Hot Brothers and Two Lovers: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Miriam Levin ’26 Assistant Op/Ed Editor

What would you do if two of the hottest guys you knew were fighting over you? That’s the premise of the Prime Original TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

What would you do if two of the hottest guys you knew were fighting over you? That’s the premise of the Prime Original TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty. Originally a trilogy written by Jenny Han, the TV series adaptation has everyone, myself included, fiending for more of the charming characters and cast members.

For those of you who have been living under a rock, TSITP follows a teenage girl named Isabel — “Belly” for short — and her relationship with two of her childhood friends. There’s Jeremiah Fisher, the fun, golden retriever-like boy who has many fans swooning, but there’s also his older brother Conrad. He’s the crowd favorite — the emotional one who’s angry at the world. He treats Belly like she’s absolute dirt. Don’t ask me why everyone (myself included) is so enchanted by him. To the uninitiated, he may seem like a nightmare

of a love interest, but something about him has captivated viewers’ hearts. Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad go to the Fishers’ beach house as they do every summer, things get messy, and everyone makes another bowl of popcorn. This is my Roman Empire.

I am Team Conrad, plain and simple. Belly has been obsessed with Conrad since a young age and in the latest season, begins to live out her dreams. He’s the only guy Belly has ever truly loved. While she claims to have a thing for Jeremiah in season two, she still carries around a little bit of Conrad in her heart.

Conrad, being Conrad, causes trouble. Before and after his romance with Belly, he leads her on, ignores her, and refuses to open up, but girls like me like him anyway. Why Belly and I fall for awful guys seems to confuse some people, so let me speak for my fellow Team Conrad supporters and explain this phenomenon using Belly’s situation. I can attest that being a teenage girl these days is insanely difficult. It comes with pressure to be society’s version of pretty, smart, outgoing, popular, well-mannered, and so much more from a young age. Like Belly, I find myself often forfeiting my self-worth to a guy. If he looks at me or answers my text, I know that I must’ve looked pretty that day. So for Belly, who has always liked Conrad, him looking at her and giving

her his time makes her insecurities fade away — at least a little bit. Chasing that feeling means chasing the guy. So, when a girl like Belly is into a boy who is awful to her, it’s often not because she is praying for her own downfall. Instead, she’s seeking the rare validation from a boy from one of its few sources: Conrad Fisher. He’s

also very nice to look at, which is a plus.

When it comes to Jeremiah, someone needs to get me Jenny Han’s number because we need to talk. Don’t
get me wrong: Jeremiah is a nice boy, but I can’t fathom Belly picking him over Conrad. For Connie Babies (my name for Team Conrad supporters), there is something unappealing about a guy who throws himself at Belly at any given moment. Jeremiah has always lived in the shadow of his brother, and when searching for something to finally best him at, Jeremiah chooses Belly’s attention. He’s done everything in his power to keep Belly and Conrad apart, even if it means selfishly ruining Belly and Conrad’s relationship. This is part of the reason why I am one hundred percent team “Bonrad” (Belly + Conrad).

To an untrained eye ,Jeremiah may seem like the perfect option, but here’s the problem: When Jeremiah comes into the picture, he tries insanely hard to get Belly’s attention. Although this seems like a good thing, he sabotages Belly and Conrad’s romantic moments to prevent his brother from getting ahead. Even though Belly and Jeremiah have a moment, she still doesn’t feel worthy of him because many girls only accept the love they think they deserve. At times, when a guy like Jeremiah appears in a girl like Belly’s life, she doesn’t want

him as much as she would a guy like Con- rad. This is because Jeremiah is willing to give one hundred percent of himself, which means being needy and clingy at times, which she doesn’t think she deserves.

This reflects the level of self-esteem in teenagers like me these days. Not only will we give our self-worth to a guy, but as soon as a guy reciprocates, we pull away out of fear that we don’t deserve their attention. If we don’t think we are pretty or funny, why would a guy think we are? We — or maybe just hopeless romantics — are not used to the classic ‘80s boom box in the front yard and flowers for no reason. Unfortunately, I am used to “wyd” texts and “what do you look like?” snaps from people I don’t even know. This kind of attention has set the bar so low that guys are praised for the bare minimum. That being said, guys like Jeremiah are often turned

down by girls like Belly because they make girls feel like they don’t deserve that princess treatment. This is also a mindset instilled in them by other guys they’ve talked to. So when Belly picks her guy, although she has a fling with Jeremiah, her heart will always belong to Conrad and the memories they share together.

Nice guys are great, but there’s a fine line between being a nice guy and being a pick-me. When he becomes desperate, that is when Belly starts to pull away. On the other hand, Conrad is closing himself off constantly and letting his emotions get the best of him and his ability to communicate. Although it seems like an obvious choice, Conrad will always be in Belly’s heart because of the validation she put into his actions for so much of her life. Even though Conrad’s emotional unavailability prevents him from showing his love for Belly, deep inside he will still always put Belly and her happiness before anything else, unlike Jeremiah, who just wants to be ahead of Conrad. In my opinion, Belly is best focusing on herself, protecting her peace, and leaving the hot brothers to their own problems. For now.

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Hot Brothers and Two Lovers: The Summer I Turned Pretty