S02.E08: Love Triangle

[Whimsy]

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After a painful revelation, Belly, Jeremiah, and Conrad are trapped in close quarters for the night. Emotions run high as Belly must reckon with past and present to decide her future.

Original airdate 8/18/23

Season Finale

[RachelKM]

This show really wants me to care about Conrad.  Swing and a miss, motherfuckers.  In the abstract, sure. He's a mess and that is sad. But that boy doesn't need a girlfriend; he needs therapy.

I adore Jeremiah. And I know it was 100% in character for him to be the most emotionally honest and the most self-sacrificing of the three. But ugh... boy, you don't always have to be the one to do all the emotional labor.

And dammit, Conrad never does the same. I mean, he'll sacrifice but more in slit his wrist and bleed out for you when all you wanted was to have a conversation... In fact, I think he would genuinely rather bleed than talk. That boy is DRAMA while pretending he hates drama. 

Belly was understandable in this episode. And to the extent it was idiotic to wait to confront Jer until they were back at Brown, she handled herself pretty well thereafter.  And while it took way too long, she seemed to finally understand the limitations of Conrad as partner in any context, i.e. he isn't.

Steven and Taylor remain the rooting couple.  Staylor indeed.

And yay, Laurel. Way to socialize. Proud of you, girl.

[Artsda]

The brothers should both be done with Belly and choose their relationship. They are brothers and family. Her bouncing between them has already caused enough between them and she's  still doing it.  

The brothers outside the motel was the best part of the episode. Jeremiah knowing Conrad was deflecting his pain. Jeremiah should have chose his brother instead of being chosen. 

See you Fourth of July is sad to say to your brother. Essentially no relationship but holidays now. 

[tired and hungry]

I'm sorry but what Susannah told Belly was weird on so many levels. "Take Care of Conrad" ?? Why does she think its Belly's responsibility or job to go after him & try to fix him or bring him out of that emotional wreck state or whatever it was? He pushed her away because that's what he does. And what about Jere? Does he not deserve anything? Seems like Susannah was convinced that Belly will end up with Conrad no matter what. 

12 hours ago, RachelKM said:

That boy is DRAMA while pretending he hates drama. 

So true! Seems like he has 2 modes. Total shutdown/closed off or extreme petty b*tch energy (or whatever that was on their drive back). 

I'm still Team Jere but I know she's going to end up with Conrad despite his many flaws. 

From the mini synopsis I read on wikipedia about the 3rd book's plot, I wonder 

Spoiler

why Jere does what he does and ends up losing Belly(not sure if I worded that right without giving away too much info)

Well thanks for reading my childish rants. See ya next season for 4th of July folks!

[RachelKM]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:14 AM, tired and hungry said:

I'm sorry but what Susannah told Belly was weird on so many levels. "Take Care of Conrad" ?? Why does she think its Belly's responsibility or job to go after him & try to fix him or bring him out of that emotional wreck state or whatever it was? He pushed her away because that's what he does. And what about Jere? Does he not deserve anything? Seems like Susannah was convinced that Belly will end up with Conrad no matter what. 

Yeah... that was very weird and uncomfortable.

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 From the mini synopsis I read on wikipedia about the 3rd book's plot, I wonder 

  Hide contents

why Jere does what he does and ends up losing Belly(not sure if I worded that right without giving away too much info)

 

I will take my response to the book comparison thread.

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Well thanks for reading my childish rants. See ya next season for 4th of July folks!

Same. See ya'll!  (Independence for Jere!!)

Edited August 19, 2023 by RachelKM

[Vivigirl10]

22 hours ago, tired and hungry said:

I'm sorry but what Susannah told Belly was weird on so many levels.

Am I the only one who found Susannah kind of weird on so many levels, period???

By the end I couldn't suspend reality anymore.  You have these two insanely good looking brothers and THIS is who they are fighting over and sacrificing their own relationship for?  It really was almost laughable. Plus, she was raised like their sister.  She's now going to have slept with both of them?  i don't know, the whole thing is a bit too gross for me.  Boys, go away to college, have some fun and take your pick from the gals (or guys, Jer)!!!

[tired and hungry]

54 minutes ago, Kiki620 said:

she was raised like their sister.

Someone else had pointed this out in another episode thread. It was basically (for lack of a better word) shoehorned into Belly since they were kids (by Susannah If I remember correctly) that she was "destined" to be with one of the boys. So I can't really say it's entirely her fault when she starts crushing on Conrad. As for the boys, they seemed to treat her like a sister till she gets rid of the braces and glasses.

