Jeremiah v.s. Conrad: The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Battle of the Brothers
It’s been over a month since fans of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” were introduced to the season two trailer set to a dramatic orchestral rendition of “august” by Taylor Swift, and as of Aug. 10, over half the episodes are now out. The feud between Conrad and Jeremiah supporters for who is Belly’s best match is as polarizing, passionate, and entertaining as ever. However, the choice seems obvious: it’s Conrad. Despite their struggles, Belly and Conrad have long-standing chemistry, whereas Jeremiah and Belly lack a genuine romantic connection and are much better off as best friends.
The search for young love with the brothers includes several missteps as her unchanging relationship with her first love, Conrad, leads Belly to develop interest and entertain dating Jeremiah, his brother. However, many fans claim this was not from a place of attraction, but rather as an attempt to seek validation after Conrad rejected her. Jeremiah didn’t make any mistake in initiating their first kiss, but it isn’t a secret that Jeremiah is envious of Conrad; Jeremiah was seeking his own form of validation in trying to one-up Conrad.
This pattern repeats itself once more in season two, as Jeremiah and Belly reunite the next summer. Belly is heartbroken after her committed relationship with Conrad has ended, and Jeremiah is dealing with his own resentment toward Conrad, so they naturally gravitate to each other. Both pairings do leave something to be desired regarding maturity and stability for many reasons, but Jeremiah doesn’t help his case in comparison to Conrad.
Many fans began losing interest in Jeremiah after he began lines that bordered on cringeworthy such as, “...if I kiss you, I don’t know that I can ever stop” and “You don’t need to hurt yourself to get my attention.” These lines alone are enough confirmation to know that Belly and Jeremiah’s chemistry in the show feels a bit forced. Not to mention his more serious issues, like the intense jealousy and borderline manipulative tendencies he demonstrates when it comes to Belly and Conrad interacting. For instance, when he saw Belly and Conrad about to share a kiss in season one, he shot fireworks over their heads — completely disregarding safety concerns — to interrupt their romantic moment. This is not to say Conrad doesn’t have his childish moments — or more accurately months — of silliness, especially in his brooding, staring aimlessly at the ocean era. Nonetheless, the occasions in which his character displays emotional growth and maturity makes it easier for fans to root for him and increasingly more difficult to like Jeremiah.
The choice between the two brothers really comes down to this: would you rather date a pretend bad boy or a field mouse disguised as a golden retriever? Or maybe you have a thing for a marine biologist by the name of Cam Cameron!
