If You’re Not Team Jeremiah In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Season 2, You’re Wrong

The Summer I Turned Pretty, the hit Prime Video series based on Jenny Han’s popular YA novels, has inspired one of the biggest teen ship wars since Dean and Jess on Gilmore Girls. (Just kidding! I can’t think of anyone who was Team Dean, so this one’s way more intense. Plus, it’s between two BROTHERS. Gasp!)

Pining over their pal Isabella “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) are Conrad (Christopher Briney), the brooding, emotionally unavailable Fisher brother who’s been called “Jess Mariano in a different font,” and Jeremiah, the cheery, occasionally immature younger brother who’s been compared to a loyal Golden Retriever.

In TSITP Season 1 I was admittedly Team Jere, but I absolutely saw the appeal in Team Conrad. He’s got the quiet, dreamy thing going on. He’s deep and self-destructive. And he’s a more withdrawn heartthrob, who gives intriguing glimpses of his softer side around Belly. But in Season 2, the Conrad charm is history. If you’re not Team Jeremiah this time around, you’re just plain wrong.

Before Team Conrad comes to fight, please know I’m not denying Briney’s character has potential. I’ve seen him in peak crush mode in Season 2 flashbacks, carrying on thoughtful phone conversations for hours, sipping hot cocoa, and freely frolicking on the snowy beach. But flashbacks also revealed he left Belly sobbing on prom night, and later told her dating was a huge mistake. In present-day Season 2 scenes, that boy is capital-R Rude. And though everyone is understandably grieving the loss of Susannah, Conrad — the only one in college — consistently acts the most immature.

In early Season 2 episodes, Conrad’s poor communication sends Jeremiah and Belly into a panic. They fear he’s in danger because he ditches school during finals and ghosts everyone. Turns out, he’s safe! He’s just selfishly isolating anyone who cares for him in his time of need. Classic Connie Baby! When Belly reminds Jere that “Conrad just pushes people away when he needs them most,” the youngest Fisher brother perfectly sums up my feelings with, “There’s only so many times I can take being pushed. It’s fucking exhausting.”

At the start of Episode 4, we learn Conrad’s been having panic attacks more frequently since his mom passed. And I truly feel for him. But I wish he sought help rather than being consistently cruel to those around him. If anyone should be furious at Belly and a Fisher brother in Season 2 by the way, it’s Jere. “You were my best friend! We hooked up! Then you hooked up with my brother and everyone expected me to be fine, and I wasn’t,” he cries to Belly. And let me just ask you, where’s the lie?

Jeremiah had every reason to have this attitude this season, but aside from giving Belly an initially chilly welcome, he consistently steps up and takes the high road. From telling glances in the present to flashbacks that remind us Jere has always been there for her, Season 2 does a standout job of establishing his emotional intelligence, as well as his chemistry with Belly. I mean, their electric, swoon-worthy hand holding on the Tower of Terror? I squealed. I swooned. I rewound…twice. And it only got hotter from there.

In Episode 5, the show switches things up by having Jeremiah narrate, and in hearing his inner monologue, we learn just how hard the past year has been for him. Flashbacks reveal that even though Jere was crushed over Belly and his brother, he put their feelings first and selflessly gave Conrad his blessing. While the two of them were dating and Conrad was off at school, Jere was juggling senior year while caring for his mom, keeping the house up, and figuring out medical bills. All the while — even during a painful Thanksgiving dinner with Conrad and Belly — he did his best to put on a brave face. But in reality, he was — and still is — hurting, so when Belly starts showing him interest again, he’s understandably guarded.

Episode 5 is packed with special moments between intriguing pairs: Skye and Cam share a spark. Taylor and Steven almost kiss. And Jeremiah and Belly have next-level chemistry when making shadow puppets in the club’s screening room, sipping a shared LaCroix through Twizzler straws, and further unpacking their fallout. After Jere turns down the chance to kiss Belly in a game of Truth or Dare, she confronts him and he utters one of the show’s best lines: “If I kiss you I don’t know that I could ever stop.” He drifts off in thought to the moment he fell for Belly last summer, then remembers the pain he felt watching Conrad take her to prom. A conversation between Jere and his mom shows the moment she finally realized his feelings for Belly never went away; that all this time he’d been pretending he was over her, because that lie was more convenient for everyone else than the truth. Even when Susannah saw through him and gave permission for him to crumble, Jere still did his best to quell her worries. In present day — even when expressing his (extremely valid) pain — he cares for Conrad’s emotions in that same way.

Grade-A flirting in Episode 6 and 7 leads to a highly-anticipated Jellyfish kiss, and I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that passionate car hood make-out sesh took my breath away. The waist grab! The turn! The lean in! I didn’t think it could get any better, but when Beyoncé played in their finale kiss I nearly blacked out. BEYONCÉ! Not Olivia Rodrigo! Not Taylor Swift! The Queen Bey herself. Even Conheads or Bonrads or whatever need to admit that track choice speaks volumes about the quality of this ship.

I skipped to the kiss, but before I bask in my Jellyfish glow until TSITP Season 3, we need to discuss how deeply toxic, selfish, immature, and infuriating Conrad behaved in that finale. I’m almost speechless, because I was mad while I watched, but a next-level rage burned within my stom—belly as I scrolled through Twitter and found Team Conrad making “The Summer I Defended Conrad Fisher Like My Life Depends On It” jokes, calling his attitude delightfully sassy and funny, and claiming he wasn’t trying to be mean. What show were you watching? Seriously. That boy was fueled by pure jealousy. He wasn’t being cute or comically annoying. He was intentionally nasty to his brother and his ex girlfriend, and that’s NOT behavior worth defending. Be! For! Real!

When the roles were reversed, and Conrad and Belly were the ones hurting Jeremiah, Jere stepped back and let her make her own decisions even though it hurt like hell. And when Conrad failed to give his brother that same respect, Jere met his mortifying meanness with heart and patience. He even said he’d stand down if Belly wanted to be with Conrad! I mean WHAT SHOW ARE Y’ALL WATCHING?!

I admittedly haven’t read The Summer I Turned Pretty books, but I have looked up Book 3 spoilers for work. And without giving too much away, I’ll just say that although the twist doesn’t track for me right now, I get why so many book lovers would be firmly Team Conrad. I’ll cross that bridge if the series stays true to Han’s story, but if we’re gathered here today to deem one Fisher brother more crushworthy than the other in Season 2 and Season 2 alone, there’s only one right answer: Jeremiah. Stop trying to vilify this boy who has yet to do the thing you’re mad about! And stop celebrating this other boy who actually dipped into his villain era this season!

Just because the third book redeems Conrad’s character and tarnishes Jeremiah’s doesn’t make Conrad any less of a menace in Season 2, nor should it detract from what a top-tier crush Jeremiah was this time around. Without a doubt this was Jeremiah’s time to shine, and it’s OK for Conrad lovers to admit their boy has work to do.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is streaming on Prime Video. New Season 2 episodes premiere weekly on Fridays.