#a complaint i've seen is that Belly (and let's be really honest - everyone) is underwritten because what motivates her in season 1

[loveinsomesacredplace]

Because the seasons are so short, a lot of stuff is compressed in the 15 episodes we've gotten. There's only so much information that can be expressed within dialogue/voiceovers or flashbacks - and that's when sets and props and costumes add to characterization.

So during a [redacted] rewatch of season 1, I realized another way Belly and Jere's characters are connected is in the way their rooms look and how they're reflections of them at a certain point in time.

When the audience meets Belly, she's 15 and getting ready to pack for her favorite place in the world and anxious about how the Fishers are going to react to the 'new' Belly. Her room is very colorful and definitely lived in, and yes, messy in a believable way. There are soccer posters, medals, trophies, swimming goggles and a cap, volleyball pictures, postcards and photos hanging from a mobile, and a star lantern. There's also a plush sea turtle.

So immediately: Belly's into sports, beach, and water-related interests, and she's a bit of a tomboy.

Now compare with Jere's room at the Cousins beach house - his bedroom looks very lived in as well - cluttered with clothes, surfing posters, a very small guitar (or is that a ukelele? I am not great with spotting instruments), a skateboard, a scooter, and I suppose in a nod to Jere's queer identity, a rainbow necktie on a mannequin torso - because fashion and you want to know how your shirts drape. There also happens to be a rainbow lei ---which Belly has one hanging from her mirror in her home bedroom.

A shot of his dresser reveals skateboarding trophies and a framed group photo of when they were all very young. Before the drama. It's interesting that he has that photo saved in his room, while Belly has the group photo where she's looking up at Conrad taped onto her mirror. It's two different kinds of nostalgia - Jere's for the past when things were simpler in love, and Belly's 'safe' dream where her affection is very obvious but Conrad isn't paying attention to her, while Jere is leaning against her.

So Jere's room showcases his sportiness, interest in music, clothes, surfing and beach vibes, and of course, that lei. His photos are similarly arranged like Belly's against his wall.

The rooms are both a little messy but definitely full of personality.