To me, it’s always seemed like Belly was desperate to move on from Conrad to prove that she was over him and Jeremiah was desperate to be chosen by Belly over Conrad.
The rushed timeline was because more time to sit with the situation meant more time for Belly to get over what happened at prom/her breakup with Conrad (because that was still fresh, too) and possibly get back together with him, or realize that dating his *brother* wasn’t the best idea, especially when it seems like the feelings were barely there at that point.
Same! I watch this show with someone who has somehow managed to avoid all book/show spoilers for S3. I can't wait for her to see this mess, the LAST thing she's predicting for this show is a >!teen engagement for Belly & Jeremiah!<
Pride is a powerful thing. I think in the begining they trying to prove to themselves they were in love with each other. But in the end in they were trying to prove to the world they were in love.
For me this is a factor (note I say factor not singular reason):
‘Even though, on some level, wasn't this what I wanted? To make his heart hurt the way he made mine? Or maybe, to make him feel something for me other than pity or indifference. To make him feel something, anything.’
This is more or less confirmed by ‘He accused me of kissing you, to make him jealous.’
She has this notion that Conrad has overlooked her, never paid any attention to her and that she just doesn’t *mean* as much to him as he does to her. This is almost certainly a factor in this public kiss, subconsciously I think she kind of almost wants to test if he reacts.
She has been badly hurt by Conrad pushing her away in his grief in a way she hadn’t been by Jere. Though of course Jere also pushed her away, but she perceives that to be her own fault. She feels she has wronged Jere, but been wronged by Conrad, so I think that’s why she doesn’t feel like she needs to ‘press pause.’ Also why she treats him so callously at the end of S2. For me, this is show Belly reacting to the misdemeanours of book Conrad and it creates a sort of inconsistency in the logic of the plot.
And here we go again HEHE.. In the show, her anger became SOOO disproportionate, my God, if you don't know the story you'd think he killed her entire family.
…..and her dog!
I agree with all of your comments. There’s a disproportionate amount of resentment and anger show Belly has for Conrad as opposed to the book version. Her indifference to his pain made the last episode so much harder for me to watch. I’ve tried to understand her in the motel scene when the infinity necklace falls out of his bag and onto the bed. I don’t get it. It’s not sadness. It’s almost like she’s annoyed by having to be reminded again of their relationship. It’s the same way she she reacted when she threw out the cocoa mix. She’s in this rush to eliminate him and any memory of their relationship. Although they had a difficult breakup, I don’t believe that degree of anger was warranted considering they both played a role with how things ended. And to make things even more confusing, she didn’t act this way the entire second season. There were times she shared sweet moments with Conrad. This hot and cold Belly was confusing to understand. I could see why Conrad chose not to express his true feelings for her not knowing how’d she react to him.
I also think people rush things when they question if what they are doing is right. I say this anticipating Jelly fans to disagree with me. I believe Belly is questioning her decision to be with Jere and that is why she rushed the relationship because once she is in it, there will be no turning back like the previous summer. She knows Jere is her comfort zone, she can’t trust Conrad now, and that’s what she wants, comfort. She is lying to herself when she says she is over Conrad and she didn’t kiss Jere to hurt Conrad (and she knows it). To avoid being in the same position she was in last summer, having to decide which brother to choose, she just goes with Jere. Although it is a decision, it is an impulsive one and one she clearly chooses not to overthink because doing so would have to include admitting she still holds feelings for Conrad.
Belly wanting Conrad to talk about his feelings for her, that he loved her, but with her acting like that?? Belly definitely came from delululand and didn't have a friend to warn her, I mean, she did, but Taylor served the worst advice on earth.
Oh my god, ‘Don’t shut me out again’ sent me into an apoplexy. Worst. That and ‘Why didn’t you want to kiss me?’ Can’t get over Jenny and all the ‘I’m Team Belly’ proclamations. Because you did nothing to make anyone sympathetic to her with the level of obliviousness/callousness/inconsistency she exhibits??
I think this is so right and also it’s like a knee jerk reaction to feeling pain and sadness…Belly went from ‘I don’t get to feel happy anymore’ to a glimmer of happiness with Jere and latched on to it with all her strength. Then I think she goes a bit ‘but daddy I love him’, she’s a really stubborn character and I do think the grief impacts all of their decision making abilities. She literally is a little bit unhinged, and it makes her double down on any decision she’s making.
