Fan-Them Diaries: No, I’m not team Conrad
If I had a dollar for every time the girl ends up with the wrong guy in any movie, book or TV show, I would be richer than Jeff Bezos. No, seriously.
From Darcy to Heathcliff in books to Edward and Damon in entertainment, why is it that our heroines always go for the brooding, moody, more complicated choice for partners when there are perfectly more apt and “ready to give you the world” options right by your side already?
Maybe we’re all masochists and think we can “fix” the mysterious bad boy, but doesn’t that just get tiring? As I’ve gotten older and lived through my fair share of brooding boys, I realized that the less appealing type of love — a compatible and safe one — is often overlooked in real life, and I ask myself why. Well, maybe it’s a result of all forms of popular media showing us that this type of love isn’t enough, and that we should opt for a more complicated romance, one that will surely leave one tired and overwhelmed with exhaustion.
The most recent example of this? Amazon Prime’s new original series, “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
Adapted from Jenny Han’s trilogy, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows a young Isabel (Belly) as she enjoys her summer in Cousins Beach with her brother and two close friends, Conrad and Jeremiah. As the title suggests, this particular summer was a change for Belly as she turned 16 and began getting noticed by boys, Conrad and Jeremiah included.
Belly has been in love with Conrad since they were kids, but Conrad had seemingly not reciprocated those feelings. On the other hand, Jeremiah had feelings for Belly but did not tell her until that summer and upon his confession, she began to reciprocate. Complicated, I know, especially since the two are brothers.
Although I am a big fan of the books, it is the show that has gained traction on social media, especially on TikTok, with thousands of videos talking about the long-standing battle between boys. We saw this with Team Jacob versus Team Edward, Team Stefan versus Team Damon and Team Peeta versus Team Gale — now, it’s Team Jere versus Team Conrad.
Spoiler alert: she picks Conrad. The thing about Conrad is that he — in the books more so than the show — has always been kind of a jerk to Belly, especially that summer, making fun of her for having a boyfriend, growing up and wanting to be a debutante. I will say that much of this pent-up anger that Conrad possesses is because his mother is dying of cancer but even then, when Jere found out about his mom’s cancer, he never acted the way Conrad did, especially with Belly.
Yet, the Team Conrad boat has taken afloat and carried all the seemingly sensible women with it. Partly to blame is Taylor Swift — let me explain.
In the show, when Conrad saves the day and dances with Belly, Swift’s song, “The Way I Loved You,” plays in the background, reinforcing the idea that a love where you are “screaming and crying” is better than a “sensible” love. Now, Dr. Swift has had her fair share of unsensible loves, writing about them in songs like “All Too Well” with lyrics like, “Did the twin flame bruise maim you too?”
Now that she is in a more sensible, steady relationship with Joe Alwyn, you would think Swift would have dedicated “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” to a similar love affair between Jere and Belly, but instead Dr. Swift is Team Conrad.
And that’s the mystery of the brooding bad boy — he makes the most sensible women drop to her knees and fall head over heels even when a better, more steady choice is right there, waiting for you.
Needless to say, I will die on the boat of team Jeremiah knowing I have resisted the temptation and spell of all the “Conrads” on the island and made the right choice.
Myriam Alcala is a rising junior writing about literature and popular culture in their column, “Fan-them Diaries.” They are also the Arts & Entertainment editor at the Daily Trojan.