‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ highlights love and forgiveness in Belly and Conrad

The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the beautiful and somewhat wistful story of Belly Conklin as she sets off on a path of first love, self-discovery, and profound friendships that unfold amid warm summer afternoons that leave everyone feeling sun-kissed and magical, somehow.

In fact, it all feels almost very fairytale-esque, romantic, and deeply emotional. Sort of like a real-life love story with a little bit of Disney magic thrown. Or maybe the magic is more tangible; perhaps it exists in the forgiveness and compassion offered when the characters find themselves needing it the most, with the real enchantment is in the idea that love can exist in the same place as pain, and they can work together to create something inherently beautiful in their path.

One of the ways The Summer I Turned Pretty best highlights this idea is in the relationship between Belly and Conrad Fisher. Friends for years, but there’s always been something bubbling under the surface; in fact, Belly has always held a candle for Conrad, and she always will.

Teenagers in love, what could they know about forgiveness and compassion, right? The Summer I Turned Pretty could easily be written off as a young adult love triangle, but there’s so much more to it than that; it’s a nod to Jenny Han as a writer and creator and the talented cast who have dedicated so much of themselves to the characters. Young love is pure and unscathed, not yet bothered by many of the culprits that can change it, but Belly and Conrad have something different.

Their bond is more tried and true, perhaps because they’ve done so much growing up together, and during the summer that changes it all, they’re going to do a lot more. We’ve lost count of how many times we’ve rewatched (and reread) The Summer I Turned Pretty, so join us as we take you through a deep dive into the bond that is Conrad and Belly, The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s most vulnerable love story.

Conrad and Belly are endgame

First things first, we’ve got to become familiar with who Belly and Conrad are, which lends to a quick tidbit about their mothers, Susannah and Laurel. They met when they were nine, and in the books, Belly calls them blood sisters.

“My mother was the only one who called her Beck. They’d known each other since they were nine – blood sisters, they called each other. And they had the scars to prove it – identical marks on their wrists that looked like hearts.”

An ode to friendship and forever bonds, the women had pledged themselves to one another when they were just kids, which makes the story of their families growing up together so much sweeter. Susannah and Laurel experienced so many facets of life together, and that allowed their kids to do the same. So when the Conklins showed up at the Fisher’s beach house during Belly’s formative summer, it was something routine, as normal as a sunrise or sunset.

The only difference was that Belly had grown up over the last year; no longer the little girl they’d known for so long, she was, as Susannah said, in bloom. The boys noticed, too, as both Jeremiah and Conrad had visceral reactions to her showing up. She was changing, and as she locked eyes with Conrad, a perfectly-placed Taylor Swift song began playing in the background, and if we had to guess, in the minds of Belly and Conrad as well.

While the story is told through the eyes of Belly, we’d have to guess that it would all play out very similarly if Conrad was the one telling it. We see the progression of her adoration for him, yet when we first meet him, he seems hardened to the idea of not just Belly but life. In fact, Belly appears to be the only thing on the planet with the power to soften him. We’re not sure why he lost that Conrad charm, but something is plaguing him.

If you didn’t recognize that something deeper was happening, it would be easy to write him off entirely. Speaking to PopSugar, Briney said that he understands why some people have a hard time with Conrad as a character. He comes across as a stereotypical “bad boy,” but that’s not where his character stays; it’s not the bubble he’s been drawn into.

“He’s really rude and he’s not telling people how he feels, and that’s why he’s in all this trouble. He’s just young and . . . just trying to keep it together for the people he loves. Yes, he owes an apology to some people in the world, but he’s 17. He can make mistakes. He’s going to continue to make mistakes, and he’s just hurt.”

Trying to keep it together for the people he loves, those 10 words sum up precisely what Conrad is thinking — he’s not just turned into a shell of himself as some stand against joy and happiness; he’s overwhelmed with a heavy weight on his shoulders, and he can’t share it with anyone else.

The beauty of the relationships in The Summer I Turned Pretty is more than surface-deep; it’s in the forgiveness, love, and compassion our lead characters share, even when circumstances don’t make it very easy. The thing is, sometimes giving someone forgiveness and love means allowing them to exist in a space without you, and Belly and Conrad are both figuring this out at different times.

Belly recognizes Conrad has changed, but she has to figure out if he’s worth fighting for. At the same time, she’s meeting new friends, new summer boys, and a new version of herself.

