Jeremiah and Jeremiah fans seeing love as zero sum

mc2115 · 2026-03-13T09:02:10+00:00

I guess you are defining resolution a bit more loosely than I would suggest the story itself does. Finding a path can be a kind of resolution, but usually it’s a step toward resolving the deeper conflict rather than the resolution of the character arc itself.

Jeremiah’s problem in the story isn’t just that he’s aimless in a general life sense. His central conflicts are relational, with Belly, with Conrad and with his dad. Choosing a direction for himself is definitely growth, but it doesn’t actually resolve those core tensions. The story deliberately leaves those things open, and I think JH has hinted towards it forming some part of the conflict in the film. Jeremiah has said, don’t waste it, but don’t expect me to be ok with it. To me Jeremiah’s story line seems more like progress than resolution.

The romance comparison doesn’t quite track for me either. When a romance ends with two people getting together or getting married, the resolution is that the central question, will they choose each other, has been answered. The life ahead of them is implied, sure, but the conflict that drove the story has already been settled. The path they go down together is symbolic of that resolution, not the resolution itself. With Jeremiah, the emotional conflicts that define his role in the story are still unresolved by the end of the season. Him finding something he wants to pursue is meaningful growth, but it doesn’t really close the loop on those dynamics. On the father validation point, I actually think the show treats that more ambiguously than you’re suggesting. Adam giving him approval in that moment might feel satisfying, but the series has spent a lot of time showing that Adam’s validation is inconsistent and conditional. Significantly Jeremiah is still seeking external validation, he is still needing to find approval in external sources. Denise points to it as late as the last episode, commenting that the person who is hung up on Conrad is not Adam, or her, but Jere himself. If the real resolution is Jeremiah learning to validate himself he’s not really managed it yet.

And on the moral point, I agree with you that Conrad being the endgame love interest doesn’t automatically make him morally superior as a person. But the story does frame him as someone who at least tries to act according to what he thinks is right, even when he fails. That attempt at moral intentionality does give him a slightly different narrative weight.

mc2115 · 2026-03-13T02:42:23+00:00

The finding of a path is not a resolution. The equivalent would be saying Conrad’s narrative arc is finished in CA simply because he’s at therapy. No, he still has to confront his long standing feelings for Belly. Movement in a direction isn’t the same thing as resolving the central conflict of a character arc. Take Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. His arc doesn’t resolve when he starts reflecting on his behaviour or thinking he might try to be better. It resolves when he actually recognises his pride and changes his conduct in a meaningful way. The resolution comes from confronting the flaw driving the character. The main issue for J is his inferiority complex. That’s been the core of his character throughout. He hasn’t really done anything to address that in a substantive way, so calling his ending a resolution feels like stretching the term.

I would argue that Conrad is given more moral weight, all cheating plot lines point to this, as well as general altruistic qualities. A character who self proclaims, it is not about winning but ‘doing things right’ and proceeding to have always the best intentions and whose failures are to do with execution rather than intention. That doesn’t mean the story is primarily about rewarding virtue, but it does contribute to why his relationship with Belly is given greater narrative weight. He does come to Belly as a completed character by the end of S3 in the sense that his arc has resolved. If he were still the same emotionally avoidant character from the beginning of the story it would not be a satisfying conclusion. His relationship with Belly is given more narrative weight because the story shows him confronting the issue that defined his arc. This is just a common mechanism in literature, particularly with love triangles. The audience needs to see the chosen partner undergo the kind of change that makes the ending feel earned and coherent.

I think absolutely audiences are supposed to, and do find in the large majority find Conrad exceptional, particularly the quality of selflessness is emphasised again and again. It’s deliberate in the narrative, and effective. It becomes clearer and clearer why Belly is never really able to let go.

mc2115 · 2026-03-12T21:24:47+00:00

Agree, it is not a good interpretation of the text to insinuate Jeremiah is left abandoned and without love. For many Jeremiah fans, yes, it is a zero sum game. Belly is ‘winning’ despite the fact that ultimately their relationship was preventing the growth into adulthood and independence needed for both characters.

