Team Conrad girls, it really is our time. The third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty — Jenny Han’s swoony, sun-soaked YA romance brought to life on Prime Video — is well underway, and the rumors are true: Conrad Fisher has never been hotter.
For the uninitiated, the show revolves around the arguably problematic love triangle at its center: Isabella "Belly" Conklin flip-flopping between the two sons of her mom's BFF, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. After harboring a crush on Conrad for most of her childhood, Belly and Jeremiah struck up a flirtation the summer she turned pretty hit puberty. She eventually dated Conrad, but after a series of miscommunications (most tied to the grief of losing his mother), she, feeling rejected, swore that she would never be with him again. By the start of season 3, Belly has been in a four-year (yes, four-year) relationship with Jeremiah, while Conrad has been secretly loving her from afar.
What is it about Conrad that is so irresistible? Well, it's kind of hard to explain — it's sort of an "the girls that get, get it" situation. If you don't get it, let me try to explain. He's got a wardrobe filled with button-downs and crisp white tees. He's in therapy. He's always in the kitchen cooking or cleaning. He's yearning. He's got an analog watch, for crying out loud. And it sits oh so perfectly on that manly forearm with its light dusting of forearm hair. It's almost like he's one of the hotties from those calendars for women that exclusively feature hot men in kitchens come to life. And people are going absolutely feral for it.
"I would’ve jumped across that table idgaf," one fan wrote on X next to a GIF of Conrad. "This episode was trash but doctor conrad fisher was hot as hell," reads another post. A third post reads, "this is the summer everyone turned team conrad like i have never seen this much support for him before."
I've always been Team Conrad, don't get me wrong. But something about Conrad this season just hits different. And clearly, I'm not alone.
How do I love thee, Conrad Fisher? Let me count the ways.
Conrad is dressing for the female gaze
Conrad Fisher is a man these days. And his clothes prove it. There are the linen button-downs, which he wears tucked in and sleeves rolled up—to flash a little forearm and watch, of course. Then there are the crisp James-Dean-daydream-white-T-shirts—which he will happily get absolutely covered in peach juice.
"the way conrad’s s3 wardrobe is slutty husband. his hands and watch and rolled up sleeves just his whole vibe now," one viewer wrote in a post that has almost 30,000 approving likes.
Slutty husband core is female gaze-approved. Why? It's chic and timeless, yes, but it also feels safe. Just as Jonathan Bailey's slutty little glasses got the girls and gays going, I would argue that Conrad Fisher's slutty little watch is a sartorial symbol of the character's appeal as a new kind of male hero. Instead of impressing us with his macho manliness, he wins us over with his emotional maturity, his intellect, and his calm, steady nature.
Conrad has never been so emotionally mature
In the first episode of season 3, we learn that Conrad has started going to therapy. This is, of course, very appealing if we are talking about the female gaze. A man who is able to self-reflect? Hot.
Sure, Conrad fails to tell his therapist about Belly, aka the source of much of his trauma, but it's an A for effort.
And I would argue it's working. In episode 5, Conrad does something he's never really done before: he opens up to Belly. He gets vulnerable. He lets go of his pride. He tells her that he lost his job. And for him, that's huge.
Conrad is a yearner
By this point, we all know that the girls love a little yearning. We went feral for the slow burn of Bridgerton season 2, right?
Well, TSITP gives Conrad a whole lot of room to yearn. There is a lot of silent gazing. At this point, we've all seen the peach scene. Enough said.
Conrad is 'husband-coded'
One TikTok video captioned "so husband coded here" explains that Conrad "immediately hand-washing and drying all of the dishes he used is unreasonably hot."
To quote yet another viral video about Conrad, the man "wants a marriage not a wedding." While Jeremiah obsesses over his mirror-glaze dark chocolate wedding cake made with real cacao, Conrad quietly makes Belly food, takes her on her errands, picks up her bike (as if it were a feather, by the way), and just generally is total husband material.
Conrad vs. Jeremiah
Perhaps what is most appealing about Conrad this season is that he couldn't be further from Jeremiah — frat boy, professional whiner, manchild, and potential cheater Jeremiah. Jeremiah isn't ready for marriage. Hell, he can't even read his college requirements or remember to put on his own sunscreen. Dare I say it, what he wants is not a wife but a mother. On the other hand, Conrad is a fully functioning, self-sufficient grown-up who washes his own dishes and makes meals with vegetables in them and wears a watch.
Of course, it's worth giving Jeremiah a teeny, tiny bit of credit here. The boy isn't evil. Like the rest of them, he's got his fair share of baggage that influences his behavior. His dynamic with Belly doesn't come from nowhere — it comes from a lifetime of playing second fiddle to his older brother. He longs to have all of the things Conrad seems to have without even having to try — good grades, his father's approval, and yes, Belly Conklin. Nevertheless, all of this psychoanalysis doesn't change the fact that this season, he's been holding Belly back.
On the other hand, Conrad is a fully functioning, self-sufficient grown-up who washes his own dishes and makes meals with vegetables in them and wears a watch.
Jeremiah constantly puts himself first, forcing Belly to bend to his emotional whims. Conrad quietly, selflessly, puts her needs first.
Example: When Jeremiah discovers he isn't graduating as expected (his own fault, by the way), he throws a tantrum and goes quiet. Belly comforts him the way one might comfort a toddler, placing his head in her lap and cooing at him. Belly is so wrapped up in Jeremiah's emotional breakdown, she decides to hide her own problems from him.
On the other hand, Conrad pays attention to Belly's problems. In fact, he senses them without her ever having to say a word. During a family dinner, Belly's mother offers to foot the bill. Belly carefully orders a cheap item from the menu. Jeremiah thoughtlessly orders the most expensive. Conrad, ever attuned to Belly, orders something cheap. What a mature king.
And that, my friends, is hot.