I don't think they really looked at her as a potential love interest till they saw her last summer(atleast that's what I remember happening, maybe they had feelings for her before?). Jere also mentions something like "he was done for" when he saw her last summer. (Maybe Jere had feelings for her before but Conrad definitely didn't seem like he was interested in her)

[SeanC]

On 8/18/2023 at 12:18 PM, Artsda said:

The brothers should both be done with Belly and choose their relationship. They are brothers and family. Her bouncing between them has already caused enough between them and she's  still doing it.  

I do not understand why some people think Belly should immediately know which of them she prefers, especially since the circumstances are constantly fluctuating as well. It's not her fault that both of them are interested in her and she likes both of them.

On 8/18/2023 at 12:18 PM, Artsda said:

See you Fourth of July is sad to say to your brother. Essentially no relationship but holidays now. 

Huh? He said he'd see them then because he's focusing on the move out to California (which seems like it's happening pretty rapidly, incidentally, but whatever).

[Steph Sometimes]

2 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

You have these two insanely good looking brothers and THIS is who they are fighting over and sacrificing their own relationship for?

That was my thought too. Like had they never seen a girl before? Nothing against the pretty and talented actress who plays her, but I didn't think Belly was anything that special to cause that much drama.

As Jenny Han characters go, I much prefer Lara Jean.

[Vivigirl10]

5 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

As Jenny Han characters go, I much prefer Lara Jean.

I just watched "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" !!  I completely agree and I kept thinking that the entire time I was watching.  Lara Jean was adorable but also just a really great person.  So much easier to root for than Belly.  

[festivus]

I can not stand Conrad omg hate. Belly seemed to have an epiphany there about him always taking away but I'm sure next season we'll have to deal with this stupid triangle again even though Jer is clearly the superior choice. He's actually concerned with Belly's happiness. 

I've decided I won't watch and this can be the finale since I'm pretty happy with the ending. Taylor and Belly's friendship was the best thing about this show anyway.

[Artsda]

On 8/19/2023 at 1:35 PM, Steph Sometimes said:

That was my thought too. Like had they never seen a girl before? Nothing against the pretty and talented actress who plays her, but I didn't think Belly was anything that special to cause that much drama.

As Jenny Han characters go, I much prefer Lara Jean.

This 100 percent.  They ruining their relationship and being brothers for her, she's not likeable.  Not worth rooting for which was opposite of Lara Jean. 

 

[SeanC]

11 minutes ago, Artsda said:

This 100 percent.  They ruining their relationship and being brothers for her, she's not likeable. 

How is it her fault they’re both interested in her?

[RachelKM]

On 8/20/2023 at 4:04 PM, Artsda said:

This 100 percent.  They ruining their relationship and being brothers for her, she's not likeable.  Not worth rooting for which was opposite of Lara Jean. 

 

I don't think Belly is not worth rooting for.* She just seems to be nothing more than a reasonably pretty, age-apropriately emotionally dumb but generally well-meaning 16/17 year old. But she's likable enough. Admittedly, I mostly root for her to grow up and not be an idiot to an extent that has lasting consequences.

As much as it seems to have been indoctrinated into Belly, the boys have also been steeped in the lore of Belly being destined for one of them. So, I guess we can all blame Susannah and her elevation of Belly to mythical status as her "special girl" for this nonsense. 

Overall, I think Jere's feelings for Belly made more sense. They had always been close, have a lot in common, and enjoy one another generally. No doubt I also like Jere more. But independent of that fact, they make some sense.

As for Conrad and Belly, other than finding each other attractive, I don't really understand them as a couple. Certainly they like each other. But, we never saw them do much together and nearly their entire relationship while dating was long-distance. 

That coupled with the above mentioned life-long campaign by Susannah, if they were real people, I would seriously wonder if Conrad's rather sudden and continuing fixation on Belly is an element of holding on to his mom, much like the beach house.  He already knew his mom when sick when he started looking at Belly with more interest. Thus, the timing, though possibly a coincidence, is concerning to me.

 

*Lara Jean is, however, absolutely a better character and easier to root for. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by RachelKM

[festivus]

Susannah really bothered me. She didn't want to tell her kids she was sick, she wouldn't believe what Julia was telling her and then she laid such a heavy thing on Belly. She seemed to live in some fantasy land even till the end. 

That's a good point about Conrad and Belly. They don't seem to have much in common but the show made sure to show us that unlike Jer, he knew what kind of candy Belly likes. 

That's the kind of thing that makes me sure that the next season will have them as end game. No thanks. I would love Belly to realize that you can't fix someone just because you love them which is a trap that many fall into. It would be nice for once for young women to not get that toxic message. 