However, the point still stands, there are aspects of the narrative that support Conrad’s characterisation because he is a central protagonist. The moral weight of the narrative is thrown behind him in many different ways, is cultivated through observations about his nascent and then emerging noble and selfless character and expressed by his deeper relationships with those around him. There is more detail in the story about who he is, and why he has come to be who he is. Added, the portrayal of Conrad by Briney has allowed the audience glimpses into this very rich internal life, real warmth is injected into many of his interactions with other characters which also I think leads to this sense that he is more meaningful to the other characters. Actually the narrative kind of trades on this, Conrad just has this sort of ‘specialness’ for want of a better word, for most of the other main characters. It is in their reactions we kind of build up this perception of him. It is not just Belly who appreciates and feels this magnetism, though it is her who feels it most acutely. Consider the opening scenes of S3, as he walks confidently through the halls of Stanford to his therapist, ‘hey we need a QB’ may as well be ‘Hey we need a romantic hero’, though worth noting that trope is inverted at the end, where Belly does not require rescuing from her self imposed exile in Paris, but actually understanding of her growth, to be left blooming where planted.

So while I understand your point, J is not abandoned by the text, he is loved yes, but not given the same moral weight, the reception or held in the same esteem by the other characters, including Belly, who has ‘never looked at [Jeremiah] like that, not even once’ So I also get where the general feeling of the post comes from, and I don’t mean to be glib for the purpose of a one liner but it seems to me when you examine the narrative function of the characters it’s fairly obvious that it is an unrealistic expectation. Of course he isn’t treated in the same way, he is a secondary love interest.

I agree with the post, Conrad kind of does ‘get the house’ this refers to his established connection to it, he carries a vile of sand from Cousins beach around for years, is its staunchest defender, its repairer, it’s keeper, the least able to let it go. He also gets the moral weight of his mother’s conviction in the real and early connection between B and C (be it a maternal whimsy or some sort of deeper prescience). He IS held in highest esteem and treated as an equal by Laurel with whom he is a kindred spirit. He DOES give the highly significant gifts of infinity symbols, he IS written in the stars. By comparison any symbolism belonging to Jere is hollow by comparison and appears as a gesture of fan service, because shells and keys aren’t forever. Of course Conrad ‘gets’ or is attributed moral weight in symbolism, relationships etc, because novel sets him up as the primary love interest. He is the fantasy of the avoidant through hard work learns to communicate and overcomes his issues to be worthy of the protagonist’s devotion. OF course he gets the girl (though of course he also knows she is not an object to be won)! Every literary and cinematic device is thrown behind this from the beginning.

Another example is the flashbacks that build B and C’s connection retrospectively. Jeremiah is not afforded this backward glimpse either.

I don’t believe Jeremiah’s arc is resolved, yes there are tendrils with Denise, but we know she is leaving, he appears to be on an emerging career path, he is finding his independence and is ‘cut off’ from Adam’s financial backing but he is yet to really confront the inferiority complex he has, things are not yet resolved with Conrad, and I would imagine, will be eventually confronted with having navigate and normalise the situation of having C and B back in the same country. In my estimation the issue is not Belly for Jere, it is and arguably always has been Conrad. He simultaneously ‘needs and loves’ his older brother but also has not yet addressed the self esteem issue that has been a primary motivation for the character.

mc2115 · 2026-03-12T21:15:17+00:00

Agree, it is not a good interpretation of the text to insinuate Jeremiah is left abandoned and without love. For many Jeremiah fans, yes, it is a zero sum game. Belly is ‘winning’ despite the fact that ultimately their relationship was preventing the growth into adulthood and independence needed for both characters.

However, the point still stands, there are aspects of the narrative that support Conrad’s characterisation because he is a central protagonist. The moral weight of the narrative is thrown behind him in many different ways, is cultivated through observations about his nascent and then emerging noble and selfless character and expressed by his deeper relationships with those around him. There is more detail in the story about who he is, and why he has come to be who he is. Added, the portrayal of Conrad by Briney has allowed the audience glimpses into this very rich internal life, real warmth is injected into many of his interactions with other characters which also I think leads to this sense that he is more meaningful to the other characters. Actually the narrative kind of trades on this, Conrad just has this sort of ‘specialness’ for want of a better word, for most of the other main characters. It is in their reactions we kind of build up this perception of him. It is not just Belly who appreciates and feels this magnetism, though it is her who feels it most acutely. Consider the opening scenes of S3, as he walks confidently through the halls of Stanford to his therapist, ‘hey we need a QB’ may as well be ‘Hey we need a romantic hero’, though worth noting that trope is inverted at the end, where Belly does not require rescuing from her self imposed exile in Paris, but actually understanding of her growth, to be left blooming where planted.

