The new season of The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken the world by storm, with fans rooting for either Team Jeremiah or Team Conrad.
The series is often remembered as a nostalgic story of teenage love and self discovery, but beneath the romantic drama and beach houses, you’ll find the bigger issue at play: the main character herself, Belly.
While everyone debates which brother she should be with and looks at flaws within them, it’s Belly herself that is the main problem.
Belly is extremely self-centered and is, as she said herself towards the end of Season 3, the villain of the story.
Belly’s poor decisions are at the center of nearly every major conflict. She goes back and forth between brothers, consequently ripping a family apart bit by bit. She keeps both the boys and the audience on edge and in a constant battle with her indecisiveness.
Situations like Susannah’s illness required empathy and maturity; Belly had neither. She did not consider the impact of her choices on others, and focused on her own feelings rather than the fate of the people surrounding her. These flaws make her a driving force behind the series’ chaos.
Jeremiah is a sweet, fun-loving character, so the appeal behind him is understandable. However, he is ultimately an extremely selfish, immature, and deeply insecure individual who cheated on his girlfriend of 3 years when he found out she spent a day in a house with his brother.
Jeremiah acts like a baby for the majority of the seasons: immature and self-centered. He struggles to react like a normal human being, and all of his behavior reflects a lack of personal growth, which makes him a secondary source of major drama. He is well perceived as a ‘nice guy’, but his babyish tendencies are overdone and unnecessary. Conrad, on the other hand, may have made mistakes, but unlike the others, he learns from them and genuinely tries to make himself better.
Conrad is far from perfect. He can be moody, distant, and has made many errors, especially in earlier seasons. But towards the end of the series, we see his personal growth. He is self-aware and seeks mental health treatment. It was clear that the death of Susannah greatly scarred each of the characters, but unlike Belly and Jeremiah, Conrad shows the capacity for change. This makes him a much more stable character, one that is easy to sympathize with.
Overall, this series is fun, energetic, and full of laughs and love. It is captivating and addictive, and it makes complete sense that the world collectively waits in anticipation for the next episode to drop. However, the fundamental flaws within the characters makes the series both extremely entertaining, but also frustrating, to watch.
