Jennifer Lawrence is giving her take on the Team Conrad v. Team Jeremiah debate from The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Despite the Prime Video series constantly leaving viewers’ to guess whether Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) would prevail and end up with Lola Tung’s Belly Conklin, in the finale (spoiler!) Belly does end up with Conrad. A Conrad endgame in the finale abided by the books’ ending, but throughout the show’s three seasons, viewers had also followed the ups and downs of Belly’s relationship with Jeremiah — from watching their surprising love confessions to a four-year-long relationship, engagement, almost wedding and break up.
“I have been ordered by all of my friends to not reveal this, but I am team Jeremiah. I am,” Lawrence has now revealed in an interview.
She explained her reasoning for favoring Jeremiah: “I think that Conrad is toxic. He kind of liked [Belly] but then didn’t. He left her hanging. For him to confess his love for her the night before her wedding is sick. I am team Jeremiah. Rake me over the coals.”
Casalegno reacted to Lawrence’s endorsement of his character, reposting her comments on his Instagram Stories with the caption, “I knew there was a reason I’ve always been Team JLaw.”
Lawrence’s comments quickly went viral, given Team Jeremiah has become a controversial choice on social media with many fans pointing out flaws in the character — from arguing that he cheated on Belly after sleeping with another college student while the two were broken up or just on a break (though that has been up for debate) to accusing the character of only pursuing Belly to be competitive over his older brother. Meanwhile, Jeremiah fans have in turn pinpointed reasons as to why Conrad wasn’t the right choice for Belly either, and Jeremiah and Belly’s relationship should’ve been the true endgame especially when much of the series chronicles their journey.
The back and forth of favored teams — which also prompted Prime Video to issue a warning and caution viewers against bullying and hate speech ahead of season three premiere — has continued to heat up even after the finale.
When addressing the criticism his character has received this season, Casalegno recalled a conversation he had with someone who questioned his loyalty to his character.
“At a jazz bar at like 2 a.m. they were like, ‘So are you actually a Team Jeremiah?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course.” And they were like, even after all this other stuff?’ And I was like, ‘I’m sorry. Are you perfect? Have you ever made a mistake?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve made mistakes.’ And I was like, ‘Are you still team you?’ And she’s like, ‘Yes.’ There you go! We all make mistakes. Some big, some small, but at the end of the day, we’re all growing and learning and I think that’s the most important thing that you learn from your mistakes. And Jeremiah really did. I think he’s grown a lot in the series,” he told THR.
The actor also said that he thinks “the nice guy is always overshadowed” and “people will say it’s predictable and they want that danger, but I think ultimately you end up marrying your best friend. You don’t end up marrying someone who you never know their feelings or anything like that.”
When asked about telling a separate love story within a focus on an inevitable Conrad and Belly reunion, the actor said he didn’t feel “overwhelmed” by it and focused on trying to portray someone who would be himself. “I just wanted people to love him for him. Even after the series ended there are still people that are team Jeremiah,” he said.
After the season three finale released on Prime Video, the Amazon-owned streamer announced it has greenlit a feature-length installment that will serve as the actual series ender. Jenny Han, author of the novels on which the series is based, will write alongside Sarah Kucserka and direct the movie, which will wrap up Belly’s (Tung) story.
“There is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey, and I thought only a movie could give it its proper due,” Han said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to Prime Video for continuing to support my vision for this story and for making it possible to share this final chapter with the fans.”
Story details for the movie are being kept quiet for now, and Han remains mum even when asked if she can confirm there is no more love triangle and that Conrad and Belly are and will be the endgame in the film. “People will just have to wait and see,” she told THR.