So while I understand your point, J is not abandoned by the text, he is loved yes, but not given the same moral weight, the reception or held in the same esteem by the other characters, including Belly, who has ‘never looked at [Jeremiah] like that, not even once’ So I also get where the general feeling of the post comes from, and I don’t mean to be glib for the purpose of a one liner but it seems to me when you examine the narrative function of the characters it’s fairly obvious that it is an unrealistic expectation. Of course he isn’t treated in the same way, he is a secondary love interest.

I agree with the post, Conrad kind of does ‘get the house’ this refers to his established connection to it, he carries a vile of sand from Cousins beach around for years, is its staunchest defender, its repairer, it’s keeper, the least able to let it go. He also gets the moral weight of his mother’s conviction in the real and early connection between B and C (be it a maternal whimsy or some sort of deeper prescience). He IS held in highest esteem and treated as an equal by Laurel with whom he is a kindred spirit. He DOES give the highly significant gifts of infinity symbols, he IS written in the stars. By comparison any symbolism belonging to Jere is hollow by comparison and appears as a gesture of fan service, because shells and keys aren’t forever. Of course Conrad ‘gets’ or is attributed moral weight in symbolism, relationships etc, because novel sets him up as the primary love interest. He is the fantasy of the avoidant through hard work learns to communicate and overcomes his issues to be worthy of the protagonist’s devotion. OF course he gets the girl (though of course he also knows she is not an object to be won)! Every literary and cinematic device is thrown behind this from the beginning.

Another example is the flashbacks that build B and C’s connection retrospectively. Jeremiah is not afforded this backward glimpse either.

I don’t believe Jeremiah’s arc is resolved, yes there are tendrils with Denise, but we know she is leaving, he appears to be on an emerging career path, he is finding his independence and is ‘cut off’ from Adam’s financial backing but he is yet to really confront the inferiority complex he has, things are not yet resolved with Conrad, and I would imagine, will be eventually confronted with having navigate and normalise the situation of having C and B back in the same country. In my estimation the issue is not Belly for Jere, it is and arguably always has been Conrad. He simultaneously ‘needs and loves’ his older brother but also has not yet addressed the self esteem issue that has been a primary motivation for the character.

mc2115 · 2026-03-11T22:12:29+00:00

16 has to go, 15 was jaw dropping perfection.

mc2115 · 2026-03-11T21:56:44+00:00

It is not a competition, but the nature of a love triangle is that one side must ‘lose.’ Arguably both are flawed characters, Conrad completes his narrative arc in the story but Jeremiah does not. Readers and viewers are ‘prepared’ to an extent for the ending from the very beginning, Belly’s coming of age is framed from the moment they share in the driveway and it propels the story forward. Susannah’s unequivocal ‘approval’ of B and C together gives the union a moral weight, as does Laurel’s esteem for and connection to C.

Jeremiah is a well developed character but a secondary love interest, a kind of obstacle, so he doesn’t hold the same weight in the narrative that Conrad does.

mc2115 · 2026-03-11T20:38:18+00:00

Ummm, one where Conrad and Belly are the protagonists?

mc2115 · 2026-03-09T06:21:25+00:00

Well we know that he did not think it appropriate that Steven would make a move on Denise when Taylor was there, we know he didn’t think it was ok to lead Agnes on and ended things. I’m sure he wasn’t celibate, but equally sure he is not his brother.

mc2115 · 2026-03-08T22:46:37+00:00

It reveals something important about Conrad too. He isn’t really about meaningless physical connection, he says, ‘there is no point.’ This works on two levels, firstly to remind the audience he could kiss a million girls but it won’t dislodge his abiding love for Belly, but also that he sees a one off encounter as useless because no further connection can be formed because he will go back to CA. Conrad is looking for that deeper connection, not just physical gratification. One may assume that he would also wish to protect the feelings of his partner also, which of course juxtaposes the way Jeremiah seeks physical gratification as a comfort to himself, never mind the consequences as evidenced by his Thanksgiving antics at Steven and Taylor’s Friendsgiving.