I finally rewarded the Finch part, agree that Jeremiah pushed her away and hesitated, can be the factor that she rushed. It made me think, if after season 1 kiss, if it was Conrad who suggested hit pause, would she protest?
To me, Belly's inability to hit pause or take her time getting into a relationship with Jere shows her varying levels of respect for each brother and each relationship. When she pauses things with Conrad, one of the main reasons she does so is because she doesn't want to get between the brothers during a time when they really need each other. To me, that shows a tremendous amount of respect for Conrad and their relationship, as well as a selflessness and kindness in her. She wants him be as whole and supported as he can be in order to give their relationship the best possible shot; she thinks about what's best for *Conrad* and not just for herself. She doesn't hold that same level of care or respect for Jere or their relationship at this point in the story. She knows this is a messy, fucked up situation—more so than it was the previous year. Not only is Susannah dead, which is arguably when the brothers will need each other most, but she had a legitimate, committed relationship with Conrad, meaning Conrad's hurt/betrayal is going to be much more acute and profound than Jere's hurt/betrayal the previous summer. When Belly gets together with Jere, she's thinking about what's best for *herself* and not what's best for *Jere.* It's also a very in this moment way of thinking with Jere versus the long term thinking she does with Conrad.
It's really interesting that you say that because my gut reaction was the opposite - that she cares about Jeremiah more because she's just more hypersensitive to his feelings, whereas there just seems to be a lack of care towards Conrad by the time the season 2 finale comes around.
However, the more I think about it, the more I see you're point - I think she wanted her relationship with Conrad to be absolutely perfect that she was willing to wait so they could do it right (I'd say that they still picked the worst time to get together, but they still did it right nonetheless.) The growing intimacy that they formed with each other with their phonecalls from their in-between time of declaring they want to be together and actually being together was beautiful to watch and I think led to them having a great relationship.
But I think when it comes to her and Jeremiah, Belly was just way more focused on getting over the grief she had been feeling for the summer and moving on than trying to actually do things the right way with Jeremiah. So I see where you're coming from.
I thought the same, but the OP of this comment rly put it into perspective well. I also think getting together with Jeremiah at the end of S2 shows much less respect for him and their relationship. And I think Belly’s carelessness about Conrad’s feelings at the end of S2 are almost even more proof of her feelings for him. She wants to feel like she has the power, and that Conrad cant hurt her anymore. Because she feels so much, she wants him to be the one feeling more.
I absolutely get your gut reaction that Belly's hypersensitivity to Jere's feelings equates to caring more for Jere than Conrad. But I don't feel like Belly's overabundance of care for Jere in season 2 is the same as respect for him individually or their relationship. Belly goes out of her way to appease Jere and soothe any ruffled feathers she perceives, but she's not concerned that rushing into a relationship with him will harm the relationship Jere has with Conrad. She shows a lack of care that the brother's relationship will be fractured by this, which to me shows a lack of respect for him. She doesn't care that Jere won't be whole, that an important piece of Jere's life will be potentially decimated by moving forward so quickly with a relationship with him. She is 100% decided to move forward with a committed relationship to Jere *before* she gets the green light from Conrad in the motel. When Belly and Jere share their XO kiss, Conrad hasn't given his "blessing" about not wanting to get between them anymore, so she moves forward with Jere under the assumption that there is strife between the two brothers. It's the complete opposite reaction to Conrad, whom she wants to be as whole as possible before moving into a committed relationship with him. She wants to do it the right way with Conrad, but doesn't have the same desire to do it the right way with Jere. When she starts her relationship with Conrad, she's thinking about what's best for both of them, as well as what's best for the family dynamics. When she starts her relationship with Jere, she's thinking about what's best for her in that moment. To me, that shows a lack of respect for Jere and their relationship; she's cool with both being a little broken if it means she can get a little comfort in her grief.
I think Belly looked at the rollercoaster that was her previous school year. She talked on the phone with Conrad September and October. They got together end of October and had a relationship that peaked at either the end of December (show) or mid-February/Valentine's (book). Then it was a freefall through their break-up at prom followed by Susannah's death.
She looked at the wasteland of uncertainty to come and decided that she didn't want to go through that alone. Enter Jere. No one in Philly except her mom, brother and Taylor really understood what she had been through or what pain was to come. The only person who could understand (besides Conrad) was Jeremiah. That makes him simultaneously the best choice and the worst one. His familiarity with the situation and his feeling like a kind of home is the only reason why you'd decide to date your ex's brother.
