Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty is back for Season 2, but I was not among the throngs of fans eagerly awaiting its return to television. The show had been sitting in my Amazon watchlist since the first season in 2022, and I’d just never gotten around to watching it. That changed recently when I had a rainy Saturday afternoon, an Amazon Prime subscription, and the remarkable fact that I was unspoiled on everything except that the show included a love triangle and a lot of Taylor Swift. Seven episodes later, I was all in on the show… and fairly convinced that I wasn’t rooting for the Fisher brother that the show intended in Season 1.
By the time I watched the first three available episodes of Season 2, I was more firmly than ever on one brother’s side over the other's, and not just when it comes to Belly. Then I checked #TheSummerITurnedPretty on Twitter for the first time and found that I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Conrad vs. Jeremiah. Still, I picked my side after going into the show with absolutely no preconceptions or expectations, so I’m sticking to it! Here’s why I’m Team Jeremiah over Team Conrad.
Jeremiah Deserves A Win
I liked Jeremiah from the jump in Season 1, since he was not only the one Fisher brother who was actually consistently nice to Belly, but also the only one of the core four group who really seemed to want her around. As a former teenage girl myself, of course I could root for the age-appropriate guy who was nice and went out of his way to spend time with her! If both Fisher boys secretly had feelings for her, isn’t it clear which one of them treated her better?
And yes, I know that Jeremiah wasn’t carrying the burdens of the secrets that Conrad was in Season 1… but he also probably wouldn’t have kept his brother in the dark if he’d found out about Susannah’s cancer before Conrad did. After all, he immediately went to talk to his brother after finding out the truth, and only snapped after finding out that Conrad had known all along.
Was Jeremiah perfect in Season 1? Of course not, and I can confidently say that I never aimed a firework near one of my brothers no matter how annoyed I was with them as a teenager. He had some moments worth a cringe or two of secondhand embarrassment, like everybody else. But he also didn’t spend seven episodes going back and forth with Belly’s feelings, and she gave him every reason to think that they were on the same page about their relationship.
How was I supposed to applaud Belly and Conrad’s big romantic moment at the end of Season 1 when Jeremiah’s heartbreak was inevitable once he found out? For me, that overshadowed some of the sweet flashbacks to Belly and Conrad’s romance in Season 2 so far. Throw in the fact that Jeremiah lost his mom just as much as Conrad did and barely had a support system, and I’m rooting for him to get a big win after Belly did him dirty at the end of Season 1.
She seems ready to make the effort for him now – although romantically or platonically is still up in the air – and they could be good for each other after all the changes following the time jump, Susannah's death, and how Conrad and Belly's breakup went down. So, go Jeremiah!
I Can't Root For Conrad And Belly
The Summer I Turned Pretty did everything to set Conrad up as THE love interest to root for, ranging from Belly already having a huge crush on him to playing Taylor Swift songs over their scenes together in Season 1. When I was Belly’s age, I probably would have been on Team Conrad. But when the first scene with the Fisher boys has one of them wrapping her up in a big welcoming hug and the other telling her that he liked her better in glasses, all the Taylor Swift in the world wasn’t going to give me the best first impression of him as a love interest.
As the episodes went on, I just found more sticky issues to keep me from rooting for Conrad and Belly. I’m admittedly not sure of the exact ages of all the characters, but Season 1 started with Belly at the age of 15 and Conrad just a couple of months away from college. Him telling her to grow up and calling her a “brat” didn’t exactly make me feel better about it. Age differences are all well and good for characters who aren't still teenagers, when a couple of years here and there really matters! Plus, he could have handled the Nicole situation (and any situation requiring communication between two people) a lot better.
The biggest factor that kept me from boarding this particular ship in Season 1 was that TSITP told me rather than showed me that they were a great match. They had some very cute moments via flashback when she had a crush on him and he saw her as a kid. What I saw in the present was Belly wanting to be with somebody she’d idealized and Conrad being romantically rewarded despite spending the season sending her very mixed signals, to put it nicely. It might have helped to get his perspective on her a bit more, especially since we did get that with Jeremiah.
Now, of course I know that he had a lot on his shoulders, and valid reasons for not telling Jeremiah something that their mother clearly didn’t want them to know. Conrad is an interesting character on The Summer I Turned Pretty; I just can’t root for him in a relationship with Belly, even after seeing the very sweet Season 2 flashbacks up until prom. Besides, if the show wants us to cut Conrad some slack because he was dealing with his mom’s cancer and death, then Jeremiah gets the same amount of grace.
Could The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 Change My Mind?
I’ve watched enough TV over the course of my life and career to know that you should never say never when it comes to fiction, but it says something that I ended up on Team Jeremiah after going into The Summer I Turned Pretty without any spoilers, preconceptions, or social media exposure. I was a blank slate for either side to win me over.
And honestly, it says a LOT that even a Prince Charming moment at a ball with “The Way I Loved You” playing couldn’t get me to jump ship! If I could end up rooting for Jeremiah despite the show trying to Taylor Swift me onto Team Conrad in Season 1, I don’t see myself changing my mind in Season 2. I’m interested in seeing more of Conrad… just ideally without rekindling any flames with Belly. If she's going to fall for a Fisher, the younger brother seems healthier for her to me at this point.
All of this said, it didn’t take long for The Summer I Turned Pretty to turn me into a fan after finally binge-watching it, and I plan on enjoying the ride as Season 2 continues. With two brothers involved, the love triangle is going to be messy no matter what! Plus, from what I gather now, there are big differences between the books and the show, so even readers may not know everything that’s going to go down.
What I know for sure is that I want Jeremiah to get a win, he and Belly seem happier and healthier together, and I find Conrad more interesting when TSITP isn't trying to portray him as a romantic hero. For me, the more compelling potential story is Belly realizing that she'd fallen in love with her fantasy of Conrad and then seeing the error of her ways with Jeremiah, rather than continuing to chase a dream. Let the girl have some growth, and go Team Jeremiah! New episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 release on Fridays on Prime Video, with more viewing options on our 2023 TV premiere schedule!
