Going into episode 7, the expectations were high. If the show is following the book’s timeline, then we’ve officially reached that moment: Conrad finding out Jeremiah cheated…which leads to his beachside confession to Belly. Another heartbreaking beach scene (seriously, how many tragic convos can one beach handle?), but also the perfect backdrop—it’s where they’ve shared some of their best memories. Maybe, hopefully, it’s where they’ll get to make more, fingers crossed. So let’s find out if us readers were right about the timeline and our predictions.
First off, why do they even bother with a “Previously on TSITP” at the start of every episode? Like, hello? We’ve all rewatched last week’s episode a thousand times, scrolled through hours of TikTok breakdowns and are still recovering. Trust me, Prime, we don’t need the refresh. (Also respectfully, I don’t need your recap, I am the recap.)
I was curious how they’d open this one. Belly still replaying that almost-kiss with Conrad? Or pretending it never happened because she can’t face the truth that her heart is not-so-secretly tied to someone else (Spoiler: not the one she’s marrying)? Ding ding ding, we’re in denial mode. Classic. She’s laser-focused on the wedding countdown and brushes off the surfing accident like it’s a “distant memory” (while Juno plays in the background, no less). Girl…that’s not denial, that’s DELUSION. Fate, and maybe Susannah’s spirit, keeps throwing her and Conrad together, but Belly keeps trying to look the other way.
The wedding is in three days? Oh, we are so getting those scenes this episode, so everyone buckle in and grab your tissues. And then Jeremiah calls Belly his “wife.” Nope. Wrong. On every level. Also, Jere trying to set Conrad up with Annika (Belly’s bestie from school)? Be more obvious, dude. Even you have to know Conrad only has eyes for one girl in that room, and it’s not Annika.
Meanwhile, Conrad keeps sneaking little smiles and stares at Belly and I’m like…GIRL. Open your eyes before I jump through the screen and run off with that man myself.
When Annika asks who’s single, Belly conveniently lists everyone except Conrad. (Coincidence? I think not.) She doesn’t want to claim him, but she definitely doesn’t want anyone else to either. Saying “go for it” when Annika calls him hot? Yeah, no one believes you, Belly.
Taylor willingly playing wingman for Steven with Denise? Brutal. Girl, we all see your heart breaking. Poor Tay Tay.
Then Jeremiah thanks Conrad for “looking after his girl” this summer. A million stabs to the heart. And Conrad being the perfect man that he is, offers to clean up a vase he didn’t even break, only for Belly to shut him down with “No, Jere and I got it.” On the surface it seems insignificant, but really it’s Belly sending a message: it’s not Conrad’s job anymore to be there for her. The look on his face when that realization hits? Ouch.
The Belly and Jere kiss scene…yeah, my retinas are burning. Team Jeremiah girlies, enjoy this while you can, because something tells me this wedding isn’t happening.
Belly thanks Taylor for convincing Laurel to come to the bridal shower, but Taylor tells her she had nothing to do with it. Belly’s confused because she was so sure it had to be her since she knew it wasn’t Jere. Then, it clicks—it had to have been Conrad. She admits that when she was younger, she used to think he would just appear whenever she thought of him because he was always there for her.
And then we get the glass unicorn flashback. Not just any flashback, THE flashback. With Taylor Swift playing, no less. Readers know how significant this is, and if you remember Conrad unpacking it in Belly’s room during the season 2 finale, you know that was no throwaway Easter egg. Belly herself says that gift proved he’s always been looking out for her…and maybe he still is. Her feelings are clawing their way back to the surface and honestly? There’s no stopping it.
And when Belly pulls Conrad aside to ask if he convinced Laurel to come to her bridal shower…you just know Jere sees it too. He can’t stop looking back at them. Conrad tries to play it off, but Belly pushes, and finally he admits it: he did it because she deserves her day to be everything she’s ever wanted. The way she looks at him after that…girl, you are not fooling anyone.