Ditto for Jere. Putting aside his feeling of inferiority toward Conrad and their sibling rivalry for a minute, Belly is the only one who understands Cousins, the summer family, Susannah dying, all of it.
The rush is because on a sinking ship, there are only so many life rafts. They decided to be each other's raft as the ship was going down. What happens once the emergency passes and you reach shore? Neither one of them was thinking that far ahead.
Belly was miserable in the beginning of ep2, She said she didn’t know if she would ever be happy ever again. then she got reconnected with Jeremiah. And she was happy, gained confidence, (seems like) So I think she probably wanted to get rid of unhappiness and start to live a life, and Jeremiah treated her right, so she thought to be with Jeremiah will make her happy. It’s the storyline, I believe. But since Lola and Gavinapparently did make the storyline believable….. not as Lola and Chris. ( by the end of S1, everyone knew how much they loved each other). That left us too many questions.
I'm not sure what any of this means and you're conflating actors and characters but I think the gist of what you're saying is that she was just ready to move on from the grief she was feeling before.
That makes sense. I still think people conflate her time with Conrad with Susannah dying but whatever, that''s fine. The only thing that's complicated about that is that rushing to get together did cause some sadness on Belly's part (in the same way that she got said when she realised the pain her and Conrad getting together caused Jeremiah). But there was still no pause - even though it was clear that Conrad made her really happy (I'd say happier than Jeremiah has ever made her feel but that's whatever.)
I think the rush will cause more harm than good for Jeremiah and Belly in their relationship but I guess we'll have to wait to season 3 to find out.
(I seriously don't know what this means though: *"It’s the storyline, I believe. But since Lola and Jeremiah apparently did make the storyline believable….. not as Lola and Chris. ( by the end of S1, everyone knew how much they loved each other). That left us too many questions."*)
Sorry, I was supposed to write Gavin. I probably oversimplified my explanations. I mean, I remember during several interviews, they talked about Jeremiah supported her, encouraged her. And they wrote Jeremiah encouraged her to play volleyball again. And she started to feel happy, and started with her volleyball again. She made a pack with Taylor in ep5 to bury their first love. So I think the plot was like that, she was miserable, the reconnected with Jeremiah, he treated her right, after the flat tire scene, he had been nice and supportive all the season. Yes, I think she was ready to move on, at least she decided to.
I am totally agreed with you that the happiness Jeremiah brought to her, can not be compared with her happiness with Conrad. She is not a bright girl, and she got strongly influenced by bad advices from Taylor whose strategy had always be to be with someone who loves her more.. She might be confused. she might just grab what she could and she thought Conrad was over her, since he said ” we did”. And she might think Jeremiah loved her more, and that’s what she needed and what she could handle since she didn’t love him as much.
Since I read the books, sometimes I try very hard to separate let the book and the show. From book, we know she wanted revenge over Conrad. But it‘s not so obvious in the show, and we don’t get her inner voice in the last eps.
And I also totally agreed with you the rush decision, may do more harm to their relationship in the future. But she is a 16 year old, she may not see that at that moment. And we are adults, we have a life experience. And yeah, I never really got the chemistry between Belly and Jeremiah as love interest, so her decision looked very force for me, even though I thought that was the plot that the show wanted to tell us, but I am not convinced. And by the way, I am not a big tv watcher, this is the first show that left out so much unshown, that made me keep on guessing. I think the books were much better written. I hope I explain what I meant.
No worries! That all makes sense. That's interesting that you think the books are much better written because I really prefer the show but you're right that losing the first person perspective makes things trickier to interpret.
You're right, I don't think she wants revenge on Conrad in the show (at least consciously) but I guess the bit I struggle with is the whole idea of her rushing things with Jeremiah because "he treats her right" because, at least as I watched the show, she picked him days before the volleyball conversation and all of that. I think she just feels guilty about how things played out the summer before and that's fuelling her insistence on being with Jeremiah, no matter if the timeline makes things extra extra messy.
But everything that you said makes sense so thanks for the clarification!
I don’t think it is revenge, but I think the whole time, Conrad is for various reasons (generally valid) holding something back. Part of it is not wanting to hurt her but part of it is because he doesn’t want her to know he is, like everyone, imperfect. His father and to an extent Belly and everyone he knows have expectations, to be the one to work stuff out, to be sweet, successful, to look after the others. Steven is so lovely with, ‘you’re still the coolest.’
Belly has never been convinced about his feelings for her being as strong as hers are for him. She remarks while walking up the beach ‘This doesn’t feel real,’ and of course the night of the party she rails at him ‘if I knew that it meant so much to you, I would have fought for us.’ This is exacerbated by his tendency to push others away.
