watch Belly’s mom, Laurel deal with being fresh out of a divorce. She starts dating other people and trying to figure out her life without their husband. This isn’t a point of view we really see in teen shows. Also, in season one we find out Susannah has cancer. Conrad, one of the boys, knew about his mother’s cancer the entire season and had to live with the fact that it was his mom’s last summer in Cousins. Belly and the other characters found out at the end of the season. Then come to season two, Susannah has passed and we see how each character processes their grief. I think Conrad was the most interesting example of processing grief. His character likes to hold things in and handle things alone, yet we watch him have several panic attacks throughout the show. He eventually goes to therapy and learns coping skills. Yet, she still refuses to talk about Belly in therapy and I think it’s because she means so much to him, but he is still not ready to express those feelings. Mental health is another important topic that should be discussed in television more, and we see that with Conrad. 

My favorite part of this most recent season has been the fact that Belly travels to Paris. It was always Belly’s dream to live in Paris, and she finally went out by herself during this season. I think the creators of the show did a very good job of showing not only the highs of Belly’s Paris adventure, but also the lows. It’s the first time Belly is going out into the world by herself, and she struggles. She is homesick and doubts her French speaking skills. She even gets robbed the first day she is there,but after a year, we see her thrive and adjust to Paris life. She even goes by the name Isabel instead of her nickname Belly. I think this symbolizes her new life and how she is a different and more mature person in Paris. She ends up making new friends and even has a short relationship with Benito. After a whole year of living in Paris, Conrad visits her and we see them start a relationship together again. 

The third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has been anticipated by fans because we finally find out which Fisher boy Belly chooses. Personally I am “Team Conrad”; I feel that he is a better match for Belly, and they have had more chemistry over the three seasons. Yet, I know many people are strongly “Team Jeremiah.” Jeremiah is good looking, funny, and has been Belly’s best friend since they were kids. It’s hard for Belly to choose which boy to be with but most fans of the show have been committed to their team since day one. So which team are you?