Like The Vampire Diaries and The Summer I Turned Pretty before it, My Life With the Walter Boys is best known for its central love triangle between the main character and two brothers. The show’s long-anticipated second season has just been released, and it definitely ramps up the messiness of the love triangle, but it also takes a detour from the second book in the Ali Novak series on which the show is based.

By Book 2, My Return to the Walter Boys, Jackie and Alex have already agreed that they just don’t have a romantic spark. The second book focuses primarily on the ups and downs of Jackie’s relationship with Cole, while Alex starts a romance with the books’ version of Kiley. In Season 2 of the show, though, Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) is still torn between her feelings for Cole (Noah LaLonde) and Alex (Ashby Gentry). Between Alex’s relationship with Jackie, and his potential love interests of Kiley (Mya Lowe) and Blake (Natalie Sharp), his love life could go in a number of directions next season, but the show should instead keep him single for Season 3.

‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Alex Is a Much Better Character Outside the Love Triangle

From the start of My Life With the Walter Boys, Alex has been interested in Jackie, even as she’s had a stronger connection with Cole. Alex was the nicest to Jackie when she first moved in with the Walters, but their relationship had always made more sense as a friendship than a romance. It seemed like Jackie cheating on Alex with Cole then ghosting him for the summer would be enough to end their relationship for good, but he is not dismayed when she confesses the truth to him in Season 2. Instead, Alex once again pursues Jackie even when she is worried that another Walter boy romance will keep her from really being a part of the family.

Alex is a likable enough character when he’s not getting in his own way, but he’s at his most frustrating when pursuing Jackie. Alex is petty and unkind to Jackie at the beginning of Season 2 just because she left for the summer after he drunkenly confessed his love for her. He’s always viewing Jackie’s connection to Cole through the lens of his competition with his brother, rather than taking a step back and wondering if Jackie and Cole actually want to be together. It’s hard to feel sorry for Alex at the end of Season 2 when he walks in on Jackie telling Cole that she loves him even though they’re together, because he rushed her back into a relationship without talking things through or seeing what she actually wants.

‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Needs To Shift Its Priorities

As of the end of Season 2 of My Life with the Walter Boys, Alex has rejected Blake after she kissed him, and he’s gone all in on his second relationship with Jackie. As the cracks in Alex and Jackie’s relationship continue to show, though, it looks like the series is setting up a future romance with Alex and Kiley. The biggest tells were the fact that Alex got jealous when he saw Kiley sitting with Dylan (Kolton Stewart), that he ditched plans with Jackie to be there for Kiley, and that he looked gutted when he saw Kiley and Dylan kiss in the season finale. As it stands right now, though, both Jackie and Kiley’s current romances are much stronger than their connections with Alex.

In the love triangle between Jackie and the Walter boys, Alex has always been the practical choice, while Jackie’s heart lies with Cole. After pushing Cole away for the entirety of Season 2, Jackie admits to him in the season finale that she’s afraid of how out of control she feels when she allows herself to feel the full extent of her feelings for him. There’s no competing with this, especially when considering how Alex iced Jackie out after her rejection, whereas Cole stood by her as a friend after she rejected him. Although Jackie will likely feel too guilty to let herself pursue this connection right away, the show is definitely building up to her and Cole being together, and it should finally let go of the love triangle with Alex.

Alex needs to get over Jackie, but he shouldn’t be with Kiley either, at least not yet. Kiley and Dylan’s romance was one of the most exciting new developments in My Life with the Walter Boys Season 2. Dylan showed an interest in Kiley from the start of their wood shop partnership, and he made an effort to get to know her and spend time with her when Alex was ignoring her. Dylan changed for the better because of Kiley, and they have a lot of potential as a romantic pairing, so it would be a real disappointment to see them break up in Season 3 just so that she and Alex can get together.

‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Rodeo Storyline for Alex Is Interesting Enough on Its Own

A break from romance in Season 3 would give Alex’s character some time away from the love triangle and the opportunity to step up and be a better friend to Kiley, but it would also leave more room for his non-romantic storylines. Aside from the love triangle with Jackie and Cole, Alex’s other major storyline in Season 3 shows him taking things up a notch in his pursuit of a rodeo career. He starts riding broncos even though it’s dangerous, and even though Katherine (Sarah Rafferty) initially forbids him from doing so. Alex gets offered an opportunity to compete for Blake’s father at the end of Season 2, which could lead to some really interesting storylines in Season 3 now that there’s more pressure on him.

Alex’s rodeo storyline next season could see him wondering if the sport is worth the dangers, and possibly even getting injured. It could also show him losing the love for what he does now that he’s competing for a high-pressure team. Ultimately, a break from romance and more of a focus on rodeo next season would give fans the opportunity to see more of Alex’s character outside of the love triangle, and to let him develop more as a character through his individual storylines.