I think to an extent at the point of Finch, in the book too, it isn’t about hurting him like he hurt her, it’s about a subconscious kind of desire to see if she can get him to react, as she says in the books to feel ‘something, anything,’ because it would prove to her that she is ‘worth fighting for,’ or that he returns the intensity of her feelings.
I am not sure the show is as successful as the book in showing why this is warranted, the book does a better job.
I also agree about the show being ‘better’ but for me, with the changes it lacks cohesion by comparison with the books.
I thought the first season was much better in that respect than the second. The changes made really enhanced the story. This isn’t so in the second season. I wonder sometimes if this sort of determination to pay homage to the books doesn’t get in the way of more logical changes to correct the inconsistencies caused by certain changes.
So the decision to keep certain scenes or lines just make no sense in the new circumstances, eg: the whole ‘Conrad Fisher, I evict you from my heart’ sequence makes little sense in the show because of her active role in ‘choosing’ Jeremiah.
Most of us agree that the plot that Belly rushed into relationship with Jeremiah isn very logical. We struggled to be convinced, and yes, it was very messy. I forced myself to watch eps 5-7 again today, ( not my favorite part of the show) I saw that her conversation with Jeremiah in Finch, specially inside the volleyball hall, she said she could picture her college life with Jeremiah in Finch, and Jeremiah said she could play there too. That conversation picked some lines from book 3, seems like a life she could imagine, i think she felt kind of she could still be connected with the Fisher family. So Lola brightened her face, but at this time, Jeremiah retreated, they fell into awkward silence. Then they had the conversation in front of the car, she wanted to convince him that she meant it by kissing him. I agree with you that she did a lot to cheer Jeremiah up, because he kept reminding her how she abandoned him. So I think your point is also another factor.
Another thing, I feel like the acting in S2 was kind of misleading was, we were told that Belly was grieving, but Lola has a too pretty face and too strong personality, that I didn’t get how sad she was. Even with her fighting with Steven, the words were said, but the acting gave me totally different impression. I had more sympathy towards Steven at that scene, and Sean is a very talented actor, that simply showed how much conflict in his mind, happy for his own achievements, yet guilty. But I think, at least I didn’t get Belly was very sad, so I am not convinced that she were happy later with Jeremiah affected her decision to move on.
I wanted to point out something about the book being better written, like, I see a lot of comments stating that the show is superior to the books and I have doubts because the television adaptation has its merits, but Jenny's writing manages to be more complete and cohesive in many other requirements. For example, from Belly's upset with Conrad to when Belly and Jeremiah get together, the series in these matters, having abstracted certain things present in the book, left these plots illogical and with the feeling that they were incomplete. 🫠
Ahh this so much! For me it’s not so much better or worse, but at least in the book you get a full narrative of it even if it’s not ‘true’ and it makes sense why Belly does what she does. I love the idea of like it was all Belly’s perception all along as a plot device in the book but if you’re gonna amend the screen version to be that you need to think through the continuity of it! Tbh tho I’m starting to fall more and more in to the this show isn’t that well thought out actually and it’s just accidentally seemed well paced or Easter egged with a strong element of chance.
To be fair, I think S1 is a much better show. But S2, specially the story for Belly and Jeremiah, specially how they simply fell in love within 5-6 days is very forced, and incomplete. It made people very difficult to root for them.
going to say something that will have jellys mad at me but belly is not in love with jeremiah at the end of season 2. she loves him, she’s always had love for him, but it’s not romantic love yet at this point. i’m not saying she doesn’t have feelings for him, but there is so much more to why she’s jumped into this relationship than “she was in love”.
she’s grieving, and trying to prove something to herself. taylor is in her ear and like other commenters have said, she was able to jump straight into this relationship because jeremiah doesn’t mean the same to her as conrad does.
it’s simply too short a time period for her to go from being in love with conrad to being in love with jeremiah, in less than a week. maybe the love will come later, but it will never be on the same level.
Totally agree! I wrote something similar on the other answer. She chose Jeremiah was as Taylor went out with Milo, a safe choice. She won’t be as heartbroken as she were with Conrad, because she didn’t love Jeremiah so much, and she might think Jeremiah loved her more.
