Similar to almost every girl on campus, I eagerly anticipated The Summer I Turned Pretty finale. My friends and I all jumped up in unison when Belly and Conrad finally kissed, after waiting hopelessly the whole season for them to get together. As I scrolled on social media the next morning, I saw countless posts saying Belly doesn’t deserve Conrad. Although I love Conrad’s character, I could not disagree more.
Conrad, throughout the entire series, attempts to take on large burdens on his own. In the first season, when Susannah had cancer, he thought the best thing to do was to keep it to himself. However, this caused him to completely change his normal behavior and make the people around him extremely upset and worried about him. In the second season, he leaves school to stop the sale of the beach house in Cousins without telling anyone because he did not want to worry Jeremiah. Nonetheless, Jeremiah was more worried than he would have been if Conrad were just honest. Conrad consistently feels like he is protecting other people by taking on these burdens, yet in reality, he can not handle any of this on his own, causing all these situations to become much more complicated than they had to be. His arc this season is no different. He holds in his love for Belly because he does not want to betray Jeremiah. However, this proves to be too much for him, so he confesses his love at the worst time possible. Despite all this, I align with almost everyone else who watches, and still understand as well as root for Conrad. I believe it is only fair, though, to point out that he is far from innocent in this love affair.Â
Although we all wished that Belly just immediately ran into Conrad’s arms as soon as he admitted to loving her, we should all be able to agree that it is an unfair expectation. Belly spent years trying to figure out who she was without Conrad, and then who she was without Jeremiah. I can agree that she handles many situations extremely poorly, but that does not make her undeserving of love.
I think the ending of the series perfectly encapsulates their relationship. They are always and forever running back to each other. Therefore, even though both of them have their flaws, I believe they belong together in infinite universes.Â