Jeremiah thanks Conrad for always looking out for him, but then flips it into this whole “now it’s my job to take care of Belly” moment. And the way he hugged Conrad after, with that smirk? Yeah…that didn’t read like a thank you, instead it felt more like him claiming his territory if you ask me.
But then. Belly spirals. Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” kicks in while she’s hit with a montage of every Conrad moment, touch and memory that’s ever made her heart race. Her feelings? Fully back, no stopping it now. She even admits to Taylor she’s only ever pictured a wedding with Conrad and that Christmas in Cousins changed everything. Deep down she knows that her relationship with Jere only lasted because Conrad wasn’t around. As soon as he is? Game over. Taylor calming her down instead of telling her to pursue Conrad? Wrong move, bestie. You’re literally the Conrad of your own triangle, letting Denise be with Steven because you think they’re better for each other—you should know better.
Then, Conrad overhears the boys talking about Lacie Barone. The way his face goes from confusion to pure rage? Chills. I’ve never seen him that furious. Jeremiah is so lucky he got sick in that moment because Conrad looked ready to end him.
Belly heads down to the beach thinking Jeremiah’s waiting for her…but nope. It’s Conrad. And then…OMG. *THE* SCENE. He brings up the cheating scandal, shocked that Belly already knew, and worse, that she was excusing it. And that’s when he finally says it: “I still love you.” For the first time, the words I love you actually leave his mouth. We’ve always known, we’ve always felt it, but hearing him say it? Literal jaw-on-the-floor moment. And he’s not even saying it to us, but you know we’re all living vicariously through Belly in this exact second.
He’s crying, actually crying, telling her this isn’t just some last-ditch “you’re marrying my brother” confession, it’s always been her. Always. Conrad Fisher, king of keeping it all locked up, finally lets every ounce of his heart out. And the yearning? Off the charts. He even admits he messed up at the motel years ago when he backtracked, because he was hurting and didn’t want to hurt her too. He saw how happy she was with Jere and let it go, but he wishes more than anything he could take it all back, because he knows he’ll never get her out of his system.
And then—in a move that’s so unlike Conrad it breaks you—he begs her not to marry Jeremiah. For Conrad, who’s always put everyone else’s happiness first, to say that? That’s how you know she’s his everything.
But Belly…destroys him. She insists he’ll never be what Jeremiah is to her, that no one’s ever treated her the way Jere does. (Like, excuse me? You’d rather choose the guy who cheated over the guy who hasn’t even looked at another girl since you broke up?) Then she drops the line that shoots to kill: “You and I were never anything.”
I gasped. Conrad, the only girl he’s ever loved, standing there sobbing after finally opening up, and she says that? Conrad girlies, I don’t know how we recover from this one. And the thing is…she doesn’t even mean it. When Belly falls to her knees crying afterwards, she’s crying for both of them, because every single word she said betrayed how her heart feels.
Billie Eilish’s “When The Party’s Over” plays while Conrad sits on that beach crying, and Belly cries herself to sleep upstairs. The parallel to season 1 when she broke his heart for the first time (the infinity necklace rejection, the “its too late” moment) is too much to handle. Jenny Han really said: let’s twist the knife.
Belly’s upstairs crying herself to sleep while Conrad is still on the beach, completely shattered, trying to process that he just lost the love of his life. And then “LOML” starts playing. Gut-wrenching doesn’t even begin to describe it. Also, “LOML” better be about Jeremiah because Belly’s endgame is clearly Conrad. (Right, Jenny? Please.)
Watching it unfold on screen was somehow even more devastating than reading it, so I’m gonna need twice as long to recover. Nothing could’ve prepared me for Conrad Fisher breaking down like that. Jenny Han, the therapy bill is coming your way. Goodbye for now.
Will there be a wedding, and who will be waiting at the altar for Belly? Share your predictions on IG @girlslifemag!
Want more TSITP content? Check these out:
🌊 “What did I almost do?” : Our TSITP season 3 episode 6 recap
🌊 QUIZ! Are you in a love triangle like Belly from TSITP?
🌊 QUIZ! Which new character from TSITP are you?
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