Belly Conrad (Lola Tung) has kind of been on her villain arc in The Summer I Turned Pretty, and the show needs to know that they’re not doing the character any favors. The coming-of-age drama, The Summer I Turned Pretty, based on the trilogy of novels by Jenny Han, has always been filled with the painfully awkward moments from your high school years that you desperately try to remove any evidence of from your Facebook page. It can make the show particularly trying to watch at times, but it’s at least always honest and the situations relatable.

Shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty are filled with characters making wrong choices. They’re young people in love, who made all the right choices at that time? The lead character of The Summer I Turned Pretty is no different, and Belly often finds herself in tough situations that she’s not always the most equipped to handle. Generally, I think this is great. Belly has to deal with a problem without a full set of tools and drama unfolds. Boom. But in season 2, Belly has made such an obvious mistake with the Fishers, I’m looking at her side-eyed.

Belly Gave Up On Conrad In The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2

Belly Was Not The Victim In The Break-Up

After the time jump from The Summer I Turned Pretty season 1, season 2 finds all the characters dealing with the fallout from the previous season, namely, the death of Jeremiah Fisher’s (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad Fisher’s (Christopher Briney) mother, who passed away from cancer. It was obviously a very sad and destabilizing event for the brothers and, at some point, it became too much, and Belly and Conrad broke up. Fair enough. In flashbacks, it’s revealed to us that the couple had a major fight, and now they’re splits-ville.

Now no one is talking to Belly. Jeremiah is still hurt because Belly chose his brother over him, and Conrad’s heart is freshly bruised from their breakup. Belly makes it sound like Conrad pushed her away, but at the same time, she’s not being super considerate of the fact that his mother just died. Maybe a little space Belly? Or I don’t know, feel free to mention that you are aware that his change in attitude could be because of the recent loss of a loved one. From her story in the show, it’s almost like she forgot.

That’s some inconsiderate villain behavior. Worse, when Conrad goes missing, she shoves herself into the search for him, despite Jeremiah asking that she stay away. Though it seems that Jeremiah and Belly put their history behind them for the moment, it’s never picked back up again and season 2 is just a long wait until The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 finale, where Belly picks Jeremiah and all’s well that ends well.

Jeremiah And Conrad Aren’t Treated Like Brothers In The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2

Belly Is Inconsiderate Of The Fishers’ Feelings

Well, all is not well as far as I’m concerned. Belly’s wavering between Conrad and Jeremiah really made her look bad this season. If you take a bird’s eye view of what Belly did this season, it’s really hard to see her as the hero, she’s almost the villain. It’s like Belly and The Summer I Turned Pretty completely forget that Jeremiah and Conrad are brothers. While the love triangle between the trio is a fun idea, it’s almost as if it was written for unrelated characters because Belly never treats them like they’re related. It’s weird.

There is a much deeper connection between the three than what Belly seems to be suggesting with her cavalier attitude about both relationships.

Belly treats both these guys as if she doesn’t really owe anything to either one. They’re just two boys who she’s interested in and who are interested in her. A classic romance story. However, that isn’t what’s going on. Jeremiah and Conrad are brothers, both with a history with Belly and that can’t be ignored. There is a much deeper connection between the three than what Belly seems to be suggesting with her cavalier attitude about both relationships.

These aren’t some high school boys who will go their separate ways. Whatever decision she makes will profoundly affect their relationship and Belly is paying that no heed. It’s another problem I have with Belly and her story; she does not consider The Fishers’ feelings at all. Even when it seems like Jeremiah wants to pump the breaks on the relationship, Belly keeps driving it forward. Chill out, girl, his mom just died, and you were just dating his brother.

This all makes for really weird scenes of everyone being sad and morose and Belly bopping around like she’s in a candy store, deciding which treat she wants to take home. It makes her look almost like a sociopath, completely uncaring about anyone else around her. This is like a meet-cute for Belly. For me, it’s watching someone relentlessly pursue another person even though the other person is in a completely different headspace. She doesn’t even think to mention to Jeremiah how it’s awkward that she dated his brother!

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Should Explore Belly’s Friendship With Taylor

Belly Needs To Get Sympathetic Very Quickly

All I can say is that in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, Belly is going to need to explore something else beyond this semi-sadistic love triangle she gleefully participated in for all of season 2 before putting it to an end and choosing Jeremiah (while wearing Conrad’s sweater just to rub their faces in it a little more). Season 3 should explore Belly and her friend Taylor’s (Rain Spencer) friendship. Taylor has been shifted to the background in the face of the Fisher-Belly love triangle. Let’s see the friends reconnect.

Taylor has always been fiercely ride-or-die for her friends, while Belly has always been a little wishy-washy. If Belly wants to shake these villain accusations, becoming a better friend to Belly would be a good step in that direction. The pair go off to volleyball camp in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 finale. That could be the perfect time for the show to look more closely at their friendship. Maybe Belly can think about someone else besides herself this time.