Hi guys! Welcome back to Hot Takes with your new favorite journalists, Lili, Allison, and Elle. While it’s a new year and we are new to the column, but not new to today’s topic: The Summer I Turned Pretty, otherwise known as the only thing worth talking about all summer. Let’s get into it. 

The complicated love triangle between Conrad, Belly, and Jeremiah is a major hot topic among viewers. Even if you haven’t watched the series, you still might have heard the trending question, “Are you Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah?”

During this season, a majority of the internet turned against Belly, criticising her for the drama and tension she caused, which is totally valid. Watching her bounce between Conrad and Jeremiah like it’s a tennis match?! Absurd. She seems to always prioritize her own feelings and never sees the impact her choices have on those around her. Belly makes every situation about herself, and it’s quite frustrating to watch. Along with that, Belly saying that Conrad was more in the wrong for leaving her at prom when his mother was dying than Jeremiah was by cheating on her not once, but TWICE is a pretty insane take. Conrad clearly still cared about Belly, he just didn’t know how to balance his grief and a relationship at the same time. But on the other hand, Jeremiah cheating was just him being petty about Belly spending Christmas with Conrad, despite nothing actually occurring between the two. 

However, we can all agree that Jeremiah is definitely the worst character on the show. Cheating on Belly during spring break? Red flag. Proposing senior year of college? Red flag. Giving her a ring with a diamond the size of a grain of sand? Red flag. Jeremiah is clearly not the right guy for Belly. He’s irresponsible, immature, and even his father doesn’t seem to have faith in his son’s future. Overall, Jeremiah is the epitome of a manchild and it is obvious that he and Belly should not end up together. 

Now let’s start talking about everyone’s favorite character: Conrad. Connie has cared for Belly since day one, and over the years his love only grew stronger. Watching his brother almost marry the love of life? Absolutely heartbreaking. However, he still wants to be with her. He even writes her love letters while she’s in Paris. How romantic is that?! There is a distinct difference between a doctor who went to Stanford and a super senior who says he majors in ‘beerology’. The bottom line is Conrad and Belly are endgame. 

Let’s not forget about the other (and better) relationship of the show – Taylor and Steven. Their secret romance and sneaking around is exactly the love story we needed. They started off in a pretty rough place this season, with them both being in relationships and still seeing each other. Although we don’t recommend this, it shows how there is no one else better for them than each other. 

However, Taylor’s actions were pretty questionable. She pretty much did the same thing to Steven in this season as she did in the last season, which was pretty unoriginal and uncreative on the part of the writers. She made the same excuse of ‘not being able to show her true feelings’ to Steven because she was scared of getting her heart broken. She says that she’s never loved anyone as much as she loves him, but even when he reciprocates those feelings back, she dumps him? It really didn’t make sense… Despite this, all three of us prefer their relationship over either of Belly’s relationships with the Fisher boys. 

Although she is criticized heavily by the internet, we think that Denise is unproblematic and over-hated. She really didn’t do much this season and was just a side character. People only hated her because she came in between Taylor and Steven, which is kind of ridiculous. Despite this, we did think it was kind of weird that she was the only girl at the bachelor party?!?!

Will Conrad visit Belly in Paris and be together? Will Belly pick her French fling, Benito, over Conrad and start over in Paris? Or will she go back to Cousins and marry Conrad? Or will Belly end up choosing herself in the end? 

There is no ending we need more than the one from the book, Conrad and Belly ending up together. Their chemistry has been growing through all three seasons, and it’s time Jenny Han gives us fans what we deserve.  After all, we’ve spent our whole summer talking about it. We’re crossing our fingers that our last Wednesday with the Fisher brothers is the best one yet.