The Summer I Turned Pretty S1 E5 Summer Catch
Added 2022-08-01 11:20:44 +0000 UTC
Comments
Forgot I can't use "enter" on this app. I don't hate Conrad at all... though I like him less and less the more I watch and *especially* the more I read his fans. And it's funny, because I also identify with him. I'm also in my 40s like some commentors and I've already lost both my parents. I was with a manchild [who had very little in common with Jere beyond being an extrovert] for 7 years, and I have anxiety and depression issues. So I get what the show was going for... and yet it doesn't excuse Conrad's being an ass entirely. Or much at all. It also completely weirds me out how unforgiving people are to Jeremiah. All this "red flag" nonsense. People need to pay a lot more attention to what the character is actually aware of... and especially do a better job of taking in the entire picture around his actions. Also need to say that anger is a healthy emotion and expressing anger is also healthy. Period. People can do it in troublesome ways, but with the exception of the punch - which has so many mitigating circumstances and, ffs, brothers fight - Jeremiah's actually relatively healthy in his expressions of anger. He isn't *nice* about it, but everything he says relates to the point he's trying to get across. Whereas Conrad says completely unrelated things specifically to hurt people when he's angry. Jeremiah can get louder, but his volume is proportionate to situations and isn't to overpower or talk over anyone. I'll take volume over someone quietly yet snidely jumping straight to my insecurities to undermine me any day of the week. And can we talk about Jeremiah's "manipulations"? Fireworks. The fireworks themselves weren't the best decision, but I'm sorry... if you take the emotional accusations of "jealousy" out of it, what did he do? He temporarily stopped his brother, who was actively dating someone, from kissing his friend, who was actively dating someone. In a very messy situation. Break that down. Temporarily - the same way a jealous Conrad instigated dropping into the drive-in to interrupt Belly's kiss with her own, single, date. Interrupted - the same way Belly interrupted Steven and Taylor. Audiences felt like Belly had a reason to be jealous and concerned that Steven and Taylor were messing with a family dynamic and audiences felt Steven was completely wrong even though he and Shayla, also, didn't have a defined relationship. And Jere didn't stick around, the kiss could absolutely have resumed later just like Belly and Cam's did after the drive-in. Also keep in mind that this was the FIRST even remotely flirty interaction Jere had witnessed between Conrad and Belly. It wasn't a good look for them, either. Who DID Jere witness in their flirtation? Belly and Cam. What did he do there? Yeah, he joined in with the hazing the other two boys were also guilty of. He even, arguably, was displaying some jealous attention-demanding beyond the hazing when he instigated the karaoke song. BUT. Then what? Cam took the razzing goodnaturedly and immediately Jere changed course. He needs a lot more credit for being UNselfish and willing to let things go. By the end of the party he was the one including Cam and facilitating his integration to the group (the singing, then partnering for beer pong and taking the shots for Cam). He didn't do anything negative when Belly came to retrieve Cam, except be a little sloppy friendly drunk. That continues indefinitely. He 100% accepts Cam as Belly's boyfriend and a new member of the group from then out. The next day, Jere apologized to Belly for his behavior, told her he approved of Cam and he never did anything to interfere with them again. Instead, he sincerely invited Belly to talk to him about her budding relationship multiple times. We can pretend it was fishing for information, but fishing and being a sincere friend can simultaneously coexist. Yeah, that's a really raging jealous jerk right there *eyeroll* [He is the same with Belly in regards to changing based on feedback. Whenever she says something actually matters to her he stops using it to tease her, eg. the bikini and deb ball. As soon as she says she wants to go to the deb, Jere is the only one besides Susannah who immediately and starts supporting her, continuously.] As for Jere's other "manipulation". Again, take the emotional catalyst out and what did he *actually* do? He told the girl Conrad was seeing that Conrad might like to go on a date and she should invite him. Oh, the horror. So conniving. Really backed Conrad into a corner with that one. The guy might actually have to, I dunno, decide wtf he was doing with the two girls and communicate that in some way. When did Jeremiah shoot his shot? AFTER Belly told him she had broken up with Cam and he's made sure she was good in that breakup (two conversations about it!) and Conrad told him he was going to the concert with Nicole. The boy wasn't inserting himself into the mess, he legitimately thought he was in the clear. Why on earth would he take those two bits of info and say, nah, Belly and Conrad are totes together? Especially considering the fact that Belly dating Cam could be seen as proof she was moving on from her crush on Conrad and becoming open to other possibilities? And on a semi-related note, people need to lay off Jere's "slutty summer". He kissed seven