Image Credits: Amazon Prime Video via Wikipedia
With the show “The Summer I Turned Pretty” coming to an end, we finally get the result of Gen Z’s favorite love triangle. Just like Millennials with “Twilight,” for years fans have all been wondering who Belly Conklin was going to pick. After three seasons, Belly ultimately ends up calling off her wedding with Jeremiah Fischer and finding herself in Paris, where she eventually chooses Conrad Fisher. Some fans of the show are happy with this choice, while others are disappointed. To fans, this show is not just about romance; this show illustrates people’s fascination with love triangles in the media.
Like many love triangles, since season one, Belly has been torn between two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. Conrad is the emotionally unavailable, brooding older brother, while Jeremiah is the younger brother, her best friend and the “safe” option. Unlike the books, the show adaptation was very split on who people wanted Belly to end up with. On one side were Conrad fans who were loyal to the books or just loved his character. On the other side were Jeremiah fans, who either did not read the books, or felt that the TV show-version of Jeremiah was a better option for Belly than book Jeremiah ever was. In the show, Jeremiah is more likable and his relationship with Belly has more depth. Even though Belly ended up with Conrad in the books, Jenny Han did a really good job of making the Amazon Prime series a lot less predictable. In the books, it was clearer who she was going to end up with, but for the past three seasons viewers were split and did not know what was going to happen in the end. This was a really smart decision on Han’s part because love triangles have always had a strong grip on audiences.
There were a lot of people who were happy with Belly’s final decision. Conrad fans were glad that Belly ended up with the childhood love of her life, but many Jeremiah fans thought the ending was predictable and hoped to see her stray away from the books so that the series would feel more original. I personally think that if you are going to make a TV series adaptation of a book, it should be mostly book accurate. Still, I understand why Jeremiah fans feel frustrated, since the show made him more compelling than he was in the original trilogy.
This is not the first time we have seen this kind of love triangle in the media. Another show similar to “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is Julie Plec’s TV show adaptation of “The Vampire Diaries.” Over a decade ago, when “The Vampire Diaries” was in its prime, it followed main character Elena Gilbert as she was torn between two brothers. One was the older, emotionally unavailable one, and the other was the younger, safe option. Just like Belly, Elena ends up picking the older brother. This choice of going with the more complicated and emotionally unstable partner is a common theme in love triangles across pop culture.
We also see this in “Twilight”, one of the biggest movie series of all time. In “Twilight,” Bella ends up picking Edward, the more complicated and less safe option compared to Jacob. These love triangles succeed because they make the audience choose between passion and uncertainty on one side and stability on the other. They put audiences in the shoes of the main character, which makes people ask themselves: what would you do, and who would you pick? Audiences historically love this, and they respond to it with passion and debate.
Even though “Twilight” was not the first story to portray a love triangle, its overwhelming success definitely pushed other creators to highlight this trope. From 2008 to 2012, while the “Twilight” movies were being released, and even now more than a decade later, people were constantly talking about Edward and Jacob. There was endless online discourse, tons of “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” merchandise and a fandom that shaped pop culture. Even though Bella’s choice in “Twilight” was more obvious than Belly’s in “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” fans were no less obsessed with the outcome.
Part of what makes “The Summer I Turned Pretty” especially unique though is the way Gen Z has engaged with it. Unlike the “Twilight” era, where most of the conversation happened on Tumblr or in online forums, Gen Z fans have used TikTok, Twitter and Instagram as constant battlegrounds for “Team Conrad” versus “Team Jeremiah.” Edits of Belly with each brother have gained millions of likes and views. Fans analyzed scenes, shared memes and argued as if they personally knew Jeremiah and Conrad. Fans are not just watching passively; they are interacting with and making online content, which shows how invested people were in the series.
After the finale was released, fans learned that “The Summer I Turned Pretty” will continue with a movie adaptation that is rumored to come out in 2027. This news has already created new excitement among the fandom. People are wondering how the story will continue after Belly’s final choice and how Han will conclude the stories of these characters. The fact that the series is expanding into a movie shows how much fans love this story, and even after her final choice the audience is still hooked and wanting more of these characters.
The summer has come to an end, Belly has made her choice and the show has reached its conclusion, but the love triangle trope remains one of the most memorable and is also my personal favorite in TV history. Because of the thousands of online edits, memes and debates, this show will go down as unforgettable. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” will be remembered as one of the most iconic love triangles for Gen Z, right alongside “Twilight” and “The Vampire Diaries.” Just as Millennials grew up passionately debating Edward versus Jacob or Stefan versus Damon, Gen Z has found its own generational love triangle to obsess over with Conrad versus Jeremiah. And with the upcoming movie on the way, it is clear that audiences are not ready to let go of Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah just yet.
Jaleih Cruz is s second-year Criminal Justice Major. JC1046934@wcupa.edu