The highly anticipated Conrad voiceover episode of Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty has splashed onto Prime Video.
Just like his brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) got an episode to narrate from his point of view in Season 2, Conrad (Christopher Briney) expressed his internal monologue in Episode 5 of the show’s third and final season, leading to many tense moments with Lola Tung’s Belly as they run errands around Cousins Beach preparing for her wedding to Jeremiah. The romantic tension comes to a head when Conrad and Belly pull over on the side of the road at a peach stand. The scene, loaded with meaning from Conrad’s peach allergy to his carefully wiping peach juice from Belly’s chin, marks a major moment.
“I think it’s sort of like an Icarus moment where he loses touch with reality for a second,” Briney told Deadline. “What’s going through his mind? As much as I don’t think it’s a sin to wipe something off somebody’s face, what else was he gonna use? ‘Oh let me go to the car and get a napkin.’ There aren’t napkins in that car. I think that he loses touch with what is correct, and I think puts himself in sort of a dangerous place.”
Briney had a very different experience filming the scene itself.
“What was going through my mind was all the gnats that were flying into my mouth because it was awful,” he said. “They film it in higher frame, so they can slow it down, watching the playback and slow mo[tion]. [Jenny Han] said, as I breathed in, a gnat went into my mouth, and then I breathed out, and it came out. I don’t know what it was doing in there, but that’s my memory.”
In the below interview, Briney unpacks his approach to Conrad’s perspective and voiceover, how viewers get a deeper look into his mind with his therapy and more.
DEADLINE: First off, have you seen Episode Five?
CHRISTOPHER BRINEY: I have not seen Episode 5, but I remember enough of it.
DEADLINE: Did you talk with Lola or Gavin at all to prep for Conrad’s voiceovers? How was it for you to be, you know, the omniscient presence this episode?
BRINEY: It’s a weird thing. We’ve all sort of had some level of experience dealing with Voiceover because Lola has been doing it the whole time, and Gavin obviously had his episode.
There are moments when we’ll have a director be like, “All right, we need, like, a 10-second beat here, and sometimes it’s created in editing, but sometimes [it’s in the shot], so you have to pause and don’t say your lines, so we have some practice with that. And there were a few moments where it’s a little weird to just be silent, because you have to and trying to justify that.
It’s nice in some ways too, because it’s all just in the script, and not that that means there’s less work, but there are more clues to what this character is is going through.
DEADLINE: So do you know, when you get those pauses, what line is going through your character’s head? Did you have any moments like that?
I mean, there, there were a few words like, “Okay, well, this is exactly that. This is what this character is thinking right now.” And what can I do as me to tell that story through my body?
DEADLINE: I’m thinking of the nail gun line, which I know people very hoping for.
BRINEY: Always one of my favorites.
DEADLINE: Jenny Han directed this episode, what was it like working with her in that capacity?
BRINEY: I mean, it’s nothing incredibly new in terms of her giving notes, because she’ll walk on set and give notes and change some lines here and there, but I know that she said that she had a really specific vision for this episode, and I know that the whole crew worked hard to create a different visual language for this episode as well. So it was cool to see her get to really explore that because I think a lot of that was new for her too, and I’m sure that she had a lot of learning on her feet to do, but, but she was always up for the challenge, and I’m sure she did a great job.
DEADLINE: With the visual language, what do you feel like you added to that? How would you elaborate on what that was and how it was different for this episode?
BRINEY: It’s sort of case by case, and in general, I approach most things from a technique standpoint and a technical standpoint, so they were using a lot of different sized lenses, so there were a lot more moments where the camera is really close to [me].
When that’s the case, what’s nice about it is it is it sort of frees you up to just sort of try and exist. I mean, it’s the goal, but you don’t really have to scale anything up for a wide shot. You don’t have to do much extra work. You can just sort of let it happen, and hopefully that comes across.
BRINEY: The fact that Conrad’s in therapy adds a lot to his voiceover. How did that change your approach to portraying him this season and then this episode specifically?
BRINEY: Well, I mean, in general, it’s kind of cool. When I found out that he’s going to therapy, first of all, I was like, “Yay, good job.”
But also I think going to therapy gives people, a different language to speak with, and so finding the nuggets of moments where he’s actively using that language, or where I’m deciding that this is language he’s used with his therapist was something that was fun. I don’t remember if there were any explicit moments in Episode Five where I felt like he was using his therapy. But it’s cool because that’s like something that he’s clearly been missing, and it’s cool to have those active thoughts of like, “Oh no, but the right thing, or what I’ve learned is the right thing to do, is blah, blah, blah.”
DEADLINE: Yeah, I was thinking of kind of when he/you would say things like, “don’t do it,” or “just say no.” And I feel like those kind of got a double meaning because he’s just trying not to get involved in general, but then it’s like, is this healthy for me?
BRINEY: Right. What is making me happy? What is wrong? What is right?
DEADLINE I’ve seen fans pointing out about how at the end with the Fourth of July, Conrad doesn’t set off a firework to try and split up Belly and Jeremiah, like Jeremiah did in Season 1. What do you you feel Conrad brings to a relationship with Belly versus Jeremiah and how does this episode magnify that?
BRINEY: Yeah, it’s funny. Crazy to shoot a firework off of people you care about, but to be fair, I mean, they were all, what 17, 16? Sh*t happens.
I’ll only speak for Conrad, but I think that in this episode, it is highlighted that he has a hard time not trying to help and take care. I think that speaks to his values, where he’s at in his journey, whether you want to call that therapy journey or just his life journey.