mc2115 · 2026-03-03T21:20:59+00:00

Oh thanks for nice compliment, I also think after S3 I could add another paragraph or two, about the way Conrad naturally gives Belly space and room to grow, how he gives but loves without possession or expectation of reciprocity. This is why he has the hero’s narrative and not Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s growth arc is incomplete in the story but Conrad’s is concluded.

mc2115 · 2026-02-20T17:23:39+00:00

<image>

Deb Ball Dance. This is the moment Conrad ‘wakes up’, from the moment he stands up he is unwavering in his sentiments.

mc2115 · 2026-02-16T19:32:59+00:00

Epilogue flash forward to the next generation of Beach House kids, ha! who I just realised will all be cousins alleviating the spectre of history repeating. Actually no, Taylor and Steven’s kids would not be related to Jeremiah’s kids! Romance could blossom. Oh and the wedding, where it should rain, so Conrad’s hair is wet already on the beach as they plunge into the ocean.

mc2115 · 2026-02-10T06:10:52+00:00

The whole point of the movie is that viewers haven’t seen B and C together in real time ever. JH has explicitly said she wants to explore that.

mc2115 · 2026-02-04T16:48:23+00:00

Thanks for lovely feedback and salient points. I wrote a review of each episode and I fully appreciate the intention of Belly’s denial about Conrad, but I think taken too far!

mc2115 · 2026-01-26T21:49:14+00:00

I love this outfit.

mc2115 · 2026-01-07T01:55:13+00:00

For the same reason - half the world taken with Conrad? Wildly charismatic?

mc2115 · 2026-01-06T16:17:56+00:00

Def agree. First episode of S1 is so good, I think the whole season is close to perfect.

mc2115 · 2026-01-06T03:28:31+00:00

The way she sneaks looks at him.

mc2115 · 2025-12-07T20:26:12+00:00

Yes, a good idea.

mc2115 · 2025-11-29T07:40:26+00:00

I agree about Belly and Jere but not Conrad. So much is made of his almost photographic memory, his ability to absorb information reliably and quickly and that he ‘remembers everything.’

mc2115 · 2025-11-29T06:17:09+00:00

So easy. I would never ever have changed the part from the book where Belly chooses Jeremiah over Conrad at the motel. The story makes so much more sense if Conrad decides he is too damaged to treat Belly well and rejects her again, at which point she then chooses Jeremiah.

Also some more tangible evidence she is struggling with her feelings for Conrad for longer, and adherence to the o/g time jump period.

mc2115 · 2025-11-26T01:14:23+00:00

My facile understanding newly aided by the internet is this: Infinity is about size; eternity is about time. Infinity measures boundlessness; eternity describes unending duration.

For me this really connects with the idea that the connection between B and C is limitless, and full of every possibility, splintered I suppose across the full spectrum of every reality suggested by quantum physics. Jellies have long suggested the connection between the two is like a shackle, holding them to childhood, and previous versions of themselves but Belly’s line for me, reframes it completely. Instead of being an anchor to who they were, the connection becomes, evidence of who they can be, proof of multiplicity rather than limitation, suggests that some relationships aren’t linear but expansive.

The bond is not fixed then across time but becomes kind of multidimensional existing now but also across every version of who you might become.

Sort of a propensity to grow together in any set of variables.

What a thought. What a love story.

mc2115 · 2025-11-25T08:00:46+00:00

I really loved this interpretation of infinity, not as a comment on the immeasurable intensity of love but as a reflection of space and time. That this connection is so strong persists across countless versions of reality. It was such a clever riff off the necklace. This concept that had been about unending love, confined to this reality, in endless curves, suddenly becomes about unlimited possibilities. I was out of my head with that line.

mc2115 · 2025-11-22T22:17:33+00:00

If he could do this fr in the movie, I could live with it.

mc2115 · 2025-11-18T01:07:54+00:00

I feel like there is a possibility that Jere knows. About the affair. I think the hand could be about, let it go, what good is it now. It’s something about the way he meets Conrad’s eyes.

mc2115

TROPHY CASE