Who’s The Better Brother For Belly: Conrad or Jeremiah?
While Jeremiah is OBVIOUSLY the one for Belly, others are sure to argue that’s not the case.
A new season of the book-adapted Prime Video series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is scheduled to release on July 16th of this summer. With the announcement of the final season, the heated discussion has been brought to everyone’s attention: Who is the better brother for Belly? The debate of the pros and cons for each brother has been relevant since the show’s first season back in 2022.
Belly Conklin and her family have been visiting the Fisher family in the beautiful Cousins Beach for years and she has had a crush on the eldest Fisher brother, Conrad, ever since. However, chaos ensues when Belly’s stay in Cousins turns into a web of tangled love triangles, friendship drama, and heartbreak. By the end of season one, Belly and Conrad confess their feelings for each other and start dating. Jeremiah and Belly are estranged while “Bonrad” are in a relationship. But by the beginning of season two, “Bonrad” has called it quits and Belly’s relationship with the two brothers is ruined. In the season finale of the emotional and frankly, messy second season, it is official that Jeremiah and Belly are now together. The discussion of which brother treats Belly better is now more controversial than ever and the yearning for the plot of the final season is evident. Who will Belly end up with?
The eldest Fisher brother, Conrad, has been Belly’s dream boyfriend since she was little. So, after years of longing for a chance with him and finally being with him, why does he do everything wrong?! While Belly does seem happy with Conrad, Conrad makes it seem like a chore to be in a relationship. He does the bare minimum of what every responsible boyfriend should do. His emotional and mental commitment to him and Belly’s relationship is weak. It is obvious to watchers since the first season that Conrad carries a lot of emotional baggage, all for understandable reasons. However, it’s the lack of communication, internal conflict affecting other characters, tendency to push away and immaturity that is not. Frankly, Conrad lacks all of the qualities to be an emotionally present and a prepared boyfriend for Belly– making it difficult for him to be fulfilled in a healthy relationship. Conrad is the older brother and turns all the family responsibility after their mother’s tragic death to his younger brother, Jeremiah. While Susannah is in poor health and “Bonrad” are dating, Jeremiah is the one left to take care and be by the side of their sick mother. It is evident since season one that Conrad has no motivation and loses interest easily once things get hard. For example: football, school, and putting effort into his relationship with Belly. His commitment to anything is inconsistent, at best. In multiple scenes, Jeremiah is the one who is acting older and showing motivation and support to Conrad. At the end of the day, Jeremiah pushed his feelings aside to help his brother and let Conrad and Belly date. Jeremiah’s openness to share his feelings and provide emotional maturity can be a positive aspect for a relationship. There is so much more relaxed energy and light in Belly and Jeremiah’s interactions, monologues, and scenes. That is due to Jeremiah’s ability to always look on the positive side, sometimes even sacrificing his own feelings at the expense of others happiness. In contrast, Conrad usually points on the negative side of things and rarely has an optimistic approach to conflict.
It is thought by a majority of The Summer I Turned Pretty fandom that Conrad lacks personality and his character is more boring compared to that of Jeremiah. This is clear in his scenes with Belly and his interactions with other characters. That is why many, including myself, believe that Conrad and Belly severely lack personality together and their energy together on screen is awkward and boring to watch. The scenes with Jeremiah and Belly move on smoother because Jeremiah isn’t afraid to be chalant and share his feelings by communicating to Belly and isn’t afraid to openly show affection to her. It is shown that Jeremiah has been interested in Belly since the beginning; even since they were younger. However, with Conrad, the audience kind of has to guess how he’s feeling about Belly due to his inconsistent actions, lackluster emotions, and trouble with sharing his feelings– making everything more confusing and vulnerable for Belly. And while some people say Jeremiah’s lines to Belly are “cringe”, at least he is communicating well to her! He does a great job of telling her how she feels and always uplifting her. Soon after he saw her again after months in season two, he confessed what has been bothering him, while also taking the time to reassure her when she needed it. It feels like Belly acknowledges Jeremiah’s feelings well and their emotional chemistry is strong. Meanwhile, when Conrad finally communicates Belly seems more confused than anything. Jeremiah makes it an important priority to be there for everyone, growing his relationships with other characters, so it is frustrating to see Conrad make no effort to better his relationship with the other characters and watch him keep to himself the whole show.
Notably, in the first episodes of season one Conrad shows no interest in building a strong relationship with Belly and is blatantly rude, having a cold demeanor towards her. He didn’t give her the present he got her because he was embarrassed. That was a red flag we should have caught on to earlier. At the beginning of the first season we see Conrad shrug Belly off and an awkward distant vibe from them. Meanwhile, Jeremiah gives Belly a charm bracelet for good luck on her driving test and even gives her a driving lesson on the way to see her best friend. Also, Belly felt comfortable enough to open up to Jeremiah in the car ride about her insecurities around Taylor. Watching the rest of the season I am just not convinced that Conrad has always liked Belly due to their empty-feeling scenes and unconvincing chemistry. I was even more convinced when in season two flashback scenes,
Ultimately, Conrad’s character makes it hard to love due his bland, hard-to-read character and questionable actions. There is so much evidence and moments that show Jeremiah would treat Belly much better than Conrad had. Everything Belly needs in a relationship is what Jeremiah thrives in, in his words: “If it had been me, I would have done it right … I’d have given her the perfect night.”
