Every Wednesday, millions of fans tuned into Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” to see where book author and show director Jenny Han would take the show’s beloved characters next. This series, which periodically released its episodes of season three, features main character Isabel Conklin, or Belly, who visits the Fisher family every summer in Cousins Beach. Throughout the series, Belly is caught in a love triangle with the two Fisher brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. However, in season three, Belly and Jeremiah are preparing for their wedding. Despite this, fans aren’t hesitant to side with the other brother, Conrad. Junior AJ Brown was rooting for Jeremiah in season one, but after he watched Conrad’s character development, he knew he had to switch sides.
“I’m team Conrad because he is selfless and he constantly puts himself before other people,” Brown said. “Even though he broke [Belly’s] heart because he was dealing with depression from the death of his mom, he was still there for her and still did so much for her. We don’t see Belly be her true self when she’s with Jeremiah; she puts on this facade for him.”
In addition to the tension between Belly and Conrad in season three, as well as the flashbacks showing them being there for each other from such young ages, there are also hidden metaphors Jenny Han placed throughout the show, which fans have chosen to dissect. Junior Emily Mosser believes in the theory that Jeremiah represents the summer house’s pool and Conrad symbolizes the Cousins Beach, since all of Belly and Conrad’s emotional scenes happen on Cousins Beach.
“I think Jeremiah symbolizes the pool because when you think about a pool, it’s closed off and doesn’t go on forever the same way an ocean does,” Mosser said. “A pool has to be created; it doesn’t just form how an ocean naturally does. For Belly and Conrad, their love is naturally occurring and goes on for infinity, like an ocean. Their relationship and love for each other is limitless, no matter the situation or how far they’re apart.”
According to fans, Jenny Han’s metaphor placements are very deliberate. A different metaphor is the color theory in the show and its connection to the Taylor Swift lyrics “Loving him was red, losing him was blue,” which fans interpret as representing Conrad’s absence or the sadness associated with losing him. An example of this is the patch of red hydrangeas growing in front of the beach house, amongst all of the other blue hydrangeas. While Jeremiah is blue, Conrad is red, growing slowly and quietly. Junior Hallie Cooper, who has been watching since 2022, believes that Conrad’s love for Belly is similar to the flowers, quiet but desperate, compared to his brother’s love.
“I’m team Conrad because he yearns for her. I think that that is essentially the epitome of why Conrad is better than Jeremiah, because he desires her beyond Jeremiah’s ability,” Cooper said. “Conrad takes into account everyone’s emotions, to the point where he supports Jeremiah and Belly because it was his mom’s dying wish for Conrad to take care of Jeremiah.”
There was a time when the two sides between the brothers were more even, but now almost everyone you talk to only roots for Conrad.
“In the first two seasons, I was team Jeremiah because I just thought he was a lot nicer to Belly and just an overall happier person,” senior Corinne Hampton said. “But Jeremiah’s just not as caring as Conrad is, and season three is making me see that. Jeremiah is a man-child and Conrad’s an adult. Jeremiah still has a lot of growing up to do.”
In Mosser’s opinion, this sudden flip between the two brothers wasn’t just because people gained a new perspective; it was completely purposeful.
“Everyone switched to team Conrad, but that’s obviously what the producers of the show want because they know it ends with him,” Mosser said. “They basically just tank Jeremiah’s character for season three. Anything you could’ve supported about Jeremiah in season one, they found a way to get rid of. This emphasizes Conrad’s growth and makes him look like this incredible character. They don’t want people to be upset at the ending, so they’re villainizing Jeremiah.”
She also believes that Belly is bad for both Conrad and Jeremiah. But she’s not the only one; there’s a whole group of people debating whether the viewers should even be supporting Belly or not.
“I was team Belly in the beginning because I’m always a girl’s girl,” Cooper said. “But slowly, as the show progressed, I started to realize that her words and actions weren’t aligning, and she started to pull the brothers apart. She was always forcing them to make a choice, and not aligning her words with her actions was very ignorant. She is very sweet in some moments, but throughout season three, she has been making it very hard for not only Conrad but also Jeremiah.”
After the season finale came out Sept. 17th, fans around the world believed that it was finally the end of Belly’s drama. However, a new “The Summer I Turned Pretty” feature film confirmed by Prime Video makes the world think otherwise.
