BREAKING: After being down in the fourth quarter, Team Conrad pulls out a win with an epic buzzer beater from recent transfer Taylor Jewel. With this win she is in talks to take home the trophy for Season 3 MVP
In all seriousness though, my girl really pulled through this episode. I know a lot of people have been really frustrated with her this season, given how she’s been indulging Belly and enabling Jeremiah. But I think this scene, and Belly’s reaction, shows why she did it. Remember, she was also against the wedding when she first heard about it, but quickly gave in because she didn’t want to lose her best friend. It’s the same lesson Laurel had to learn, she just did it sooner and without help. Now it’s the day of the wedding and she understands not just how Belly is feeling, but Conrad as well.
Should she have said something sooner? Yes. But I see why she didn’t. As unhappy as Belly seemed to be, she was determined. If she could get married without her mom there, how easy would it have been for her to do it without her best friend? Taylor sees that this wedding probably isn’t a good idea, but doesn’t call Belly out because she doesn’t want to lose her, and persevering their relationship was more important to her than being right. And if this really was her instinct, she was right, because when confronted with the truth Belly didn’t take it well and said some horrible things. So she defends Belly, Jeremiah, and the wedding until the eleventh hour when she sees how serious Conrad actually is about her.
Yes, everything Taylor said to Conrad was harsh and not entirely accurate, but his timing really is atrocious, and the way that both she and Steven confronted him was justified, and honestly necessary. As apologetic as he is, Conrad has made a lot of mistakes, and part of owning up to them is hearing from others how they’ve been affected, even if it is harsh. But you can see in her face that a part of her really does understand him.
They both have self-destructive, self-sacrificing, and self-isolating tendencies because they don’t believe they are WORTHY of the love they want. They are both parentified children who have had to pretty much look out for themselves. But they both love Belly and think she deserves the world. They are hopelessly in love with the Conklin siblings, and instead of being honest about that they push them away, and even toward others, because they just want them to be happy.
(Side-note: I think Taylor’s line in Episode 2 really highlights this, and why she’ll cheat on her partners, but absolutely won’t put up with it from Jeremiah: “You were supposed to deserve her.” She thinks Belly is so much more worthy of love than she is. It makes sense why she finally encourages her to talk to Jeremiah, because she already has such low expectations of men, and she probably sees Jeremiah as someone who hasn’t done anything she wouldn’t do, and if she can still love Steven then he can still love Belly.)
As much as they don’t seem to get along, Taylor and Conrad have so much in common. And I’ve seen people say that this ought to make Taylor a bigger advocate for Conrad, but I think it makes more sense for her to be against him. Because she seems to have so much doubt about what she herself deserves. She sees someone who reminds her of herself in Conrad, and immediately sees someone who will run when things get real, someone who will push Belly away, who doesn’t deserve to be with someone exceptional.
But then the unthinkable happens: Conrad proves her wrong. He tells her that she didn’t just suddenly remember, he never forgot, and he doesn’t believe Belly forgot either. And on some level Taylor had to acknowledge this. She admits that “maybe she will [run off into the sunset with him]” but ultimately ends the interaction with the assertion that he’s can’t be the person Belly needs. Even then you could make the argument that she doesn’t really mean this. She was in the bathroom with Belly while she literally was having a panic attack about how much she still thinks about Conrad, and later when they’re in the spa she asks Belly if she did the right thing telling him to “fuck off” and waits for Belly’s approval and the assertion that she hopes he will leave.
But Conrad doesn’t leave after this, even though things are substantially more difficult and complicated. Jeremiah, however, does. When Belly confides in him he runs for the hills. And only then does Taylor confront Belly. She, possibly, sees how she mischaracterized the brothers and admits that “[Jeremiah not coming back] wouldn’t be the worst thing”. She reminds Belly of things that she said about Conrad, about how he makes her feel. She reminds Belly how she has chosen Jeremiah over her mother, over Paris, and even over her the moment Taylor called Belly on her bullshit. No doubt she’s noticed these things for a while, and just never wanted to upset her. Now she has, and she is called selfish. By the way Belly, if Taylor is the last person you would take relationship advice from then why were you so eager to listen to her when she was encouraging you to stay with Jeremiah, and not when she told you that you were losing yourself in him? Maybe this actually has nothing to do with Taylor at all. Maybe it’s the truth that you’re scared of.
I love Taylor as a character. I don’t always love her as a person, but I see how she’s a necessary piece in all of this. As much as she can give crappy advice, I think we need to remember that she’s young too, and she’s not always going to get things right. Given how her mother has modeled relationships for her, and subsequently how she pushes away Steven, I don’t think she puts much stock in romantic relationship. I believe she’s probably had a revolving door of father figures in her life, and doesn’t ever expect men to be good. So when she meets a good guy (Steven) she assumes the worst and pushes him away. And when she sees Jeremiah she probably figures that all men will let Belly down at some point, this is as good as it’s gonna get, and she might as well keep her best friend happy, even if he can’t. She sees Conrad, whose situation is so much more similar to her’s than they realize and thinks “I know your game, and it won’t work”. Except she doesn’t, not fully, and he hasn’t stopped loving Belly, the same way she hasn’t stopped loving Steven. I hope, more than anything, that this season ends on her and Conrad being friends, or at least acquaintances that deeply respect each other. I think it would affirm each of their arcs and validate the struggles they have both gone through, albeit separately.
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