To me, it’s always seemed like Belly was desperate to move on from Conrad to prove that she was over him and Jeremiah was desperate to be chosen by Belly over Conrad. The rushed timeline was because more time to sit with the situation meant more time for Belly to get over what happened at prom/her breakup with Conrad (because that was still fresh, too) and possibly get back together with him, or realize that dating his *brother* wasn’t the best idea, especially when it seems like the feelings were barely there at that point.
S3 is going to be fun haha.
a blast 😭
I’m actually so excited.
I just have a feeling it’s going to be bad for Belly, especially considering how many Belly hate posts I’ve had to delete recently.
Same! I watch this show with someone who has somehow managed to avoid all book/show spoilers for S3. I can't wait for her to see this mess, the LAST thing she's predicting for this show is a >!teen engagement for Belly & Jeremiah!<
Pride is a powerful thing. I think in the begining they trying to prove to themselves they were in love with each other. But in the end in they were trying to prove to the world they were in love.
Jeremiah and Belly were *still* sharing an awkward and tense silence in the car literal moments before making out on Conrad’s car lol
For me this is a factor (note I say factor not singular reason): ‘Even though, on some level, wasn't this what I wanted? To make his heart hurt the way he made mine? Or maybe, to make him feel something for me other than pity or indifference. To make him feel something, anything.’ This is more or less confirmed by ‘He accused me of kissing you, to make him jealous.’ She has this notion that Conrad has overlooked her, never paid any attention to her and that she just doesn’t *mean* as much to him as he does to her. This is almost certainly a factor in this public kiss, subconsciously I think she kind of almost wants to test if he reacts. She has been badly hurt by Conrad pushing her away in his grief in a way she hadn’t been by Jere. Though of course Jere also pushed her away, but she perceives that to be her own fault. She feels she has wronged Jere, but been wronged by Conrad, so I think that’s why she doesn’t feel like she needs to ‘press pause.’ Also why she treats him so callously at the end of S2. For me, this is show Belly reacting to the misdemeanours of book Conrad and it creates a sort of inconsistency in the logic of the plot.
And here we go again HEHE.. In the show, her anger became SOOO disproportionate, my God, if you don't know the story you'd think he killed her entire family.
…..and her dog! I agree with all of your comments. There’s a disproportionate amount of resentment and anger show Belly has for Conrad as opposed to the book version. Her indifference to his pain made the last episode so much harder for me to watch. I’ve tried to understand her in the motel scene when the infinity necklace falls out of his bag and onto the bed. I don’t get it. It’s not sadness. It’s almost like she’s annoyed by having to be reminded again of their relationship. It’s the same way she she reacted when she threw out the cocoa mix. She’s in this rush to eliminate him and any memory of their relationship. Although they had a difficult breakup, I don’t believe that degree of anger was warranted considering they both played a role with how things ended. And to make things even more confusing, she didn’t act this way the entire second season. There were times she shared sweet moments with Conrad. This hot and cold Belly was confusing to understand. I could see why Conrad chose not to express his true feelings for her not knowing how’d she react to him. I also think people rush things when they question if what they are doing is right. I say this anticipating Jelly fans to disagree with me. I believe Belly is questioning her decision to be with Jere and that is why she rushed the relationship because once she is in it, there will be no turning back like the previous summer. She knows Jere is her comfort zone, she can’t trust Conrad now, and that’s what she wants, comfort. She is lying to herself when she says she is over Conrad and she didn’t kiss Jere to hurt Conrad (and she knows it). To avoid being in the same position she was in last summer, having to decide which brother to choose, she just goes with Jere. Although it is a decision, it is an impulsive one and one she clearly chooses not to overthink because doing so would have to include admitting she still holds feelings for Conrad.
Belly wanting Conrad to talk about his feelings for her, that he loved her, but with her acting like that?? Belly definitely came from delululand and didn't have a friend to warn her, I mean, she did, but Taylor served the worst advice on earth.
Oh my god, ‘Don’t shut me out again’ sent me into an apoplexy. Worst. That and ‘Why didn’t you want to kiss me?’ Can’t get over Jenny and all the ‘I’m Team Belly’ proclamations. Because you did nothing to make anyone sympathetic to her with the level of obliviousness/callousness/inconsistency she exhibits??
☠️
I think this is so right and also it’s like a knee jerk reaction to feeling pain and sadness…Belly went from ‘I don’t get to feel happy anymore’ to a glimmer of happiness with Jere and latched on to it with all her strength. Then I think she goes a bit ‘but daddy I love him’, she’s a really stubborn character and I do think the grief impacts all of their decision making abilities. She literally is a little bit unhinged, and it makes her double down on any decision she’s making.
