r/tsitp

I’ve read the third book, but only bits and pieces from the first and second, so I wanted someone to confirm if this is correct or not?

First, why did Belly have to pursue Jere romantically? If she wanted support or wanted to keep the family together, she could've just been his friend. So unless she genuinely liked him romantically, why would she feel the need to date him? Does it mean she actually liked him in a romantic way?

Second, why did Belly not wait for Conrad to be okay with her and Jere like she did for Jeremiah when she was with Conrad? Why couldn't she take a pause with Jeremiah, seeing that Conrad was so hurt by them getting together and was lashing out? Does she not care about Conrad like she does with Jeremiah?

Asking this as a Bonrad shipper.

We only see Bonrad being domestic

Jelly had a four year relationship, yet we barely see any of it onscreen. Jeremiah is supposedly this amazing chef, but we never actually see him cook for Belly. Instead, we see takeout boxes and jokes about feeding her ramen. There’s never a scene of them sharing a home cooked meal, enjoying dinner together, or engaging in the kind of simple, domestic moments that make a relationship feel real.

We’re also missing all the small, everyday couple moments that bonrad gets - even when Conrad and Belly aren’t together. We see bonrad making the bed, grocery shopping, cooking together, Conrad cooking for Belly, baking for Belly, sitting comfortably in silence, watching TV together, sitting by the fireplace, drinking cocoa and making love… all the quiet moments a healthy couple would be doing.

Meanwhile, jellys screentime is a frat party, miscommunication, sex coercion and a breakup over cheating. Yet their fans still claim it’s “jellys story” and that they got all the meaningful screentime. The irony is that their screentime was dedicated to showing how dysfunctional they are as a couple.

Great edit from TeamConradFisher on TT showing how Susannah influenced Jellies relationship and not Bonrad.

For the next movie, I really hope they show some actual consequences from everything that happened in the previous seasons instead of making Conrad this endlessly forgiving perfect guy again.

I feel like throughout the whole series, Conrad is always the one apologizing, proving himself, chasing after Belly, understanding everyone else’s feelings, while his own feelings kind of get brushed aside. Meanwhile Belly went back and forth between two brothers during one of the hardest periods of his life, and somehow he’s still always portrayed as the one who has to “earn” her.

The train scene was probably one of the only moments where Belly actually made a real effort to show Conrad she chose him, and I loved that. But I’d like the movie to go deeper into that dynamic instead of acting like everything is magically healed now that they’re endgame.

I don’t want Conrad to suddenly become mean or out of character, but I do want him to feel more human. More guarded, maybe a little insecure, maybe finally expressing hurt instead of constantly suppressing everything. Because realistically, what happened between all of them would leave scars, especially after the whole Jeremiah situation.

I just want to see Belly having to reassure him for once instead of Conrad always being the one carrying the emotional weight of the relationship.

I think about this sometimes lol listen… idk what Chris and Gavin was doing around Season 2 but they need to do it again whatever it was… cause the looks they were serving ATE DOWN😍😍🫠🫠 I mean they looked good on all the seasons but there’s something about season 2 for me idk lol. Both are beautiful and attractive in different ways and I am so here for it 😍😍

Conrad getting teary eyed during the deb ball dance already had me fighting for my life, so if we ever get a scene of him seeing Belly walk down the aisle and his eyes start filling up, I’m actually finished. Something about Conrad trying to stay composed while being completely overwhelmed by how much he loves her would destroy me in the best way possible 😭

I so badly need something lmao, like it’s so boring without them around and there are so many shows coming up but I can’t stop thinking about these two. THEY ARE SO BUZZY IMAGINE NOT SHIPPING THEM- can’t be me😭🥺

I think the way Conrad, Belly, and Jeremiah are perceived by the audience is partially by design. Yes, all three of them behave in frustrating ways, but with Conrad the reasons behind his behavior are usually very clearly explained to the audience so we can empathize with him even when he hurts people. We know he’s dealing with severe anxiety, his dad cheating, and his mom’s terminal illness. The show consistently lets us into Conrad’s emotional experience, so viewers rarely have to guess why he acts the way he does.

In season 1 Belly is very understandable in this way as well. We clearly see why she’s pulled between Conrad and Jeremiah. She wants Conrad, but feels rejected by him, while Jeremiah openly expresses his feelings and gives her reassurance, attention, and excitement. Whether people agreed with her choices or not, emotionally it makes sense.

I also think something that gets lost over time is that Belly has basically loved Conrad her entire life. The audience is supposed to carry that with them throughout the story because it is foundational to the entire show. Even with the flashbacks, though, the emotional depth of those long held feelings can get overshadowed by her real time behavior once she is with Jeremiah. I think the writers intended for the audience to hold onto the idea that Conrad is Belly’s deep, lifelong love even during moments where she doesn’t outwardly seem very concerned with his feelings, especially in season 2 and then again once she escapes to Paris in season 3. The issue is that television relies heavily on what we actively see characters do, not just what we are told to remember emotionally.

That’s why in seasons 2 and 3 it starts to feel like preserving the love triangle takes precedence over Belly as a character. The writers seem to intentionally make her motivations less clear so the audience will genuinely question who she could end up with. But when the audience loses access to a character’s emotional process, they start projecting their own interpretations onto their actions.

So many of us struggle with moments like the Brown scene for that reason. Previously Belly cared deeply about the fact that Conrad and Jeremiah are brothers and understood how complicated that was emotionally. Then suddenly she seems disconnected from Conrad’s feelings entirely, even when he is visibly devastated. There are emotional explanations that make sense, grief, resentment, wanting stability, trying to move on after feeling rejected by Conrad, but the show often leaves viewers to fill in those gaps themselves instead of fully showing Belly’s perspective.

I like all of the characters and do think Belly and Conrad are meant for and good for each other. But I also think the writers sometimes missed opportunities to show more of Belly’s empathy and humanity when it came to Conrad specifically. Because Conrad is such a psychologically fleshed out character, audiences naturally extend him a lot of grace. Belly, meanwhile, becomes harder to read, and I think that’s a big part of why audience perception shifted so much over time.

With Jeremiah, I also think the audience is intentionally given less emotional access to him. We are told about the depth of his bond with Belly and how painful Susannah’s illness was for him, but we don’t experience those emotions with him in the same way we do with Conrad. Conrad’s pain is deeply explored while Jeremiah’s is often summarized. For example Jeremiah’s last scene with Susannah focuses on his resentment toward Conrad and not his grief over losing his mom. Compare that to Susannah’s last scene with Conrad where it is made obvious that he is devastated that he’s going to lose his mom.

I think the original intention was for the audience to always side with Belly, embracing all of her rights and wrongs, while the boys had to prove themselves worthy of her. But over time Conrad became the most emotionally fleshed out character in the story, and instead of viewers asking “Who is right for Belly?” a lot of people started asking, “When is Belly going to prove her love for Conrad?” I’m personally happy just seeing them in a healthy long term relationship in the movie, but I also understand why so many viewers want to see Belly outwardly show the depth of her love for Conrad in the same way the show has consistently shown Conrad’s love for her.