[RachelKM]

4 hours ago, festivus said:

That's a good point about Conrad and Belly. They don't seem to have much in common but the show made sure to show us that unlike Jer, he knew what kind of candy Belly likes. 

That seemed really forced to me. I don't think it unreasonable that Conrad would know what kind of candy she likes. But the notion the Jere didn't seemed like nonsense particularly coupled with being unaware of Belly apparently not much liking Swedish Fish. These feel like things all of them would know about each other predating, well, dating. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by RachelKM
Typos.... as always.

[choclatechip45]

Belly/Jeremiah makes much more sense than Conrad/Belly. I'm glad Taylor and Steven ended up together. Decent season finale. 

[Hedgehog2022]

Yes...there are many things to pick apart in this series. But I see many things that are brought up that are very relevant to today's teens/young adults. 

For one thing, mental health issues. Conrad has panic attacks and seems to suffer from depression. The adults in is life are clueless...father is basically MIA and the mother is sick. Conrad is a mess...he's struggling and cannot commit to anything without overthinking it or putting up barriers. He needs therapy and maybe even a mood stablizer or anti-depressant. Having any kind of intimate realtionship for him would end in a negative way for him or the person he is involved with. These are very real issues for many teens/young adults.

Another thing that was a significant point in this series is how feelings of love/romance/physical attraction are very complicated and confusing to young people at this time in their lives. These feelings are strong and very powerful but teens/young adults lack the emotional maturity to control them or act on them in a appropriate way. Alcohol and drug use, which was touched upon in this series, can muddy the waters and create more chaos mentally and emotionally.

All in all, there were flaws in this series but there were also some issues that were tackled...I haven't read the books so I don't know how much the television script was revised for a TV audience.

 

[CarpeFelis]

I honestly don’t get what’s so great (or even all that pretty) about Belly that these two brothers are both so hung up on her. It seems like the only thing that’s so “special” about her is that Beck always said she was.

Conrad is such a mess he shouldn’t even be thinking about being in a relationship with anyone. Boy needs therapy and possibly medication for depression.

BTW, why on earth would anyone put up with being nicknamed “Belly” of all things? Wouldn’t she have had to put up with a hell of a lot of teasing over that in elementary school?

ETA: How long ago was this filmed? I kept wondering why everyone was using these way outdated iPhones when they could afford for a kid to have a Range Rover.

Edited October 25, 2023 by CarpeFelis

[norcalgal]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:14 AM, tired and hungry said:

From the mini synopsis I read on wikipedia about the 3rd book's plot, I wonder 

  Hide contents

why Jere does what he does and ends up losing Belly(not sure if I worded that right without giving away too much info)

 

On 8/20/2023 at 3:22 PM, festivus said:

I can not stand Conrad omg hate. Belly seemed to have an epiphany there about him always taking away but I'm sure next season we'll have to deal with this stupid triangle again even though Jer is clearly the superior choice. He's actually concerned with Belly's happiness. 

I've decided I won't watch and this can be the finale since I'm pretty happy with the ending. Taylor and Belly's friendship was the best thing about this show anyway.

 

On 8/21/2023 at 5:27 AM, festivus said:

That's the kind of thing that makes me sure that the next season will have them as end game. 

I don’t know if there will be a third season but I really hope not. I read the trilogy eons ago and never re-read, but from what I remember 

Spoiler

In the third book, Belly accidentally finds out Jeremiah cheated on her when he went to Mexico for spring break so she breaks up with him and yup - gets back together with Conrad. R U effing kidding me?!  I detested how the trilogy ended so hope the last episode of S2 is the series finale. That’s how I prefer to remember Jeremiah, and not want to kill Belly for bouncing back and forth between brothers YET AGAIN!

 

[maayaaa]

Actually during season 1 I always felt this weird vibe whenever belly and Jeremiah kissed and it was probably because I knew she was doing it to get over conrad, but during season 2 I was rooting for jere and belly while everyone else in the show was expecting Conrad and belly to date again because they liked eachother alot so I thought belly was gonna choose conrad again but there was still hope for Jeremiah and I prayed it was him and when they kissed after he showed her a tour of the college I was like yep yep my ship is gonna sail but then there was this whole ordeal with conrad and I felt like she was abt to choose him over Jeremiah again and I literally jumped up when they got together and its a bonus for Steven and Taylor as well because i thought Taylors love would forever be one sided so I got rlly happy when she got to be with the person she loves. Anyways thank God she chose Jeremiah because I felt like the show would've been ruined for me if she went with conrad who clearly has issues he has to fix if he wanna start a relationship