Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that The Summer I Turned Pretty is THE show right now. Jenny Han, the creator of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, is an expert at what she does when she pits two adorable boys—brothers no less—against one another in a love triangle. We have the older, moody Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) in one corner and the energetic, young Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) in the other (who’s obviously the better brother).  

But, why is Belly (Lola Tung) even struggling to pick the better brother? It’s obviously Jeremiah. Need some convincing? Read through, and I promise that you’ll be on the right team by the end. This article does include spoilers, so read at your own discretion. 

Looking at the book series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, we see how Jeremiah continually prioritizes Belly. He shows his dedication to her wellbeing by offering her support during hard times and engaging in her interests and pastimes, such as going on the scariest roller coaster when Belly was dared to. On the other hand, Conrad frequently comes off as distant and unconcerned with Belly’s feelings. Every conversation between Conrad and Belly ends with Conrad telling Belly to “grow up” and Belly replying “go to hell!”, such as at Susannah’s funeral. Belly finds it simpler to trust and confide in Jeremiah since he comforts her and is honest about his emotions. Contrarily, Belly feels unstable and insecure as a result of Conrad’s emotional erraticness and commitment-phobia, which causes her confusion and grief. In the book, Conrad says “go to Jeremiah. He’s the one who wants you. I don’t, I never did” (Han).  Conrad even states how he doesn’t even care about Belly. Toxic much? 

Now the real tension exists in the show, where we can see the love triangle unravel, it’s obvious that Jeremiah Fisher is the better brother. After Susannah’s death, Belly focuses on taking care of Conrad, and ices Jeremiah out— not considering his feelings. But when Jeremiah and Belly are looking for Conrad and they get a flat tire, Jeremiah tells Belly about how he felt neglected because she didn’t comfort him and only cared about Conrad’s feelings. Belly realizes she was in the wrong, and resolves to treat Jeremiah better. 

After Jeremiah’s confrontation, Belly realizes that she needs to spend more time with him, and she slowly realizes that he’s perfect for her. For example, when everyone slept outside, Belly and Jeremiah slept together, and woke up together. This is also where Belly only looks at Jeremiah and smiles, feeling comforted by his presence. Also, when Belly was dared to go on the tower of terror at the carnival, Jeremiah went with her even though he didn’t have to. At the end of the day, Jeremiah treats Belly with more respect than Conrad, and Belly obviously prefers him. When Skye dared Belly to kiss Jeremiah, Jeremiah said “no” because he was aware that Conrad and Belly just broke up, and didn’t kiss Belly out of respect. Though when Belly confronted Jeremiah about this, his reply was “Belly, if I kiss you, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop”. His love for Belly is sincere and he would treat Belly with nothing but respect. 

If you believe Conrad is the better option, then you’re wrong. At Belly’s prom, Conrad didn’t only forget the corsage for Belly, but also wanted to leave earlier. I mean. I’m not a couples counselor, but the lack of communication signifies nothing but an unhealthy relationship. Jeremiah tells Belly he NEVER would’ve forgot the corsage or been so petty at an event that’s so important to Belly. Even Belly agrees that Conrad is toxic, because in her conversation with Jeremiah, she said how her and Conrad’s relationship wasn’t attainable and they were toxic. 

With all of these reasons stated, you have to be team Jeremiah. Even though the books may be team Conrad, the show is team Jeremiah and that’s what matters. Even the author of the books and creator the show, Jenny Han says that she might change the ending of the book. So, to my Team Jeremiah girlies, we have hope because Jenny Han also might be Team Jeremiah. 

While the books were published in 2009, modern day society should be Team Jeremiah, because every girl deserves her Prince in shining armor that offers a healthy relationship (and a guy who doesn’t forget a corsage).