The Summer I Became Team No One

This post contains spoilers and should only be read if you are up to date with the second season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. I believe we have two episodes left, one of which will air on Friday.

Mazzy and I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty Together (we have not read the books) and were very excited at the end of last season when Belly and Conrad ended up together. But because this is a TV series and not a movie with a happy ending where the girl gets the guy, we have the opportunity to watch how this decision plays out.

Season Two opens after Belly and Conrad have broken up, which to be honest, if I’ve learned anything in my 48 years, was very predictable. 1) Because they are young and this is first love that we are talking about. 2) Because Conrad comes with a lot of baggage and mental health issues (understandably, he had to live with the secret that his mom was dying). And 3) because teenagers are terrible communicators who can’t admit their true feelings, even after they’ve already admitted their true feelings.

Mazzy and I have been watching the second season together, and over the first few episodes, they started planting seeds that Jeremiah might have been the better choice. In fact, most of the videos I see on tiktok (which are a lot!) seem to be “Team Jelly.” So I was surprised to learn that Mazzy and her friends are still firmly Team Conrad.

Conrad, to me, is one of those boys I would have fallen for time and time again. A little hard to get, a little mysterious, a little sad and brooding (which teenage me would have interpreted as DEEP) but ultimately— emotionally unavailable. He’s the guy who seems disinterested in everything so that when he’s interested in you, it’s a huge ego boost. He’s Jordan Catalano and Ben Covington (for the record, I loved them both back when those shows aired and now see the error of my ways), except Conrad is also smart and wealthy, so a way better catch. But, since Conrad has so much going for him, he became the golden child of the family, and then carried that weight of perfection on his shoulders while he learned about both his dad’s affair and his mom’s illness. The pressure and the secrets broke him.

Mazzy will say that none of that is Conrad’s fault, which is true, but I would argue that it has shaped who Conrad is and any relationship with him would have that prom scene play out over and over again. Even if Conrad wants Belly (and I do believe he loves her and is a good guy at his core), he self sabotages and will hurt her again.

Now what about Jeremiah? I asked Mazzy why she isn’t Team Jelly and she said, very astutely I think, that Jeremiah only started liking Belly the summer she turned pretty, while Conrad liked her all along. So in Mazzy’s mind, Conrad likes Belly for who she is, while Jeremiah likes her because she’s now attractive. She also thinks that Jeremiah is jealous and doesn’t like how he is always lurking in the shadows, listening in on Belly’s conversations with Conrad. When we watch together, I will hear frequent screams of “Ugh! Jeremiah, go away!”

I am also not Team Jeremiah, because I am familiar with that boy too. 1) I think Jeremiah is too pretty for his own good. 2) I think Jeremiah is a flirt who will not stop flirting just because he is in a relationship. The show frequently talks about him hooking up with two people in one night. And most importantly, 3) I think Jeremiah is constantly in competition with his older brother (the golden child) and wants to win this one. Belly is a prize, not a person. I think that if Jeremiah succeeds and “wins” Belly, he will lose interest soon after.

In other words, Conrad might actually love Belly and Jeremiah might believe he loves Belly, but I think both brothers have too many red flags and will yield failed relationships. At least while they are all teenagers.

Now, let’s talk about Belly. Why this girl thinks she can play both sides like this is beyond me. In my world, if you are choosing between two brothers, once you make your decision, that’s it. If it doesn’t work out, you don’t get a redo, unless you truly don’t care about either of them. Or like 20 years has passed. I think Belly is insecure (she is only 16 after all), just wants to feel loved and attractive and doesn’t really understand either brother beyond the way they make her feel. I mean, their mom just died! Their dad doesn’t talk to them. Their aunt hates them. They lost their house. Perhaps there are more important things at play here than your hormones, Belly!

So, I’m Team No One.

Actually, my best ending would be if Belly realizes neither brother is good relationship material and then she goes back to start something with Cam Cameron, and then he’s like, “Nope. Sorry. You gotta grow up first.”

Okay, your turn— whose team are you on? Is it the same or different from your kids? I’m also curious, were you rooting for Angela and Jordan? Were you Ben or Noel? Did you want Blair to wind up with Chuck, even though that kinda perpetuates the notion that you can turn a red flag green if you are the right girl? I’m finding the analysis on tiktok interesting because kids these days are way more versed in red flags than we were younger. Looking back, we wanted all the wrong guys. No spoilers if you read the books!