There is nothing I love more than a good flashback where you can start to understand where characters are coming from and who they are. Seeing a flashback of Conrad and Belly, made me understand the innocence of them, but also the way that they saw each other a long time ago.
We’re at a stage in life where everything is changing for all of them. Especially Conrad. There is something that is to be said for finding a peace when you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities.
GOOD MORNING
Conrad definitely woke up in a good mood and Jeremiah is definitely trying to disguise the fact that he really likes Belly. I can’t imagine what it’s like to like the same person as your sibling.
He woke up in a good mood because of Belly. He woke up in a good mood because he let someone in. He woke up in a good mood because Belly texted him and he woke up to that.
Belly is at the deb dance class, Nicole acting as her dance partner. Nicole though, as much as I want to like her, she keeps asking about Conrad and I don’t like the fact that Nicole seems to be more interested in information than being her friend.
Jeremiah shows up and steps in for Nicole, which makes everyone jealous. He’s trying to show Belly that he cares, trying to be close to her. He doesn’t care what other people think – never has.
What I think is important is that there are so many sides to a person
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
Conrad at his job and and he can’t stop smiling about Belly. He’s always thought about her as this little kid, and now she’s not. But he’s afraid that he’s going to fuck it up and that scares him more than anything.
You can see how much he care about her because there is this twinkle in his eyes, and this smile that lights the room.
Cam takes Belly to the beach for a picnic and it’s perfect. It’s moments like this and men like Cam that make us see what we could and should have. He wants to love Belly and for him to love her. But Belly’s heart is somewhere else and he knows it.
She didn’t ask him to be her escort after all. Which hey, we’ve all known was a sign. He takes it well, but you can see a part of him is breaking. He even tells Belly that he knows the who and that she should be treated well.
But you can see a relief when it comes to Belly. She wants to be free. She wants to be seen. She wants to follow her heart and for her big summer wish to come true.
MOMS
Laurel and Susannah make up. I love a friendship where you can say I’m sorry and move on. My best friend and I do that. We’re weird, but like it’s also nice to be friends with someone that you don’t have to feel torn apart for having weak moments or moments where we feel so vulnerable we can be ourselves at our worst and our best.
You say you’re sorry and move on.
The two discuss Laurel’s car escapades and Susannah is encouraging. She wants Laurel to live her life and have a great time doing it. Susannah doesn’t want to have to worry about anyone, but wants to know that people will be good, even when she’s gone.
The two eat an edible and get extremely high. Like eat everything in the kitchen type of high. Belly and Jeremiah may be a little freaked out over how high the two of them are, but they are also enjoying seeing their Moms so happy.
It takes a wild night out of them having fun that they wouldn’t normally have, for the Moms to see that they need to live and not just exist. They’re more than their children, more than their jobs, more than the summer.
Laurel and Susannah have this friendship that is easy and also complicated. But the two of them show us what friendship should be. No matter the good, no matter the bad, you have to remember that you can get through anything.
THE CONRAD FACTOR
It’s hard when someone changes and you don’t understand why. They can be happy one second but the next second anger overtakes them. And Conrad coming home is angry.
For Belly she’s excited to see him. She’s thrilled to see Conrad. She wants his honesty and and his heart. He wants to do the right thing – he wants to be ready to be the boy she’s love since forever.
Conrad loves her enough to know that he needs to get his shit straight and be at peace with himself because he doesn’t want to hurt her. Belly doesn’t get that and she shouldn’t at that age. But seeing the pain in her eyes, you know it’s a lot for her to take.
He tells her that he thinks about her. She knows that he does. But he just can’t.
“I’m not going to wait for you anymore.”
Does anything really sting more than those words?
The thing is, that as much as I wish that Conrad would let her in, I know that he’s carrying the weight of his Moms secret and it’s fucking him up. So I can’t be mad over that, but I can be mad that he’s not being honest with anyone and therefore he’s fucking with other peoples feelings.
But the moment that he sees him Mom on the stairs, barely able to move, the concern in his face and the fear – I can also be mad at other people for not realizing just how much he needs to be seen right now.
Someone needs to save/help him. He’s falling apart.
JEREMIAH
I think that sometimes that Jeremiah is innocent and sometimes I think that he’s loud and outspoken because he doesn’t want to be in Conrad’s shadow. But him trying to manipulate the situation to get Conrad away from Belly.
I don’t like that.
I do love the fact that he’s feeling like he can be open with Belly, and start to talk more about his feelings with her. But my concern is that he is doing it in a moment of her vulnerability, of her being hurt by Conrad, of her breaking up with Cam, of her just really not knowing all of her feelings.
Jeremiah is young and doesn’t get the ways that this could backfire and hurt him and Belly. Emotions are a crazy thing.
But as much as it scares me – seeing them on this road that can hurt them (and yes, I have read the books and know what happens) – I love the last scene.
Belly’s night swims are a sacred ritual to her. Jeremiah joining her and pouring out his feelings, I admit my eye sprung a leak and was like yes Jeremiah! Tell her how you feel.
But I do worry about Belly saying she can think about him in a different way. I worry because I am worried about them both hurting.
The reality is she’s not now nor will she ever be over Conrad. And I don’t want Jeremiah to pay the price.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Conrad picking everything up after the Moms, and telling Jeremiah that they need to help more, I love him, but I also hate his burden he’s putting on himself.
- Laurel going skinny dipping, glad she’s stepping outside her comfort zone.
- Susannah in the bar… can’t get over it. But hey, YOLO.
- Long Island Ice Teas are deadly.
The Summer I Turned Pretty is streaming now on Amazon.