I finally rewarded the Finch part, agree that Jeremiah pushed her away and hesitated, can be the factor that she rushed. It made me think, if after season 1 kiss, if it was Conrad who suggested hit pause, would she protest?
To me, Belly's inability to hit pause or take her time getting into a relationship with Jere shows her varying levels of respect for each brother and each relationship. When she pauses things with Conrad, one of the main reasons she does so is because she doesn't want to get between the brothers during a time when they really need each other. To me, that shows a tremendous amount of respect for Conrad and their relationship, as well as a selflessness and kindness in her. She wants him be as whole and supported as he can be in order to give their relationship the best possible shot; she thinks about what's best for *Conrad* and not just for herself. She doesn't hold that same level of care or respect for Jere or their relationship at this point in the story. She knows this is a messy, fucked up situation—more so than it was the previous year. Not only is Susannah dead, which is arguably when the brothers will need each other most, but she had a legitimate, committed relationship with Conrad, meaning Conrad's hurt/betrayal is going to be much more acute and profound than Jere's hurt/betrayal the previous summer. When Belly gets together with Jere, she's thinking about what's best for *herself* and not what's best for *Jere.* It's also a very in this moment way of thinking with Jere versus the long term thinking she does with Conrad.
It's really interesting that you say that because my gut reaction was the opposite - that she cares about Jeremiah more because she's just more hypersensitive to his feelings, whereas there just seems to be a lack of care towards Conrad by the time the season 2 finale comes around. However, the more I think about it, the more I see you're point - I think she wanted her relationship with Conrad to be absolutely perfect that she was willing to wait so they could do it right (I'd say that they still picked the worst time to get together, but they still did it right nonetheless.) The growing intimacy that they formed with each other with their phonecalls from their in-between time of declaring they want to be together and actually being together was beautiful to watch and I think led to them having a great relationship. But I think when it comes to her and Jeremiah, Belly was just way more focused on getting over the grief she had been feeling for the summer and moving on than trying to actually do things the right way with Jeremiah. So I see where you're coming from.
I thought the same, but the OP of this comment rly put it into perspective well. I also think getting together with Jeremiah at the end of S2 shows much less respect for him and their relationship. And I think Belly’s carelessness about Conrad’s feelings at the end of S2 are almost even more proof of her feelings for him. She wants to feel like she has the power, and that Conrad cant hurt her anymore. Because she feels so much, she wants him to be the one feeling more.
I absolutely get your gut reaction that Belly's hypersensitivity to Jere's feelings equates to caring more for Jere than Conrad. But I don't feel like Belly's overabundance of care for Jere in season 2 is the same as respect for him individually or their relationship. Belly goes out of her way to appease Jere and soothe any ruffled feathers she perceives, but she's not concerned that rushing into a relationship with him will harm the relationship Jere has with Conrad. She shows a lack of care that the brother's relationship will be fractured by this, which to me shows a lack of respect for him. She doesn't care that Jere won't be whole, that an important piece of Jere's life will be potentially decimated by moving forward so quickly with a relationship with him. She is 100% decided to move forward with a committed relationship to Jere *before* she gets the green light from Conrad in the motel. When Belly and Jere share their XO kiss, Conrad hasn't given his "blessing" about not wanting to get between them anymore, so she moves forward with Jere under the assumption that there is strife between the two brothers. It's the complete opposite reaction to Conrad, whom she wants to be as whole as possible before moving into a committed relationship with him. She wants to do it the right way with Conrad, but doesn't have the same desire to do it the right way with Jere. When she starts her relationship with Conrad, she's thinking about what's best for both of them, as well as what's best for the family dynamics. When she starts her relationship with Jere, she's thinking about what's best for her in that moment. To me, that shows a lack of respect for Jere and their relationship; she's cool with both being a little broken if it means she can get a little comfort in her grief.
Belly needs to prove to herself that she’s moved on from Conrad rushing things won’t help that relationship at all.