people... and? So? He was legitimately the only one in that entire group that didn't lead *anyone* on at best, or cheat at worst. Dude was entirely single and made sure not to encourage anyone [Gigi] who indicated they wanted a boyfriend/commitment. He's definitely allowed to play while he waited Belly out. FFS the same night he *kissed* Luke at the party - the last in his string since he then got serious about pursuing Belly - Belly was at the party with Cam and Conrad spent the entire night at Nicole's house! Why does no one ever mention that? Belly eventually knew from Nicole that Conrad was being hesitant with physicality and commitment in their relationship, but Jeremiah didn't have that information ever. Then I have to mention this whole competition thing. I get that this idea apparently stems from the books - I just got the first audiobook today from the library, finally, so I can't comment there - but it is NOT a thing in the show. If anything, Conrad is the one who looks like he's the jealous competing one. As I've said, Jeremiah was doing his best to track the progression of everyone else's entanglements and only moved in when he thought he had good information. Conrad ONLY expresses his feelings in the first season after someone else shows up for Belly. Until then, he's perfectly content just having her attention on him, just like Belly accused him at the end of episode 1. The way he withdraws his declarations can lead to the same conclusion - if he takes back what he says then he's rejecting them, they aren't rejecting him. Sure, stans, I get it, it protects his heart... but it also means he didn't "lose". Like Jere says at the end of season 2, if Belly doesn't have all the information, she can't make a definitive choice. Conrad don't lose if he didn't give his best effort. He can till pretend he could have won. Similarly, if Jere doesn't ever have all the information in all the situations he's left in the dark over, he can't make a definitive move, either. I fully expect to feel this way about Con in the books, too, since everyone says Conrad has the pressure to be the best. I've listened to like 6 chapters of the audio book and at one point it actually said that Conrad is very good at winning. I snorted. He's great at winning, not so sure about winning gracefully... but he surely doesn't lose gracefully. Jere actually does. Lose gracefully. In fair competitions. I guess he has had a lot of practice. And the last thing for now - some of the other things people are calling selfishness are actually reasons I think Jere is better boyfriend material than even Cam. Cam's a great guy. ...He's the guy you try to convince your best friend to date because they're great but you aren't interested. Know why? Because he isn't easy and he isn't engaged. Belly and Cam have this flirty banter... that takes a whole lot of effort. You have to be "on" and witty. And Cam is super respectful. He communicates well and asks a lot of questions that help him figure out the best way to be respectful. Great. But those are the only questions he asks. Every deep conversation he and Belly have are her asking about him or him telling his stories to relate to her. Belly doesn't have a single conversation with him that I can remember that is about her life, where the information isn't there to benefit Cam. Jere, on the other hand, listens, facilitates Belly, affirms Belly and reacts to Belly in a way that centers her and her comfort and happiness. He draws his boundaries when he has to [re: Conrad] but otherwise anything important to her is fair game. Jere didn't just show up at rehearsals to attention seek, he went there to *support her* and he did his cringy dance to dissolve tension when Belly was tense over the waltz and people were obviously noticing her messing up. Later, he said she was a good dancer the waltz was just dumb [and this is him affirming her whether she was there to see or not]... he was obviously getting her out of her head. [also, that mesh shirt was obvs an option for his uniform. I'm not mad at it... especially since the last time he showed up he was asked where his shirt was. Lady's gonna have to be more specific!] I have plenty more to say. But I think that's it that is specific to the conversation that was happening here.
perfectkismet
2024-08-21 21:37:09 +0000 UTCI'm two years late, but just watched the show a few weeks ago... don't even remember why... and old comments on all the reactions and whatnot are driving me INSANE. I don't even feel like I watched the same show as Conrad shippers. #teamjeremiah 100%
perfectkismet
2024-08-21 19:48:20 +0000 UTCSo cute!! I'm starting to watch other reactions and notice all the little things like the hair that I didn't pick up on at first. I hope we see Nicole again and she is living it up with a smoking hot guy! That's a good point with Jer. While I do think that his crush is very really, it's probably just a crush and not an actual "I'm in love" feeling. I do get an "I'm in love" vibe from Conrad, I just wish he wasn't the worlds floppiest seesaw LOL I feel like I want Jelly to have a cute, fun romance and by the time there bored of thta Conrad will be ready and matured haha I never thought I would cry during a Pussycat Dolls song!! let alone that one LOL 100% agree about the club guys, take their money and use it to defeat assholes like them, best medicine.