I think it brings out his innate reaction to want to help and want to be a person that cares and gives people things that they need or want.
DEADLINE: There’s also the added layer of Conrad watching his dad not be great to Jeremiah and just hold Conrad as this attainable example. What does that add to his inner monolog as someone with the pressure to be perfect?
BRINEY: I think there’s always a layer of Conrad and Jeremiah’s relationship that was imposed on them from Adam. I mean, they clearly did not grow up with the most positive father figure. I’ve always sort of seen that as something Conrad feels bad about and feels defensive for Jeremiah about ,and I think if anything, at this point in time, it pushes him to want to protect Jeremiah, because he’s been so hurt by their father and so overlooked and disregarded by their father.
And maybe it’s changing. I mean, I don’t know all the stuff that’s going on at work. Conrad does not have scope of what’s going on there. So I think maybe there’s hope in him, that things are changing now they’re working together. Like, what a weird and also “good for them.”
I think he does feel bad for the way that Adam treats Jeremiah, or has treated Jeremiah.
DEADLINE; That definitely factors into the phone call when you’re on the roof in the beginning. Conrad says a lot about how Belly and Jeremiah are meant to be together. Belly and Jeremiah. He can give her things that I can’t. What do you think Conrad thinks he lacks when it comes to Belly? What is he trying to protect her from by not revealing these feelings?
BRINEY: I mean, I think he has some pain and guilt from the way he’s handled things in the past. And I also think he understands it’s on him to deal with those things and to get through those things and learn from those things, and he doesn’t want to put that on other people. I also think that he believes that they’re making each other happy, and at the end of the day, I think that’s all that really matters to him, is their happiness, and I think that matters to him more than his own.
DEADLINE: We see him this episode, and before, put his needs aside for Belly and get pulled into that, I’m curious. Do you think he thinks Belly takes him for granted with how much he remembers and how he’s always too attuned to her needs?
BRINEY: I don’t think he thinks that she takes him for granted. I think maybe there’s moments of, “Oh, she right. She doesn’t owe me anything. She doesn’t have to care about me in that way. We’re friends, we’re cool.” So I think that those moments are there as reminders. Like, “Oh okay yea. Why would you remember that? That’s okay.” It definitely doesn’t feel like he’s taken for granted.
DEADLINE: Leading up to that in the car, he tells belly he’s going to therapy. He’s honest with her about getting fired. He’s taking down these walls with her that he’s had up. How does this factor into things going forward?
BRINEY: Obviously I can’t spoil anything, but I’m trying to think back to when I read this chronologically. I think it could be a few things. It could be Conrad blowing this all out of proportion and making a mistake that he will regret.
I think that, at least from his point of view, he has no idea how Belly is responding to any of this. There’s moments where he’s like, “Oh, we feel close.” And then there’s moments where, “Oh, we’re pushing each other away. And you’re marrying Jeremiah.” So at the end of the day, take a step back.
DEADLINE: There’s a flashback with Susannah (Rachel Blanchard). Are those scenes challenging for you to film? What kind of mindset do you get in for those?
BRINEY: They’re definitely challenging for many reasons. You’re doing these scenes bare minimum, like eight times for different cameras. And Jenny was respectful of space, and it’s something where, once you get into the — I can only think of the word zone, but once you, like, get in the zone, you don’t really want to be pushed out of it. And I think everybody’s sort of on the same page where, like, the environment on set is a little quieter, there are fewer distractions.
It’s just hard to get into a space where you’re on the verge of tears for three hours or five, but depending on how long it takes, and there are some big camera moves, and thankfully, I think we did the wide shots at the beginning and the end, so it gave me room toramp up and then, once I hit the wall, I was like, “I don’t have any more more tears.” Rachel’s wonderful, and she’s so sweet, and we don’t get enough time with her on the set, and it’s great working with her. She’s very warm and supportive, and so it feels like a safe space to do whatever you have to do to get there.
DEADLINE: The single tear trail coming down the side of your face – I don’t know if you remember but that’s what it looks like in the cut.
BRINEY: I remember the snot. When I cry, I get really drippy in my sinuses. There was a scene in the first season. This is a long story. The scene the first season with when Jeremiah and Susanna and Conrad are all crying, they couldn’t use some of my coverage because I had so much snot, like, I think I just had a big booger on my lapel. So I don’t think there’s actually any cuts of me crying in that scene because there was too much snot. They’re keeping the snot these days.
DEADLINE: One of my last questions is about the symbolism in the show. I don’t know if you’ve seen fans online reading into the flower colors with the red flowers and the trellises. I thought about when Conrad suggest Belly use the hydrangeas for the wedding, and those are blue, but more I wanted to ask about, like the line that you say ‘Belly looks at me like I hung the moon or something.’ And that kind of contrasts with the whole idea that Conrad’s the sun for her. How does that add to your interpretation and how you portray him. I know you said like Icarus moment earlier.
BRINEY: I mean that with no symbolism for the record. I think at least right now, my understanding of that is more like he is saying he feels this responsibility to uphold some standard for her, or at least that she expects him to be at a certain bar. Because if you think about it, the dude who hung the moon, that’s just an impressive feat. Nothing more to read into there. Like, “oh sh*t. That’s the guy that hung the moon.” That’s cool. What else he could hang? Anything? I don’t know
DEADLINE: And Belly says in the episode, “you don’t have to be perfect all the time. I thought that was a great…
BRINEY: Transition.