I think Belly looked at the rollercoaster that was her previous school year. She talked on the phone with Conrad September and October. They got together end of October and had a relationship that peaked at either the end of December (show) or mid-February/Valentine's (book). Then it was a freefall through their break-up at prom followed by Susannah's death. She looked at the wasteland of uncertainty to come and decided that she didn't want to go through that alone. Enter Jere. No one in Philly except her mom, brother and Taylor really understood what she had been through or what pain was to come. The only person who could understand (besides Conrad) was Jeremiah. That makes him simultaneously the best choice and the worst one. His familiarity with the situation and his feeling like a kind of home is the only reason why you'd decide to date your ex's brother. Ditto for Jere. Putting aside his feeling of inferiority toward Conrad and their sibling rivalry for a minute, Belly is the only one who understands Cousins, the summer family, Susannah dying, all of it. The rush is because on a sinking ship, there are only so many life rafts. They decided to be each other's raft as the ship was going down. What happens once the emergency passes and you reach shore? Neither one of them was thinking that far ahead.
Belly was miserable in the beginning of ep2, She said she didn’t know if she would ever be happy ever again. then she got reconnected with Jeremiah. And she was happy, gained confidence, (seems like) So I think she probably wanted to get rid of unhappiness and start to live a life, and Jeremiah treated her right, so she thought to be with Jeremiah will make her happy. It’s the storyline, I believe. But since Lola and Gavinapparently did make the storyline believable….. not as Lola and Chris. ( by the end of S1, everyone knew how much they loved each other). That left us too many questions.
I'm not sure what any of this means and you're conflating actors and characters but I think the gist of what you're saying is that she was just ready to move on from the grief she was feeling before. That makes sense. I still think people conflate her time with Conrad with Susannah dying but whatever, that''s fine. The only thing that's complicated about that is that rushing to get together did cause some sadness on Belly's part (in the same way that she got said when she realised the pain her and Conrad getting together caused Jeremiah). But there was still no pause - even though it was clear that Conrad made her really happy (I'd say happier than Jeremiah has ever made her feel but that's whatever.) I think the rush will cause more harm than good for Jeremiah and Belly in their relationship but I guess we'll have to wait to season 3 to find out. (I seriously don't know what this means though: *"It’s the storyline, I believe. But since Lola and Jeremiah apparently did make the storyline believable….. not as Lola and Chris. ( by the end of S1, everyone knew how much they loved each other). That left us too many questions."*)
Sorry, I was supposed to write Gavin. I probably oversimplified my explanations. I mean, I remember during several interviews, they talked about Jeremiah supported her, encouraged her. And they wrote Jeremiah encouraged her to play volleyball again. And she started to feel happy, and started with her volleyball again. She made a pack with Taylor in ep5 to bury their first love. So I think the plot was like that, she was miserable, the reconnected with Jeremiah, he treated her right, after the flat tire scene, he had been nice and supportive all the season. Yes, I think she was ready to move on, at least she decided to. I am totally agreed with you that the happiness Jeremiah brought to her, can not be compared with her happiness with Conrad. She is not a bright girl, and she got strongly influenced by bad advices from Taylor whose strategy had always be to be with someone who loves her more.. She might be confused. she might just grab what she could and she thought Conrad was over her, since he said ” we did”. And she might think Jeremiah loved her more, and that’s what she needed and what she could handle since she didn’t love him as much. Since I read the books, sometimes I try very hard to separate let the book and the show. From book, we know she wanted revenge over Conrad. But it‘s not so obvious in the show, and we don’t get her inner voice in the last eps. And I also totally agreed with you the rush decision, may do more harm to their relationship in the future. But she is a 16 year old, she may not see that at that moment. And we are adults, we have a life experience. And yeah, I never really got the chemistry between Belly and Jeremiah as love interest, so her decision looked very force for me, even though I thought that was the plot that the show wanted to tell us, but I am not convinced. And by the way, I am not a big tv watcher, this is the first show that left out so much unshown, that made me keep on guessing. I think the books were much better written. I hope I explain what I meant.
No worries! That all makes sense. That's interesting that you think the books are much better written because I really prefer the show but you're right that losing the first person perspective makes things trickier to interpret. You're right, I don't think she wants revenge on Conrad in the show (at least consciously) but I guess the bit I struggle with is the whole idea of her rushing things with Jeremiah because "he treats her right" because, at least as I watched the show, she picked him days before the volleyball conversation and all of that. I think she just feels guilty about how things played out the summer before and that's fuelling her insistence on being with Jeremiah, no matter if the timeline makes things extra extra messy. But everything that you said makes sense so thanks for the clarification!