Jessie Dobbie Reactions
2022-08-02 12:24:45 +0000 UTCDid you notice that Conrad went into Belly’s room with “wet hair” in the beginning of the episode? What a cute touch! I think Conrad realizes that he’s happy with Belly but then realizes after he talks to Cleveland that Belly is one of the closest people he has and he doesn’t want to ruin that by being so confused with his feelings and still lashing out. I also think they are all so young and he feels the weight of not wanting to burden anyone else with this huge secret. I think that it wouldn’t be right to tell Jer about their mom because it is obvious that Susannah doesn’t want that. It’s not his secret to tell and he wants to be respectful of that, but it’s creating chaos within him. Do I think they both should know? Yes, but I don’t think that should fall on Conrad. It’s really shitty of conrad to mess with Nicole’s feelings like that. That made me angry cause like come on, I love him but there’s no excuse. He’s not that confused lol I do love Jer, but not for Belly. I think he’s a little manipulative when it comes to Belly and I think it’s more cause he’s insecure about Conrad; not because he actually has romantic feelings. Jer has always been compared to Conrad his whole life and the sting of one more person who adores Conrad more is hitting him. I see belly and Jer as bff soulmates more than romantic interests. But I will admit, that kiss was 🌶 👀 phew Ok enough about the boys. That bar scene made me love the moms so much. And to just reflect on the fact that they love each other so much really hit me during that scene. Only this show could make someone cry during the Pussycat Dolls lol Those men at the Club house being racist really solidifies my hatred of Men 😉 jk (kinda) but anyways I think the other worker was right, those men are shit excuses for humans, but might as well take their money. Really makes you sad that there are people like that in the world. What a shame. Okay on to the next episode for me haha sorry this was so long!
Alycia Ortiz
2022-08-02 00:49:28 +0000 UTCYes, don't ever apologize for long comments because I have a tendency to ramble A LOT. So I appreciate you sticking around for it. I also think you should totally by a hotel with your friends LOL First off, you're an amazing sister and wonderful daughter to care about your family so much and be willing to take on all of that independently, especially on top of being a single mother. It may seem like an easy choice since it's family, but I assure you from situations I've seen that it is not and not everyone would do that. You're awesome. I think this would be a really interesting rewatch because I feel like I may notice a lot of things about Conrad that I didn't realize before. Like you bringing up the tight corners, I honestly forgot about that scene. I'm sure there were a lot more of those like that and it didn't even occur to me what was actually going on when they happened. Conrad is older than Jeremiah and has had more time to process what is happening with Suzanna while Jer was completely in the dark. Kept in the dark by choice of Conrad, who I feel should have told Jer. It feel like Jer is the immature baby because everyone treats him that way and doesn't really give him the chance to mature. They do show the flash backs from when they were younger, but again, Conrad is older then them, so it is hard to make comparisons on a maturity level since they are dealing with different things at different ages. It's interesting that book Jer knows and show Jer doesn't, that makes me want to read the book even more now! I love how you brought up the mesh shirt, wtf was that? LOL While I did not like the punch in the finale, I think I excused Jer's anger as just frustration of being in Conrad's shadow his whole life in regards to being seen by Belly. Ultimately I don't think Conrad's unhappiness made him happy, I think he just felt that Conrad's emotions towards Belly aren't as sincere as his. Jer has spent his entire life being in love with Belly and watching her like Conrad while Conrad did nothing about it. It almost looks like now that Belly is "hot" Conrad finally decided to give her attention. It looks bad even though we as the viewers know he is sincere, especially since he has been involved with Nicole. Jer's probably thinking he doesn't truly care, he has other girls. When he see's Conrad upset I think he's thinking, "Nice I actually have a shot now that he's given up", Instead of "Nice I'm glad Conrad is upset over Belly". I do however feel like Jer should have picked up on the attitude change in Conrad a bit more from the beginning. Conrad wasn't always like that, so I feel like he should've known something was up and should have been more concerned. I totally understand why Conrad pulled back, which I feel like he should have. I also think it's ok to admit you made a mistake and change your mind, and I would've been open to that. It was the amount of times he kept pulling back and then going head first into it again that finally became too much for me. He knew he was doing it at the expense of Belly and Nicole's emotions and then blaming it on being sad, but still kept doing it. We saw Jer turn those girls who kept flirting with him down multiple times and watched Conrad constantly make plans with Nicole all summer. At the end it felt like he finally got that he needed to work on himself to become mentally healthier, and then messed it all up by kissing Belly and jumping back into that same mess while knowing Jer and her started something. I feel like he should've tried working on himself a bit longer because his problems didn't disappear overnight, they just got easier to face.
