From book to television show, Jenny Han’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has been revolutionary for our generation on social media. The show became an instant hit after its release of the first season in 2022 and has maintained its relevance since.

The show follows Isabella Conklin, or Belly, as she visits her family friend’s summer home in Cousins, a fictional beach in Cape Cod. Belly’s mother, Laurel, is the best friend of Susannah, Jeremiah and Conrad’s mother, and the pair both bring their kids to Susannah’s summer home. Belly is torn between the two brothers romantically.

For a time, the love triangle between them tore the internet in two, creating two distinct sides: Team Jeremiah and Team Conrad. 

Conrad is a moody, closed-off character who ends up having a huge heart and caring deeply about Belly (the likes of Edward Cullen), while Jeremiah is an outgoing, more extroverted character (who the actor describes as a “golden retriever”). The two are basically opposites. Who is the “better” brother?

From the beginning of the show, Belly tells the audience about her huge crush on Conrad. She has loved him since they were kids, but he never appears to notice her. As the title states, Belly returns to Cousins one summer “prettier” than before, and Conrad finally makes the move.

After a few tumultuous fights and misunderstandings, the pair finally begin dating at the end of the first season. However, at Belly’s high school prom, they break up because Conrad appears to be forgetting important things and putting in minimal effort in the relationship. In his defense, his mother had been diagnosed with cancer and was incredibly ill.

Shortly after their break up, Belly and Jeremiah begin dating, and continue to do so up until the third season, where the two get engaged. Mind you, two episodes prior, we found out that Jeremiah cheated on Belly while they were “on a break.”

Jeremiah continues his childish behavior by yelling at her, getting angry nearly every episode and losing his mind over a two-tier dark chocolate cake with a raspberry coulis filling and a mirror glaze on top.

Team Conrad is the only valid option.

Conrad, still clearly in love with Belly, respects their decision and tries to avoid getting in the way – until season three, episode five. In the episode, Conrad and Belly attempt to shop for Belly’s wedding while Jeremiah misses his train for work. 

The chemistry between them is off the charts and they have so many incredible moments during season three… only to be ruined by the fact that she is engaged to his brother.

The show finds a way to articulate the complexities of human relationships in an easily digestible way. The show conveys grief, heartbreak, jealousy and other complex emotions in its characters, making them in turn layered and difficult to understand.

The reason that I believe that Conrad and Belly broke up over small things while Jeremiah literally cheated on her is because Belly has loved Conrad her whole life and has always imagined herself with him. This perfect image of their relationship had formed in her mind, and she loved him so deeply that everything he did hurt her on a different level. 

However, she has always viewed Jeremiah as a second choice or as a best friend, and anything he could do to hurt her would never hurt as badly. 

In season three episode seven, Conrad confesses that he still loves Belly, and he asks her to call off the wedding. As of right now, the wedding is officially off and Belly is leaving town, but I believe in my heart of hearts that she and Conrad will end up together in the end. 

Conrad is a kind-hearted, complicated, sensitive character whose devotion to Belly is displayed throughout the show, while Jeremiah is a selfish, immature super senior who will mansplain cacao percentages to his distraught fiancée.

In these dark times of true crime biopics and terrible musical adaptations, this show is a beacon of light. The last great American love triangle we’ve had was “Twilight” – which is obviously slightly dated now – so “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is necessary for our generation, a generation that has twisted the meaning of relationships and made them ever so casual. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is a reminder of how love can be genuine and relationships can exist if the circumstances are right, no matter how hopeless it may seem.

On that note, Team Conrad is only getting stronger – the way it should be.