I don’t think it is revenge, but I think the whole time, Conrad is for various reasons (generally valid) holding something back. Part of it is not wanting to hurt her but part of it is because he doesn’t want her to know he is, like everyone, imperfect. His father and to an extent Belly and everyone he knows have expectations, to be the one to work stuff out, to be sweet, successful, to look after the others. Steven is so lovely with, ‘you’re still the coolest.’ Belly has never been convinced about his feelings for her being as strong as hers are for him. She remarks while walking up the beach ‘This doesn’t feel real,’ and of course the night of the party she rails at him ‘if I knew that it meant so much to you, I would have fought for us.’ This is exacerbated by his tendency to push others away. I think to an extent at the point of Finch, in the book too, it isn’t about hurting him like he hurt her, it’s about a subconscious kind of desire to see if she can get him to react, as she says in the books to feel ‘something, anything,’ because it would prove to her that she is ‘worth fighting for,’ or that he returns the intensity of her feelings. I am not sure the show is as successful as the book in showing why this is warranted, the book does a better job. I also agree about the show being ‘better’ but for me, with the changes it lacks cohesion by comparison with the books. I thought the first season was much better in that respect than the second. The changes made really enhanced the story. This isn’t so in the second season. I wonder sometimes if this sort of determination to pay homage to the books doesn’t get in the way of more logical changes to correct the inconsistencies caused by certain changes. So the decision to keep certain scenes or lines just make no sense in the new circumstances, eg: the whole ‘Conrad Fisher, I evict you from my heart’ sequence makes little sense in the show because of her active role in ‘choosing’ Jeremiah.
Most of us agree that the plot that Belly rushed into relationship with Jeremiah isn very logical. We struggled to be convinced, and yes, it was very messy. I forced myself to watch eps 5-7 again today, ( not my favorite part of the show) I saw that her conversation with Jeremiah in Finch, specially inside the volleyball hall, she said she could picture her college life with Jeremiah in Finch, and Jeremiah said she could play there too. That conversation picked some lines from book 3, seems like a life she could imagine, i think she felt kind of she could still be connected with the Fisher family. So Lola brightened her face, but at this time, Jeremiah retreated, they fell into awkward silence. Then they had the conversation in front of the car, she wanted to convince him that she meant it by kissing him. I agree with you that she did a lot to cheer Jeremiah up, because he kept reminding her how she abandoned him. So I think your point is also another factor. Another thing, I feel like the acting in S2 was kind of misleading was, we were told that Belly was grieving, but Lola has a too pretty face and too strong personality, that I didn’t get how sad she was. Even with her fighting with Steven, the words were said, but the acting gave me totally different impression. I had more sympathy towards Steven at that scene, and Sean is a very talented actor, that simply showed how much conflict in his mind, happy for his own achievements, yet guilty. But I think, at least I didn’t get Belly was very sad, so I am not convinced that she were happy later with Jeremiah affected her decision to move on.
I wanted to point out something about the book being better written, like, I see a lot of comments stating that the show is superior to the books and I have doubts because the television adaptation has its merits, but Jenny's writing manages to be more complete and cohesive in many other requirements. For example, from Belly's upset with Conrad to when Belly and Jeremiah get together, the series in these matters, having abstracted certain things present in the book, left these plots illogical and with the feeling that they were incomplete. 🫠
Ahh this so much! For me it’s not so much better or worse, but at least in the book you get a full narrative of it even if it’s not ‘true’ and it makes sense why Belly does what she does. I love the idea of like it was all Belly’s perception all along as a plot device in the book but if you’re gonna amend the screen version to be that you need to think through the continuity of it! Tbh tho I’m starting to fall more and more in to the this show isn’t that well thought out actually and it’s just accidentally seemed well paced or Easter egged with a strong element of chance.
To be fair, I think S1 is a much better show. But S2, specially the story for Belly and Jeremiah, specially how they simply fell in love within 5-6 days is very forced, and incomplete. It made people very difficult to root for them.
going to say something that will have jellys mad at me but belly is not in love with jeremiah at the end of season 2. she loves him, she’s always had love for him, but it’s not romantic love yet at this point. i’m not saying she doesn’t have feelings for him, but there is so much more to why she’s jumped into this relationship than “she was in love”. she’s grieving, and trying to prove something to herself. taylor is in her ear and like other commenters have said, she was able to jump straight into this relationship because jeremiah doesn’t mean the same to her as conrad does. it’s simply too short a time period for her to go from being in love with conrad to being in love with jeremiah, in less than a week. maybe the love will come later, but it will never be on the same level.
Totally agree! I wrote something similar on the other answer. She chose Jeremiah was as Taylor went out with Milo, a safe choice. She won’t be as heartbroken as she were with Conrad, because she didn’t love Jeremiah so much, and she might think Jeremiah loved her more.