The evolution of Belly and Conrad

Both Conrad and Belly are figuring out new versions of themselves, and they’re also recognizing that what they’re doing to one another isn’t working. Conrad is standoffish but jealous; Belly is trying to hold onto him as she finds a newly-developed freedom within herself. She wants to be loved; this is her summer of love, and the idea of romance sweeps her away.

Of course, Belly isn’t wrong for wanting love — not just love, but to be appreciated for who she is, but it takes her away. Conrad is so wrapped up in trying to shoulder the weight of a life-altering secret that he loses sight of tenderness and compassion, instead greeting Belly with glimpses of kindness amid disdain and rejection. Now, we know what you’re thinking — we said this was a great love story full of vulnerability and forgiveness, but it’s a journey. The journey begins with love, even when it’s not at the forefront of their minds.

Speaking to Byrdie, Briney said that he and Conrad share similar traits when it comes to caring deeply about someone, which allowed him to bring a lot of himself to the role.

“Conrad can be quite the enigma, and it took me some time to find the things he and I have in common. We both put a lot of effort into caring for the ones we love. Whether it’s our friends, family, or whatever it may be—the safety of our loved ones is something we both cherish.”

Tung also spoke about her similarities to Belly, and she said making her loved ones proud is very important to both herself and her character in the series.

“We are emotionally driven people who care deeply about our loved ones and feel things very strongly. She’s headstrong and determined, and I am as well. She wants to make her family and the people she loves proud and is learning to take risks. I think she is a little more outgoing, spontaneous, and maybe more impulsive than I am.”

Belly and Conrad both lead with love, but they do so in very different ways, and as the summer unfolds, many of their shared moments are stolen ones with secret glances and conversations that lead them to desire each other more without the proper way to get there.

There are moments when Conrad slows time and says Belly’s name, almost pleading with her to push him a little further, to ask him just the right question so that he can open his heart and spill everything he’s keeping buried inside. Instead, he fumbles and realizes that they’re getting too close.

There’s a moment on the fourth of July when it almost feels like Conrad is ready to let his guard down, take away the layers he’s built around him, and take the leap with Belly, but he’s quickly interrupted by his brother, Jeremiah, who began developing feelings for Belly, too. This is where the love triangle comes in, but that’s a story for a different time.

Neither Belly nor Conrad makes that next move, even with moments immediately spelling out the need for it more than ever. Instead, they each retreat to their own habits, further creating a divide, but when things are meant to be — they always find a way, don’t they?

As Belly’s story continues, she becomes more herself with each chapter, yet no matter what or who she explores with, something always leads her back to Conrad.

“I had been lying to myself, thinking I was free, thinking I had let him go. It didn’t matter what he said or did, I’d never let him go.”

For Belly, Conrad is the sun

Conrad is always following a path to Belly, too, and it all comes together during a moment both families had been anticipating all summer — the debutante ball. While the pair don’t go to the dance together, Conrad steps in to save the day at the most critical moment, and the vulnerability between them is something next level. Belly looks at him like he’s the only one in the room, and Conrad is telling her his every secret, all without saying a word.

In a moment, the secret Conrad had been keeping was no longer his to shoulder alone, and it was in that exact space that Belly realized what had been keeping him from her all summer; what the reason for his off putting nature had been revealed, and she only wanted to share space with him again, the kind of space that would hold him together and heal the hurt.

They met at their spot, sitting together at the beach, and the change in Conrad’s existence was evident; he was lighter somehow, looking forward to the future with a renewed sense of hope. Belly questioned why he didn’t tell her sooner, and he assured her that he tried, but he just couldn’t.

The forgiveness and love that their bond hinged centered them again at that moment, and they finally shared Belly’s greatest dream, the wish she made on every birthday and every shooting star, and she soon realized that it wasn’t just her wish coming true — it was Conrad’s, too. The boy who taught her about infinity intended to exist in it with her, and she believed in magic once again, just like that.

Despite the hurt they’d caused one another, the moments of despair and longing, that same magic Belly always believed in, brought them together again. So if you’re watching The Summer I Turned Pretty for the first time or the 15th, or if you know someone who loves the series and revisits it like their own first love, it’s because their story is all rooted in magic. It’s about believing in the hopes and dreams that come with first love and in realms where they exist forever. Belly and Conrad have it; they have infinity.

You can watch The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime Video now, and don’t forget that the epic second season is coming this summer, just in time to fall in love all over again.