Why ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Fans Can’t Stop Hating Jeremiah — and What It Means for the Show’s Ending

When it comes to love triangles, especially in teen shows, there is always a clear frontrunner and The Summer I Turned Pretty is no exception. Fans have been arguing about who’s the better match for Belly (Lola Tung) since the books were published. Team Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Team Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno)? That debate has been ongoing since the books were published. And up until Season 3, the choice seemed clear: Conrad. But then Belly chose Jeremiah, and the pair got engaged, leaving most of Season 3 about them planning their wedding, and Conrad took a major sideline. But much to the delight of Conrad lovers, Belly and Jeremiah have called their wedding off. Not to mention, Conrad confessed his love for her, so it’s only a matter of time before they reunite and ride off into the sunset together.

At the end of the day, there’s no harm in preferring one over the other. Even being extremely passionate about your opinion on who Belly should end up with isn’t inherently harmful. But Season 3 in particular has brought on an extreme wave of bullying towards not just the character of Jeremiah, but the actor who plays him. And sure, ribbing on a fictional character is one thing. We can all agree that characters don’t always make the most agreeable decisions. But when those complaints start falling upon an actor just doing their job, and the jokes turn into actual bullying, things become a lot more serious. And The Summer I Turned Pretty fans have taken their Team Conrad pride to a whole new level. So what does it mean for the show going forward?

Fans Don’t Like Jeremiah in ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’

Jeremiah was fairly well-liked in Season 1, and for the most part, Season 2. But Season 3 has completely changed his character and made him quite questionable. Not only is he never around to help Belly plan their wedding, but he’s demanding they have extravagant chocolate cakes they can’t afford, and deciding they should have it at the country club just to get his dad’s approval. His biggest flaw is that he cheated on Belly while in Cabo. Not just once, but twice. And as we recently learned via his friends, it wasn’t as drunken of a mistake as he told her it was. He purposefully locked the door and ignored his friends’ calls for him, meaning he knew full well what he was doing. It’s only natural that fans call out the character’s behavior and have deemed him an unfit partner for Belly, especially when Conrad is basically promising her the world when we’re in his narration.

But instead of just keeping the comments towards the character, fans have been directing their hatred toward Gavin Casalegno, who portrays Jeremiah. He spoke about the response to his character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “They tend to dislike him, yes,” he began. “I think it’s important to also understand and realize that this is a fictional story — and it’s also not me.”

Ahead of the season, Amazon Prime put out a statement in an attempt to ward off such a response, saying, “Cousins is our safe place. Everything good, everything magical. Let’s keep the conversation kind this summer.” But it has clearly not worked. Casalegno has praised the streamer for their attempts.

“I don’t think there’s a single human being in the world who can carry the emotional negativity to the degree that stuff like this happens. And I think that’s why Amazon did a good job of stepping in and being like, ‘Hey, no bullying,’ Though, not really going so well.”

What Does the Response to Jeremiah Mean For the Rest of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’?

Fans who dislike Jeremiah can now rest easy, as they’ve officially called off their wedding, and put an end to their relationship. But there are still a few episodes left in Season 3, and in that time, Jeremiah will likely have to get closure with both Belly and Conrad. These are relationships that go back over 20 years; they all grew up together. Even if he doesn’t reconcile with Belly, he’ll need to make amends with Conrad—that’s what Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) would want.

There’s also whether this is the final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty. If it is, Jeremiah will need a closure arc. His story can’t just be left open-ended, or the show will feel incomplete. Or, if the show decides to continue on with a fourth season, considering the rest of Season 3 is already continuing off from where the books ended, Jeremiah will likely be a part of that story, too. There’s no telling what Jenny Han has up her sleeves for these characters, but we’re in uncharted territory going forward, so anything is possible. So it may just be best to make your peace with Jeremiah.

After all, Casalegno isn’t letting hate deter him. In the same interview, he calls the role a “dream job”. He also gushed about his character:

“I was like, ‘Oh, wow, this dude seems really fun.’ It was very much like sunshine and golden retriever vibes. And I had seen Jenny Han’s work in the past, and I felt like this would be a great project to be a part of. I wasn’t wrong.”

Maybe he isn’t the perfect guy for Belly, but at the end of the day, he’s just a character, and Casalegno is clearly doing a great job playing him if he manages to incite such a strong reaction. But now that the wedding is off, and Team JellyFish is no more, hopefully the Jeremiah hate train dies down, and Casalegno can get a break from the incessant comments coming his way.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.