Jessie Dobbie Reactions
2022-08-01 15:39:01 +0000 UTCSorry this is insanely long but so was your outro. I couldn’t respond to everything you brought up and keep it short too 😂 I’m so sorry to hear about your mum. That sounds so tough, especially at a young age. I can’t even imagine. I’m so glad to hear she’s doing well now though. My brother is severely disabled and I’m the “responsible” sibling. The one who helps our ageing parents manage his support workers and support funding and I know I’ll be the one who ends up caring for our parents when they need support too. I don’t say that to complain but more to explain why I’m such a Conrad apologist. He does some stupid stuff & I do not agree with many of his decisions, but he does the “work” part of caring for his loved ones which is something I relate to & really value. In the books they do mention how conrad is always cleaning etc. and there’s that bed making scene where he’s concerned about getting those tight hospital corners. Lol. So I don’t think he’s only doing it because she’s sick. Also in the books Jeremiah does know she’s sick and he’s the same way he is in the show. So obviously I’m team Conrad (but in a few years after he’s had therapy 😂). But the more I rewatch this show the more I go from ‘jere is a cutie but not for belly’ to kind of not really liking him 😬. The way his jealousy seems to come out as anger occasionally is a bit of a red flag. His negative reaction to Conrad finally being in a good mood, the mesh shirt, the cringe inducing dance, and his satisfied smile when he saw the grumpy old conrad was back just give me the ick. Jeremiah’s motivations to me always seem kind of self serving. He’s fun and flirty and a “nice guy” … happy to do nice things for others as long as things are going his way, but it’s very surface level, and when things don’t go his way he acts like a petulant child and tries to manipulate the situation (the fireworks, the festival thing, making sure he inserts himself as much as possible with the dance and pool etc + some other actions still to come) It seems like many of Conrad’s crappy decisions are actually motivated by a (misguided) attempt to do the right thing by other people. His motivation for keeping the secret about Susanna is because it’s not his to tell, and he doesn’t want to ruin summer for everyone (plus another heartbreaking thought pattern he’ll reveal next episode). I agree completely about Nicole though. His actions there aggravate me. My take is that he pulled back from belly because he knows he’s not in a good head space to be starting a real relationship. His conversation with Cleveland where he admitted he thinks he might stuff everything up if they start something because of everything else he’s dealing with, then Cleveland said how you can’t be good with someone else if you’re not good with yourself, then he got back to a trashed house and reminders of his mums condition which just cemented his decision. I think with Nicole it’s not a serious relationship for him and he’s so consumed by everything else that he’s just not thinking about it or whether her feelings are deeper. He’s allowing the relationship to continue because it’s easy to do so and ending it would require him to give it more attention and have a difficult conversation. I get the sense it’s mostly driven from her end and he’s just going along with it. Not trying to excuse him, he’s definitely giving her the wrong idea through his inaction. But I don’t think there’s any cunning or maliciousness to his decisions there. I cannot get into the Jeremiah Belly kiss knowing that at the same time they’re making out, Conrad is inside putting Susanna to bed after having spent the whole afternoon cleaning up everyone else’s mess. Obviously they don’t know what’s going on and I don’t blame them. I just see myself in Conrad and feel bad that he’s usually the one whose needs end up coming last. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think Jeremiah’s a bad guy, he just seems like he can be a bit selfish and opportunistic and will probably grow into a perpetual man-child type of guy. I’m older (43), I’m a single mum, and my sons father is a total Jeremiah. Nice enough guy, was great fun and my best friend when we were younger and had no serious responsibilities…. but when it came time to be a grownup he never pulled his weight in the care of the household or the actual work of raising our son. He now has him 1 or 2 nights a fortnight. He gets all the fun stuff but none of the daily grind or hard parenting stuff. Our son thinks he’s the greatest and that I suck because I make him eat his vegetables and go to bed on time. 🤷♀️ So yeah, these days I would take a grumpy guy who does the dishes, over a flirty, fun but slightly inconsiderate joker any day of the week 😂 Oh and yes!! Team Laurel and Susanna. I adore them. They do actually remind me quite a bit of my group of girlfriends. I’m extremely lucky to have found my tribe 20 yrs ago. Our kids are all a similar age. We all live within 45min of each other and celebrate all holidays and special occasions together……. And yeah we still enjoy the occasional bit of party party. We just make sure to start in the early afternoon so that we can still be home tucked up in bed by 11pm….. Now if I could just convince one of them to buy a massive beach house… although with 18 adults and 13 kids amongst us maybe we should pool our funds and buy a small hotel 😂
Amy Cope
2022-08-01 13:42:55 +0000 UTC
